[UPBEAT MUSIC]
Hey, guys.
It's Tracy from the decorating room here at Wilton.
Today, I'm going to show you how to cover
a cookie with thinned royal icing
or how to flood a cookie with icing, which are basically
the same thing.
Now, we want a cookie with crisp outlines and icing
that dries to a smooth, hard finish.
And this tutorial uses our cookie icing recipe,
which is our thinned-down royal icing.
Now, make sure to check out that video first,
where I will walk you through making
a medium consistency for outlining
and a thin consistency for flooding a cookie.
Now, this is essential because we
will be using the outline and the flood method,
which is very beginner-friendly.
Now, piping an outline will create a dam
to hold the thin icing in place, which
will prevent your icing from running down
the sides of your cookie.
Decorated cookies look so impressive,
and it might look a little intimidating for beginners.
The thing is, it's actually very easy once you
learn the right techniques.
I'm going to give you the best tips from the decorating room
so that you can start decorating cookies like a pro.
Now before we decorate, I want to show you
a quick tip for filling a bag with thin-consistency icing.
Now with medium consistency, you can use the same method
as you always do for filling with icing.
But for thin, you can do one of two things.
You can fill the bag and snip off
the tip with scissors right before flooding,
and that's actually what I would suggest for most decorators.
Or if you like working with a tip,
maybe you have some really small sections to fill out
and you want to be more precise.
Then, I would suggest using a coupler.
Now, even if you don't plan to switch out the tip,
because this will make sure your tip stays in place
and it doesn't go back into the bag.
If you are using a tip, we recommend using a glass.
Slide the bag in and position the tip
so that it's facing upwards, and then fill the bag.
Now, that should prevent the icing from coming out.
Now for either method, I like to use bag ties
so that the icing doesn't ooze out the back
or crust on the top edges of the decorating bag.
We're ready to start decorating cookies,
so let's begin by making some outlines.
I'm using a tip 3 with medium-consistency icing.
I'm going to touch the tip to the surface,
squeeze, and lift my bag.
I keep squeezing and let the icing drop.
You're just guiding the placement of the icing.
This will really help create straight lines.
Think of lifting and placing rather than
trying to draw the line.
You can stop in between if you need to take a break
or turn the cookie.
Just pick a natural place to do it.
Now for example, I would avoid stopping
in the middle of the line.
I would stop at the corner instead and pick it up
from there.
Now, it's the same technique for curved shapes or rounded
shapes, like we have in this heart cookie.
Touch down, squeeze, and lift slightly.
Now, make sure to keep an even pressure
as you follow the contours of your shape
so that you have an even thickness on your line.
Now, even as a professional decorator,
I can tell you that outlining round
shapes can be challenging.
And if you find that you have a lot of stopping
points or your circle looks crooked,
let me show you our secret weapon--
a small, damp decorator brush.
Now, after piping, let the outline crust just a bit.
I take my damp brush, and I can either lightly
smooth over the bumps or push the outline
of the crooked sections and correct my shape.
Now that my outlines are done and almost fully dry,
I can start flooding the surface with thinned royal icing
to cover my cookie.
Now typically, if we are decorating
a batch of cookies in the decorating room,
we'll outline all the cookies first, then go back
and flood them all in.
Now, make sure that you're working on a level surface
and think about where you're going to dry your cookies.
If you plan to transfer these to a different part of the house,
make sure you have a cookie sheet nearby
to hold your finished cookie so that you can easily pick them
up and move them later if you need to.
For my project, there aren't any tiny details,
so I'm not going to be using a tip.
I'm just going to flood the entire surface.
I'm going to cut the tip off the bag,
and you can see how much I'm cutting off.
It's not much at all, but you can always
cut off more if you need to.
Where you begin is up to you.
You can start in the center to let the icing flow out.
You can also begin around the edges, especially
if you have small areas to fill in, like scalloped edges,
for example.
Now, either one is OK, but keep your icing flow continuous.
