These Bride of Frankenstein cookies are the first of a series of the new classic monster tutorials.

When designing these new classic monster cookies, I tried to keep the overall design approachable. However, with any cookie that involves decorating a face, if an icing detail is off in the slightest, the end result might look a little wonky.

To prevent any of this wonkiness, for these Bride of Frankenstein cookies and the rest of the classic monsters I really recommend the use of a projector. A projector will help guide you on the placement of all the face details in a consistent manner. It will also save you a lot of heartache and headache (and maybe some tears) during the decorating process.

That being said, here’s how I approached making these Bride of Frankenstein cookies.

Bride of Frankenstein Cookie Cutter

Recently added to the shop is this new Bride of Frankenstein cookie cutter design.

This Bride cookie cutter is one part of a 4-piece set. The other three monsters of this set is Frankenstein, Mummy, and Wolfman. Each of these monster designs can be purchased individually, as well.

Template for the Bride of Frankenstein Cookies

To help with the decorating process, I made a PDF template of all the designs of my 2019 Halloween cookie collection, including this Bride of Frankenstein cookie design.

Click the link below for the downloadable template PDF file.

• 2019 Halloween Cookie Templates

This file is 4 pages long and is rather large in data size. Just a warning, it might take a moment before the file opens in your browser.

If you have a Kopykake or Pico projector, just print it out (or pull it up on your mobile device) and you are good to go. For those without a projector, follow the suggested steps below by tracing the design onto the cookie with an edible food marker.

The Decorating Process

For these Bride of Frankenstein cookies, you will need the following suggested colors:

• Light Purple medium royal icing. (I mixed just a touch of both Rainbow Dust Purple and Americolor Super Black.)

• Darker Purple piping icing. (I mixed in more color of Rainbow Dust Purple and Americolor Super Black.)

• Black piping and flood icing. (I used Americolor Super Black.)

• White medium icing. (I used Americolor Bright White.)

1. For those without a projector, begin by making guidelines where the white hair streaks and the face should be, as shown. I made a template with template plastic from the PDF file above and used a food marker to draw the guidelines on the cookie.

   
   

2. Start by outlining and filling in the face area with light purple icing. Let that icing set, then carefully add the black hair sections. Allow this icing to crust over for about 20 minutes.

   
   

3. Once the face layer had time to dry, fill in the white hair streak areas and add the light purple ears. Also, add the eyes and the bottom dark purple lip. For the eyes, I like to pipe the larger white area first then quickly add the black pupils. Allow this icing to set for about 20 minutes.

   Lastly, add the final details like the eyebrows, the eyelashes on top of the eyes, the nose, and the two upper lips.

   
   

Video Tutorial

The steps above are summarized in the time-lapsed video below.

Here’s the Bride of Frankenstein cookie all finished.

For gift box options for these classic monster cookies, there’s quite a few.

For a duo pair (shown with Frank and the Bride in the bottom box), I like I used this 5 3/8″ x 7 1/2” box from Clearbags.com.

For an average-sized single cookie favor (shown with the Mummy), these 4″x4″ square boxes will do the trick.

For a cookie that’s taller than normal (shown with the Wolfman), I love these rectangular 3 3/4″ x 5 3/8″ boxes, again from Clearbags.com.

(On the ClearBags website, use the discount code “SEMISWEET10” to get 10% off your total purchase!)

Stick around for more classic monster cookie tutorials in the coming week!

The post How to Make Bride of Frankenstein Cookies appeared first on Semi Sweet Designs.

I’m really excited to show you how to make these trick-or-treating ghost cookies today!

I like ghost cookies in general, mostly because they don’t require a lot of colored icing. (White ghosts, white icing, check!) But also, these trick-or-treating ghost cookies pack a ton of personality without a ton of effort. I think the addition of sprinkles helps add that special something to these smiling ghosts, as well.

Here’s a quick tutorial on how you can recreate these trick-or-treating ghost cookies for the upcoming Halloween season.

Trick or Treating Ghost Cookie Cutter

Part of this year’s Halloween Cookie Cutter Collection is this new trick-or-treating ghost design.

I planned the size of it to be a single cookie favor for the holiday. The LARGE trick-or-treating ghost cookies shown will fit in these 4″x4″ gift boxes.

Template for the Trick-or-Treating Ghost Cookies

To help with the decorating process, I made a PDF template of all the designs of my 2019 Halloween cookie collection, including this Trick-or-Treating Ghost cookie design.

Click the link below for the downloadable template PDF file.

• 2019 Halloween Cookie Templates

This file is four pages long and is rather large in data size. Just a warning, it might take a moment before the file opens in your browser.

The Decorating Process

For these ghost cookies, you will need the following suggested colors:

• Black piping and flood royal icing. (I used Americolor Super Black.)

• White medium icing. (I used Americolor Bright White.)

• Light Blue piping icing. (I used Americolor Wedgewood.)

• Orange medium icing. (I used Americolor Orange.)

• Pink medium icing. (I used a tiny amount of Americolor Tulip Red.)

1. For those without a projector, begin by making guidelines for the face and ghost edges, as shown. I made a template with template plastic from the PDF file above and used a food marker to draw the guidelines on the cookie.

   
   

2. Start by first brushing on a thin layer of black icing for the eyes and mouth on the ghost and the pumpkin pail. Be sure to use a paintbrush that you only use for food. Allow this icing to set.

   Then, outline around the eyes and mouth and fill in the ghost body area with white icing. Let this icing set for about 20 minutes.

   
   

3. Next add a tongue accent with pink icing, as shown. Also, outline and fill in the pumpkin pail with orange icing. Let this icing set again for a few minutes.

   Then, outline the ghost’s smile with black piping icing. Also add the black handle to the pail. Lastly, outline the ghost’s arms and body with light blue piping icing. (I used a #1.5 PME Tip.)

   
   

4. The finishing touch is to add the sprinkles detail to the pumpkin pail. I used this Wilton Rainbow Star Medley but any kind of sprinkles will work.

   With orange icing, pipe a little icing between the black handles then pour the sprinkles over it. Shake off the excess and you’re done!

   
   

Video Tutorial

The steps above are summarized in this time-lapsed video I put together below.

Aren’t these trick-or-treating ghost cookies the cutest?!

They are my favorite Halloween cookie design from this season’s collection. And I’m sure anyone that receives one of these cookies will have the same matching expression as these ghosts.

I hope everyone has fun planning their upcoming Halloween celebrations!

The post How to Make Trick-or-Treating Ghost Cookies appeared first on Semi Sweet Designs.

I’ve always been a fan of making zombie cookies. Zombies were one of my earliest cookies I ever made, and I’ve been making different zombie cookie versions with each passing year. This year was no different.

Although I’m a zombie fan, I’m not big with gore. So I wanted these zombie cookies to reflect that. I came up with this zombie cookie set that wasn’t too frightening, yet still represented the zombie essence people know and love. (You know, the “I’m undead and I will eat your flesh if you don’t run” kind of essence.)

Here’s a quick tutorial on how to make these zombie cookies.

Zombie Cookie Cutter Set

To make these zombie cookies, I used this zombie cookie cutter set, which was just posted to the shop.

The set consists of a zombie head and a zombie hand cutter, which can also be purchased individually.

The zombie cookies you see in the example images of this post is of the LARGE size. I’ll be decorating just the head for this tutorial, but the hands follow similar decorating steps.

Template for the Zombie Cookies

To help with the decorating process, I made a PDF template of all the designs of my 2019 Halloween cookie collection, including this zombie head cookie design.

Click the link below for the downloadable template PDF file.

• 2019 Halloween Cookie Templates

This file is four pages long and is rather large in data size. Just a warning, it might take a moment before the file opens in your browser.

The Decorating Process

For these zombie cookies, you will need the following suggested colors:

• Zombie Skin Green royal icing. (I mixed Americolor Wedgewood with Forest Green and a tiny touch of Super Black.)

• Darker Zombie Skin Green icing. (I mixed a higher concentration of color gel of the zombie skin green icing above.)

