What’s actually slowing this PC down?
The Tool Desk
Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Pick the symptom - the matching free tool is one click away.
ThatPainter is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Learn More
To decorate 6 of Martha’s prettiest holiday sugar cookies, start with one chilled rolled sugar-cookie dough and vary the shape, icing, color, texture, and embellishments. Make piped or dipped snowflakes, chocolate-dipped cutouts, painted stars and presents, and textured wreaths, then let each finish set before handling.
The six designs share a practical workflow, but they do not use identical icing consistencies or equipment. Piping needs a stable royal icing and a round tip; dipping needs a looser coating; chocolate requires tempering; painted finishes need dry icing; and wreath toppings must be added before the icing sets.
Quick wins for a faster PC:
Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →#1 Best Overall
- Riccle Piping Bags and Tips Set, 11.8 Inch 100 Anti Burst Piping Bags, 124 Pcs Cake Decorating Kit with 16 Piping Tips, 1 Reusable Pastry Bags, 3 Cake Scrapers
- Riccle Frosting Piping Kit includes 100 x piping bags disposable, 1 x silicone pastry bag, 16 x stainless steel frosting tips, 3 x Cake Scrapers, 2 x frosting couplers, 2 x cake decorating bags ties. No matter your pro or novice, this cake piping kit could unleash your creativity.
- Premium Cake Decorating Supplies for Lasting Elegance: Our durable and reusable piping bags piping bags, along with our cookie decorating tools and supplies decorating tools ensure a seamless blend of functionality and elegance.
- Explore creativity with Cupcake Decorating Kit: Experience baking bliss with our disposable piping bags. Effortless cleanup is just a twist away—simply dispose the frosting piping bags when done. Perfect for those who appreciate the art of baking without the added stress of cleaning up.
- Riccle Icing Bags and Tips Set: Unleash your inner pastry chef with our top-tier pastry bags and tips. Whether you're a baking enthusiast or a seasoned pro, Riccle Cake Supplies, which includes royal icing piping bags, reusable frosting bags, and cake decorating tips is a must-have for achieving consistently stunning results in every delightful creation.
Key takeaways
- One chilled rolled sugar-cookie dough can become six holiday designs: two snowflakes, chocolate-dipped shapes, stars, presents, and wreaths.
- Royal icing needs different consistencies: thicker icing for piping and details, thinner icing for flooding or dipping.
- Martha Stewart’s holiday dough recipe yields about two dozen 4-inch cookies, although cutter size and assortment determine how much dough you need.
- Thin royal-icing coatings generally need about 2 to 3 hours to dry, thicker coatings need about 6 to 8 hours, and packaged cookies should dry for 24 hours.
- Dipping and sprinkling are the easiest techniques; piped snowflakes and painted designs require more timing and precision.
What do you need to decorate holiday sugar cookies?
You need cooled cutout sugar cookies, royal icing or tempered chocolate, holiday cookie cutters, parchment, cooling racks, small bowls, decorations, and a few precision tools. Piping bags, a medium plain round tip, a toothpick or metal cake tester, and a new small food-safe paintbrush cover most of the six designs.
An optional cookie decorating kit can consolidate piping bags, tips, couplers, and related tools, but a kit is not necessary. If you already own pastry bags and tips, buying only consumable ingredients and decorations may be more practical. Verify the current contents and retailer availability before purchasing.
| Design | Cookie shape and size | Main finish | Difficulty | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Extra-large snowflakes | Large snowflake cutters | Piped royal icing, sanding sugar, dragées or sugar pearls | Moderate | Detailed, sparkling cookies |
| Small pastel snowflakes | 1- to 2-inch snowflake cutters | Dipped royal icing and pastel sanding sugar | Easy | A quick, forgiving finish |
| Chocolate-dipped shapes | Trees, bears, reindeer, or other cutouts | Tempered white, milk, or dark chocolate | Easy to moderate | High-contrast cookies with a richer finish |
| Shining stars | 2- to 3-inch stars | White royal icing and luster-dust paint | Moderate | Metallic-looking decoration |
| Sugar-cookie presents | 3-inch squares | Royal icing and painted crosshatch “ribbon” | Moderate | Polished gift-box designs |
| Wreaths and fluted rounds | 31⁄2-inch and 1-inch fluted rounds | Royal icing, nuts, fruit, candy, and sprinkles | Easy to moderate | Textured, organic decoration |
How should you prepare the cookies before decorating?
