Steal the show this Christmas
Nothing says “Christmas” like a box of home made treats!
Fudge, Gingerbread cookies, old fashioned coffee cookies and shortbread… all of these have a place in your Christmas biscuit hamper…
Baking your own cookies is an easy way to invest some sweat equity into your Christmas gifting budget. It’s cheaper than buying treats, and because it takes less baking time (and most cookies don’t need to rise), they are even unpredictable-loadshedding-schedule-proof.
The Queen of the cookie world
As good as the other cookies are, there really is nothing that competes with the delicate luxury of a perfectly iced sugar cookie. Imagine, a buttery sugar cooking base with that pleasing crack of biting into a layer of crisp royal icing. These cookies are really one of the best confectionary inventions and as impressive as they look, they are not beyond reach of any home baker who is willing to take a bit of time and not afraid of trial and error.
The secret to sugar cookie work is consistency (of the actual icing) and consistency of decorating skill on the part of the baker.
There are various YouTube tutorials, blogs and other internet help forums for aspiring as well as established cookie-folk.
We have scoured these and found some repeat advice that seems to form the basis of successful royal icing decorations.
Understand your two types of icing.
There is “piping”- icing and “flooding”- icing.
Piping icing is a stiffer consistency and should not drip from the spoon at all. It is used to “outline” designs before you use the more liquid flooding icing to “colour-in” your cookie.
It’s a hurry up and wait kind of thing.
When you start piping, work quickly and precisely, but after you have flooded your cookie its best to leave the icing overnight to cure and dry before adding additional decorations or patterns.
After each layer of decoration and drying you’ll have to wait for the icing to set and dry completely before packaging, and gifting. Nobody likes a smudged cookie!
Pick for perfection.
In most of the videos, TikTok’s and reels we have watched there is one cheap and basic tool that gets a lot of airtime: The humble wooden toothpick. Bakers use it to gently nudge flooding-icing towards the outline edges and pop any bubbles that might have formed in the icing before it dries.
Cheat with a stencil
If you don’t trust your freehand art skills, don’t worry. There are thousands of different icing stencils to choose from. Simply outline and flood a base of icing onto your cookie, wait for it to dry and then use a stencil to create intricate and identical designs on every cookie in a matter of minutes.
Be transparent about your hard work.
When it comes to packaging your creations don’t hide them away. Choose a paper box with a viewing window, or simply get a stash of clear (biodegradable) plastic bags and seal each cookie individually. You have taken the time to create intricate little artworks so let your creativity shine!
If your idea of a good Christmas gift is an experience instead of a thing, there are amazing royal icing workshops that will make a perfect Christmas gift. Invite a loved one and learn this skill from a professional.
Our favourite local courses:
If we have inspired you to get baking, find more detailed tricks and tutorials here:
I heart nap time (Blog)
Sally’s Baking Addiction (Royal icing recipe)
Sarah Grace Cookie Co. (Blog with many tips and tutorials.)
If you want a friendly human to teach you step by step, these YouTube video’s are for you:
Just for fun:
If baking really isn’t your thing, hop on Facebook or that community WhatsApp group and ask around – usually even the smallest town will have an Auntie who bakes these little artworks and you can support her by ordering your Christmas batch…we’ll keep your secret!