• Light Zombie Green icing. (I mixed a dollop the zombie skin green icing above with fresh white royal icing.)

• Brain Pink icing. (I used a tiny touch of Americolor Tulip Red.)

• Teeth Tan icing. (I used Americolor Ivory.)

• Black Mouth icing. (I used Super Black.)

1. For those without a projector, begin by making guidelines for the brain, ears, and mouth sections, as shown. I made a template with template plastic from the PDF file above and used a food marker to draw the guidelines on the cookie.

   
   

2. Start by first brushing on a thin layer of black icing for the mouth. Be sure to use a paintbrush that you only use for food. Allow this icing to set.

   Then outline and fill the surrounding face area with zombie green icing. Quickly add the skin spot accents with the darker green icing. Shake the cookie to smooth the surface.

   
   

3. Next, add the brain detail. First, with a #2 tip, outline the brain section as shown with pink icing. Let this icing set for about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, fill in the ear areas.

   Then, carefully fill in the section with pink medium icing, trying to not get icing over the outlines.

   
   

4. After the base had time to set, add the eyes with the light green icing and the three teeth with tan icing.

   Finally, add the facial outlines with the darker green icing.

   
   

Video Tutorial

The steps above are summarized in this time-lapsed video I put together.

Here are the finished zombie head cookies along with its two hand cookies.

The left hand was made with the same zombie hand cookie cutter as the right hand. I just flipped the cookie dough cutout over before baking.

The zombie cookies shown are the LARGE size option for the set. They make a great gift if placed in this 12″x5″ BRP cookie box.

This is just the first of many new Halloween cookie tutorials I’ll have available on the blog soon. Please stick around for more fun and spooky cookie ideas over the coming weeks.

The post How to Make Zombie Cookies appeared first on Semi Sweet Designs.

Did you catch the sneak peek and fun giveaway of the new Halloween cookie cutters on my Instagram stories last week?

Thank you to all of you that participated and showed your excitement for the new collection. I’m just as excited to let you know all the new designs are now available in my shop!

Here’s a quick overview of the new Halloween cookie cutter designs added this season.

Templates for the New Halloween Cookie Cutters

Each of these new Halloween cookie designs has a template file you can download to help guide you through the decorating process.

Click the link below for the downloadable template PDF file.

• 2019 Halloween Cookie Templates

This file is four pages long and is rather large in data size. Just a warning, it might take a moment before the file opens in your browser.

Decorated Halloween Cookies

Zombie Cookie Set

First up in the collection is this Zombie Cookie Set. The set consists of a zombie head and a zombie hand cutter, which can also be purchased individually.

When assembled as a 3-piece cookie set, it fits nicely in this long 12″ x 5″ box from BRP Box shop.

Trick-or-Treating Ghost

This trick-or-treat ghost cookie cutter would put a smile on anyone’s face during the Halloween season.

The design is of a simplified ghost holding a pumpkin pail of Halloween candy. It’s probably my favorite design out of the new collection.

Witch-themed Mini Cookie Set

If you’ve been following me recently, you’ll notice my new appreciation for mini cookies. I love to include some form of mini for all the upcoming holidays. For this Halloween season, I came up with a mini cookie set that is witch-themed.

This witch mini set has 4 designs that can also be purchased individually: a witch hat, a broomstick with background, a black cat, and a chubby cauldron.

Classic Monsters Cookie Set

I probably saved the best for last.

During the summer, when I asked for suggestions for new Halloween cookie cutter ideas for the upcoming season, I got SO many requests for the classic, Hollywood monsters of cinema. I tried my best to design something cute and approachable in cookie form.

This Classic Monster set includes 4 head designs: the Bride of Frankenstein, Frankenstein, the Mummy, and Wolfman.

These monster cookie cutters can be purchased as a set or individually.

Well that’s sums up the Halloween cookie cutters and designs for this year! If time permits, I hope to fit in a few general fall related designs before the winter holiday rush.

Stay tuned, because over the next few weeks, I’ll be readying decorating tutorials for a few of these designs.

I hope everyone is enjoying the rest of their summer and looking forward to a spooktacular autumn!

The post 2019 Halloween Cookie Cutters and Designs appeared first on Semi Sweet Designs.

If I could have it my way, Christmas would be more than just a winter holiday.

Festive decorations, good tidings of joy, and even Christmas TV specials year-round are things I could live by. I’m not ashamed to admit I’m often seen (but not heard) jamming to Christmas classics in my car during the hottest of summers. It just brightens my mood.

So when I was asked to join a cookie collaboration with a “Christmas in July” theme, of course I said yes!

Throughout the day today, a group of talented cookiers will be sharing their Christmas-related cookies or new products, which I’ll link to at the bottom of this post. Be sure to check them out because they’re certain to lift up the Grinch-iest of hearts. :)

For my contribution, I decided on a design I’ve wanted to do for a while– a Christmas llama cookie!

Christmas Llama Cookie Cutter

Recently added to the shop are two new cookie cutters: a Christmas llama cookie cutter and a new holly plaque to accompany it. (Get it? Like “Holly Llama”?)

Template for the Christmas Llama Cookies

To help with the decorating process, I made a PDF template for this Christmas Llama cookie design.

Click the link below for the downloadable template PDF file.

• Christmas Llama Cookie Template

If you have a Kopykake or Pico projector, just print it out (or pull it up on your mobile device) and you are good to go. For those without a projector, follow the suggested steps below by tracing the design onto the cookie with an edible food marker.

The Decorating Process

For these Christmas llama cookies, you will need the following suggested colors:

• Pink flood royal icing (I used just a touch of Americolor Tulip Red.)

• Red royal icing (I used Americolor Tulip Red.)

• Green royal icing (I mixed Two parts Americolor Mint and One part Americolor Egg Yellow.)

• Darker Green piping royal icing (I mixed Americolor Forest Green to the green icing above.)

Tan royal icing (I mixed equal parts Americolor Copper and Americolor Ivory.)

• Black piping icing (I used Americolor Super Black.)

• White icing (I used Americolor Bright White.)

1. For those without a projector, mark the guidelines where the body and bow tie sections should be, as shown. I made 2 templates with template plastic from the PDF file above and used a food marker to draw the guidelines on the cookie.

   
   

2. Begin by painting on a thin icing layer of pink for the ears, as shown. Also, fill in the sides of the bow tie with red icing.

   Once the pink icing had time to set, fill in the head and ear section with white icing. Then add the center knot of the bow tie.

   
   

3. Next, move on to filling in the side wreath sections with green icing.

   Then begin added some of the face details like the hair tuft and the snout. Let this icing set for about 1 hour.

   
   

4. Time to add the final details. Add the remaining face details, like the eyes, the nose, and the lower lip. Then, with the darker green icing, outline the wreath for dimension.

   Lastly, add the bow tie outlines and red berries, then add the fur outlines around the llama.

   
   

Video Tutorial

The steps above are summarized in this time-lapsed video I put together.

Here’s the finished Christmas llama cookies along side a punny message plaque, just to add some laughs to that Christmas cheer.

As for gift options, these two cookies make a great pair. I used this 5 3/8″ x 7 1/2” box from Clearbags.com.

(Don’t forget! On the ClearBags website, use the discount code “SEMISWEET10” to get 10% off your total purchase!)

Christmas is such a favorite time of year for me and I’m really excited to share with you more ideas later this year.

If you enjoyed these Christmas llama cookies and want to see more holiday treats, please be sure to visit my cookie friends listed below.

