- 1). Contrast your colors by outlining with a dark color and filling with a lighter color.
- 2). Use a color that contrasts with the base color to make dots, straight lines, curved lines or crossed lines.
- 3). Fill in details with shaped cookies. Draw in eyes, smiles, clothing, butterfly markings and any other distinctive aspects of the shape you are decorating.
- 4). Form a smaller pattern with royal icing using the lines of the original piping as a guide. Do this several times and fill with different colors of your choice. If you do this with different hues of the same color, you will create a 3-D effect.
- 5). Create a colorful gift box with square or rectangular cookies by choosing different icing colors for the ribbon and different patterns for the paper.
- 6). Go for a monochromatic scheme. Ice the cookie and add decorations of the same color. This type of decoration is very elegant when a pure white, ivory or pastel is used.
- 7). Draw circles or lines in the fluid interior icing with a contrasting color of fluid icing and then draw a toothpick through the lines to create a spider-web or vine effect. A single dot of fluid color will resemble a heart with this technique.
- 8). Create small flowers, stars, hearts or other small shapes with royal icing using the pastry tips you prefer, and allow them to dry. Arrange them on the cookies while the fluid background is still damp, or add them later with a dot of royal icing.
- 9). Make a pretty filigree pattern. Filigree is a lacy outline pattern that contrasts with the background, which shows through the openings in the geometric shapes, scroll work and curlicues.
- 10
Create cookies for holidays or special occasions. Outline and dress up fancy shamrocks for St. Patrick's Day, trees and stockings for Christmas, flowers and Easter eggs for spring, and sports balls for the proper season. Make back-to-school cookies decorated like books or backpacks and add ABCs and numbers. Decorate birthday cookies with a favorite theme and add the birthday person's name on a special larger cookie. - 11
Bake the scraps left over after cutting out shaped cookies and decorate them free-style. They will look as if they were planned that way and none of the dough will be wasted.
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