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Tutorial: Speckled Egg Cookies

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Today, I’m sharing this tutorial for an easy and fast way to decorate some Easter themed cookies. These speckled egg cookies are great to decorate with the kiddos and make super cute Easter basket gifts. The sugar cookie recipe I use for my speckled egg cookies is my go-to recipe. They are easy to roll out and they hold their shape when baked. They’re easily adaptable – you can add in your favorite spices, extracts, herbs, and more. You can find the recipe for my sugar cookies on my Snowflake Sugar Cookie post.

Speckled Egg Cookies

I used an oval cookie cutter to cut out my cookies, and I tapered one end, by hand, to have a slightly pointed egg shape. You can also use a larger circle cutter and shape it to look like an egg. Alternatively, you can use a sharp knife and cut out an egg shape, with or without a template. I don’t buy a lot of cookie cutters since I don’t use them often so I tend to make do with what I have.

Once you cut out your cookies, they need to be chilled. Chilling is important with sugar cookies as it helps them retain their shape. Once the cookies have been chilled throughly, they are then baked and cooled completely. While the cookies are cooling, I make the royal icing. The recipe for my royal icing can also be found on my Snowflake Sugar Cookie post.

Speckled Egg Cookies

I made three different colors of royal icing to replicate the colors of Cadbury mini eggs – robin’s egg blue, dusty pink and golden yellow. To mix color into royal icing, be sure to add very little at a time using toothpicks. Royal icing takes on color really well and can get too saturated really fast. Keep in mind that it will also darken a shade or two after it is colored. These are the gel colors I used to color my royal icing:

Robin’s egg blue: royal blue and ivory

Golden yellow: Americolor gold, and golden yellow

Dusty pink – electric pink, and ivory

Ivory helps to tone down the hues so that the colors aren’t overly bright. Ivory is super necessary to have on hand for coloring royal icing, glaze, fondant, gum paste, etc.

Speckled Egg Cookies

One of the main issues that I hear from readers regarding royal icing, is that they are unsure of what the consistency needs to be for outlining and flooding, and if it is necessary to have multiple consistencies. I’m a no-fuss, one piping bag per color sort of cookie decorator, so I use a medium consistency for both outlining and flooding. This royal icing consistency post by Sweetopia is super helpful when determining if your icing is ready, so be sure to check it out. Royal Icing post coming from me in the near-ish future.

I used a PME tip #4 to outline my royal icing. I flooded the cookie with an Ateco #12 tip. After flooding the cookie, lightly shake it to distribute the icing and create a smooth and even surface. Outline, flood and let the cookies dry completely on the surface.

For the brown splatter effect, I mixed cocoa powder with a little bit of alcohol until a liquid paste (or slurry) forms. You can also use extracts instead of alcohol. Aim to use an extract that will compliment the flavor of your cookies and/or icing. I also made a metallic gold splatter  using edible gold luster dust.

Speckled Egg Cookies

Now, this is the messy part. If you have an airbrush box, do these next couple steps in the box. Otherwise, lay out some paper towels to catch the impending cocoa mess. Using a paintbrush that is designated for food only, or a small pastry brush, dip the brush into the liquid paste mixture and wipe off any dripping excess. Use your finger to flick the chocolate mixture from the brush onto the cookies. I do recommend that you practice on a paper towel first to get the hang of how much of the chocolate mix to add you your brush as well as a good distance to hold your brush from the cookies to achieve the overall technique. Variations splatter size looks best.

I repeated the same process with the gold, but I used much less of the splatter effect. I just wanted a little gold to pop on my cookies.

Let the cookies dry completely (preferably overnight) before storing or serving. Enjoy!

For another delicious Easter dessert, check out this recipe:

Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting

 

Tutorial: Snowflake Sugar Cookies

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Every holiday season when I was growing up, my mom and I would bake batches and batches of cookies the weeks leading up to Christmas. It was something I always looked forward to. I always hovered around to eat what was being baked, and also waited patiently to help cut out and decorate the sugar cookies. To this day, sugar cookies still always end up on our Christmas cookie platter as they are a family favorite.

Snowflake Sugar Cookies

While I’ve decorated loads of sugar cookies – a byproduct of owning a baking business, snowflake sugar cookies are some of my favorite to decorate. My snowflake sugar cookies will easily become your go-to cut out sugar cookie recipe. These cookies come together easily, roll out like a dream, and keep their shape when baked. Roll them out thinner for a crispier cookie, or roll them out thicker for more of a softer cookie.

The cookie dough has pretty typical ingredients found in a sugar cookie dough recipe, with butter, sugar, eggs, flour, salt and flavoring. I use vanilla bean paste with a hint of almond to flavor my cookies, but you can add zests, different extracts, herbs and spices to these cookies if you wish. These cookies are very versatile and adaptable to different flavor combinations.