Georganne – LilaLoa – Tropical Christmas

Callye – Sweet Sugarbelle

Kim – The Partiologist – Jumbo Snowflake

Meaghan – The Decorated Cookie – Easy Buttercream Christmas Cookies

Bridget – Bake at 350 – Santa and Snowman Ice Cream Cones

Lisa – The Bearfoot Baker

Hani – Haniela’s – Watermelon Snowmen

Jeanette – Blyss Cookies – Christmas Angel Wings

Marlyn – Montreal Confections – Santa and His Bag

Jill – Jill FCS – Santa on Vacation

Samantha – Mrs. P’s Biscuit Trove – Bell-y Elf

Aime – The Painted Pastry – Happy Santa

Stephanie – The Hungry Hippopotamus – Intricate Lace Christmas Tree

Bobbi – Bobbi’s Cookies and Cutters – Holly Leaf Cutters

Ashleigh – Bee In Our Bonnet – Gingerbread Cookie Accordion Village

Jared – Sugar.Baked – Summer Gingerbread Men

Sue – Munchkin Munchies – GNOME For The Holidays

Libby – Libby’s Swanky Sweets – Mini Christmas

The post How to Make Christmas Llama Cookies appeared first on Semi Sweet Designs.

When it comes to coffee, I usually need 3 cups before noon just to get through the rest of the day. (And that’s just me on the weekends, chilling on the couch, waiting for the laundry to finish.)

As for teachers, I don’t know how they do it. I imagine it’s with a lot more coffee and pure willpower to fuel them through those hectic school days.

That’s why I thought these coffee to-go cup cookies seemed appropriate for a back-to-school gift. I bet getting these cookies, with maybe a Starbucks gift car, would “perk” up any teacher’s mood!

Coffee To-Go Cup Cookie Cutter

Recently added to the shop is this new coffee to-go cup cookie cutter design.

This cookie cutter comes in a number of different sizes. However, for this tutorial and in all the example images, I’ll be decorating the LARGE-sized cookie.

Template for the Coffee To-Go Cup Cookies

To help with the decorating process, I made a PDF template of all the designs of my 2019 Back-to-School cookie collection, including this coffee to-go cup cookie design.

Click the link below for the downloadable template PDF file.

• 2019 Back-to-School Cookie Templates

This file is 2 pages long and is rather large in data size. Just a warning, it might take a moment before the file opens in your browser.

If you have a Kopykake or Pico projector, just print it out (or pull it up on your mobile device) and you are good to go. For those without a projector, follow the suggested steps below by tracing the design onto the cookie with an edible food marker.

The Decorating Process

For these coffee cup cookies, you will need the following suggested colors:

• White piping and flood royal icing. (I used Americolor Bright White.)

• Cardboard Brown piping and flood icing. (I mixed Americolor Taupe with a touch of Americolor Warm Brown.)

• Green Flood icing. (I used Americolor Mint.)

• Black piping icing (I used Americolor Super Black.)

• Pink icing. (I used just a touch of Americolor Tulip Red.)

1. For those without a projector, begin by making guidelines for each of the cup sections, as shown. I made a template with template plastic from the PDF file above and used a food marker to draw the guidelines on the cookie.

   Then brush on a thin layer of black icing for the mouth. Be sure to use a paintbrush that you only use for food.

   
   

2. Begin by filling in alternating sections, as shown. I added the green icing detail, then quickly added the surrounding white icing. Shake the cookie to create a smooth surface. Let this icing set for 15 minutes.

   Once the icing had time to set, fill the remaining sections. I outlined a bean-shaped mouth before filling in the brown icing section. Let this icing dry for about an hour.

   
   

3. Next, add the frames of the eyeglasses. I used my projector to get it just right on the cookie.

   Lastly, add the eye details, tongue, and cup outlines.

   
   

Video Tutorial

The steps above are summarized in this time-lapsed video I put together.

Here are the finished cookies along side a plaque cookie (I used this icon plaque cookie cutter.) to get the message across.

For gift set ideas, these two cookies would fit nicely as a boxed set. Just a reminder, this is the LARGE-sized coffee cup cookie. The box shown below is a 5 3/8″ x 7 1/2” box from Clearbags.com.

(On the ClearBags website, use the discount code “SEMISWEET10” to get 10% off your total purchase!)

The coffee cup cookies also work great as a single cookie option as well. I wrote “teacher fuel” directly on the cup instead of a nerdy face, just to show a different way of decorating. The single boxes are these 4″ square boxes from Clearbags.com.

To help complete the look, we also added fun coffee-themed circle tags and bag toppers to the shop.

Hopefully, these coffee to-go cup cookies will lift your kid’s teacher’s spirits as the new school year begins. If coffee isn’t their thing, here are more back-to-school ideas you might consider.

The post How to Make Coffee To-Go Cup Cookies appeared first on Semi Sweet Designs.

Besides tacos, nacho cookies have to be one of my top favorite puns. That’s why I figured it would be the perfect design as teacher gifts for back-to-school.

In addition to being a cute and funny play on words, these nacho cookies are pretty simple to make. They just require just a few decorating steps to complete. Below, I’ll show you how.

Nacho Cookie Cutter

Recently added to the shop is this new nacho cookie cutter design.

This cookie cutter comes in a number of different sizes. However, for this tutorial, I’ll be decorating the LARGE-sized cookie.

Template for the Nacho Cookies

To help with the decorating process, I made a PDF template of all the designs of my 2019 Back-to-School cookie collection, including this nacho cookie design.

Click the link below for the downloadable template PDF file.

• 2019 Back-to-School Cookie Templates

This file is 2 pages long and is rather large in data size. Just a warning, it might take a moment before the file opens in your browser.

If you have a Kopykake or Pico projector, just print it out (or pull it up on your mobile device) and you are good to go. For those without a projector, follow the suggested steps below by tracing the design onto the cookie with an edible food marker.

The Decorating Process

For these nacho cookies, you will need the following suggested colors:

• Tortilla Chip Yellow royal icing. (I mixed Americolor Gold and Egg Yellow, with a touch of Orange.)

• Darker Yellow flood icing. (I mixed a little Americolor Warm Brown to the yellow above.)

• Lighter Yellow flood icing. (I mixed a little spoonful of the tortilla chip yellow icing above with a cup of white icing.)

• Nacho Cheese Yellow flood icing. (I mixed Americolor Egg Yellow with a touch of Orange.)

• Jalapeño Dark Green icing. (I used Americolor Mint.)

• Lighter Green icing. (I mixed a little spoonful of the dark green icing above with a cup of white icing.)

• Black piping icing (I used Americolor Super Black.)

1. Begin by filling the yellow tortilla chip area. Immediately add the freckle dot details with the darker and lighter yellow icing. Shake the cookie smooth. Let this icing set for 10 minutes, then fill in the nacho cheese area.

   Allow for this base icing to dry for about an hour.

   
   

2. Once the base layer had time to dry, add the black eyes and one side of the mustache. Also, with the darker green icing, add the outer ring of the jalapeño.

   Allow that icing to set, then add the other side of the mustache, the eyebrows, and inner details of the jalapeño, as shown.

   
   

Video Tutorial

The steps above are demonstrated in the time-lapsed video below.

Here’s the finished nacho cookies along side a message plaque cookie. (I used this icon plaque cookie cutter.)

For the upcoming season, I wrote “Nacho Average Teacher,” but this could easily be changed to “Mom”, “Dad”, or even “Valentine” for other occasions around the year.

For a gift set idea, these two cookies would fit nicely as a boxed set. Just a reminder, this is the LARGE nacho cookie size. The box shown is a 5 3/8″ x 7 1/2” box from Clearbags.com.

(On the ClearBags website, use the discount code “SEMISWEET10” to get 10% off your total purchase!)

To complete the presentation, we’re now offering coordinating gift tags for all the new back-to-school designs. You can find the tag above as well as other tag options in the shop.

This “Nacho Average Teacher” printable is available as a bag topper or as a circle tag. The PDF file also includes both a male and female version design to customize to each student’s teacher.

The post How to Make Nacho Cookies appeared first on Semi Sweet Designs.

July is usually a time for enjoying the lazy days of summer– eating outdoors, swimming at the lake, watching summer movie blockbusters, etc.

But around here, we’re readying the shop for the busy fall holiday season. No complaints from us though! We are excited to show you what we have planned, starting with these fun back-to-school designs and puns.

Back-to-School Cookie Cutters

Just added to the shop are ten new back-to-school cookie cutters!

For this season’s collection of back-to-school cookie cutters, I mostly focused on minis with two options for puns that can be used year-round. Each of these new designs are available in various sizes.