Make and chill the dough according to Martha Stewart’s holiday sugar-cookie guide, then roll and cut the shapes required for your chosen designs. Chill and bake the cookies as directed, and cool them completely before adding icing, chocolate, sanding sugar, or painted details.
Martha Stewart’s editorial guidance, published in 2025, says the common sugar-cookie recipe makes about two dozen 4-inch treats. That yield is a planning estimate rather than a guarantee for every assortment: small snowflakes produce more cookies, while large snowflakes and wreaths use more dough. Doubling or tripling the dough is a reasonable practical inference when making all six styles, but the exact amount depends on cutter size and how many of each design you want.
Free tools Windows power users keep installed
One-click scans. No signup required.
Set cooled cookies on parchment or a clean work surface. Prepare the royal icing and divide it into colors or consistencies before beginning. Keep the cookies in a single layer while decorating so wet icing and chocolate do not touch neighboring cookies.
How do you make royal icing for Christmas cookies?
Royal icing is the best all-purpose choice for detailed sugar-cookie decorating because it can be piped, flooded, dipped, painted over, and finished with decorations. Martha Stewart’s updated royal-icing recipe uses 1 pound of confectioners’ sugar with either 5 tablespoons of Meringue powder or 2 large egg whites. The meringue-powder version also uses a scant 1⁄2 cup of water.
Mix the icing until it leaves a ribbonlike trail on the surface that remains visible for five seconds. Add water gradually to loosen the icing; adding too much water at once can make the icing too thin for clean outlines or raised details. For more guidance, King Arthur Baking’s cookie-decorating guide recommends gel or powdered coloring instead of liquid coloring, which can dilute royal icing and make it grainy.
| Consistency | Use it for | What it should do |
|---|---|---|
| Stiff | Raised details, thick lines, and some piping | Hold a defined shape |
| Toothpaste-like | Outlining cookies | Pipe a stable border without spreading quickly |
| Thick-syrup or cold-molasses-like | Flooding and dipping | Spread or settle into a smooth surface |
For an outlined cookie, pipe the border first, fill the enclosed area, and use a toothpick or metal cake tester to move icing into corners and smooth gaps. Keep unused icing covered so the surface does not crust while you work.
The Tool Desk
Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Outbyte PC Repair FREERepair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Rank #2
- Perfect Gift Set for Beginners and Pro - LUSHYUM Sugar cookie decorating kits feature all the tools you need to make your holiday cookie dreams come true, from piping bags and tips to decorating utensils! Comes with a elegant storage case to be a particularly good gift set for kids and icing cookie lovers!
- Food Grade High-Quality Supplies - Equiped with 2pcs 12" resuable silicone TPI piping bags and 20pcs 12" disposable bags, which are special for cookies. You never need to worry about the embarrassing incident of the bag burst, all the pastry bags are thick and durable.
- Health & Safe & Popular Icing Tips - A careful selection of 12 basic and popular piping nozzles, from lining, flooding, to floral decoration. No more problem of difficult clean makes bacteria residuals or scratching your hands caused by those seam nozzles. With 304 stainless steel & seamless craft, choose the better one for kids and yourself!
- Thoughtful Cookie Decorating Utensils - All tools your need while decorating are here! 360-degree 4" acrylic turntable totate smoothly to support you fill fine details of cookies. 10pcs decoration brushes for unique icing patterns and highlighting with Luster Powders. Scriber needles and tweezer help you make your works better looking.
- What's in the Box - PIPING BAGS & TIPS SET: 2 * reusable silicone TPU piping bags, 20 * disposable pastry bags, 12 * icing nozzles ( 4 rounds + 1 leaf + 7 flowers), 1 * flower nail, 4 * couplers, 4 * silicone bag ties, 4 * bag clips. DECORATING TOOLS: 1 * acrylic turntable, 2 * scribes, 10 * decoration brushes, 1 * tweezer, 1 * edible pen. OTHER SUPPLIES: 5 * heart cookie cutters, 50 * package Bags, 1 * clean brush.
Meringue powder is the convenient alternative to raw egg whites in the cited Martha Stewart recipe. Martha specifically recommends the meringue-powder option when sharing cookies with someone who has a compromised immune system; follow the recipe and the ingredient labels for your particular products.
How do you decorate extra-large piped snowflakes?
Extra-large piped snowflakes are the most technique-sensitive of the six designs, but they create the most intricate result. Use large snowflake cutters, royal icing in a piping consistency, a pastry bag fitted with a medium plain round tip such as Ateco #5 or #7, sanding sugar, and dragées or sugar pearls.
