How to Decorate Simple Christmas Cookies

ROYAL ICING CONSISTENCIES

To make these simple Christmas Cookies, you will need these consistencies and colors:

• 15 Second Consistency: Red, Light Green, Dark Green, Light Blue, White, Light Brown
• Piping Consistency: Red, White, Blue, Light Green, Dark Brown (dark brown is optional, you can also use a black edible marker to make the nose, mouth, and eyes)

Royal Icing Consistency Guide

What is 15-second consistency?

To achieve flood consistency, add a few drops of water to stiff icing, stir, and gradually add more water until you reach 15-second consistency icing. To test if your icing is the correct consistency, run a spatula thru icing. Watch and count how long it takes for the separation line to disappear. It should take about 15 seconds.

What is piping consistency?

Add a few drops of tap water to stiff icing. Stir. When you pull it up with a spatula, the icing should form a peak that bends down but doesn’t blend with the rest of the icing.

HOW TO CUT A TIPLESS PIPING BAG

To cut a disposable piping bag, flatten the bag in the middle, where the seam is. Using your fingers, push the tip of the bag. Cut a small tip straight across. It’s better to cut a small opening and then cut again to make it bigger.

WATCH THE VIDEO TUTORIAL

MARBLED TREE COOKIES

Outline and flood the cookie with green icing (15-second consistency). Immediately pipe lines across with red, white, and dark green icing of the same consistency (steps 1-4). Take a scribe or a toothpick and drag it thru the icing up and down (steps 5-6). Let icing crust and then decorate the trunk (steps 7-8).

This simple wet-on-wet technique is popular on Christmas Ornament Cookies, too.

SNOWFLAKE MITTEN COOKIES

• Outline and flood the cuff of the mitten with red icing of 15-second consistency. Allow icing to crust for 20 minutes (step 1).
• Then outline and flood the top/hand section with blue icing of 15-second consistency; allow the icing to crust well, about an hour or so (step 2).
• With white icing piping consistency, pipe a pretty snowflake (steps 3-4).
• With red icing piping consistency, pipe an outline and wavy detail on the cuff section (steps 5-6).
• Lastly, with blue icing piping consistency, outline the hand section (steps 7-8).

Blue colors also look beautiful on Winter Gingerbread House.

CHRISTMAS STOCKING COOKIES

• Outline and flood the boot with 15-second consistency red icing. Allow red to crust for 20 minutes (step 1).
• Now flood the cuff with green 15-second consistency royal icing. Use a scribe tool to shape the icing (steps 2-3). Let the icing dry for 1 hour.
• Now, with a piping consistency, pipe green, white, and red details and outlines (steps 4-8).

This classic Christmas color combination shines on 3D Stocking Cookies.

GARLAND CHRISTMAS TREE COOKIES

• Outline and flood the cookie entirely with light green icing. Allow icing to dry completely overnight (steps 1-2).
• Then pipe a garland with a piping-consistency white icing. Immediately dust freshly piped white icing with sanding sugar (steps 3-5).
• Now take red icing of piping consistency and pipe small dots onto the garland (step 6).
• Finish by flooding the stem with green icing. Allow icing to dry (steps 7-8).

This popular garland design also looks great on an easy-to-make ice cream cone Christmas Tree.

CUTE BEAR COOKIES

Outline and flood the legs with 15-second light brown icing (steps 1-5).

• Ears and head: If you don’t have a food-only paintbrush, use a crumpled piece of food wrap to apply a thin layer of light brown icing onto the ears.
• Pipe a dot of 15-second consistency light brown icing onto each ear, then use a crumpled piece of food wrap and a dabbing motion to apply icing to the ear sections (steps 1-2). Let it crust for 10 minutes.
• Outline and flood the head with light brown icing. Use a scribe tool to shape and distribute the icing evenly (steps 3-8). Let the icing crust for 20 minutes.

• Marbled sweater: Now, you can create a marbled sweater design. Outline and flood the middle of the cookie with red icing of 15-second consistency. Immediately pipe white lines across with 15-second consistency icing (steps 1-4).
• The marbled design method is called the wet-on-wet royal icing technique. Immediately take a scribe tool and drag it through the icing up and down to create a chevron/zigzag pattern (steps 5-8).

• Pipe the hands with light brown icing (steps 1-3).
• Now you can pipe a muzzle with light brown icing. Allow the muzzle to dry for 2-3 hours. Then, using an edible marker draw the eyes, nose, and mouth (steps 4-8).
• If you don’t have an edible marker, use dark, piping-consistency icing to pipe the facial features.

Bear cookies are so cute! I used an easy decorating texture technique to create these textured bear cookies.

SIMPLE STAR COOKIES

With white icing of piping consistency, pipe a simple snowflake pattern onto the cookies (steps 1-5). Immediately dip cookies into white sanding sugar (steps 6-8).

Did you make these Decorated Cookies? Tag @hanielas on Instagram and hashtag it #hanielas

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THINGS YOU NEED

• Honey Cookies
• Cut Out Cookie Recipes- Sugar Cookies, Vegan Cookies, Gluten Free Cookies, Classic Gingerbread Cookies
• Royal Icing Recipes: Fresh Lemon Royal Icing, Fresh Egg Royal Icing, or use Vegan Royal Icing
• Find all the tools in my Amazon Shop
• Cookie Cutters : Tree, Stockings/Boot, Bear, Mitten, Star
• Piping Bags
• Food Gel Colors : Leaf Green, Red, Sky Blue, Ivory/Brown
• Scribe Needle Tool
• White Sanding Sugar
• Edible Marker – optional to draw eye, nose, and mouth

This post was originally posted on December 20th, 2013. On November 8th, 2020, I updated this post with new step-by-step pictures, video, and written text.

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