Templates for New Back-to-School Cookie Designs

Each of these new Back-to-School cookie designs has a template file you can download to help guide you through the decorating process.

Click the link below for the downloadable template PDF file.

• 2019 Back-to-School Cookie Templates

Decorated Back-to-School Cookies

School Mini Sets

I’ve been on such a mini cookie kick lately. There’s something about their small size that amps up the adorable factor. Because I couldn’t control myself, I decide on doing two different design sets of minis instead of just one.

(These cookies are also available in larger, regular sizes as well.)

First up is this School Class mini set. The idea for this set was to represent different school class subjects. Included in this bunch is a school globe, an apple on a book, a paint palette, and a science beaker.

Next up is this Student Pack mini set. The theme I went with for this one was a kid’s first day gear. The designs include a backpack, an alarm clock, a lunch bag, and a paper airplane.

The size of these minis are as close to 2″x 2″ in shape that the design allows. I used 3″x11″ heal-sealed sleeve bags from Papermart. I could fit 4 cookies to a bag.

For the eye details, I love these black sugar pearls available in my shop. They are the perfect size for mini cookie eyes and the black color doesn’t bleed into the wet icing.

Nacho Cookies

Heading back to school isn’t complete without a few cookie puns for the occasion. And these are “nacho” average cookies!

These nacho cookies are a tortilla chip design dripping with nacho cheese and topped with a jalapeño accent. I paired it with the icon plaque in our shop with the phrase “Nacho Average Teacher”.

Besides being a teacher gift, this cookie cutter would also be great year-round for those “nacho average” moms, dads, valentines, etc.

Coffee To-Go Cup Cookies

A coffee to-go cup cookie isn’t a new idea, but I always wanted to do a version for the shop. I thought back-to-school would be a perfect time to debut one. Teachers need coffee, right?

I paired it with the same icon plaque and thought “Teacher Fuel” was appropriate.

In the next few days, I will be readying decorating tutorials for a few of these designs. I’m also working on coordinating printable tags to go with these designs, as well.

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer and has a safe Independence Day!

The post 2019 Back-to-School Cookie Cutters and Designs appeared first on Semi Sweet Designs.

If there’s an opportunity for me to play with layers and dimension, I usually take it. Case in point, this wavy flag cookie set.

Simple and quick to decorate, this patriotic gift set is also quite easy put together. The slightly overlapping cookies give the illusion of a flag waving in the wind. I’ll go over a few suggested packaging ideas at the end of this post, but first here’s a quick tutorial of how I decorated this wavy flag cookie set for the 4th of July.

Bunting Platter Cookie Cutters

In the shop, you can find this wavy flag cookie cutter.

When assembled as an overlapping, 3-piece set, the cookies fit nicely in this 7 3/8″ x 5 1/2” box from Paper Mart.

Template for the Wavy Flag Cookie Set

All of the new 4th of July cookie designs has a template file you can download to help guide you through the decorating process.

Click the link below for the downloadable template PDF file.

• 2019 4th of July Cookie Templates

The Decorating Process

To decorate this wavy flag cookie set, you will need the following suggested colors:

• Navy Blue medium icing (I used Rainbow Dust Pro-Gel Navy.)

• Red medium icing (I used Americolor Tulip Red.)

• White medium icing (I used Americolor Bright White.)

1. For those without a projector, begin by making guidelines of each of the colored sections, as shown. I made a template with template plastic from the PDF file above and used a food marker to draw the guidelines on the cookie.

   
   

2. For the first cookie piece, fill the top and bottom sections with navy and red icing, respectively. Let the icing dry for an hour.

   Once dry, etch an outline of a star with a scribe tool or toothpick. Then fill the star and remaining section with white icing.

   
   

3. Repeat the steps with the other two cookie pieces. Begin by filling in the red, then white stripe sections.

   Be sure one of the cookies is flipped upside-down before flooding.

   
   

4. Once dry, assemble the cookies as shown below. Place the middle cookie first, then slightly overlap the left and right cookies over the middle one.

   
   

For packaging, I always like to put my cookies in heat-sealed bags before boxing them up on paper shred. I know I don’t show them bagged in pictures. I would, but I can’t seem to avoid the glare of the clear bags when I shoot the photos.

In this particular case, I would heat-seal each of the 3 cookie pieces individually. Then I would package the cookies as shown, but use double-sided tape to keep the pieces orientated correct in the box.

The gift box I used for this wavy flag cookie set was this 7 3/8″ x 5 1/2” box from Paper Mart.

The post How to Make a Wavy Flag Cookie Set appeared first on Semi Sweet Designs.

Seeing all the patriotic bunting banners on display for Memorial Day gave me a thought for the 4th of July. “Could I turn a bunting banner into a cookie?”

With all those pleats and folds, I wasn’t sure. I needed a way to recreate the impression of folded fabric with royal icing, while keeping it relatively easy to execute.

But I think I did it.

Here’s a fun, patriotic, and relatively easy bunting cookie platter design perfect for your next 4th of July get-together.

Bunting Platter Cookie Cutters

In the shop, you can find this bunting platter cookie cutter set.

This bunting platter cookie cutter set includes two separate pieces: a patriotic bunting cutter and a center circle cookie cutter. You can purchase both cookie cutters together, or a single piece without the circle cutter.

When arranged as a large repeated ring, as shown in the example picture, the platter measures 12 inches in diameter.

Template for the 4th of July Bunting Cookie Platter

All of the new 4th of July cookie designs has a template file you can download to help guide you through the decorating process.

Click the link below for the downloadable template PDF file.

• 2019 4th of July Cookie Templates

The Decorating Process

To decorate this 4th of July Bunting Cookie Platter, you will need the following suggested colors:

• Navy Blue medium icing (I used Rainbow Dust Pro-Gel Navy.)

• Red medium icing (I used Americolor Tulip Red.)

• White medium icing (I used Americolor Bright White.)

1. For those without a projector, begin by making guidelines of each of the colored sections, as shown. I made a template with template plastic from the PDF file above and used a food marker to draw the guidelines on the cookie.

   
   

2. Begin by filling in alternating sections on the left side of the cookie, as shown.

   The key is to only add a thin layer of royal icing to cover it smoothly. Use your piping tip to push the icing around. Let this icing set (about 15 minutes).

   
   

3. Next, fill in the right side, alternating sections. However, this time add more icing than you did for the left side. Be sure your icing is around 15-seconds so it can remain in place but also look “puffy” as it dries.

   
   

4. After the base layer of icing had time to dry, it’s time to add the star detail.

   I made a star template and used a scribe tool to etch a star outline on the dried blue icing. Then I filled the star outline with white icing.

   
   

5. Lastly, for a focal centerpiece, I used this 4th of July script cookie design.

   I flooded the base layer in white icing, then used my pico projector to help hand pipe the script design.

   
   

Video Tutorial

The steps above are summarized in this time-lapsed video I put together.

The finished platter can be displayed in a few ways. One way is of a fully round platter with 12 outer pleated pieces around a center circle, as shown below.

Another way is to just do half of the design as you would normally see on display on buildings. For the center cookie, I just cut the middle circle in half before baking.

No matter how you decide to display it, it is sure to bring a smile to everyone’s face at your next 4th of July event.

The post How to Make a 4th of July Bunting Cookie Platter appeared first on Semi Sweet Designs.

As the school year ends and the days get longer and hotter, nothing says “summer” like the approach of the 4th of July.

I’m really excited to debut the newest collection of 4th of July cookie cutters and designs just added to the shop. There’s a mix of everything: minis, small cookie sets, and platters!

Here’s a brief overview of the new 4th of July cookie cutters now available.

4th of July Cookie Cutters

Added to the shop are 4 new cookie cutter options!

I wanted to provide options for everyone, so I created designs that work well as a set or as singles. Also, I tend to think the 4th of July holiday as a “food platter” event, so I added a new platter design, as well.

Templates for New 4th of July Cookie Cutters

Each of these new 4th of July cookie designs has a template file you can download to help guide you through the decorating process.