Snowflake Sugar Cookies

One of the biggest issues that bakers tend to have with sugar cookies is spreading while baking. Some ways to prevent this is to just beat your butter and sugar together until combined. No need for “light and fluffy” for these cookies. Incorporating air during the beating process contributes to spread as it causes the cookies to puff up and deflate and spread while baking. Chilling the dough before baking is also an important step to help keep the cookies from spreading.

I should mention that I am not a pro cookie decorator. I generally do basic cookie decorating, but I do decorate cookies from time to time throughout the year, so I do have a few helpful tips and tricks that can help making cookie decorating a bit easier. I used royal icing to decorate my cookies but I use corn syrup in my recipe to help keep the icing from getting rock hard when dry, and it also helps the icing have a bit more elasticity when piping. The corn syrup also leaves the icing with a bit more shine. Royal icing with corn syrup does take just a little bit longer to dry at room temperature, but drying time can be sped up by drying the cookies in front of a fan.

Snowflake Sugar Cookies

If I’m planning for more of an intricate design for my cookies, I’ll trace the cookie cutter onto some sketch paper, then I’ll sketch out the design on the sketch paper to give me a better idea of what I’m trying to achieve, and to see if the design works and would translate well to the cookies. I got my snowflake cookie cutter from Target years ago, but any snowflake cookie cutter will work. Mine is about 4″, so it makes a cookie on the larger side.

Once I decided my design on paper, I used an edible ink marker and sketched out the basic design on my baked and cooled cookies. Use a lighter color, such as yellow or light brown and just do a light sketch so that the ink can’t be seen under the royal icing. I used two different icing consistencies – medium thick for outlining and a flooding consistency for filling in. I used three different icing tips – PME 1, 2, and 4. PME 2 for outlining, PME 1 for small details and PME 4 for “flooding,”or filling the cookies in with icing.

Snowflake Sugar Cookies

I topped my still wet cookies with a bit of sanding sugar to finish the design. Let the royal icing set completely before storing. Decorated sugar cookies will stay fresh for a week stored in an airtight container. I do not recommend freezing iced cookies. Condensation can ruin your royal icing, causing it to bleed colors and melt. You can freeze the cookies without icing. You can also refrigerate and freeze the royal icing, storing it in an airtight container.

These snowflake sugar cookies are the perfect cut out cookie for all your cookie decorating projects. They’re delicious, versatile and perfect for decorating for any holiday. Enjoy!

Snowflake Sugar Cookies

Check out these posts for more cookie recipes:

Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Cookies

Brown Butter Maple Pecan Cookies

Snowflake Sugar Cookies
Print Recipe

Snowflake Sugar Cookies

Buttery, tender sugar cookies that will easily become your go-to cut out sugar cookie recipe. These cookies come together easily, roll out like a dream, and keep their shape when baked.
Prep Time20 mins
Cook Time20 mins
Chill1 hr
Total Time40 mins
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Snowflake Sugar Cookies

Ingredients

Sugar Cookies:

  • 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg, room temperature
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste
  • 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
  • 3 cups all purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

Royal Icing:

  • 4 cups confectioner's sugar, sifted
  • 3 tablespoons meringue powder
  • 4 tablespoons warm water
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 teaspoons light corn syrup

Instructions

Make the cookies:

  • In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter and sugar until thoroughly combined.
  • Add the egg, beating until just combined.
  • Scrape down the bowl. Add the vanilla bean paste and the almond extract and beat to combine.
  • With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the flour and the salt and beat until just combined. 
  • Turn the dough out onto a work surface sprinkled lightly with confectioner's sugar. Pat the dough into a disc shape.
  • Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
  • Heat the oven to 350F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
  • Place the dough on a work surface that has been sprinkled with confectioner's sugar. Sprinkle the top of the dough and the rolling pin lightly with confectioner's sugar to prevent from sticking.
  • Roll out the dough to 1/8-3/8" thick, depending on your preference, rotating the dough as you roll to prevent the dough from sticking. 
  • Cut out desired shapes and place the cookies 2" apart on the cookie sheets.
  • Place the cookie sheets into the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to chill.
  • Bake the cookies for 17-20 minutes, until starting to turn a light golden brown on the edges. Rotate the cookie sheets, halfway through baking.
  • Let the cookies cool on the cookie sheets for 10 minutes, before transferring them to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Make the royal icing:

  • In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the confectioner's sugar and meringue powder. 
  • Add the warm water,  corn syrup and vanilla extract. 
  • Beat on low until everything is blended. Turn the mixer to medium-high speed and mix until the icing forms stiff, glossy peaks, about 5-7 minutes.
  • Icing can be thinned with water depending on the desired consistency. Gel or powder food color can be used to color the icing. Keep the icing covered with a damp towel to keep from drying out. Decorate your cookies as you wish.

Notes

Sugar cookie dough will keep in the refrigerator for up to three days. Dough can be frozen for up to a month.
This recipe makes 16-22 cookies depending on the size of the cutter used. I get 18 cookies with my 4" snowflake cookie cutter.