 I love making monogram cookies! They are perfect for many cookie events like weddings, bridal and baby showers, and birthday celebrations. Monogram cookies can easily tie into any decor theme, but floral monograms always have my heart! Take a look at some of my simple tips to make floral monogram cookies the star of your cookie show! Be creative for the shape of the monogram cookie  Plaques are the typical go-to cutters for making monogram cookies. Many other cutters have the potential to make beautiful monograms. For this cookie, I used the largest of the Sweet Sugarbelle nested flowers. Small details are important!  A. Metallics: Just a pop of metallic color can take monogram cookies to another level. I use Crystal Colors metallic dusts, liquified with Everclear. The alcohol evaporates quickly, leaving behind a pretty shine (that is FDA approved!). B. Greenery: Use 2-3 shades of green icing for the greenery. Also, don't just create ordinary leaves. Add some variety with leafy stems and spikes.  C. Double Monogram: Make the monogram base thicker and top the letter with a thinner line in the same color. It's a small detail, but I really like how it creates some elevation in the monogram. The Flower(s)  Pretty piped flowers aren't just for cakes! Pull out those specialized icing tips to pipe a single, large blossom. I piped this flower with an old Wilton 126 tip. Just keep in mind that the monogram is the main focus of this cookie. The single flower is a strong supporting actor. You really don't need other flowers in this design. Final Accents  A. Dusts for Depth: I dry-brushed a little bit of Wilton petal dust (available at Michaels and other local stores) to the flower to give it some depth. What a difference a little bit of color can make! B. DOTS: Add a few dots in white icing (or whatever your icing base color is) to pull together your design.  I can't help it. This cookie just makes me swoon! 
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 Ice cream cone cookies are a staple for sweet summer-time events, and you don't need a heat wave to make drippy ice cream cone cookies. Best of all, you can make an ice cream-inspired cookie using whatever shape you like! These cookies were for a sweet first birthday party, hence the "1" shape. No matter what shape you use, you can make some great drippy cones with this technique! What you'll need: * baked cookie shapes, in whatever shape you want! * royal icing in the following colors/consistencies: ivory- 20 second + piping ice cream, whatever "flavor" you desire- 18-20 second + piping * sprinkles (optional) * airbrush + airbrush color (optional) 1. Bake the shape that you're turning into an ice cream. This "1" cutter was from Sinful Cutters. Find it here! Use the ivory icing to make the "cone" part of the cookie. You can airbrush it a little, if you want! Let this section fully dry.  2. Think about where you want the ice cream to drip and not drip on your cookie. Use the piping consistency of the ice cream color to pipe a line where you DON'T want the ice cream to drip. This icing line is creating a dam to prevent or slow down the movement of the thinner icing. 
3. Flood the ice cream part with the thinner icing. Add a little extra icing to the places where you want the ice cream to be drippy.  4. Immediately after flooding the ice cream part, hold the cookie UPRIGHT. Gravity will do the drippy work for you! Gravity will pull on the thinner icing, and allow it to create natural drips. The piped lines will slow down the drippiness in those ares. Feel free to hold the cookie at different angles if you want the icing to drip in a certain direction.
5. Top off your ice cream with sprinkles, if you like!  I especially love that ever-so-subtle dribble off the edge of the cookie!    Looking for another way to decorate ice cream cookies? Check these out!
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!   Back in 2013, I had a request for baby diaper cookies. I didn't have a diaper cutter, so I hand cut every single diaper cookie for that set. I was very early in my "cookie career", and didn't watermark my cookie pictures at that point. My friend, a contributor to Babycenter.com, wrote an article about me and my small cookie enterprise, and included a picture of those diaper cookies. Although the article is no longer available, the photograph of those diaper cookies were pinned on Pinterest, and have been seen and re-pinned many times! You might recognize it from your own search!  I haven't had a request for baby diaper cookies since... until now! I was so excited to tackle this design again using cutters I now own, specifically Sugarbelle cookie cutters! This awesome cutter is found in the first collection of Sugarbelle Shape Shifters.  This cutter, as is, makes an awesome jean pocket cookie, like this one!  But with a few small modifications, this pocket cutter can make the cutest diaper cookies! To make the diaper cookies, you'll also need the curved trimmer from the Sweet Sugarbelle Shape Shifter set and a bench scraper (or knife).  What you'll need: * Pocket cutter AND curved trimmer from Sweet Sugarbelle Shape Shifters Collection, first set. * bench scraper or sharp straight knife * royal icing in the following colors and consistencies: white: thin flood and 20+ second consistency grey: piping consistency pink (or other accent color of your choice): piping consistency * food safe wide paint brush 1. Prepare your favorite roll-out cookie dough. Use the pocket cutter to make the first cut. Use the curved trimmer to trim the bottom point of the cookie.  2. Use the bench scrapper or knife to trim a little from the "waist" of the cookie. Bake the cookie as directed on the recipe.  Now that the cookies are baked and cooled, take a look at the sketch to see where we're going with decorating the cookies.  3. Use a food safe paint brush to apply the white flood consistency to the leg holes of the cookies. This thin layer will dry quickly, so you'll be able to move on to the next step in no time.  4. Use the 20-second white royal icing to fill in the main portion of the diaper cookie. Allow the icing to dry.  5. Use the same royal icing (white, 20 second) to create the diaper flaps. Allow to dry.  6. Use the gray icing to pipe the metal parts of the safety pins.  7. Use the pink (or alternative accent color) to pipe the trim on the leg holes and waist, as well as the ends of the safety pins. That's it!  You know what? This design could easily be turned into other "undergarment" designs! Maybe an alternative diaper design with one large safety pin. Or maybe tightie-whities for a little boy who is being potty trained (yes, I rewarded my boys for their successful potty trips and it worked!), "granny panties" for a friend's milestone birthday (nothing says welcome to your 30's like granny panty cookies LOL!). Lots of options!  It was great fun to re-create this oldie-but-goodie design, and to replicate the staging of the original photograph from years ago. But I couldn't pass up the opportunity to reminisce when my boys were small by using their real baby blankets in this updated staging:  Oh. my. heart.  |
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
June 2019
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