Bachelorette Cookies - Royal Icing

My "little" brother is getting married at the end of the week.  I can't believe it!!!  While he is certainly not little anymore (in fact, he' been taller than me since high school), it's still a little weird for him to be getting married.  Despite that fact that he's getting married makes me feel incredibly old, I am over the moon happy for him and his bride to be.  There's been a lot of celebrating going on recently, and of course, I've been baking and crafting to celebrate the occasion, because that's what I do :)

I hosted a shower for my sister-in-law-to be, and I'll share details on that soon, but first I couldn't wait to share these bachelorette party cookies.  Can you say cute and fun?  Even better - they are Delicious - with a capital D.  Love love Love these cookies.  

  

I had been wanting to try royal icing for a long time, but had been a little (or a lot) intimidated by it.  This occasion gave me the push I needed (with a little inspiration from Pinterest!)

After giving the Royal Icing a try, I have to say that it is definitely not as scary as I thought, however, it IS time consuming.  So not something I want to do all the time, but for an added "WOW!" factor, it's certainly possible.  Royal icing gives you a lot more detail when frosting cookies, so f you are looking for something fancier, definitely give it a try.  If it's your first time doing royal icing, I recommend attempting now more than 2-3 colors - it will make your life much easier, I promise! 

Just a note - the meringue powder for the icing can be found at either a craft store (like Hobby Lobby or Michael s, in their baking isle) or at the grocery store.

Royal Icing Bachelorette Cookies

Adapted from Annie's Eats

Ingredients:

• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 2 TBSP meringue powder
• 5 TBSP water (plus more later for thinning)

Since this is a bit of a special recipe, there are also some tools you will need.  

• Sugar cookies (make sure they are completely cooled!)
• Gel Icing colors (I use Wilton brand)
• Small containers with lids for each color of icing you want to use
• Spoons
• Toothpicks
• Pastry bags with small round tips (I use size 2 or 3 for flooding, and smaller/other sizes for designs and decorating)
• Squeeze bottles

Instructions:

First things first, you'll need to make your icing.  Combine the powdered sugar, meringue power, and water in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment.  Mix on low until well blended, then keep mixing!  You will want to mix for about 5 minutes until the icing has a matte appearance (it should not be shiny at all).  Now you will need to add a tiny amount of water - start with 1/2 teaspoons, until it becomes piping consistency.  Piping consistency is when you pick some icing up with a spoon and let it run back into the bowl, it should take about 5 seconds for the icing to be reabsorbed into the rest of the icing.  You can also test out a small amount in your pastry bag as well.  Try not to let your icing get too runny at this point (although if it does get too runny, you can add more powdered sugar to stiffen it up)

*Hint - while you are working with royal icing, make sure to keep any icing you are using covered in a container so that it does not harden on you!  Any pastry bags you are not using (but have incing in them) should be stood up in a glass with a bit of water in the bottom so that the icing in the tip does not harden)*

Ok, so now you have piping icing.  The next step is to tint your icing the color you want to outline your cookies.  Once your icing is colored, you are going to pipe a border around the edge of each cookie.  Let the icing set and harden.  

Next step will be flooding your cookies.  Once your border has hardened, you are going to thin out some more icing.  Take some of your icing in a separate bowl, and add a tiny bit more water.  Now you want the icing to flow off a spoon and disappear in 2-3 seconds back into the bowl of icing.  Let the icing stand about 5 minutes to let any bubble come to the surface, then give the icing one more gentle stir to pop the bubbles (this will save you time later).  Once icing is thinned out, use your squeeze bottles to "flood" your cookie with your main color of icing.  *Hint, you can use a toothpick to help drag the icing to the corners of your cookie if need.  Toothpicks also work great to pop any air bubbles that appear on your cookie.  

Before moving on the the next step, let you cookies dry and harden really well.  You can even leave them out overnight, if needed, to make sure the icing is completely dry.  depending on the weather or the temperature of your kitchen, your cookies could be dry in an hour, but wait longer if you are unsure.  The royal icing helps seal in the moisture of the cookie, so depending what type of sugar cookie you use, you shouldn't have to worry about them drying out. 

Finally, once your main color is done, you are ready to decorate with your piping icing again.  Let dry for at least an hour before packaging or storing.  I do not recommend freezing cookies that have been decorated with royal icing as the icing with gather condensation in the freezer and look funny. 

Congratulations!  You did it!  You decorated with Royal Icing!

To make lingerie cookies, I used a heart cookie cutter - who knew?!

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Linking up at some of these great parties!

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