This Floral Cookie Bouquet post is courtesy of our contributor Amy...Mother’s Day is just about 2 weeks away and spring is in the air! Why not surprise all the special mothers in your life with a gorgeous and EDIBLE cookie bouquet this year? This colorful cookie arrangement serves double duty – a sweet treat for mom AND a beautiful table centerpiece for the tasty meal you’re planning to cook her (right?!?!…..RIGHT!)
You can watch a cute video about the tutorial here then keep reading for the full written instructions!
Floral Cookie Bouquet – Tools and Supplies:
- Baked and cooled floral shaped cookies
- Stiff consistency royal icing in 1-2 colors for petals, and green for leaves
- Flood consistency icing
- Square-tipped food safe paintbrush and small dish of water
- Cookie sticks
- Vase and some type of weight to place inside
Bake 6 flower shaped cookies per arrangement using your favorite sugar cookie recipe. My go to is from In Katrina’a Kitchen.
I ordered the “Wonky Rose” cookie cutter from Whisked Away Cutters on Etsy a few weeks ago and I could hardly wait to use it! Although it’s technically a rose – you can use it for a variety of floral designs, or even as a conversation/thought bubble.
Now, for the fun part! I wanted to go for a pretty spring color palette, so I chose cheery yellow, fuchsia and orange for my flowers. But you can really go for any mom’s favorite colors. A dusty blue and purple would make a pretty hydrangea inspired combination as well.
Mix up a batch of royal icing. I like Wilton’s recipe which can be found here. You’ll want to keep 2/3 of your icing a stiff consistency – meaning its thick, but spreadable and stands up in peaks. You’ll be using the stiff icing for the leaves, and all of the brush embroidery petals. Separate the icing and tint using green, and 1-2 colors for your petals. Thin down the remaining 1/3 of your icing to flood consistency. You’ll be using this as the background color for all your flowers.
I decided to go with yellow as my flower base, and used orange and fuchsia for my petals. I was hoping to mimic this sunset colored rose.
I love using tipless piping bags for most of my cookie decorating. But sometimes I still use a traditional pastry bag and tips. I went with a tipless bag for my background color, and filled my remaining bags using a Wilton tip #2 and #3 for my two petal colors, and a Wilton tip #352 for the green leaves.
Once your icing is bagged and ready, begin by outlining the petals of your cookie with your flood consistency icing. Immediately fill in and use a scribe or toothpick to evenly distribute your icing. Be sure to pop any pesky air bubbles.
Let your cookies dry thoroughly before moving on to the next step. You want to be sure the icing is completely dry so you don’t dent or crumble it when we begin working with the paint brush.
Once your background color is dry, you can add your leaves. Start closest to your flower and hold your bag so the opening of the tip is vertical. You’ll want the bottom point of the tip to touch the cookie.
Apply gentle even pressure and pull your icing bag away from the center of your cookie. Release pressure on the bag and pull away completely. Your leaf should have a nice center ridge and end in a point.
If your leaf appears to wet and doesn’t have much definition, your icing is too thin. You can always thicken your remaining icing by adding a little extra powdered sugar. Just mix carefully to avoid any lumps. Add 2-3 leaves per cookie and let everything dry at least 15 min.
Now to the real fun! Start on one petal and pipe a line of icing along the edge. If you want a two tone effect, immediately pipe your second color right next to the first line.
Using a damp paintbrush gently pull the icing toward the center of the cookie in short but fluid strokes. You’ll want to see noticeable ridges in the icing, but still maintain a bit of the edge of the petal. If your icing begins clumping on the brush just give it a quick rinse. If the brushed icing lacks definition, dry off your brush a bit. It just needs to be slightly damp but not wet.
Work your way around the outer edge of the cookie one petal at a time, following the same technique. Once the outer edge is done, go back to your starting petal and pipe the same type of arched lines, just above where your pulled icing ends. Be sure to not cover too much of your brush lines, but don’t leave a gap between the inner and outer petals.
I was able to fit about 4 interior petals on my cookies. I finished them with a small dot of icing piped in the center, and used my paintbrush to draw a circle with the icing to soften the look.
I wanted my bouquet to look as realistic as possible, so I varied my petal colors and combinations. Some cookies were fuchsia then orange, some were orange then fuchsia, and some I just used a single color. When I only used one color of icing, I just piped a slightly heavier line so there was enough to brush inward.
Allow your cookies to dry a few hours. Next, use your remaining green icing and pipe a large mound directly in the center of your cookie. My green was not quite stiff enough so I added some more powdered sugar and filled a new tipless bag. Be sure to pipe a mound that’s about an inch tall, so it has enough depth to support your cookie stick. Place a cookie stick in the center of the mound of icing and let dry overnight.
I found these beautiful mason jars at a local craft store and weighted the bottom with some glass accent stones. Arrange your flowers and present mom with a beautiful bouquet that won’t wilt!
Happy Mother’s Day everyone!
We’d like to extend a big THANK YOU to Amy for sharing this rainbow cookies tutorial with us. Be sure to follow her on Facebook & Instagram for adorable cookie decorating ideas. You can also order cookies from her! Check out the FAQ section of her website for more information.