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CANDY CORN. You're either Team Candy Corn or not. Even if you're not on Team Candy Corn, we all can agree that the appearance of candy corn in stores means that fall and Halloween is on the way! So if you like the look of candy corn, but not the taste, there's another option to adorn your decorated cookies this Halloween season- ROYAL ICING CANDY CORN!  All of the cuteness of candy corn without the candy corn taste! These royal icing transfers can be made in advance, and are the perfect accent your Halloween cookies. What you'll need: * candy corn template, found here! * parchment paper or acetate sheet * white royal icing, in a 25-28 second consistency; placed in an icing bag with tip * scribe tool or toothpick * airbrush machine * yellow and orange airbrush colors * a "shield"- I used the edge of a another stencil or a piece of parchment, but Stencibelle has some great blockers (including curved and shaped ones) on her page here! * optional: magnets, cooling rack, fan LET'S GET STARTED! 1. Print out a copy of the candy corn template. Place the acetate or parchment on top of the template. I used acetate because it's crystal clear, but parchment paper will work just fine, too! Magnets helped to secure the acetate and template to a metal cooling rack (as my cookie sheets are aluminum and therefore not magnetic). Or you can just tape the template and top sheet on a table or cookie sheet.  2. Pipe the candy corn shapes with the royal icing. Use the scribe tool or toothpick to smooth any bumpy spots on the icing.
3. After creating the desired quantity of candy corn transfers (remember to make more than you need!), allow the transfers to dry. I like to place them in front of an oscillating fan- here's where the magnets are especially helpful so your hard work doesn't blow away! If you piped your transfers on parchment paper, you can dry them in a very low heat oven (below 200*). Without the assistance of a fan or oven, transfers can take several hours to dry, or even overnight if the icing is thick.
4. After the icing is completely dry, cover the very tip of the candy corn. I used the flat edge from a stencil and secured it in place with magnets. If you have a difficult time controlling your airbrush spray, use a second shield to cover the remaining transfers from getting hit with overspray. 
5. Load yellow airbrush color into your airbrush. With your airbrush machine on LOW, gently spray several coats of yellow color onto your transfers. Spray parallel to the shield, with a side-to-side sweeping motion. Multiple light coats of color is always better than thick coats that puddle. Plus, light coats dry quickly.  6. Once the yellow airbrushed layer is dry, add a second shield to cover the bottom third of the candy corn shape. You'll be left with an exposed strip in the middle of the candy corn shape where the orange color will be added.  7. Load orange airbrush color into your airbrush. With your airbrush machine on LOW, gently spray several coats of orange color onto your transfers. Yes, you'll be covering the yellow in the middle of the candy corn with orange color. That's ok! Use that same side-to-side sweeping motion to lay down the orange color.  8. Carefully remove the shields and allow the transfers to dry. Oh my goodness, they're soooo cute!  9. After the color has dried, the transfers can be easily popped off the acetate or parchment paper with an offset spatula or edging tool. You can now affix your transfers to your cookies using royal icing or piping gel. You can drop them onto a fresh icing flood, or even use them as accents on your cookie platters!  FYI: I made these nerdy candy corn cookies from the Frankenstein/pilgrim boy cutter from this set.  Let's take a side-by-side comparison of the candy corn transfers vs the real thing!  Am I on Team Candy Corn? You bet! And here's my favorite way to eat them- with a small dollop of peanut butter. The candy corn + peanut butter tastes just like a Butterfinger candy bar (minus the chocolate). It's SOOOOO good!  I can't wait to add these little candy corn transfers to many Halloween cookie sets! 
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 Muwhahahahahaha! These Mad Scientist cookies were inspired by something else I made...  This is my youngest son, in his Mad Scientist halloween costume from 2017. We participated in a Trunk or Treat event, and I decorated my car as a mad scientist's laboratory. I had SO much fun putting the details together, paying close attention to how it would look after dark! Check out my handiwork! 