Click the link below for the downloadable template PDF file.

• 2019 4th of July Cookie Templates

Decorated 4th of July Cookies

4th of July Mini Set

This 4th of July mini set includes cookie cutters of a bald eagle, a top hat, a USA map, and a firecracker.

The size of these minis are as close to 2″x 2″ in shape that the design allows. This hopefully results in a chubbier, larger mini than I used to have in the past.

4th of July Script Plaque

This cookie cutter is a plaque outline of the words “4th of July”. It’s great as a center piece on platters, as shown below, or as a single cookie favor.

Bunting Cookie Platter

The 4th is great occasion for bringing a platter, and here’s a cookie-fied version of the tradition bunting decor.

You can create a full round platter with this bunting design (as shown above), or cut it in half as you would typically see it displayed (shown below).

Wavy Flag Cookie Set

I thought this last design was kinda neat.

This Wavy Flag cookie cutter, when assembled as an overlapping, 3-piece set, gives the illusion and dimension that it’s a waving flag in the wind.

I hope everyone has a great summer. And I hope you’ll stick around for the tutorials coming up for some of these designs!

The post New 4th of July Cookie Cutters and Designs appeared first on Semi Sweet Designs.

A random fun fact about me (or rather, a confession): I’m horrible at grilling.

I’ve watched YouTube tutorials and tried to follow TV cooking shows, but everything I attempt to cook on a grill is either disappointingly undercooked or transforms into a well-done, dry brick. On the other hand, I’m pretty good at making camp fires. Give me some wood and I can have a roaring fire for roasting marshmallows in no time! I’ll just leave the grill duties to someone else.

While real-life grilling has always been a challenge, these BBQ Grill cookies never failed me. They are fairly easy and here’s how I made them.

BBQ Grill & Father’s Day Cookie Cutters

Added to the shop this week are a few new designs for Father’s Day:

In the shop, you’ll find a BBQ Grill, as well as a Dapper Dad cookie set.

For this tutorial, I’ll be focusing on decorating the BBQ Grill cookie design.

Templates for the BBQ Grill Cookies

Each of these new Father’s Day cookie designs has a template file you can download to help guide you through the decorating process.

Click the link below for the downloadable template PDF file.

• Father’s Day Cookie Templates

The Decorating Process

For these BBQ grill cookies, you will need the following suggested colors:

• Red piping and flood royal icing (I used Americolor Super Red.)

• White medium and flood icing. (I used Americolor Bright White.)

• Black medium icing (I used Americolor Super Black.)

• Gray medium icing (I used a touch of Americolor Super Black.)

• Orange medium icing (I used Americolor Orange.)

• Yellow medium icing (I used Americolor Egg Yellow.)

• Green piping icing (I mixed two parts Americolor Egg Yellow and one part Americolor Mint.)

1. These BBQ Grill cookies have a few bare spots in the design. I like to begin by covering up those spots with a thin layer of white flood icing. Use a food-only paintbrush to cover the cookie, as shown.

   
   

2. For those without a projector, etch guidelines where the grill’s body and lid should be, as shown. I made a template with template plastic from the PDF file above and used a scribe tool to etch the guideline on the cookie.

   
   

3. Next, outline and flood the grill’s body and lid sections. Let this icing set for about 20 minutes.

   
   

4. Now it’s time for the details. Begin by adding the inner yellow flame, the gray drip pan, and the white center wheel details. Let this icing set.

   Then add the gray legs, the orange outer flame details.

   
   

5. Add the black details like the lid handle, the wheel, and the eyes (I did wet-on-wet white accents on the eyes.)

   Lastly, outline the grill red sections with red icing (I used a #1.5 PME tip.) Add some green grass at the bottom. Draw the smile and brows with a black food pen.

   
   

Video Tutorial

The steps above are demonstrated in the time-lapsed video below.

Here are the finished BBQ Grill cookies. They’re perfect for upcoming Father’s Day or any summer cookout get-together.

If you do plan to offer these grills as gift options, here’s a few suggestions along with coordinating gift boxes I like to use.

For a single cookie favor, I like these 4″ x 4″ gift boxes from Clear Bags. It fits the BBQ grill cookie perfectly.

If you like the idea of a 2-cookie gift set, I paired the grill with a “King of the Grill” message on a LARGE accent plaque. As a pair, they fit in these 7 3/8″ x 5 1/2” boxes from Paper Mart.

To complete the presentation, we’re now offering coordinating gift tags. You can find the tag above as well as other tag options in the shop. If you like these tag ideas, we hope to do more tag/cookie combos in the future.

The post How to Make BBQ Grill Cookies appeared first on Semi Sweet Designs.

Don’t you wish there was more time in a day?

I really had all the intentions of releasing these mama bear cookies well before Mother’s Day, but it didn’t quite work out that way.

With Mother’s Day just being two week away, I know it might be a little too late to be purchasing Mother’s Day cutters. However, I figured, “why not” and released them anyways. These new designs could easily be used for next year, or maybe an upcoming woodland-themed baby shower, as well.

Mama Animal Cookie Cutters

Added to the shop this week are three new Mother’s Day related designs:

You’ll find a mama bear and her cub, a mama deer and her fawn, and a floral border swag to use as an accent to any cookie set.

For this tutorial, I’ll be decorating the mama bear cookie design in the LARGE size.

Templates for the Mama Bear Cookies

Each of these new Mother’s Day cookie designs has a template file you can download to help guide you through the decorating process.

Click the link below for the downloadable template PDF file.

• Mother’s Day Animal Cookie Templates

The Decorating Process

For these mama bear cookies, you will need the following suggested colors:

• Brown piping and flood royal icing (I mixed Americolor Electric Green with Chocolate Brown and a drop of Super Black.)

• Light Brown medium icing (I mixed Americolor Gold with Americolor Electric Green and Chocolate Brown.)

• Tan medium icing (I mixed a little of the Brown icing above with Americolor Ivory.)

• Black piping icing (I used Americolor Super Black.)

• Pink piping icing (I used Wilton Rose.)

• Sage Green piping icing (I mixed Americolor Forest Green with Gold.)

1. For those without a projector, mark guidelines where the mama bear’s head should be, as shown. I made a template with template plastic from the PDF file above and used a food marker to draw the guideline on the cookie.

   
   

2. Begin by outlining and filling in the main body section. I also included the area of the cub’s head to give it a layered icing effect later on.

   Let that set, then fill the mama’s head and her tail. Add the cub’s head on top of the brown icing with light brown icing, as shown.

   
   

3. Next, add the cub’s arms and the remaining parts of its body. Also, fill in the other ear of the mama bear. Let this icing set for about 1 hour.

   Once the icing is set, add the snout of the baby bear with tan icing and add the face details on the mama bear.

   Also, add a pink dot for the flower detail.

   
   

4. Time to add the finishing touches. Add the eyes and nose on the cub, the swirl and leaves on the flower, and outline the body on the mama bear.

   Lastly, with a food marker, draw in the mouth and the paws on the cub. (Make sure your icing is totally dry first, though!)

   
   

Video Tutorial

The steps above are demonstrated in the time-lapsed video below.

Here’s the finished mama bear cookies along side an alternative mama deer cookie design.

These two mama animal designs work great in a boxed set or as a single box favor.

In the example photos below, for reference, the mama bear cookies and the mama deer cookies are the LARGE size.

For the single favor square gift box, I used this gift box from Clear Bags (4 1/8″ x 1″ x 4 1/4″).

For the brown box on the left, I used this classic BRP cookie box (7″ x 4 3/8″ x 1.25″).

For the larger white box, I used these boxes from Paper Mart (7 3/8″ x 5 1/2” x 1″).

The floral border cookies used above works great with other designs too.

I repurposed previous banner cookie cutters for simpler set options.

The banners used above are the banner from this fall set and the valentine banner from last Valentine’s Day.

I hope all you moms out there have a wonderful Mother’s Day celebrating your hard work!

The post How to Make Mama Bear Cookies appeared first on Semi Sweet Designs.

