This Pineapple Cookies tutorial is courtesy of our contributor Amy of BZ Bees Sweet Treats…Have you noticed the recent popularity of pineapples? From home decor, to apparel and accessories, that sweet little fruit is practically everywhere I look! So I’m jumping on the pineapple express with my latest fun and fruity watercolor cookie tutorial.
Pineapple Cookies – What You’ll Need:
- 3 inch and 1 inch round cookies (sugar cookie recipe)
- White 20 second royal icing (royal icing recipe)
- Yellow 15 second icing (I used a combo of Americolor lemon yellow and egg yolk yellow)
- Brown flood consistency icing
- Gel food color in your choice of colors (I used Americolor electric green, turquoise and orange, and Wilton rose pink)
- Vodka or clear flavored extract
- Green piping consistency icing and leaf tip 352
Outline and flood the larger circle cookie using white royal icing. Allow the cookies to dry completely for 8+ hours. The cookies will need to be totally dry so the icing doesn’t crack or crater once you begin painting.
While your white circles are drying, let’s create the pineapples. Outline and flood the smaller circles using your yellow icing.
Immediately pipe 3-4 curved lines across the cookie with the brown icing. I just snipped a small hole in my tipless piping bag, but you can use a tip 1 if you want a more precise size.
While the icing is still wet, drag a toothpick or scribe upward through the lines to create the pineapple’s skin texture. Set aside to dry.
Once the larger cookies are dry, the painting fun begins! I added just a touch of each gel color to my palette, then mixed in a few drops of vodka. You’ll want to paint with vodka or clear extract because the alcohol will evaporate quickly on the surface of your cookie. Avoid painting with water since it will break down the icing and create an uneven pitted texture.
I wanted a more vibrant color effect for these cookies, but for a more pastel watercolor look add an even smaller amount of color. Start by just the touching the tip of a toothpick to the surface color and add more as needed.
I started with pink and painted stripes across the top half of the cookie. Next I added blue along the bottom. Be sure to clean the brush with water in between colors, or you’ll end up with a muddy look. Once the cookie was almost covered in color, I dipped my brush back into the vodka to help soften and blend the tones. I just love the pops of purple around the cookie!
I painted a few different color combinations. Have fun with this part and blend as much or as little as you like. The possibilities are endless! Allow the painted cookies to fully dry before attaching the pineapples.
Add a bit of green piping icing to the back of your yellow cookie and attach toward the bottom of the larger circle. Be sure to position with the lines curving upward.
Add the pineapple’s crown in 4 sections starting at the center of the pineapple. Hold the leaf tip with the points stacked one of top of the other. Apply gently pressure and pull the icing away from the pineapple body. I wiggled the bag forwards and backwards just a bit to create the wavy leaf effect.
Add another leaf on each side of the center. Allow the icing to crust over for a few minutes and add a second shorter layer directly over the first center leaf.
These pineapple cookies would be the perfect dessert at any summer BBQ, luau or tiki themed party. Aloha!
We’d like to extend a big THANK YOU to Amy for sharing these fun pineapple cookies 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.
