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5 from 2 votes

Edible Paint for Cookies: Fun Food Art Recipe

What to do when painting cookies with food coloring? Keep in mind that colorful and decorative sugar cookies are perfect for any occasion. However, using royal icing for decorating sugar cookies is time-consuming. Suppose you want a convenient way to make colorful sugar cookies; try painting with food coloring instead. Painting with food coloring is quick, and you can create a design as simple or as intricate as you like. 
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Painting Cookies With Food Coloring
Author: cakedecorist.com

Equipment

  • Mixing bowls
  • Measuring cups
  • Measuring Spoons
  • Rolling Pin
  • Cookie-cutter of your choice
  • Piping Bag
  • Piping tip no. 3
  • Scribe tool or toothpick
  • Food coloring (gel), you can choose any color you like, depending on the design you wanted to paint.
  • Vodka or grain alcohol
  • Paint palette
  • Food grade brushes (thin artist brush, round brush, and flat brush)
  • Paper towel
  • Bowl of water (for rinsing the brushes)

Ingredients
  

For the Painted Sugar Cookies

For the Royal Icing

Instructions 

For the Sugar Cookies

  • First and foremost, prepare a medium-sized bowl. After that, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Then, set it aside.
  • Afterward, take your electric mixer attached with a paddle attachment. After that, make sure to set your mixer to high speed. And ensure to beat the sugar and butter in a large bowl. Remember, mix until it becomes smooth and creamy for about two minutes. Then, add the egg, vanilla, and almond extract (optional). Next, beat at high speed for a minute until well-combined. Ensure to scrape the bowl's sides and bottom with a rubber spatula. And beat again to combine well.
  • Then, pour your flour mixture into your wet mixture. And mix on low until all combine well. Remember, the dough will be soft. But, if it is too soft, add a tablespoon of flour.
  • After that, divide your cookie dough into two. Then, place each dough into a lightly dusted parchment paper or a silicone mat. With that, lightly dust your rolling pin. And roll out your dough into 1/4-inch thick. Because of this, you can use more flour if the dough is too sticky. The rolled-out dough can be in any shape. However, make sure it is 1/4-inch thick.
  • Next, lightly dust one rolled-out dough with flour. And put parchment on top to prevent sticking. After that, place the second rolled-out cookie dough on top of the parchment. Then, cover it with cling wrap. And place it inside the refrigerator for 1 to 2 hours.
  • Once chilled, make sure to preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. After that, line 2 or 3 of your large baking sheets with parchment paper. Then, gently and carefully remove the top dough from the refrigerator.
  • Next, cut your cookies using the cookie cutter of your choice. Afterward, roll the dough again. And continue to cut out the cookies as much as you can. With this, repeat the process with the second dough. Then, reuse the scraps and roll them out to cut more cookies.
  • After that, arrange your cookies 3-inch apart on the baking sheets. Then, bake your cookies for about 11 to 12 minutes. Or bake it until they become lightly browned around the edges. Then, rotate your baking sheet halfway throughout baking if your oven has hot spots.
  • If the cookies cook entirely, take them out of the oven. And ensure to cool them on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, transfer them into a wire rack to cool completely.

For the Royal Icing

  • Before anything else, beat the sugar, meringue powder, and water using a mixer with a whisk attachment at high speed. Make sure to use a large bowl. Because of this, make sure to mix for about 2 minutes.
  • When lifting the whisk, the icing should be smooth and should drizzle down. If you think that your icing is too thick, you can add more water. If you think that the icing is too thin, ensure to add more sifted powdered sugar.
  • Afterward, put your royal icing on a piping bag with a no.3 piping tip. Take your cooled sugar cookies and ice your cookies. Then, use your scribe tool or toothpick to shape the icing. After that, allow the royal icing to dry completely. In this regard, leaving it to dry overnight is preferable.

For Painting the Sugar Cookies

  • Prepare your sugar cookies with dry royal icing. Then, mix food coloring with vodka or grain alcohol.
  • After that, carefully dip your brush into the paint. And blot it on the paper towel. Next, paint in layers. With that, start with using a light color paint layer when doing your design. Also, keep a photo of your design as a reference.
  • Next, use the thin artist brush to paint the fine details. You can also use a damp brush to remove any mistakes if needed.
  • Once satisfied with your design, let the cookies dry completely. Serve and enjoy!

Notes

When painting your sugar cookies, make sure that you have a smooth surface of royal icing as a canvas. If you happen to have wet icing, then it tends to absorb the paint. In addition to that, your cookies will be blotchy and ruined.
Moreover, to avoid porous royal icing, do not over-mix. With that, mix it at medium-low speed for not more than five minutes. Likewise, do not over-thin out your icing. After that, add your powdered sugar a tablespoon until you reach a fifteen to the twenty-second count.
Additionally, dry your sugar cookies completely. Likewise, dry your iced cookies in front of a fan if needed before painting them. Furthermore, to store your painted cookies, store them in an airtight container at room temperature. With that, the cookies will stay soft for about five days. 
Also, to store longer, cover the cookies and refrigerate. Because of this, they will last up to ten days. Moreover, use alcohol instead of water for painting the cookies. The main reason is that alcohol evaporates quicker than water. For this reason, it will not cause the icing to dissolve when painting the cookies. 
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