So, you’re ready to dive into the delightful world of cookie decorating? That’s fantastic! But before you get started, it’s important to have the right tools. This guide is designed to walk you through the essential cookie decorating supplies, perfect for beginners who are just starting to explore this fun and rewarding craft. We’ll cover everything from baking essentials to the specific tools you’ll need for creating beautiful royal icing designs.
Cookie Baking Essentials
First, let’s ensure you have the fundamental baking supplies. You might already have many of these in your kitchen. Discount stores can be a great place to find these items at budget-friendly prices.
A. Electric Mixer
An electric mixer is a must-have. It helps to properly combine ingredients for both cookie dough and royal icing. A hand mixer can get the job done, but a stand mixer offers more power and efficiency.
B. Rolling Pin
A rolling pin is essential for creating roll-out cookies. Any basic rolling pin will work, but for a more consistent result, consider option C.
C. Rolling Pin with Guides
A rolling pin with adjustable guides, like the Joseph Joseph rolling pin, ensures your cookies are evenly rolled to the correct thickness every time. This takes the guesswork out of the process and makes achieving uniform cookies much easier.
D. Whisk
A hand whisk is ideal for incorporating meringue powder into water when making royal icing.
E. Silicone Spatulas
Silicone spatulas are perfect for scraping down the sides of your mixing bowl, ensuring all ingredients are fully incorporated.
F. Large Flat Spatula
Use a large flat spatula to carefully transfer your baked cookies from the baking sheet to a cooling rack without breaking them.
G. Measuring Cups and Spoons
Accurate measuring is critical in baking. Invest in a good set of measuring cups and spoons for both liquid and dry ingredients to ensure consistent results.
H. Light Colored Baking Sheets
Light-colored baking sheets promote even baking. Dark-colored baking sheets can get too hot, leading to burnt cookie bottoms.
I. Cooling Rack
A cooling rack allows air to circulate around your freshly baked cookies, cooling them quickly and preventing them from becoming soggy.
J. Parchment Paper
Parchment paper creates a non-stick surface on your baking sheets, making cookie removal easy and cleanup even easier. Plus, you can often reuse a single sheet for multiple batches.
Saving Money on Supplies
Craft stores regularly offer coupons. Signing up for their mailing and email lists can save you money on your cookie decorating supplies.
Essential Cookie Decorating Supplies
Now, let’s move on to the fun part: decorating! These supplies will help you create stunning designs with royal icing.
A. Disposable Icing Bags
Disposable icing bags are made of thick plastic that you can reuse if washed.
B. Icing Bag Ties
Icing bag ties securely close the top of your piping bags, preventing icing from squeezing out the back. Bag clips are a good alternative.
C. Tip Couplers
Piping tip couplers secure your decorating tips to the end of the piping bag. Having couplers allows you to quickly and easily change tips without changing the entire bag of icing.
D. Plastic Wrap
Using plastic wrap inside the piping bag makes prep and clean up easier.
E. Candy Melt Squeeze Bottles
These bottles work great for flooding cookies with royal icing.
F. Squeeze Bottles with Couplers
Squeeze bottles with couplers are ideal for outlines, lettering, and fine details.
G. Chopsticks
Royal icing will separate after a few hours in the bottles. Chopsticks are great to whip them back into shape.
H. Wilton Icing Tips
Wilton tips are affordable and easy to find in stores. They are great for beginners.
I. PME Icing Tips
PME brand tips are made of stainless steel, making them more durable than Wilton tips.
J. Plastic Measuring Cups with Spouts
These measuring cups have a plastic spout to make pouring easy.
K. Small Rubber Spatulas
These tiny rubber spatulas are perfect for mixing food coloring in icing.
L. Spray Bottle
A spray bottle is essential to achieving the correct royal icing consistency. Spray bottles are great for controlling how much water is added for thinning royal icing consistency.
M. Food Coloring Gels
Good-quality food coloring is important for achieving deep, bold colors. For starters, a student 12-pack of colors is enough.
N. Toothpicks
Toothpicks are great for popping air bubbles in royal icing, adding tiny amounts of food coloring, and guiding icing into tight corners of your design.
O. Boo Boo Stick
The pointed end acts like a toothpick, while the flat end works great for scraping off mistakes.
P. Needle Tool
This needle tool works great for cookies as well.
Q. Scribe
This scribe tool is nice to have for etching a design into the surface of a cookie.
R. Cookie Cutter Collection
Cookie cutters are the perfect starter set. It has all the basic geometric shapes in various sizes, all the major holidays, popular animals, letters, numbers, and more.
S. Double-Sided Square and Circle Cutters
You can never have too many square or circle cutters.
T. Americolor Gourmet Writers
These markers are easy to find in craft stores.
U. FooDoodlers
They have a pointed, stiff pen tip for drawing small details and they are really affordable.
V Rainbow Dust Food Pen
Rainbow Dust Food Pens are the ultimate food marker out there. They are double sided, one end with a wide brush tip and the other a super fine pointed tip.
Optional Equipment Supplies
If you caught the decorating bug and feel like custom cookies might be a more frequent hobby (or possible new career), then I highly recommend investing in the following gadgets. They really help make the life of a cookie decorator so much easier.
A. Oscillating Heated Fan
A countertop space heater really helps with the decorating process. It will speed up the dry time, prevent caters from forming, and leave the icing with a smooth and shiny surface.
B. Bag Heat Sealer
A heat sealer is a great way to keep your cookies fresh and presentable.
C. Kopykake Projector
A Kopykake projector is THE ultimate cookie decorating tool. I could not do fancy lettering or detailed character cookies without this projector to aid me.
With the right supplies, you’ll be well on your way to creating beautifully decorated cookies that are sure to impress! Happy decorating!
