Hi cookie lovers everywhere!! I hope someone can help me with this dilema (?) ! I am doing 350 decorated sugar cookies for a freind's DD wedding. Here is the description: Heart cookies with one half of the cookie in teal and the other half in chocolate brown (wedding colors) with the letter "M" on each half in the opposing color. HOW DO I put the letter "M" on so that kinda sinks into the icing and doesn't stand out on top of the cookie??? I hope I made my ?? clear! Please give advice!! Thanks! I've never had to do this before!

If you use Antonia's icing, pipe it on before the icing hardens and it kinda sinks into it by itself. HTH.

I wish I could help but I don't know so here's a BUMP for you!

could you pipe the "M" with the stiffer, outlining royal, then flood? don't know if you want that much distinction...

Never tried that one. My first thought would be to "carve" the M in the cookies while they're still warm. That would give you the indent to fill with icing.

Mickig

I've used Antonia's icing to make cookies with several colors, but all smooth (I think there are some pics in my photos, of multi-colored heart cookies).

Just do your flooding, then like the poster above said, do the detail right away. You may not get a perfectly crisp straight line, since the monogram icing will sorta sink into the background, but it will give a smooth surface.

I think it will be a challenge to get the line straight in the middle, and the colors all mixing and matching in the right places. When you pipe the details while the flood icing is still wet, things tend to shift around as the detail icing settles, and pushes the background icing around. When I first started doing this, I overflowed quite a few cookies, because I put enough "extra" icing to push the flood icing beyond the borders. Is there any chance you could talk her into doing half the cookies in teal with a chocolate brown "M" and the other half in brown with teal?

hth!
Laura.

Okay, here is a pic of the cookie I hope to create with a smooth surface. If anybody has any ideas on how to get the "M" on the cookie without sticking up too much, I'd be grateful!! Thanks!

this is very easy to do.........use antonia74's icing recipe on this site......I would first make the dividing line with a slightly stiffer consistency and then immediately flood half making sure to touch the flood icing to the dividing line so it melds together....then flood the other half.....then using the same flood consistency ( like pancake batter I find works really well) draw in the M on either side with the correct colors then let the whole thing sit out at least over night to be completely dry.....here I'll include a photo of my valentine's day cookies you can see that the cookie with the bee and hive on it is the same level I was just impatient and didn't wanna wait for the

yellow to dry before I drew on the cookie with the brown!! In fact all the brown and yellow and brown and pink ones were done like that! I thought it was kinda neat that it was all smooth too...everyone was wondering how I managed to do that.......turns out all you have to do is be impatient......they take a while to start setting up..but your best bet is going to be to work on each cookie individually.....no assembly line set up here....finish one cookie then start the next just to be sure!!! good luck!

http://www.cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=coppermine&file=displayimage&meta=allby&uname=KHalstead&cat=0&pos=30

Could anyone give a link to this recipie for the icing, I am having trouble finding it?

http://www.cakecentral.com/cake_recipe-1983-Royal-Icing-for-Decorated-Cookies.html


here you go!!!

Would using rolled buttercream and cookie cutters work? Use the same cutter used for the cookie, then cut out where the letter will be and place the letter there? Does that make sense?
I haven't tried the flooding technique yet.

KHalstead- Thanks for the advice! I was going to do the assembly line thing with first the blue/brown "M" and then go back and do the other side! BTW, your cookies look awesome!!

Yomomma- Yep, I have already committed myself! What was I thinking?? The cookies are due Nov. 2nd and I've just started baking!! Please keep me in your prayers!!

if all else fails...stencil...

Good Luck - I am sure you will make it with flying colors (literally lol)

Oh my goodness! 350 cookies!!!!! I hope you had no plans to get any sleep over the next few days. I've got to do 150 cookies for a friends wedding on 25 Nov and I am already freaking out! Never made so many 4" wedding cake cookies in my life and soon I will experience the joys of back aches and cramped fingers from icing them.

piping the monogram onto semi-wet flooding will work, but it might take longer to flood a couple then go back and monogram a couple, then go back...piping the monogram first then flooding might work better from a production sense. i had an order for 270 wedding cookies i squeezed into 2 days...ouch!! I feel for you with 350

It's do-able sure....but a lot of work and each step must be done very quickly before the icing starts to dry/crust or it won't look good at all.

Here's how I would do it.

-make up the thinned royal icing recipe
-split recipe into two bowls
-tint one bowl blue, tint one bowl brown
-put each icing colour in a piping bag
-outline all the cookies using either brown or blue (about a #1 tip)
-when dry (10 minutes), take one colour and fill in half the cookie then immediately take the other colour and fill in the other side of cookie (about a #2 tip)
-using a pin or a skewer, swirl the middle of the cookie to create a mixing of both colours (see my Autumn Leaf cookie photo for example of this technique)
-shake the cookie softly to settle the icing and quickly fill in any gaps
-take the opposing icing colour and write the initials on either side (this MUST be done before the icing starts to crust, so that the icing literally sinks into the icing and is flat)
-do not shake the cookie after this step or you risk distorting the lettering

Wow Helen that is a lot of work but it looks like it is worth the effort. Your cookie looks great - just like everything else you make.

Thanks BarbaraK!

Here are some of them! Outlined and flooded with a #3 tip in one fell swope, then did the "m" right away with a #2 tip, repeated on the other side! With 350 to do, I tried to come up with the quickest way possible! thanks for all your encouagement and help! My back was achey already so I took a break to post these!!

WTG! Those look fantastic!

Laura.

They're beautiful!! Just like the sketch!

They look really great. Well done! Don't forget to book yourself in for a back massage after you are done. Sounds like you are going to need it!!!!

nice work!

Thanks, everyone for the kudos! Since this is the first time I'd done cookies like this, I know I couldn't have done it without all the great advice you gave. Calling my massage therapist Tuesday to book my massage for Thursday (cookie delivery day). Think I might hit the chiropractor after the massage!! I've got two more decorating days (120 cookies a day) to go and I'm feeling it already!! I don't know how you do it if cookie decorating is your livlihood! Kudos to YOU!!

Your cookies look phenomenal!!!! It will be well worth the work to see your friends joy in you doing this for her. GREAT JOB!!! Hang in there...You'll get through it!

I just had to say that your cookies are beautiful. I am sure the bride and the groom will be pleased!

wow great job ladies.

OMG! Your cookies look awesome. Just like the sketch too. Good luck to you.