Christmas Cookie Decorating 101

Many bakers ask for cookie decorating tips and instructions. Well, that’s a tall order because there are as many ways to decorate cookies as there are cookies. Here are some guidelines for beginners and seasoned bakers alike to help you come up with your own kitchen decorating ideas.

DECORATING BISCUITS BEFORE BAKING

Cookies can be decorated before baking with materials that will withstand the heat of baking. Some things you can place on your cookies before baking are:

-colored sugars or natural sugars such as pearl sugar

-jimmies, non-pareils, silver and gold dragees and other sprinkles

-raisins and nuts such as cranberries

-walnuts

These items can be placed on top of almost any cookie to dress it up a bit and give it a more festive look.

paint a masterpiece

You can also paint your cookies before baking them. Make an edible food paint with an egg yolk mixed with a few drops of food coloring and paint the cookies with a clean brush. The paint will dry as it bakes and give the cookie a colorful, frosted appearance. This is a fun activity for kids!

a bit of trompe l’oeil

The folks at Better Homes and Gardens have a creative recipe for Colored Cream Dough ( [http://www.bhg.com/bhg/story.jhtml?page=2&storyid=%2Ftemplatedata%2Fbhg%2Fstory%2Fdata%2F11429.xml&catref=SC1407] ) which is a frosting-like batter that can be piped onto cookies with a piping bag fitted with a writing or star tip, and then baked. The result is a cookie that looks like it has been frosted but the frosting is baked on and hard.

DECORATE COOKIES AFTER BAKING

Decorating cookies after they are baked requires you to apply some type of liquid substance that either adheres to the baked cookie or acts as a glue to hold other items together. Usually this takes the form of frosting, frosting, or melted chocolate.

glazed vs. Ice formation

There is a big difference between frosting and frosting. The frosting is thick and shaped like rosettes and shells like you would see around the edges of a birthday cake. It remains soft to the touch and has a creamy texture, and most people think it tastes better because of the creamy, buttery flavor. Icing, on the other hand, is a thinner, runnier substance and as it dries it thins out, becoming very smooth on the surface of the cookie and hardening. This is the icing on the cake for the most beautiful and professional results.

working with frosting

You can use the frosting in two ways. One way is to simply use a knife or rubber spatula to spread the frosting over the entire surface of the cookie. The other way is to pipe the icing into a piping or decorating bag fitted with a small tip and form thin lines or rosettes of icing on the cookie. Either way, once the frosting has been applied to the cookie, you can embellish it further using colored, unbaked sugars, or any of the decorating items mentioned in the Decorating Before Baking section above. Christmas-Cookies.com has a delicious recipe for Buttercream Frosting at http://www.christmas-cookies.com/recipes/recipe.php?recid=306. See detailed instructions on Better Homes and Gardens Pipe Glaze at [http://www.bhg.com/bhg/story.jhtml?page=3&storyid=%2Ftemplatedata%2Fbhg%2Fstory%2Fdata%2F11430.xml&catref=SC1407]

working with frosting

The frosting is a bit more difficult to work with, but its smooth surface produces the most beautiful results! Icing should always be placed on a cookie because it will run off the edges if smeared with a knife. Once frosted you can apply silver sprinkles or other sprinkles as mentioned above with the frosting before it hardens. Christmas-Cookies.com has an excellent Royal Icing recipe at http://www.christmas-cookies.com/recipes/recipe.php?recid=42. There is also a recipe for powdered sugar icing (http://www.christmas-cookies.com/recipes/recipe.php?recid=288) that dries less than royal icing and has a glossy surface. Martha Stewart’s website has an excellent article on icing cookies for professional looking results (http://www.marthastewart.com/page.jhtml?type=content&id=channel172011&catid=cat258).

melted chocolate

Almost any cookie can be garnished by simply dipping it in chocolate or drizzling it with chocolate. You can even garnish the everyday chocolate chip cookie to give as gifts or serve at parties. Melting chocolate is a simple process, but a few rules must be followed to make it a success. For Easter, try using white chocolate tinted in pastel shades with food coloring. Use gel, paste, or powdered food coloring, as liquid drops can make the chocolate higher.

What do you need

You can use chocolate chips or baking chocolate (the kind that comes in 1 ounce squares) and the same process applies if you use dark chocolate or white chocolate. A small amount of shortening should be added at a ratio of 2 tablespoons shortening to 1 cup chocolate chips or chopped baking chocolate.

double boiler

Place the chocolate and shortening in the top half of a double boiler or in a metal bowl that has been placed on top of a saucepan filled with hot water. The water should be very hot, but not boiling hot, because the steam generated by the boiling water could introduce moisture into the melted chocolate and curdle it. Let the chocolate melt over the hot water, stirring occasionally until it reaches a runny consistency.

microwave

Place the chocolate and shortening in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave on medium power for 1 minute. Remove. Continue to microwave for 20 seconds, stir again. Keep doing this until the chocolate is almost melted. Remove from microwave and stir until completely melted.

immersion

Dip one end of your cookie, or half of the cookie, or even the entire cookie into the melted chocolate. Place the cookie on a wire rack to allow the chocolate to harden. If you like, you can sprinkle chopped nuts, coconut, or walnuts over the melted chocolate before it hardens.

drizzle

Scrape the melted chocolate into a ziplock baggie. Using sharp scissors, cut a very small corner of the baggie. Drizzle the tops of the cookies with zig-zags of melted chocolate. Chill until chocolate is set.

Using these simple techniques will help you produce a variety of beautiful cookies at Christmas and throughout the year.

Copyright 2004 Mimi Cummins. All rights reserved.