Hey friends! I’m very new to cookie decorating but am hosting a baby shower in January & have decided that I’m going to attempt to make sugar cookies. The theme for the shower will be “a sweetheart is on her way” & I have an inspo photo I’ll attach. I’m planning on ordering a projector & will definitely be doing a few trial runs to determine if I can actually handle it, but I’m wondering if anyone has advice/must have tools for a beginner. The Halloween cookies are some I did in a cookie decorating class & I have a bit more experience but not a ton. Thank you all in advance!!
by Electrical_Study_214
4 Comments
You’re off to a really great start, I think you can pull off the baby shower cookies!! Did you make your own icing for the decorating class?
Either way, I have to recommend [this](https://youtu.be/AObfqJGyXsY?si=HWxhHjVL2l-wpLCi) video about icing consistencies. It goes super in depth about many different icing consistencies and what they’re best used for. I literally studied it and took notes and watched it every single time I made icing when I first started. It was one of the most significant resources for me.
Beyond that, all you really need is quality gel food coloring (I Stan americolor), a scribe, and decent tipless piping bags. Bag ties are helpful. A dehydrator is a game changer but if you’re not making cookies often then a clean fan will suffice.
I’m not a cookie baker, but i think you’ve got this nailed. Those cookies are super cute. If they taste as good as they look you’ve got no problems.
Practice your writing, there’s a learning curve. The consistencies is the key, make thicker RI & add water for different needs (don’t overmix 2-3 min is enough) Also i add white to the full batch to help bleeding (for black remove from batch before adding white).If you’ll be doing the small hearts & bows. I recommend transfers, for transfers i like to use page protectors & roll off side to table to remove. Using wax or parchment paper my transfers would brake when removing. Practice, enjoy & have fun
Looks like you have a great foundation! If you’ve never made royal icing yourself, you’re going to want to practice that ahead of time. Getting the right consistency is one of the most difficult parts of cookie decorating!
For this set:
– There are quite a few different texture techniques on these sweetheart cookies. Looks like some royal icing transfers, some lettering, etc. The quilt one especially will take a lot of time to do one section, let it dry, do the next section, let it dry, etc. Watch videos as much as you can ahead of time and do a practice set if possible!
– People often have problems with spotting and butter bleeding with red royal icing. A good tip to avoid that is to make the icing the night before lighter than you want it and let it sit overnight to develop the deeper red color. This will help avoid the spots and butter bleeding as well as color bleeds.
– Speaking of color bleeding, there are some sharp contrast in colors (dark red and bright white). Make sure to add a lot of white food coloring to your base royal icing. This will significantly help with avoiding color bleeding.
As for your cookie set, they look really fantastic! A few tips I often suggest to beginners:
– Ice all the way to the edge of the cookie. It makes it look very professional if you can’t see the cookie itself.
– After doing your outline and flooding, use a scribe to gently pull the flood icing slightly over the outline. This will help meld the two together so you can’t see the thick outline as much in the final product.
Good luck! Again, the best advice I can give is to do a practice set before hand!