Did you know that historians believe that the first cookie was created back in the seventh century?
Even though the cookie has been important for cultures around the world for many dozens of centuries, there are still many things that people don’t understand about them.
Not only is it important to know the basics of cookie baking. It’s also essential to understand the best tips and tricks for cookie decorating. To help you out, we’ve created a guide. Keep reading and we will tell you everything that you need to know.
Find the Right Tools for Decorating Cookies
Before you start decorating your cookies, make sure that they have cooled to room temperature so that the icing or frosting will stay on the cookies. This is why it is a good idea to bake your cookies one day and wait until the next day before you start decorating them.
To properly decorate your cookies, you’re going to need squeeze bottles and various tips, a funnel for your squeeze bottles, several bowls and mixing spoons, small paint brushes for applying the icing, food coloring, and sprinkles or colored sugars.
Choose the Right Kind of Frosting for Your Cookies
The majority of frostings are made from confectioners’ sugar, water or milk, and butter. It’s also common for icings to contain shortening instead of butter. With this being said, there are several different kinds of frosting that you should be aware of.
Decorator frosting is the most basic kind of frosting. It will stay soft after it has dried.
Since sugar cookie icing contains more corn syrup, it tends to become hard when it dries.
Those who want to create cookies that have a hard and crunchy frosting use royal frosting. This is a great type of frosting to use if you plan on making gingerbread houses.
Decorating Cookies: The Best Tips for Creating Frosting
Before you start making cookie frosting, you’ll first need to decide what your goals are.
If you want to add many fine details to your cookies, it is best to create a frosting that is extremely thick. You’ll want to apply it to your cookies by using a piping bag. And make sure that the cookies that you’ll be decorating have completely cooled.
If you want to add a smooth base layer to your cookies, you’ll want to create a thin frosting. It’s best to apply these kinds of frostings with paintbrushes or toothpicks.
It’s best to use a frosting with a medium consistency if you want to outline shapes on your cookie or accentuate its edges.
How to Apply Frosting to Decorative Cookies
If you want to decorate your cookies in the simplest possible way, you should consider whipping up a bowl of decorator frosting. You can apply it to your cookies with a pastry brush or a dull knife.
You also might be interested in dipping the faces of your cookies into a bowl of icing before placing them on the counter to dry.
In order to create detailed designs on your cookies, it’s best to prepare several bowls of royal frosting or sugar cookie icing. Add different food colorings to each bowl of icing.
After adding a medium consistency frosting to the face of your cookies, let them dry. You can then take a small paintbrush and add details with a thicker icing.
If you don’t feel like baking and decorating your own cookies, you can always work with a catering service.
Adding Cookie Decorations
Don’t make the mistake of thinking that cookies need to be elaborately decorated in order to be attractive. It’s often the case that cookies with the simplest decorations are the most attractive.
If you want to keep things simple, you should first add frosting to them. Next, sprinkle colored sugars or other kinds of decorations that have bright colors.
Creating Chocolate-Dipped Cookies
If you want to create eye-catching cookies without putting in a lot of effort, you should consider making chocolate-dipped cookies.
After baking and cooling a batch of cookies, dip them halfway into a bowl of hot chocolate. Then use a spatula to scrape away the excess chocolate. Lastly, place the cookies on a sheet of wax paper so that they can dry.
If you want to make these cookies look more attractive, consider adding sprinkles or small pieces of candy before the chocolate dries.
It’s also possible to dip chocolate-covered cookies that have not yet dried into a bowl of ground nuts. After the chocolate dries, you can dip the cookie into the bowl of melted chocolate one more time.
Baking Decorations Into Your Cookies
If you don’t want to spend all day making a batch of cookies, you might be interested in garnishing them with decorations before you bake them.
You can also create rolled cookies. To do this, roll your dough into logs that are sprinkled with things like nuts, coconut, seeds, and colored sugar. If you want to add a unique touch, you can lightly dust them in confectioner’s sugar.
Shortly before you serve the cookies, you can dust them with confectioner sugar one more time.
Get Started With Cookie Decorating Today
If you have been wondering how to get started with cookie decorating, it’s important to keep in mind that the simplest techniques are often the most effective ones. Consider dipping your cookies in chocolate and adding sprinkles that have contrasting colors.
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