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Below are two videos on how to make your own cookies & royal icing plus a list of materials and equipment you'll want to gather ahead of time if you plan to participate in the fun.
How-to Videos
Cookies
This video takes you through the process of making your own dough, rolling and chilling it and then cutting and baking the cookies.
If you don't want to make your own cookies from scratch, there are a couple of options to consider:
1. Buy pre-baked, cut-out cookies - During the holidays, stores like Target will produce cookie decorating kits with pre-baked cookies, premade icing and sprinkles. I've not used these and I can't account for the taste, but it's an alternative to making & baking your own.
2. Buy a roll of pre-made sugar cookie dough and cut and bake. You won't have the shapes we'll be decorating in our sessions but you can apply the basic skills to decorate them. You can also add flour to the dough and then roll it out to make shaped cookies. Here's a link explaining how to do that.
3. Buy a sugar cookie mix and follow the instructions to make cut-out cookies.
Royal Icing
This video takes you through 2 different ways to make Royal Icing; one using meringue powder and one using fresh, raw egg whites.
We'll also discuss a mix you can purchase where you just add water as well as a pre-mixed, ready-to-use option that you can buy at JoAnns, Michaels or online. Both of those will cost more and the pre-mixed option may not allow the same level of control that you get if you mix your own, but it is more convenient.
Decorating Supplies
Cookie Cutters
Cookie cutters come in a crazy variety of shapes, sizes and materials. Some work better than others and some are cooler looking but not so easy to use. You may have some that have been handed down over the years that remind you of decorating cookies growing up. In any case, your options are pretty much infinite.
Do a web search for cookie cutters and you'll see lots of websites with all sorts of shapes. If you can't find a shape you like, you can either make your own OR you can send away to a company that will make them for you.
Food Coloring
Food coloring comes in a variety of options, but I've found the gel paste are the best - a great range of colors, very concentrated so you don't need a lot and no unpleasant aftertaste. They also come in 3 sizes, depending on how much cookie decorating you plan to do.
Available online or at Joann Crafts, Michaels, Sur la Table, Williams Sonoma or (sometimes), even your local grocery store.
Decorating Bags
You'll need decorating bags to pipe the icing onto your cookies. The specific technique I'm teaching uses a thinner consistency icing that isn't conducive to being spread on with a spatula. And any sort of detail you want to add will be much easier with the decorating bags.
You can get these at most craft stores (JoAnn's or Michaels) and they're available everywhere online. (You can get them really reasonably priced on Amazon.)
Sprinkles
You can go crazy here. There's every imaginable color, size, style, theme and shape you might want. I tend to go light on the sprinkles but sometimes the occasion calls for something more extreme. Mix and match! Have fun!
Sprinkles are available at any craft store or baking supply outlet or pretty much anywhere that sells food items (usually in the area where they sell cake mixes, sugar, flour, etc.)
Other Equipment & Supplies
• Stand or Hand Mixer
• Apron
• Rubber Spatulas
• Hand Towels
• Small Bowls (w/lids is preferable)
• Toothpicks
• Scissors