Bridal Shower Favor Cookies - How to make letter royal icing transfers - How to add a simple border to a cookie

Part 1. How to make Royal Icing Letter Transfers.

Bridal Shower Favor Cookie with Royal Icing Letter Transfer

How I made the letters - great if you don't have a kopykake

This is super easy if the icing is right. I made royal icing transfers for the letter "A" to save time - this has been a busy week. I don't think it really saved time versus using the kopykake, but it did break up the decorating. First print the letters using a font that is simple to outline. Make lots of extras. Tape the paper to the back of a baking sheet. Now tape wax paper on top of the paper. DO NOT USE PARCHMENT PAPER, it wrinkles, I learned the hard way. You can also use shortening if you are worried about it sticking to the wax paper. Other people use acetate but I didn't have any of this around. I know my limits and I know how fragile these are when transferring so I kept the font simple. I used the font "Kaleigh" size 100 and wish I would have gone bigger in the end. Now simply outline the letter. I used a Wilton size 2 tip and royal icing that was thinned to piping consistancy (it will make small soft peaks, it will hold it's form if you make loops, it will be flowy and not stiff...) Again, I will someday right about making icing.

Let the letters dry overnight or longer. This will all depend on humidity. In Arizona icing dries really fast. At this point I decided to paint the gold onto the letters. It makes for a cleaner look. I found 2 coats gave the letter the look I wanted. Now gently pull the wax paper and remove the letters. Don't cry if one breaks. After outlining and flooding the cookies I carefully added the letters to the center.

Adding the gold dust to the letters per package instructions. Do not use too much extract, it will cause the letters to dissolve in places. I think it'd be easier to use a spray can or an airbrush, but I make do with what I can find at local supercenters.

Some casualties. So tragic. Next time I'll do better. Te lo juro. I promise.

Part II. How to make the scalloped border.

Use size three Wilton and piping icing. Make a small dot and drag. DO NOT DO IT AS I DID ABOVE. It should not look like a baby tooth. It should look like a cute little head of garlic.

This is better. Hold the tip just above cookie, pipe a dot, and QUICKLY pull tip to the side while you release pressure. After about 1/2 a dozen cookies you'll get the hang of it... is it too soon to begin working on my gingerbread house?

Sugar Cookie using my favorite sugar cookie recipe by Beeinourbonnet and icing recipe from Sweetsugarbelle - the idea came from SweetAmbs. The bride's colors are dusty rose and gold. To make the rose I used just a tiny bit of Wilton burgandy and brown. For the border and royal icing transfers I used just a tiny bit of Wilton Brown. I outlined these cookies with thick piping consistency (the icing has small soft peaks) then filled with thin icing (like honey). The scrolls were kind of random, although I did look at scroll fabric swatches. I realized a few cookies into decorating that my icing was a bit thick for the scroll work, but I was too tired to take it out and thin it. I used a Wilton size 2 tip for the scrolls and would try a size three if I did it again. I used Wilton gold dust painted on with almond extract. I really really need some nicer brushes. The Wilton ones do not hold up!