Cute Bunny Cookie Decorating Tutorial

You will then flood the areas as shown above using white and brown flood consistency icing.

Set aside to dry for several hours before applying the small details.

Using a soft round tipped brush, apply small amounts of pink lustre dust to the cheek area, use sparingly, your bunny can be over blushed very easily, it is not a good look.  Then using black pipe consistency. icing, you will pipe a small dot for the nose and eye.  

Using an edible or non-toxic pen, add a couple little lashes and then you will set your bunny aside to dry for approximately 24 hours before packaging.  

Cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to two weeks or sealed in cello bags for about the same amount of time.  The cookies will not go bad after two weeks, but they just won't be as soft and fresh tasting.

Royal Icing Recipe:

4 Cups Icing Sugar-Sifted after you measure
1/3 Cup room temp water
3 Tbsp Meringue Powder
Flavouring- a Teaspoon or so in your flavour of choice, just ensure that your flavouring is oil free.

Food Colouring: Brown, black, pink (small amount of red would also work), white

Whisk together water and meringue powder until powder is dissolved and mixture is frothy.  Add flavouring, and icing sugar.  Mix on low setting for about 5 minutes.  Low on my mixer is number 2.  If you find your icing isn't getting fluffy, flip to medium, setting 3-4, for about 3--40 seconds.  When icing is done, it should be matte, thick and fluffy.  Alot of recipes will state to mix on high, but I don't like to mix on high due to the risk of over mixing.  If icing is over mixed, it wil not set.

****This is not the recipe I currently use for my cookies, but it is the recipe I used when I first began decorating cookies.  This recipe will work just fine and is quite good, if you are interested in trying the recipe I use, it is included in all of my classes and with my colour guide.

Colouring your icing:

If you are a beginner, of course use whatever food colouring that is readily available to you, but if you would like to invest in good quality products, I do recommend Americolor Gels.  Lower quality gels tend to bleed so this is one of the things you will need to keep in mind when purchasing your food colouring.  Another thing to keep in mind is a little goes a long way.  Start small, and your colours will deepen with time and also they will dry darker.  Give your colours at least an hour or two to develop, even overnight for deeper shades.  Last tip, for white icing, I always add white colour to get a true white.  This helps with battling colour bleed as well.  

Colour your icing straight out of the mixer before making different consistencies.  To mute bold colours, I use browns, ivory, and sometimes a bit of black.  Use these sparingly.  To get your two shades of brown, prepare the darker one first, then add some of the dark brown icing to some of the base icing out of the mixer.  You will then have two browns that are the same colour, just a different tint.  Ensure you add some white food colouring to your white icing, you will be less likely to get colour bleed with the wet work.  When mixing the pink, use the food colouring VERY sparingly, a little really does go a long way. I typically add some white to my pink as well.  Then for your black, ensure you don't over saturate, mix to a deep grey and let it develop over night.  If you want to keep this super simple, just make a white bunny!  all you will need is white, pink which would also be aoptional, and a teeny bit of black icing.

If you would like to take the guess work out of colour mixing, I have created a guide that is jam packed full of colour mixing formulas using americolor gels for the most part.  If you are interested in this guide, please click here: The Millers Wife Royal Icing Colour Guide

Consistencies Required:

Pipe Consistency:  You are looking for a soft peak.  So when you pull your spoon out of the icing, it comes to a peak then curls over.  This is similar to the consistency of toothpaste.  I use this consistency for all outlining, details and text.  To achieve this consistency you will add VERY small amounts of water to your coloured icing.  Once you have reached a soft peak consistency, pull out a small amount, a couple tablespoons, and bag it in a tipless piping bag.  You will only need to make pipe consistency for the white and the black icing.

Flood Consistency: This is used for filling in the cookie and is similar to shampoo or honey in its consistency.  You will add small amounts of water to achieve this consistency, once your icing runs off your spoon like shampoo, bag it in a tipless piping bag.   Some people use a second method, so when you run a butter knife through your icing, it should take about 8-10 seconds to level out completely.  This is a good place to start for a beginner.  My icing is probably closer to 5 second icing, but using a thinner consistency, you run the risk of icing overflows so I recommend starting at about 10.  You will need white, two shades of brown, and pink in flood consistency.  

If you are a beginner, I would recommend using a spray bottle to add water.  It is very easy to go too far with how much water you add.  If you do go too far, you can add small amounts of icing sugar back into your icing to achieve desired consistency.

Roll Out Cookie Recipe:

Ingredients

1 Cup Salted Butter-room temp
1 Cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract½ teaspoon almond extract (the real stuff, no artificial)
1 egg
1 teaspoon baking powder*** -see notes below regarding spread
A pinch of salt
3 cups all purpose flour

Method
Preheat oven to 350 FIn the bowl of your mixer with paddle attachment cream butter and sugar until smooth, light and fluffy (about 3 minutes)

Beat in egg and extractsIn a separate bowl combine dry ingredients

Add a little at a time to wet ingredients

Mix until dough comes together and sides of mixer are clean (dough is all clinging to your paddle)

Remove dough and chill for about 45 minutes, you can chill longer, but you will have to let the dough sit out until it becomes workable, possibly 20-30 minutes, making sure it is still cool to the touch.

After 45 minutes, divide dough into workable batches. Roll out onto lightly floured surface. I usually roll my cookies to 3/8-inch thickness, you can use a rolling pin with guides, or I just use 2 pieces’ of doweling.

If you prefer, you can roll un-chilled dough between sheets of parchment or silicone mats, chill, then cut your shapes out of the chilled sheets. Whichever method works.

Cut your shapes and place on your parchment or silicone mat lined baking sheets. Try to keep the size of the cookie on each tray relatively close to ensure an even bake. After you have cut your shapes, if your dough is no longer cool, you can slip your pans into the freezer for approximately 3 minutes before putting in the oven.

Bake for 11-13 minutes. You are looking for the top of the cookie to be matte, no longer shiny and looks set. Let cool on tray for 4 minutes and then transfer to cooling rack until completely cooled.

Store in airtight container for up to two days before decorating. They do freeze well undecorated; I freeze in Ziploc freezer bags and pull out as needed.This recipe yields approximately 12-15 cookies depending on your size. 

*** This recipe as is does spread a bit, in order to battle this, I use perforated mats. To reduce or eliminate spread without mats, simply reduce or omit the baking powder. Adding a teaspoon of cornstarch to your flour mixture also helps. There are also lots of “no spread” recipes online if you choose to have a look before making a decision on your recipe. I prefer the recipe as is because I like the texture of the cookie better with the baking powder added.