Hey Besties! I’m so excited about sharing today’s cookies! I’ve been receiving a lot of requests for guidance on learning some of the embroidery techniques in cookie decorating. You can use this technique for endless design options, but today, we’re making some hydrangea cookies! These are perfect for Easter, Mother’s Day or for any other florally set! We’ll cover everything you need to know, and I’ve also created a video for you see the technique in action. I LOVE this technique because it is very forgiving; nothing is perfect and doesn’t need to be! This is where cookie art comes into play; every cookie is different and there are no hard rules! It’s easy to create beautiful designs and endless options. Let’s dive in!
Brush Embroidery Basics
While we’re focusing on hydrangea cookies today, I do want to share that I published THIS post last year as well. I covered this embroidery technique with step-by-step photos and all the basics you need for several designs. I highly encourage you to review that post to see some of the other design ideas.
But due to popular demand, I created a video for a better learning experience. Before we get there, let’s review the essentials needed for this technique. The best news is that you need very little in the way of new tools for this technique!
All you really need is a decent brush set, dedicated solely for cookies, of course! I have several brushes I use for decorating, but THIS is a set I recommend for this technique.
Once you have your brushes, all you’ll need is:
- Small bowl of water
- Paper towel for dabbing
- Stiff icing
Making Hydrangea Cookies
For these cookies, we’ll start with flooding and adding a second color using wet-on-wet technique which will create a beautiful color variation in our flowers. The flood then needs to be completely dry, ideally overnight, before you start this technique. Since you’re applying pressure with the brush, your flood layer would break if it wasn’t completely dry.
You will want to use a pretty stiff royal icing consistency. THIS is my go-to royal icing recipe and the consistency when freshly whipped is perfect for this. If your icing has thinned, just add some powdered sugar to thicken back up. It does not need to be as stiff as you would use for making flowers, but you basically don’t want the flood to run on its own at all. The right consistency will give you the definition you’re looking for in the brushstrokes. If you’re not getting much definition, your icing may be too runny. Or if you’re icing crumbles when you try to pull it, it’s too dry.
Here are the basic steps you’ll see when creating this look.
- Pipe a scalloped edge flower
- Dip brush in water
- Dab water off on paper towel so brush is just hardly moist
- Pull the icing down to create the brushstrokes and effect you are looking for
- Repeat!
You can use different size brushes depending on your desired look, so play around and have fun!
Video Tutorial
Without further ado, you can find the decorating video HERE! I intentionally went through a couple examples, including some slow-motion sections so you can really see the details. I hope you find these tips and video guidance helpful and that you will be inspired to try your own cookies!
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