Sugar cookie questions

mbcdefg

My friend is having a small bridal shower next weekend, and I thought I might try to make sugar cookie favors. I thought I'd do something simple, like their names or monogram on a heart-shaped cookie:

I've never made sugar cookies before, and I've never used royal icing either. Is this project going to be too ambitious for a first-timer?

Also, will they be any good if I make them this weekend and freeze them for next weekend?

Thanks for any input!

noyomoco

Hello! Covering the heart with royal icing won't be too difficult, but piping letters is much more difficult than most people realize! Especially if you have never decorated sugar cookies before. Honestly, I wouldn't attempt it unless you don't have to make that many and make lots of extra cookies for mistakes! Consistency is key for piping letters and it is the hardest skill to master. Perhaps you could flood the cookie with royal icing, but then write the letters with a food writer? It won't look the same, but it would be much easier. 

You can bake the cookies ahead of time and freeze them, but you can't freeze decorated cookies. You can normally decorate them and, once dry, store them in an airtight container for up to a week or so. 

 There is more cookie decorating tips and ideas on my blog: http://notyourmommascookie.com/. Hope this helps! 

BridgetMc

I can't see the picture.

I made heart-shaped royal icing-decorated sugar cookies a couple weeks ago for a rehearsal dinner and wrote the couple's names on them.  They turned out okay.  It was the first time I tried to write with royal icing, and it didn't turn out perfectly, but they still looked nice.

If you're at all familiar with baking, sugar cookies are no problem.  

There's more to learn with royal icing, as far as getting used to what consistency it should be for flooding and icing.  But almost everything I've made with royal icing has ended up looking fairly good, even when I was just learning.

You can freeze the dough after cutting and you can freeze the cookies after baking, but most people advise you don't freeze the cookies after decorating.  However, they stay fresh for up to a week with the royal icing.

BridgetMc

noyomoco:

Perhaps you could flood the cookie with royal icing, but then write the letters with a food writer? It won't look the same, but it would be much easier.

Or just do something like this, which is fairly foolproof:

 

mbcdefg

Thanks for the advice! The party is next Saturday, so maybe I can do them this weekend, package them and they'll be OK for next weekend?

Noyo, my backup option is actually your heart-shaped thumbprint cookies from your blog. I've done thumbprints before so that's pretty failsafe for me.

Bridget, thank you for the alternate suggestion!  The marbled cookies are very cute, and chocolate is a good idea.

BTW, I check the blog updates every day on this board and you both have great blogs

noyomoco

BridgetMc:

noyomoco:

Perhaps you could flood the cookie with royal icing, but then write the letters with a food writer? It won't look the same, but it would be much easier.

Or just do something like this, which is fairly foolproof:

 

This is a great suggestion! The wet on wet look is easy and always looks so pretty...like these:

 

alithebride

if you get to feeling like the icing is just too much work (I suck at it) you can always use sparling sugar. it adds a nice touch and is as easy as sprinkles. they ARE sugar cookies after all

maeghan21

Having just done sugar cookies with royal icing for the first time for my DD's 2nd b-day party this week I would say you should be fine, but I wouldn't mess with the initials. Piping out the details to the little puppies was a PITA, especially since that is the last thing you do and your hand starts cramping. I' used to a lot of piping for cakes, but ugh! Letters would be something I'd work up to.