Tropical Island Beach Cookies

I have a confession. I've never actually been to a tropical beach. Sure, I've been to the beach- I live a little over an hour away from the Atlantic Ocean. The thought of visiting a real tropical beach- like in the Caribbean- is really, really appealing. Hot sun, a cool fruity drink, soothing sound of the waves. But then the reality sets in. I get sunburned in about 2 seconds, flat. I don't actually swim in the ocean- I'm more of a stand-in-the-surf, let's-go-find-seashells kind of girl.  

I am wary of the unknown creatures that reside below the ocean's surface (thank you Discovery Channel). So when I made these cookies, I had to rely on lots of photographs to imagine what a real tropical beach would be like, and ignore the reality of the sand grains that never seem to wash away no matter how many times I shampoo.

Although I made this cookie design on a plaque shape, it would work well on many different shapes, like a circle, oval, or rectangle to name a few! OOh- imagine this on a thought bubble shaped cookie!!   ​

What you'll need:
* baked cookie shape using your favorite roll-out recipe
* sand-colored royal icing in 20-second consistency
* aqua blue royal icing in 20-second consistency
* darker blue royal icing in 20-second and thicker consistencies
* white royal icing, in piping consistency and very thinned flood consistency
* dark brown royal icing, in piping consistency
* medium and dark green royal icing in piping consistency

1. Create the sand, sea, and sky portions on your cookie. Pipe the sand, then immediately pipe the sea, followed immediately by the sky.  This technique is called wet-next to-wet (as opposed to wet ON wet). It allows the icing to dry flat, no matter how many colors. Allow to dry thoroughly.  
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3. Use the thinned white royal icing to create some ocean surf. You can use a paintbrush, offset spatula, or sponge to apply the icing.  You want to cover a little of the sand area as well as the waves from Step 2. 
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5. Use the sand colored royal icing to make an island beach! Pipe on some palm tree trunks.  Allow to dry for a few minutes.

2. Use the darker blue color in the thicker consistency to smear on the waves. I used an offset spatula to create this look. You want the sea and sand to show through, so don't layer on the darker blue too thick!


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4. Use the thicker white royal icing to pipe a border to the surf. Make it a jagged line, not straight!

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6. Add some additional surf foam with the thicker white icing. With the medium green icing, add some tree branches and shrubs. Allow to dry.

7.  Use the darker green to add more leaves and shrubs. You're all done!

I love how you can see the sand beneath the surf! I airbrushed a tiny bit of pearl sheen to add just a touch of extra sparkle. 

These cookies would be a great addition to any luau or beach-themed cookie collection!

See how I made a similar hula-girl cookie design here.