Ingredients

• Holiday Sugar Cookies recipe
• Royal Icing recipe
• Gel food coloring in Kelly Green, Juniper Green, Christmas Red, Golden Yellow, and Black (Wilton)
• Decorations (shiny dragees)

Instructions

Make the cookies and royal icing per the recipes. Review the Royal Icing Tutorial to understand “border” and “flood” consistencies.

Divide Royal Icing among 3 bowls: 3 cups (540 grams) in the first, 1½ cups (270 grams) in the second, and 1½ cups (270 grams) in the third. Cover bowls with a damp paper towel or kitchen towel to keep icing from drying out.

To the first bowl (3 cups), add water, 1 teaspoon at a time, until border consistency is reached. Place 1 cup in a pastry bag fitted with a very small round piping tip (Wilton No. 1). To the remaining 2 cups, add water, 1 teaspoon at a time, until flood consistency is reached. Place in a pastry bag or a small piping bottle (if using) fitted with small round piping tip (Wilton No. 3).

To the second bowl (1½ cups), slowly add Kelly green food coloring until a bright green is reached; slowly add Juniper green until the desired color is reached. Add water, 1 teaspoon at a time, until border consistency is reached. Place ½ cup in a separate bowl, cover airtight, and set aside. To the remaining 1 cup, add water, 1 teaspoon at a time, until flood consistency is reached. Place in a pastry bag or a small piping bottle (if using) with small round piping tip (Wilton No. 3).

To the third bowl (1½ cups), add Christmas red food coloring until desired color is reached; add golden yellow and a touch of black to keep it from going pink. Add water, 1 teaspoon at a time, until border consistency is reached. Place ½ cup in a separate bowl, cover airtight, and set aside. To the remaining 1 cup, add water, 1 teaspoon at a time, until flood consistency is reached. Place in a pastry bag or a small piping bottle fitted with small round piping tip (Wilton No. 3).

Using white border icing, pipe an outline along edges of a cookie. Using the white flood icing, fill in the top quarter of the round part of the ornament cookie; pipe a line each of red flood icing, green flood icing, white flood icing, green flood icing, and red flood icing. Fill in the remaining area with white flood icing. Using a wooden pick, remove any air bubbles and make sure there are no gaps in the icing.

Using a clean wooden pick, drag down through the center of the colored band of icing, wipe pick clean, and repeat 2 more times, to the left and right of the center, spacing evenly and wiping pick clean after each drag. Then drag up 2 times, between the down drags, wiping pick clean after each drag. Repeat with remaining cookies. Let dry for 2 to 3 hours.

Uncover the red and green border icings, and place each in a pastry bag fitted with a very small round piping tip (Wilton No. 1). Above the marble design, pipe a red line and then a green line. Below design, pipe a green line and then a red line. Pipe 2 more red lines, between each level down the point of the ornament shape on the lower part of the cookie. Pipe a horizontal row of green dots between bottom red lines (4 dots and then 3 dots); pipe a vertical row of 2 green dots on the bottom tip of the ornament.

Add dragees by placing a tiny dot of royal icing where you want the dragee to go and placing the dragee on top of that dot (I use tweezers to help place the decoration).

Let dry until hardened, about 30 minutes. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

Chef’s Note:

If needed, review the Royal Icing Tutorial.

Recipe adapted from Bake from Scratch