Every get-together calls for a fun cookie platter!

With graduation season on our heels, I just released four new graduation cookie designs to help celebrate the occasion. Out of the bunch, this new graduation cookie platter design is sure to please the crowd.

With its ring of alternating grad caps and diploma cookies, this graduation platter makes quite a statement as a whole. Even more, I would say each cookie piece makes a great stand-alone cookie, as well.

Graduation Cookie Cutters

Added to the shop are these four new graduation-themed cookie cutter designs.

I’ll go over all of these new designs at the end of my post. However, for this tutorial, here’s a quick guide on how to decorate the new graduation cookie platter.

Template for the Graduation Cookie Platter

Each of the new graduation cookie designs has a template file you can download to help guide you through the decorating process.

Click the link below for the downloadable template PDF file.

• 2019 Graduation Cookie Templates

This file is 2 pages long and is rather large in data size. It might take a moment before the file opens in your browser.

The Decorating Process

This graduation cookie platter can be easily customized to reflect the school colors of the grad-to-be. For this example, I use typical red, yellow, and black colors. However, feel free to modify the colors to your own liking.

1. For those without a projector, begin by making a guideline of the outline of the grad cap. I made a template with template plastic from the PDF file above and used a food marker to draw the guideline on the cookie.

   Then outline and fill the grad cap area. Give this icing time to crust over. (About 15 minutes.)

   
   

2. Next, fill in the diploma area with white icing, then quickly add a middle dot for the wax seal. Let this icing set up for about an hour.

   Once the base layer of icing had time to set, add a top dot on the cap, the ball of the tassel, and the edge detail of the wax seal, as shown.

   
   

3. Continue by adding the string of the tassel and its lower tail detail. Then outline the cap with piping icing for definition.

   Finish up by drawing the paper scroll edges on the diploma with piping icing, as shown.

   
   

Video Tutorial

The steps above are summarized in this time-lapsed video I put together.

In total, this graduation cookie platter required eight individual grad cap & diploma cookies, and a center message cookie of your choosing.

For the center circle cookie, I added the phrase “Congrats Grad” using my pico projector. (You can see how I piped a similar message in this sunflower platter tutorial.)

I will include the center message graphic in my PDF template file. However, for reference, if you would like to create your own message using the same fonts, I used Magnolia Sky and Ziggurat HTF Black to create this one.

As for the other remaining graduation cookie designs, here’s a preview of the grad year banner, the graduation tassel, and the grad cap diploma with a bow.

One nice feature of the grad year banner design, it was made to be future date proof. It’s design will work with grad years into the new decades to come.

Congrats to all the 2019 grads-to-be!

The post How to Make a Graduation Cookie Platter appeared first on Semi Sweet Designs.

Out of all the designs from the new Spring Collection, I think the snail cookies are my favorite out of the bunch. I say that mostly because they’re the easiest to decorate, and mostly because I’m lazy. :)

Sure, I can appreciate a detailed cookie, but cute & easy tends to win over my heart more often than not.

What makes these snail cookies quick to whip up are two things: they only really require two icing colors (not including the small amount of black for the eyes), and the design overall isn’t too complicated to complete. Let me show you how I decorated these snail cookies below.

Snail Cookie Cutter

The design I’m decorating today is made from this snail cookie cutter.

It’s available in large or regular size options. However, for this tutorial I’ll be decorating the REGULAR sized cookie.

Templates for the Snail Cookies & Other Spring Designs

Each of these new spring cookie designs has a template file you can download to help guide you through the decorating process.

Click the link below for the downloadable template PDF file.

• 2019 Spring Cookie Templates

This file is 2 pages long and is rather large in data size. Just a warning, it might take a moment before the file opens in your browser.

The Decorating Process

For these snail cookies, you will need the following suggested colors:

• Yellow piping and flood royal icing (I mixed equal parts Americolor Egg Yellow and Americolor Gold.)

• Teal piping flood icing (I mixed equal parts Americolor Teal and Americolor Sky Blue with a dollop of yellow icing from above.)

• Black piping icing (I used Americolor Super Black.)

1. For those without a projector, mark the guideline where the shell meets the head/neck, as shown. I made a template with template plastic from the PDF file above and used a food marker to draw the guidelines on the cookie.

   
   

2. Begin by outlining and filling the head section with yellow icing.

   Let that icing crust over, then fill in the shell section with teal icing. Let this layer of icing set up and dry for about an hour.

   
   

3. The last steps involves adding the final line details.

   Outline around the head, antenna, and add a smile with yellow piping icing. Then outline around the edge of the shell, adding a center swirl with teal piping icing. Lastly, add the eyes with black icing.

   
   

Video Tutorial

The steps above are summarized in the time-lapsed video below.

Pretty easy, right?

As previewed in the previous butterfly cookie tutorial, here’s the snail cookies along side the rest of the spring critter gang.

I hope everyone is enjoying their spring so far. I enjoying the change of weather as I’m busy readying more tutorials and designs for the coming days.

The post How to Make Snail Cookies appeared first on Semi Sweet Designs.

After what seemed like a long, dreary winter, it’s finally looking like spring around here.

In my corner of the world, life outdoors is “springing” up everywhere. Flowers are blooming, birds are chirping, mosquitos are biting (in Florida, at least). What better way to celebrate our new lively surroundings than with a whole new batch of spring cookie cutter designs!

Spring Cookie Cutter Designs

Just added to the shop are five new spring-themed designs.

In this new collection you’ll find a butterfly, a bee, a snail, and a daisy with and without leaves.

For this tutorial, I’ll be showing how to decorate the butterfly cookies. I’ll also share a few other tutorials from this collection over the next few days, so stay tuned.

For reference, all the cookies shown in these images are REGULAR sized.

Templates for Butterfly Cookies & Other Spring Designs

Each of these new spring cookie designs has a template file you can download to help guide you through the decorating process.

Click the link below for the downloadable template PDF file.

• 2019 Spring Cookie Templates

This file is 2 pages long and is rather large in data size. Just a warning, it might take a moment before the file opens in your browser.

The Decorating Process

For these butterfly cookies, you will need the following suggested colors:

• Yellow piping and flood royal icing (I mixed equal parts Americolor Egg Yellow and Americolor Gold.)

• Pink piping and flood icing (I used Rainbow Dust Pink with a dollop of yellow icing from above.)

• Purple piping and flood icing (I used Rainbow Dust Purple with a dollop of yellow icing from above.)

• Teal flood icing (I mixed equal parts Americolor Teal and Americolor Sky Blue with a dollop of yellow icing from above.)

• Black piping icing (I used Americolor Super Black.)

1. For those without a projector, mark guidelines where the center body should be, as shown. I made a template with template plastic from the PDF file above and used a food marker to draw the guidelines on the cookie.

   
   

2. Begin by filling in the head and bottom body sections with yellow icing. Let these two sections set, then fill in the center body section.

   
   

3. Next, begin filling in the the upper wing sections. Start by outlining and filling in the whole section with pink icing. Then immediately add the purple and teal accents. Shake the cookie to smooth out the icing surface.

   Once this icing sets, repeat the same process with the lower wing sections.

   
   

4. Lastly, add the face details, the antenna details, and then outline the wings, as shown.

   
   

Video Tutorial

The steps above are summarized in the time-lapsed video below.

Here’s the finished butterfly cookies along side its spring critter friends, the snail and the bee.

To help compliment these spring critters, I also added a new daisy flower cookie cutter design. These daisies come with or without leaves as an option, as well.

That’s it from me.

The calendar days between April and May seem to be jam-packed with special cookie occasions. Mother’s Day, graduations, Teacher’s Appreciation, and Nurse’s Day all fast approaching. I’m going to do my best to fit in a few new designs for as many of these events as I can. So, I hope you stick around for what to come.

Happy Spring, everyone!

The post How to Make Butterfly Cookies appeared first on Semi Sweet Designs.

So you made your batch of royal icing. Now what?

Well, what comes next is the hard part.

