Cookie Decorating 101

I really want to make pretty cookies.  I am really jealous of people that make these works of art that I wouldn’t even want to eat.  I try really hard and my cookies always end up looking like my 2 year old made them.  So last night, I decided that the only way that I was going to get better at making beautiful cookies was to practice and practice some more.I whipped up a batch of my favorite sugar cookie dough and decided to make watermelon cookies.  Totally random.  I do not have a watermelon cookie cutter so I had to improvise.  I used an Easter egg cutter and cut it in half.  Then I took a scalloped edge from a heart cutter that I had to make the teeth marks.  I baked them off and then when my house was quiet and everyone was sleeping, I got to work.  I have found that this is a time consuming task and one that requires my undivided attention.  And since my attention span is that of a six month old, I figured the less distractions the better.  I got out my piping bags, small round tips, an icy cold beer and my ever-growing food coloring collection. (I realized that I am missing some very important colors.  Brown, kelly green, hello?) They turned out pretty cute if I do say so myself.  Albeit, a bit sloppy.

I learned a few things that I think will be useful in my next cooking making session.

1.  Have everything ready to go.  I mixed all of my colors and put them in separate piping bags and cleaned up a bit before I actually got to the decorating part.  This cookie decorating business can be messy so this made the process easier for me.

2.  I will make my frosting a little thicker next time.  I think that this one was too runny.  And, I still have not found the perfect icing recipe.  If you have one, please share.

3.  Sketch out what you want the cookie to look like.  When I had a plan, they really did turn out better than I thought that they would.

4.  Do not make a ton of cookies.  I made 12 cookies.  Some were better than others, but 12 was a good amount to use for practice.  Enough to make the effort worthwhile, but not too many that the project was daunting and overwhelming.

5.  Have fun!  It is like coloring in a coloring book.  It was relaxing and let me be a little creative today.

There are a few places that I think of as great resources for cookie decorating and inspiration for these gorgeous cookies that I desire.  Here they are and please feel free to link up any others that you might have in the Linky at the bottom of this post.

• Amanda at i am baker is amazing with her creativity and ability to make it look so easy.  She is fun to read also.
• Bridget at Bake at 350 she makes adorable cookies and other yummy desserts.
• Bridget also is at University of Cookie which has great videos and tutorials and some amazing inspiration.
• Browneyed Baker has a really good beginners tutorial on cookie decorating.
• Of course my girl Martha can decorate a cookie.  Here is a really good tutorial that you can modify to make any creation that you desire.

Where do you find inspiration when decorating cookies?  Any things that we need to see?  Please link up and share with the class.