- Pipe the snowflake design onto a completely cooled cookie.
- Immediately cover the wet icing with sanding sugar so the sugar adheres.
- Shake off the excess sugar.
- Attach larger dragées or sugar pearls with small dots of royal icing.
- Allow the finished cookies to set for about an hour before serving or storing, following Martha Stewart’s decorating instructions.
Work on one cookie at a time when adding sanding sugar. If the piped icing begins to crust before the sugar is applied, the sugar will not adhere as evenly.
What is the easiest way to decorate snowflake sugar cookies?
Small pastel snowflakes are the easiest snowflake design because they replace precision piping with dipping and sprinkling. Use 1- to 2-inch snowflake cutters and pastel sanding sugar.
- Dip the top of a cooled cookie into royal icing.
- Lift the cookie and let the excess icing drip off.
- Cover the wet icing with pastel sanding sugar.
- Set the cookie aside in a single layer until the coating is firm.
This method is more forgiving than piping because the icing covers the top surface without requiring a perfectly drawn snowflake pattern. Choose sanding sugar in a few coordinated colors if you want variety without mixing several icing shades.
Rank #3
- All-in-One Cake Decorating Supplies Kit: Total 158pcs baking accessories, includes everything you need to start decorating your cakes: a revolving cake stand, 3 scrapers, angled & straight spatulas, 49 standard-size piping tips, 8 Russian tips, 7 Korean nozzles, tips cleaning brush, 3 couplers, 50 disposable pastry bags, 2 reusable piping bags, 2 bag ties, 2 flower nails, flower lifter, cake pen and 3 cake pen top, cake leveler, 14 fondant molds, smoother, 5 measuring spoons, egg separator, and whisk.
- 360° Spinning Cake Turntable: This essential baking supplies tool features a cake stand with an 11-inch diameter in a macaron color that spins smoothly on a hidden ball bearing, allowing you to achieve stunningly consistent patterns and gorgeous designs. With 360° clockwise and counterclockwise rotation, you can decorate like a PRO. The light color design makes you enjoy your cake decorating projects.
- Piping Bags and Tips Set: 49 standard-sized, 8 Russian, and 7 Korean numbered piping tips, 50 disposable piping bags, 2 pink reusable pastry bags, 3 couplers, and 2 bag ties. With this frosting set, you can design different patterns for your cakes. Don’t worry, we have a pattern chart to help you eliminate guesswork by providing outcomes for each tip. Besides, a tips cleaning brush for easy cleaning of the nozzles after use.
- Angled and Straight Icing Spatulas: Made from high-quality stainless steel, these exceptional frosting spatulas simplify the process of achieving evenly frosted layers and working on layered cakes. With a 12.5-inch angled spatula and a 10.6-inch straight spatula, you can effortlessly create smooth surfaces and crumb-free layers.
- E-Book Guide to Use: Come with a pattern chart that serves as a guide for the numbered icing tips. Furthermore, a detailed and professional E-Book is available, providing advanced guidance on using Kootek baking tools and creating exquisite cakes or cupcakes. This valuable resource is ideal for beginners as well as for professionals, making our set the perfect choice for those seeking to improve their baking skills. Also a thoughtful gift for Mother's Day, a wedding, or a party.
How do you make chocolate-dipped sugar cookies?
Chocolate-dipped sugar cookies use tempered white, milk, or dark chocolate instead of royal icing as the main coating. Martha’s examples use tree, bear, and reindeer shapes, but the same method works with any sturdy cutout.
- Cool the cookies completely.
- Temper white, milk, or dark chocolate according to the chocolate manufacturer’s directions.
- Dip the top of each cookie into the tempered chocolate.
- While the chocolate is still wet, add nonpareils, dragées, or sanding sugar.
- For additional details, pipe lines or accents with chocolate and let the finish set before stacking.
Chocolate gives the cookies a richer taste and a strong visual contrast. Decorations need to be added while the chocolate is wet; once the chocolate sets, sprinkles and sugar will no longer adhere reliably.
How do you decorate shining star sugar cookies?
Shining stars use a simple white royal-icing base followed by a splattered luster-dust finish. Use 2- to 3-inch star cookies, white royal icing, luster dust, vodka, and a new small food-safe paintbrush.
- Dip the cooled star cookies in white royal icing.
- Let the icing dry until the surface is firm.