Achieving the right royal icing consistencies is the hardest yet the most important part of cookie decorating. It’s also quite difficult to describe in words how royal icing consistency should be. That’s probably the main reason I’ve put off writing about it for so long.

Nailing the correct royal icing consistency isn’t an exact science. It’s more of a “feel” and becoming more familiar with how royal icing behaves under different thicknesses.

That being said, I’m going to do my best to describe how to achieve the right royal icing consistency for the job. You might want to sit down and get comfortable, because this post is going to be a long one.

Making Different Royal Icing Consistencies

Before jumping right into the different types of royal icing consistencies, I want to mention how to first alter them from one another. Decorating cookies is the process of making stiff royal icing, then thinning it down with water, or thickening it up again with powdered sugar, to achieve the right “effect” on the cookie, which I’ll get into in a bit.

Thinning Royal Icing

To thin down royal icing, the most effective way is to use a spray bottle filled with water. This genius spray bottle tip was first thought up by Gail of One Tough Cookie NYC and is practically now the preferred method of choice by every cookier to thin down their icing.

Using a spray bottle to add water allows you to better control the amount of water you add to your icing. It’s really easy to add just a few drops or a few tablespoons with just a squeeze of the trigger.

Thickening Royal Icing

Often times as I decorate cookies, I need to convert medium or flood consistency icing back to piping consistency for the final line details. To do this, I add a small amount of powdered sugar to the flood icing. I will keep adding and mixing powdered sugar by the teaspoonful until I get the desired thickness.

Confused? Hopefully, this will all make sense as you read on.

Determining the Correct Consistency

There is a trick to determine if you have the right consistency for the job. When preparing the icing, thin down the icing with a spray of water from the spray bottle. Then, test the consistency by cutting or “drawing” a line through the icing.

Once the line is drawn, count how many seconds it takes for the line to disappear into the rest of the icing. That number is what we call the “count” for the icing. Each type of icing I use has a particular “icing count” which I will detail below.

That’s pretty much it. Now let’s get into the specific types of consistencies.

Stiff Royal Icing Consistency

Common Consistency Comparison: Cake Frosting, Buttercream

Uses: Leaves, Flowers, Ruffles, Stenciling Icing

Icing count: Infinity

Stiff royal icing is the consistency you get right out of the mixer. Lisa of the Bearfoot Baker likes to call this consistency “fancy” icing, with good reason. The icing holds its shape very well and doesn’t lose any details when it is piped out of all those “fancy” icing tips. Think of the consistency of frosting when topping off a cupcake. If you draw a line in the icing with a knife the line will remain there with no chance to disappear within itself over time.

Often times, to prevent overmixing the icing, I stop the mixer when I get soft peaks. If I need stiff icing for florals or leaf details, I’ll just add a little more powdered sugar to the mix.

Piping Royal Icing Consistency

Common Consistency Comparison: Toothpaste, Pudding, Soft Serve Ice Cream

Uses: Outlining, Lettering, Detail Work

Icing count: 25 second

Piping consistency royal icing is stiff icing that has been thinned down with a couple spritzes of water from the spray bottle. The icing still forms peaks, but the peaks are softer and fall after forming. When piping with this consistency, the icing should flow nice and smooth out of the tip. If you find the icing forms peaks as you pipe or the line breaks a lot during mid squeeze, the consistency is too thick. If the line doesn’t hold its shape after it is piped then the icing is too thin.

Medium Royal Icing Consistency

Common Consistency Comparison: Ketchup, Ranch Dressing

Uses: Outlining and Flooding with One Consistency, Creating Puffy Areas

Icing count: 12 seconds to 20 seconds

Medium royal is slightly thinner that piping icing. Medium icing is such a gray area in the consistency spectrum. The proper icing count for this consistency is really up to personal preference, so take some time experimenting to determine what’s right to you.

The icing count I listed above is just a guideline. Sugarbelle uses 20-second icing, The Bearfoot Baker uses 15-second icing, and Sweetopia uses 10-second icing. Everyone’s preference is different. I prefer 15-second icing when I need this consistency.

Medium icing is great for quickly outlining and flooding backgrounds of cookies when precision isn’t really necessary. Using only one consistency to fill a cookie really saves on the prep time instead of having to make both a piping and a flood consistency.

Flood Royal Icing Consistency

Common Consistency Comparison: Honey, Shampoo

Uses: Filling Large Areas, Wet-on-Wet Effects, Marbling

Icing count: 5 to 8 seconds

The thinnest of all the icing consistencies is flood icing. Flood icing is used to fill in the areas you make after outlining. Flood icing takes the longest to dry. However, once an area is filled with flood icing, it dries into a nice flat and smooth surface.

One thing to keep in mind for flood icing is to not make it too thin. If the flood is too thin, it doesn’t quite dry properly and you’ll have a mess on your hands (literally). Try to keep your flood icing no less than 5-seconds

Royal Icing Tips & Tricks

Use a Fan or Dehydrator

I recommend always using a table top fan or dehydrator on your wet cookies. The added airflow will help speed up the icing’s dry time and leave the icing smooth and shiny.

I own this 9-tray dehydrator and I’m very pleased with it. It also comes in a cheaper 5-tray model as well.

Add White Food Coloring

Adding white food coloring to your icing in the beginning will make your icing whiter in color. Also, it’s been known to help prevent color bleed.

Easy on Food Coloring Gels

Start with adding small amounts of food coloring gel, then let the color develop and deepen over an hour or two. Adding too much coloring gel can saturate your icing and cause colors to bleed onto one another. Also, too much coloring gel can have a negative affect on how well the icing dries.

Add Corn Syrup and/or Glycerin

Adding any one or both of these ingredients can help soften the bite of dried royal icing. The icing remains hard enough to pack and handle, but leaves a pleasant bite.

I add about two tablespoons of corn syrup and a teaspoon of glycerin to my royal icing recipe now.

An Illustrated Guide to Royal Icing Consistencies

The infographic below summarizes all the many details I mentioned above.

My hope was to create quick-reference guide of the entire royal icing consistency process. Think of it as a top-down overview that flows from the initial recipe (top) to the final desired effect (bottom).

I hope you found this guide helpful.

Achieving the right royal icing consistency takes practice. Over time and over many cookie batches, you’ll find the consistency that works best for you. I know it’s not easy at first, so if you have any questions let me know. I’ll do my best to help get you where you need to be.

The post An Illustrated Guide to Royal Icing Consistencies appeared first on Semi Sweet Designs.

Ever since BRP came out with the perfect 3-cookie gift box, it’s been a goal of mine to create a design that uses that box for each holiday. This Easter was no exception.

This new Bunny Body cookie set has been one of my most popular cutters. Thank you for that! Because these 3-piece designs have been do so well, I’ll definitely keep them coming for future holidays.

Now, on to the tutorial. This post is a long one, so I’ll cut to the chase. Here’s the long awaited tutorial for each of the three pieces for the Bunny Body Cookie set.

Bunny Body Set Cookie Cutters

This Bunny Body cookie set is available as a 3-piece set (with a head, a carrot middle, and bunny feet), or as a 2-piece set (with just the head and the carrot).

Templates for the Bunny Body Cookie Set

Each of these new Easter cookie designs has a template file you can download to help guide you through the decorating process.

Click the link below for the downloadable template PDF file.

• 2019 Easter Cookie Templates

This file is 3 pages long and is rather large in data size. Just a warning, it might take a moment before the file opens in your browser.

The Bunny Body cookie set templates are on the second page.

The Decorating Process

For these Bunny Body cookies, you will need the following suggested colors:

• Bunny Brown piping and flood icing (I mixed Americolor Taupe with a touch of Americolor Warm Brown.)

• Carrot Orange piping and flood icing (I used Americolor Orange.)

• Easter Grass Green medium icing. (I mixed two parts Americolor Egg Yellow and one part Americolor Mint.)

• Pink medium icing. (I used one small drop of Rainbow Dust Pink. A little goes a long way.)

• Black piping icing (I used Americolor Super Black.)