My eldest son even joined in the fun, by dressing up as the mad scientist's assistant!  As I was sorting through my Halloween cutters, I came across the perfect cutter for my Mad Scientist cookie: a flipped spider cutter from the Sweet Sugarbelle Halloween Basics Set! If you don't have this exact spider cutter, other spider cutters might work too. 
Here's what you'll need: * Baked spider-shaped cookies, using your favorite roll out recipe * Royal icing in the following colors and consistencies: flesh tone of your choice, 20-second consistency white, 20-second and piping consistency gray, piping consistency black, piping consistency * Food pen, optional Let's get started! 1. After baking and cooling your cookies, use a food pen to mark the scientist's face and ears. Use icing to pipe the face and ears. Let the icing dry.  2. Use the 20-second white icing to pipe the hair. Immediately after piping the hair, add some lines with the gray icing, allowing them to sink into the white icing beneath. Now is a good time to pipe the nose. Let the icing dry.  3. Use the black icing to pipe the rims of the glasses. Use the piping consistency white icing to make a mustache. Let these sections dry.  4. Add the final details! Outline the ears, fill in the eyeglasses, add some eyeballs, add some white hairs, and don't forget the puffy eyebrows!  Feel free to change up the eyebrows to convey different emotions. It's amazing how the overall look changes with just a small tweak in the shape of the eyebrows!  These cookies would also be fun for a scientist-themed birthday party, especially if you pair them with some other laboratory-themed cookies. Electricity coil and hazard sign cookies are the favorite snacks of every little mad scientist!    Frankly, I think the creature we commonly call Frankenstein might just be my favorite Halloween-time character. Maybe it's because I love the pop of green that my soothes my eyes amidst the sea of traditional orange and black Halloween colors. Maybe it's because I like to picture him as a cute cartoony character instead of the monstereous thing that is depicted in the book/movies. In any case, I love making Frank in cookie form! This year, I got my hands on one of these sets of Halloween cutters, designed by Sweet Sugarbelle.  Do you see a Frankenstein cookie design on the box? Nope! But I let my cutter-flipping brain take over, to repurpose that awesome skull cutter pictured on the upper right of the box cover. 1. Bake the skull shape with your favorite roll-out cookie recipe.  2. Use black and purple icing to make Frank's hair and shirt. Let these sections dry.  3. Use green icing to make Frank's face. Let this section dry really well before adding the details.  4. Use orange, green, black, and grayish icing colors to make the final details. You're done!  You can pair your Frankenstein cookies with some other fun Halloween shapes, like these other cookies make from Sweet Sugarbelle cutters. Aren't they great for a not-so-scary Halloween party?  But I think Frankenstein is still my favorite!   In my opinion, many cookie cutters wear a disguise. It's like they celebrate Halloween every day! I love trying to figure out their alter-egos. Recently, I was digging through my bin of Halloween cutters in search of a witch cutter. I knew I had at least one head/hat cutter, but I wanted the full witchy body. I stumbled on this cutter:  An ordinary bat cutter, one of which I have NEVER used (I have many cutters that fall into this category. . . ). However, this cutter was turned on its side in the bin. I mentally could "see" things in the cutter:  Here's the result:  By the way, here's another design that I "saw".  I have absolutely no idea when I'll need a man with a little hat and big nose, but I know what cutter I'll use!
 I love re-purposing cutters, especially using a single cutter for making multiple designs for one occasion. A skull cutter has so many possibilities! I have a small collection of skull cutters, and I am always on the lookout for a new skull style.  Many skull cutters have the built-in cheekbones, but not all. In fact, the cutter on the upper right is one of my favorite cutters to make ladybugs! I used this skull cutter to make a collection of Halloween characters- ironically, a skull was not one of them!  I decided to create a Frankenstein, pumpkin, mummy, and Dracula.  Check out the video on how to create Dracula! |
AuthorI'm Amy. Wife, Mom, former science teacher- and now full time cookie baker on Maryland's Eastern Shore. Pull up a chair and we create! I'll bring the coffee- maybe Mike (The Cookie Widower) will make it for us. Archives
November 2018
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