Sunflower Wreath Cookies

This Sunflower Wreath Cookies tutorial is courtesy of our contributor Amy of BZ Bees Sweet Treats…I can hardly believe it’s already September! Although I’m not quite ready to say goodbye to summer, the beauty of autumn is a nice comfort. I just love those crisp evenings, changing leaves and the sweet smells of pumpkin spice wafting through the air. These autumn sunflower wreath cookies will have you ready to deck out your front door in the colors of the season.

These cookies may look difficult, but it’s all about the right tools! I used a variety of piping tips, but minimal effort and the best part is that all the icing is piping consistency. So just whip up a fresh batch of royal icing and you’re good to go.

Sunflower Wreath Cookies – Icing:

Here’s what you’ll need for your piping bags. All colors will be piping/stiff consistency. This Wilton Deluxe Tip Set has a great assortment of the tips you’ll be using. You can also find most of these individually packaged tips as at your local craft store such as AC Moore, Michael’s or Walmart.

• Dark brown with Wilton tip 233
• Yellow (I used Americolor lemon yellow with a touch of egg yolk yellow) with Wilton tip 352
• Black with Wilton tip 16
• Green with PME ST50
• Orange with Wilton tip 1 or use a tipless bag
• Red with Wilton tip 1 or use a tipless bag

Start by baking up a few simple circle cookies using your favorite sugar cookie recipe.

Let’s start by adding the grapevine wreath base. Hold your brown piping bag directly above your cookie approximately one inch from the surface and about 1/2 inch in from the outer edge. Using a steady even pressure, squeeze the piping bag until smooth ribbons of icing start to fall onto your cookie. Gently rotate your cookie as you continue to squeeze the bag. The further away you hold your piping bag, the more curly and random the icing ribbons will be as they fall onto your cookie.

Continue piping in one fluid motion while rotating your cookie until you reach the start of your circle. Don’t worry about stray icing, your grapevine wreaths should look rustic and natural. Allow the brown icing to dry for about 30 min.

Next we’ll add two sunflowers using the yellow icing. Hold your piping bag at a 45 degree angle and position the tip so the two points are stacked vertically on top of one another. Squeeze until you have your desired petal size, release pressure, and pull the bag away. This will help the icing form into a nice tapered petal. Work in a small circle and pipe 8-10 petals, leaving the center empty. Add a second layer of petals if you like.

Fill in the center of the flowers with black icing. Hold the piping bag at a 90 degree angle and squeeze 3-4 small stars into the center of the petals. Allow the first sunflower to dry a few minutes before adding a second flower following the same steps.

Once the the flowers are dry, use your green icing to pipe tiny leaves. Using the same technique as the sunflower petals, tuck in a few random leaves on either side of your flowers.

Once the leaves are dry, add in a few berry sprigs. Start by piping a few tiny dots of orange on the grapevine and spilling over onto the center and empty edges of your cookie.

Repeat with the red icing and your wreath is complete!

These sweet sunflower wreath cookies would make a wonderful housewarming gift or a beautiful centerpiece or place setting for a special autumn gathering. There’s no better time to welcome friends and enjoy the sights and scents of this wonderful season!

We’d like to extend a big THANK YOU to Amy for sharing this creative cookie 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.