Here’s the problem with having a 7-year old baking blog: you run out of ideas for certain holidays. Halloween is my favorite baking holiday and I have done it all — candy corn everything, pumpkin everything, ghost cupcakes, skull cookies, you name it, I’ve probably made it. So I really had to think about what else I could do — franken-candy corns! These were simple and I think they’re pretty cute!
If you are a new to decorating with royal icing, here are some helpful tips and links:
- I used my grandma’s sugar cookie recipe, which is listed below. Another good cut-out cookie recipe can be found at Bridget’s wonderful Bake at 350 [1].
- I used a royal icing recipe from Annie’s Eats [2], which is listed below.
- If you are new to decorating with royal icing, please visit this post by Annie’s Eats [3], which will teach you about outlining and flooding. Bake at 350 [4] is also a great resource for cookie decorating and ideas (I love Bridget’s book, too!).
Here are the specifics on how I made these cookies:
- You will need a candy corn cookie cutter. Or, in a pinch, you can use an easter egg cutter. The shapes are similar and who is really going to care? Remember, they’re just cookies. :)
- I used AmeriColor super black gel coloring and AmeriColor’s electric green gel coloring.
- Divide the royal icing (see recipe below) into three bowls. Dye the icing in one bowl black, one bowl green, and leave the other white.
- I outlined the cookies with the corresponding colors — black at the base, then green, then white at the tip. Wait a few hours and then flood your cookies.
- Allow the cookies to dry completely, then pipe black stitching onto each cookie.
- Easy, right?! Again, if you are unfamiliar with the concepts of outlining and flooding, please check out the links I posted above to Annie’s Eats or Bake at 350. Those cookie goddesses will teach you all you need to know.
Omi’s Sugar Cookies
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon nutmeg
Beat butter and sugar. Add eggs, sour cream, and nutmeg. Add dry ingredients gradually. Chill the batter overnight or for at least 4 hours. Roll out dough and cut with cookie cutters. Bake at 350F until golden (in true fashion, my grandma didn’t give a specific baking time. I baked the cookies for about 8 minutes). Since these cookies were a bit larger, I would bake them for about 10 minutes. But watch them, as oven temps can vary!
White Royal Icing
4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
2 Tablespoons meringue powder
5 Tablespoons water
Directions:
Combine all ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low speed until the sheen has disappeared and the icing has a matte appearance (about 7-10 minutes). Transfer the contents of the mixing bowl to an air-tight container. This will be the stiffest consistency of the icing, and at this point it is still too stiff to use for decorating. Add water a very small amount at a time and stir by hand until fully incorporated. Continue until the icing has reached a consistency appropriate for piping.
Note: you will likely need more than one batch of this icing, especially if the cookies you are making are large.