Park + Coop searched far and wide (on the internet) all around the world (from our couch) to bring you the best of the best cookie decorating tips for your adorable baking kiddos (little mess monsters) to create culinary works of art, just like the pros. So snap on your no-tie apron and get your cookie decorating swerve on. Yep. We said it. We also still say ‘awesome sauce’ with no apologies.
Some easy-peasy options
1. Mix sprinkles right into the dough before baking.
2. Add food coloring directly to your dough.
Get a yellow flower, red heart, or a green dragon right out of the oven!
3. Drizzle melted chocolate over peanut butter or shortbread cookies for an instant winner.
4. Melt white or chocolate baking chips or thinned royal icing, and dip part of the cookie into it.
Add a large dot of icing to the “undipped” side for more pizazz or add sprinkles while still wet, as shown here.
5. Use icing bottles, like these, for a more precise frosting application (and less clean-up).
We also love that they’re reusable, unlike throw-away piping bags.
7. Color your frosting with real fruit and fruit purees for a healthier, more natural color alternative.
8. Use other foods to decorate your cookies.
Mini treats such as pretzels, mini Oreo cookies, candy (e.g. red hots, M&Ms, Sixlets, etc.), chocolate chips, and raisins, can be used to create eyes, ears, noses, and more, on your cookies.
For the more advanced cookie artist
8. Decorate sugar cookies with royal icing.
It looks super professional and creates an excellent canvas for decorating. We like the article from House of Nash Eats to describe how to make and use royal icing.
9. Stamp your cookies.
Start by frosting cookies with royal icing. Once dry, use clean crafting stamps (the kind used for card making, scrapbooking, etc.) with gel food coloring to stamp pictures on the cookies. A great article from The Bearfoot Baker can show you how.
10. Roll out your dough, add a layer of nuts or colored sugar, and rollup the dough into a log.
Chill, slice, and then bake for a pinwheel effect.
11. Try edible markers.
You can write and color right on your cookie to layout a design or to decorate on hardened frosting.
12. Use cookie paint as an exciting way to take cookie decorating to a whole new level!
Pipe different drops of royal icing onto a paper plate and tint each with different colors. Spread royal icing on the top of cookies and after they dry, dip wet paintbrushes into your edible ‘paints’ and paint whatever design you choose on your cookies.
We’re so inspired by these ideas and hope you are, too! Actually, we hope your kids are! Because if they make the cookies, you don’t have to.
Happy Holidays!
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