’Tis the season for the aroma of baked goods to fill your home. ’Tis also the season for holiday decorations – so why not decorate your annual festive cookies? Whether you’re a seasoned baker or a beginner, try one of these three cookie-decorating techniques (and great ideas) to add flair to your cookies and make them the stars of your holiday spread. 

Outlining 

As with colouring in a picture, lining your edges is the first step to decorating your cookies. By outlining the cookie, you prevent the icing from spilling over the edges when filling it in. Make use of a piping bag with a small round tip and fill it with royal icing. Make sure the icing is thick enough to hold its shape, but still thin enough to spread easily. Line the edges and wait a few minutes for them to dry.  

 

@layaan_isaacs Decorate some gingerbread cookies with me 🍪 From a diy gingerbread house cookie set, made by @tiny_bakes on Instagram 🌸 • • • #gingerbread #gingerbreadhouse #gingerbreadman #christmas #diy #cookies #support #smallbusiness #capetown #southafrica #fyp #foryoupage❤️❤️ ♬ Sleepy Cat – Calming Cat Music

Flooding 

The technique to cover the entire surface of the cookie with icing is called flooding. This technique requires a looser consistency of icing than you would need for outlining. Using a piping bag, continuously follow the outline of your cookie until the entire cookie is covered. Once done, leave for an hour for the icing to set and harden.  

Check out this video to see if the consistency of your icing is ready for flooding: 

 

@thecookieboxclub Does your royal icing spill over the sides of your cookies? Or perhaps it’s too stiff? This is my secret to perfectly flooded cookies! You can either drop some icing or make a line in the middle but it should settle in that amount of time. My royal icing recipe is here: @thecookieboxclub #tiktokcookieschool #cookies #decoratedcookies #cookiedecorating #sugarcookies #bakingtiktok #cookie #sugar #baking #recipe #royalicing ♬ original sound – Mystiquerealm

Marbling 

You don’t need to be a skilled baker for this technique, but the result will impress all your friends. Marbling is a wet-on-wet icing technique and is used to create a single layer of icing with two or more colours bleeding together to form a beautiful, blended effect. The trick is to work quickly while the icing is still wet. Once your cookie is flooded, pipe horizontal lines across the surface. Then, use a toothpick and drag it from the top of the cookie downwards through the icing and continue doing so across the cookie, blending the two colours. 

 

@thegracefulbaker Excited to share some easy Christmas designs ♥️ #christmas #decoratedcookies #satisfying ♬ How Christmas Is Supposed To Be – Gary Barlow

Try these 5 cute decorating ideas just in time for the festive season:  

1. Gingerbread cookies 

 

@emmas_sweets_ GIANT GINGERBREAD ! This cookie is almost 6 1/2” 🥰. #gingerbread #letsmakecookies #gingerbreadcookies #gingerbreadman #cookiedecorating #cookiesoftiktok #christmascookies #christmasbaking #emmassweets ♬ Swaggy Christmas – Official Sound Studio

2. Classic Christmas trees 

 

@southstreetcookies Christmas tree cookie #christmas #christmascookies #sugarcookies #royalicing #cookiedecorating #cookietok #bakertok #iowa #southstreetcookies ♬ Famous Christmas songs / Orchestra arrangement – MIZUSATO Masaki

3. Wreath cookies 

 

@thecookieboxclub Left the best wet on wet Christmas wreath cookie design for last. Merry Christmas to all! ✨This one combines dots and V’s and reveals a whimsical design. ✨ Like all other designs, I used 10 second consistency royal icing for all the colors used in this cookie. Will you be trying any of the wreaths or wet on wet cookie designs I’ve shared? I’d love to see them, so please tag us! #sugarcookies #wetonwetcookies #decoratedcookies #decoratedsugarcookie #cookietutorial #royalicing #cookies #tiktokcookieschool #baking #baking #christmascookies #cookiedecorating ♬ Feliz Navidad – José Feliciano

4. Festive ornaments 

 

@designeatrepeat Reply to @elena.cunniff Easy Ornament Cookie 🎄 #christmas #happyholidays #baking #christmasbaking #tiktokholidays #cakedecorating ♬ Christmas Bells – StudioKolomna

5. Mini Santa Clauses 

 

@soyummy Make a batch of these mini Santas 🎅🏻🎄 #christmascookies ♬ Sleigh Bells (PhatCap! Trap Remix) – Ronettes

Also read: Tips for better baking