Bunny Head

1. For those without a projector, mark guidelines where the ears and head should be, as shown. I made a template with template plastic from the PDF file above and used a food marker to draw the guidelines on the cookie.

   
   

2. Begin by filling in the inner ear areas with a thin layer of pink icing. Then fill in the head area with brown icing. Let this icing crust over.

   
   

3. Next, fill in the top ear areas with brown icing. Then add the eyes and snout details.

   
   

4. Lastly, outline around the ears, add eyebrows, a nose, and draw in a smile with a food marker.

   
   

Bunny’s Carrot

1. Mark guidelines where the hands and the top of the carrot should be, as shown.

   
   

2. Begin by filling in the hands and outer leaf sections. Let that icing crust, then fill in the center carrot and remaining leaf sections.

   Let this icing dry completely before moving on.

   
   

3. Once the icing is dry, draw in some carrot skin lines with a brown food marker. Then outline around the carrot, as well as define the fingers on the hands.

   
   

Bunny Feet

1. Mark a guideline where the middle edge of the feet is, as shown.

   
   

2. Begin by filling in one foot at a time with brown icing. This should give the feet added dimension.

   Let the icing set up for about 15 minutes.

   
   

3. Next, add the pink paw pads. Then finish it up by outlining the feet to define the toes.

   
   

Video Tutorial

The steps above are summarized in the time-lapsed video below.

Here are the finished cookies all boxed up and ready to be gifted.

Using the same head cookie cutter, the head can be decorated as a boy or a girl (with the addition of some eye lashes and a bow). I provided both head designs in the PDF template.

For the 3-piece gift set, I used this new BRP long cookie box (12″ x 5″ x 1.5″).

For the 2-piece gift set, I used this Classic BRP cookie box (7″ x 4 3/8″ x 1.25″).

The post How to Make a Bunny Body Cookie Set appeared first on Semi Sweet Designs.

I like big bows and I cannot lie.

I’m a firm believer that the bigger the bow, the cuter the wearer. These bow tie Easter animal cookies are no exception. In this new Easter collection, I created four animal options (a boy lamb, a girl lamb, a girl bunny, and a boy bunny) all wearing a big bow in some way.

For this tutorial, I’ll be decorating the boy lamb cookie design. But don’t worry, I’ll have a bunny tutorial coming up soon that could be applied to these bunny designs, as well.

Template for the Bow Tie Lamb Cookies

Each of these new Easter cookie designs has a template file you can download to help guide you through the decorating process.

Click the link below for the downloadable template PDF file.

• 2019 Easter Cookie Templates

This file is 3 pages long and is rather large in data size. Just a warning, it might take a moment before the file opens in your browser.

The Decorating Process

For these egg-hugging chick cookies, you will need the following suggested colors:

• Flesh Color royal icing (I mixed equal parts Americolor Copper and Americolor Ivory.)

• White icing (I used Americolor Bright White.)

• Teal medium icing (I mixed equal parts Americolor Teal and Americolor Sky Blue.)

• Black piping icing (I used Americolor Super Black.)

For the extra colors I used on the other cookies, check out this post on a bright and cheery Easter color palette.

1. For those without a projector, begin by making guidelines for where the head and bow tie edges should be. I made a template with template plastic from the PDF file above and used a food marker to draw the guideline on the cookie.

   
   

2. Start off by filling in the flesh-colored sections, and the bottom loops of the bow tie with a light layer of teal icing. Let this icing set (about 15 minutes).

   Then fill in the top white wool area of the head, and the center knot of the bow tie. Allow this icing to set and crust, as well.

   
   

3. Fill in the remaining bow tie wing areas with teal icing. Then add the eyes. For these guys, I went with large Disney-style eyes, but simple black dot eyes would work too.

   Lastly, add the outline details around the wool, nose, and bow tie. For added personality, I drew in some expressive eyebrows with a food marker.

   
   

Video Tutorial

The steps above are summarized in the time-lapsed video below.

Here are the finished lamb cookies along side his dressed up Easter buddies.

Just like I mentioned in this Egg Hugger cookies post, these Easter, bow tie, lamb cookies make great gifts. And just the same as those Egg Hugger cookies, here’s a few suggested ideas for gift box combinations below.

Thanks for everyone’s patience as I slowly roll out these Easter tutorials.

I got an overwhelming amount of Easter orders since their debut, and I’m processing them as quickly as I can. It’s been challenging to find the time between orders to write these blog posts, but I couldn’t be more grateful and appreciative of the support.

You guys rock. Thanks so much!

The post How to Make Bow Tie Lamb Cookies appeared first on Semi Sweet Designs.

After 8 years of decorating cookies, my airbrush machine still intimidates me.

That being said, the intimidation factor is slowly fading away. I feel like I gain more confidence using my airbrush with each and every use.

These egg hugger cookies were a lot of fun to make, mostly due to the airbrushing. The airbrush detail created an impactful impression without a lot of effort. It really did most of the heavy lifting on this cookie design.

On top of that, another reason I enjoyed decorating these egg hugger cookies was they were a breeze to make.

Most of the body details were hidden “behind” the large, airbrushed egg. All you really had to worry about was decorating the face, the hands, and the feet. Pretty easy stuff!

Below is a quick guide through how I decorated these egg hugger cookies.

Egg Hugger Cookie Cutters

In the shop, there are two version of the egg hugger cookie design: a chick version and a bunny version.

For this tutorial, I’ll be decorating the chick egg hugger cookie.

However, the same steps can be applied to the bunny version, as well. If you would like more direction on the bunny design, I’ve decorated similar bunny cookies here and here.

Templates for the Egg Hugger Cookies

Each of these new Easter cookie designs has a template file you can download to help guide you through the decorating process.

Click the link below for the downloadable template PDF file.

• 2019 Easter Cookie Templates

This file is 3 pages long and is rather large in data size. Just a warning, it might take a moment before the file opens in your browser.

The egg hugger cookie templates are on the last page.

The Decorating Process

For these egg-hugging chick cookies, you will need the following suggested colors:

• Yellow piping and flood royal icing (I used Americolor Egg Yellow.)

• Orange medium icing (I used Americolor Orange.)

• Teal medium icing (I mixed equal parts Americolor Teal and Americolor Sky Blue.)

• Black piping icing (I used Americolor Super Black.)

For the extra colors I used on the other cookies, check out this post on a bright and cheery Easter color palette.

1. For those without a projector, mark the guidelines where the egg edges should be, as shown. I made a template with template plastic from the PDF file above and used a food marker to draw the guidelines on the cookie.

   
   

2. Begin by outlining and flooding the center egg section with teal icing. Let the icing set and dry before moving on (about 1-2 hours in front of a fan).

   Once the icing is dry, airbrush a design of your choice. I used this Heidi Swapp stencil I got ages ago at Michaels. (It has two dot stencil sizes. I used the larger dots stencil.)

   I also like to airbrush a light layer of color on the edges of the egg to add dimension. The airbrush color I used was Amerimist Sky Blue.

   
   

3. Once the airbrush color was dry to the touch, fill in the hand areas with yellow icing, and the feet areas with orange icing.

   Let that icing set up (about 15 minutes), then fill in the remaining head section with yellow icing.

   
   

4. The final steps are to add the outlines around the hands, feet, and head, for definition. Lastly, add the face details by piping a beak and two smiling eyes.

   
   

Video Tutorial

The steps above are summarized in the time-lapsed video below.

Here are both versions of the finished egg hugger cookies.

If you would like to make these Easter egg hugger cookies as gifts, here’s a few suggested gift box ideas below.

For 3-piece gift sets, I love using this new BRP long cookie box (12″ x 5″ x 1.5″).

For a single cookie favor, these 4″x4″ boxes from ClearBags is a favorite.

I’ve made Easter chick cookies numerous times in the past. They are so fun to decorate, especially because they don’t require a ton of different colors to mix.

For more Easter chick cookie ideas, check out these previous blog posts:

• How to Make Easter Chick Cookies

• How to Make Chick in Egg Cookies

The post How to Make Egg Hugger Cookies appeared first on Semi Sweet Designs.