| Many bakers ask for tips and instructions on | | | | Homes and Gardens at [ |
| decorating cookies. Well that’s a tall order | | | | Working with icing |
| because there are as many ways to decorate | | | | Icing is a little more difficult to work with but its smooth |
| cookies as there are cookies! Here are a few | | | | surface produces the most beautiful results! Icing |
| guidelines for novices and experienced bakers alike to | | | | should always be piped onto a cookie because it will |
| help you generate your own ideas for cooking | | | | run off the edges if spread with a knife. Once iced you |
| decorating. | | | | can apply silver dragées, or other sprinkles just |
| DECORATING COOKIES BEFORE BAKING | | | | as mentioned with the frosting above, before it |
| Cookies can be decorated before baking with | | | | hardens. has an excellent recipe for Royal Icing at |
| materials that withstand the heat of baking. Some | | | | There is also a recipe for Powdered Sugar Icing ( ) |
| things that you can place on your cookies before | | | | that dries less hard than Royal Icing and has a shiny |
| baking are: | | | | surface. Martha Stewart's website features an |
| -colored sugars or natural sugars such as pearl sugar | | | | excellent article on how to pipe icing onto cookies for |
| -jimmies, non-pareils, silver and gold dragées, | | | | professional-looking results ( ). |
| and other sprinkles | | | | Melted chocolate |
| -raisins and dried fruits such as cranberries | | | | Just about any cookie can be embellished simply by |
| -nuts | | | | dipping it in chocolate or drizzling chocolate over it. You |
| These items can be placed on top of almost any | | | | can even dress up the everyday chocolate chip |
| cookie to dress it up a bit and give it a more festive | | | | cookie for gift-giving or serving at parties. Melting |
| appearance. | | | | chocolate is a simple process, but a few rules must be |
| Paint a masterpiece | | | | followed in order to make it a success. For Easter, try |
| You can also paint your cookies before baking them. | | | | using white chocolate tinted in pastel shades with food |
| Make an edible food paint out of an egg yolk mixed | | | | coloring. Use the gel, paste or powdered kind of food |
| with a few drops of food coloring and paint the | | | | color, because the liquid drops may make the |
| cookies with a clean paintbrush. The paint will dry while | | | | chocolate seize up. |
| baking and give the cookie a colorful, glazed | | | | What you need |
| appearance. This is a fun activity for kids! | | | | You can either use chocolate chips or baking |
| A bit of trompe l’oeil | | | | chocolate (the kind that comes in 1-ounce squares) |
| The folks at Better Homes and Gardens have a | | | | and the same process applies whether you use dark |
| creative recipe for Colored Cream Dough ( [ ) which is | | | | chocolate or white chocolate. A small amount of |
| a dough of frosting consistency that can be piped onto | | | | shortening should be added at the ratio of 2 |
| cookies with a pastry bag fitted with a writing or star | | | | tablespoons shortening for 1 cup of chocolate chips or |
| tip, and then baked. The result is a cookie that looks | | | | chopped up baking chocolate. |
| like it has been frosted but the frosting is baked on and | | | | Double boiler |
| hard. | | | | Place chocolate and shortening in the top half of a |
| DECORATING COOKIES AFTER BAKING | | | | double boiler or in a metal bowl that has been placed |
| Decorating cookies after baking them requires that | | | | on top of a saucepan filled with hot water. The water |
| you apply some kind of liquid-based substance that will | | | | must be very hot, but not boiling, because the steam |
| adhere to the baked cookie, or that will act as a glue | | | | generated by boiling water could get moisture into the |
| to attach other items. Usually, this takes the form of | | | | melting chocolate which makes it curdle. Allow the |
| frosting, icing, or melted chocolate. | | | | chocolate to melt over the hot water and stir it |
| Frosting vs. Icing | | | | occasionally until it has achieved a liquid consistency. |
| There is a big difference between frosting and icing. | | | | Microwave |
| Frosting is thick and holds shapes like rosettes and | | | | Place your chocolate and shortening in a microwave |
| shells like those you see piped around the edges of a | | | | safe bowl and microwave it on medium power for 1 |
| birthday cake. It remains soft to the touch and has a | | | | minute. Stir. Continue microwaving 20 seconds, stir |
| creamy texture, and most people think it tastes better | | | | again. Keep doing this until the chocolate is almost |
| because of the creamy buttery flavor. Icing, on the | | | | melted. Remove it from the microwave and stir it until |
| other hand, is a thinner, more liquid substance, and as it | | | | completely melted. |
| dries it thins out, becomes very smooth across the | | | | Dipping |
| surface of your cookie, and hardens. This is the icing to | | | | Dip one end of your cookie, or half the cookie, or even |
| use for the most beautiful, professional results. | | | | the whole cookie into the melted chocolate. Set the |
| Working with frosting | | | | cookie on a wire rack to let the chocolate harden. If |
| You can use frosting in two ways. One way is to | | | | you wish, you can sprinkle chopped nuts, coconut, or |
| simply use a knife or rubber spatula to spread the | | | | non-pareils over the melted chocolate before it |
| frosting across the whole surface of your cookie. The | | | | hardens. |
| other way is to place the frosting in a pastry or | | | | Drizzling |
| decorating bag fitted with a small tip and piping out thin | | | | Scrape melted chocolate into a ziplock baggie. With a |
| lines or rosettes of icing onto the cookie. Either way, | | | | sharp scissors, snip off a very small corner of the |
| once the frosting has been applied to the cookie you | | | | baggie. Drizzle top of cookies with zig-zags of melted |
| can then further embellish it by using colored sugars, | | | | chocolate. Cool until chocolate is set. |
| non-pareils, or any of the decorating items mentioned in | | | | Using these simple techniques will help you produce a |
| the Decorating Before Baking section above. has a | | | | variety of beautiful-looking cookies at Christmastime |
| delicious recipe for Buttercream Frosting at See | | | | and throughout the year. |
| detailed instructions on piping frosting from Better | | | | Copyright 2004 Mimi Cummins. All Rights Reserved. |