Stop what you’re doing right now and watch Ze Frank’s True Facts About the Octopus [1]. Just trust me. It’s WEIRD and hilarious and you will thank me. You will also realize that octopi are total badasses. And kind of 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 [2].
- I used a royal icing recipe from Annie’s Eats [3], which is listed below.
- If you are new to decorating with royal icing, please visit this post by Annie’s Eats [4], which will teach you about outlining and flooding. Bake at 350 [5] 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:
- Octopus cookie cutter was purchased on Amazon.
- I used Wilton’s Sky Blue and Violet gel food colorings. I also used AmeriColor’s Super Black to make the smile.
- The “eyes” were purchased at Target — they are a Wilton product and can be found in the baking aisle.
- I outlined and flooded each octopus with the sky blue icing. After flooding each cookie, drop two “eyes” onto the cookie — do this before the icing has a chance to set.
- Once the cookies were dry, I piped the detailing using purple icing and a small round pastry tip. I also piped a smile onto each octopus — but you could have fun with it and give them all different expressions.
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 egg, 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). The yield will depend on the size of your cookie cutter — I was able to make about a dozen octopi using this recipe.
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 may need to make two batches of this icing, depending on how many cookies you are making.