Don't work from one side and then
jump to the other side of the cookie.
This is what we call keeping the edges wet.
If you start on the edge like I did and then
skip to the center, the edge of this cookie will start to dry.
So by the time the icing from the edge
meets that center puddle, you won't have a smooth finish
because the edge will have already started to dry.
Before you start flooding a cookie,
always check that you have enough icing in your bag
to flood it entirely.
If you have to stop and fill another bag,
your icing edges will definitely start to dry.
Now, to be safe if you're doing a lot of cookies,
fill a couple bags to have on hand.
Here's another important tip.
Keep the tip down and as close to the surface as possible
while you are flooding.
This will prevent any air from getting trapped
under the icing, and that trapped air
creates sections that will look sunken
and your surface will look very uneven.
Now, getting into the habit of keeping the tip down
is an easy way to avoid that.
An issue I hear a lot from beginners is their iced cookies
look flat once they set.
Thinned icing has quite a bit of water and once it dries,
that water will evaporate and won't look as full,
so it could be that your icing is too thin.
Here's another tip.
Overfill your icing just a bit until it looks a little puffy.
This is what we call pillowing.
And this is why the outline is so useful.
As I'm overfilling the cookie, watch how
the outline looks like a dam.
It holds that extra icing really well.
Of course, if you squeeze too much icing, it will overflow.
And as you practice and decorate more cookies,
you'll start to get a better feel for when to stop.
And if you're doing this for the first time,
I would recommend baking extra cookies,
but don't worry too much because your mistakes are
all edible and delicious.
Immediately after flooding a cookie,
I like to make sure that the icing flows
into all the corners and merges with the outline.
I like to use the etching tool from our Cookie Decorating Tool
Set, but you can also use a toothpick.
However, the etching tool has a finer tip,
making it easier to pop air bubbles than a toothpick.
I also like to lightly tap the cookie on the surface
a couple of times.
This will further smooth out your surface
and encourage any trapped air bubbles to come up.
Just be sure not to tap too much,
or your icing could overflow the outline.
You can leave the cookies as-is, or you
can use any wet-on-wet techniques
that you want before drying.
Here are some simple ones that you can do
while your icing is still wet.
You can use a different color thin-consistency icing and pipe
dots or lines all over.
And the colors and the designs will level with the icing,
but it will still look defined.
It's not going to bleed in.
You can also take your etching tool
and manipulate these dots and lines.
You can drag them with the etching tool or the comb,
or you can make random circular motions
to create a marble design.
Once your cookies are flooded, pick them up very carefully.
Try not to tip them.
Place them in a cool, dry place uncovered,
and I wouldn't store them in a cabinet.
They need enough circulation to air-dry.
Humidity is the enemy of royal icing,
and it won't dry properly in humid conditions.
If you can't avoid it, you can place your cookies
in an oven with a light on or on the lowest heat
setting to dry your cookies.
Now, if you do this, you'll actually get a shiny finish.
Another way to dry and get a shiny finish
is by drying your cookies in front of a fan.
Just rotate them every hour or so for the first couple hours.
Let your cookies dry, preferably overnight, but about eight
hours should be enough.
If you are using a lot of red or black icing color,
just know that it might take your icing
a little bit longer to dry.
These cookies are the perfect canvas for holidays,
theme parties, or personalized designs.
Now, once this dries thoroughly, you
can pipe decorations on top, you can
paint with lemon extract and icing color,
you can add Color Dust or Pearl Dust, add brush embroidery,
or you can even use the Metallic Cake Paint Set.
We have tons of cookie decorating projects
for all skill levels on Wilton.com,
so make sure to check it out.
If you have any cookie decorating questions,
make sure to leave us a comment below
and I will do my best to answer.
If you decorate cookies using the techniques
you learned today, share your pictures with us
by using #WiltonCakes or #BakeYourWorldHappy.
I love seeing your work.
Thanks for watching.
[UPBEAT MUSIC]