- Mix luster dust with a small amount of vodka to make a thin paint.
- Load the new paintbrush and flick the paint over the cookie surface.
- Allow the painted finish to dry before handling.
Use only decorations suitable for your intended audience and follow the labeling for the luster dust and other embellishments. A new, food-safe brush prevents residue from art materials from coming into contact with the cookies.
How do you decorate sugar-cookie presents?
Sugar-cookie presents use 3-inch square cookies, colored royal icing, and a painted crosshatch pattern that suggests ribbon. Divide the icing into white, red, and green portions, adjusting each portion to a dipping or flooding consistency.
- Dip the cooled square cookies in white, red, or green royal icing.
- Let the icing dry until the surface can support painted lines.
- Mix luster dust with a small amount of vodka.
- Use a new 1⁄2-inch food-safe paintbrush to paint a crosshatch pattern over the cookie.
- Let the painted finish set fully before packaging.
The crosshatch does not need to be perfectly symmetrical to read as ribbon. Keep the brush lightly loaded so the luster-dust paint makes narrow lines rather than puddles.
Rank #4
- Cake Decorating Supplies: 100 pcs 12-inch large piping bags, 16 pcs stainless steel frosting piping tips set, 2 pcs couplers for piping bags, 2 pcs piping bag ties, 3 x plastic scrapers. You will have all the necessary tools to decorate delectable cakes
- Anti Burst & Anti-slip: Our sturdy and durable frosting bags can be safely holds stiff buttercream and melted chocolate without splitting or leaking. The icing piping kit anti-slip textured surface keeps your grip steady for clean, precise control
- Stainless Steel Piping Tips Set : The cookie decorating supplies with the 2 pcs couplers, 16 pcs frosting tips, star tips for rosettes, round tips for writing and dots, petal tips for flowers, leaf tips for leaves, and multi-hole tips for grass effects. Rust-proof, clog-resistant, and fit standard couplers so you can switch frosting tips mid-design with one twist
- Easy to Fill, Easy to Clean：Frosting piping bag wide open-mouth design makes it quick and easy to fill with buttercream or frosting, and the included bag ties secure the bag opening firmly — no overflow, no mess. disposable piping bags go straight in the trash after baking; the stainless steel tips are dishwasher-safe and won't rust or retain odor
- Practical Icing Bags and Tips Set: Whether you are a professional pastry chef or someone who wants to try cake decorating at home, this icing piping kit set meets your needs. The baking set is an indispensable tool that allows you to effortlessly create stunning cake decoration effects and showcase your creativity and skills at various parties, celebrations, or special occasions
How do you make wreath-shaped sugar cookies?
Wreath cookies are made by cutting the center from a larger fluted round and decorating the remaining ring with white royal icing and textured toppings. Use 31⁄2-inch and 1-inch fluted round cutters.
Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
1Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute2Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems3Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches- Cut large fluted rounds from the chilled dough.
- Use the smaller cutter to remove the center from each large round, creating a wreath.
- Bake and cool the wreaths completely.
- Coat them with white royal icing.
- Before the icing sets, add the toppings in a balanced pattern.
Martha’s examples use ground pistachios, freeze-dried raspberries, pearlized chocolate balls, nonpareils, candied ginger, and pink peppercorn berries. The ingredients create contrasting green, red, white, glossy, and irregular textures. Add every topping while the icing is wet; waiting until the surface sets will make the decorations harder to attach.
When can decorated sugar cookies be stacked or packaged?
Decorated sugar cookies should be stacked or packaged only after the icing, chocolate, and painted finishes are fully set. Martha Stewart’s royal-icing guidance gives approximately 2 to 3 hours for a thin coating, 6 to 8 hours for thicker icing, and a full 24 hours before cookies are handled for packaging or mailing.
| Finish | Published guidance | Practical handling rule |
|---|---|---|
| Thin royal-icing coating | Approximately 2 to 3 hours | Wait until the surface is firm and no longer tacky |
| Thicker royal icing | Approximately 6 to 8 hours | Allow extra time before moving or layering |
| Cookies being packaged or mailed | 24 hours | Leave the decorated cookies undisturbed for a full day when possible |
Drying time varies with icing thickness and surrounding conditions, including humidity, so the times are guidance rather than a guarantee. Do not stack cookies while the icing is soft, and separate layers with parchment once the finish is completely dry.
Which decorating method should you choose?
Choose the method according to the finish you want and the amount of precision you are willing to manage. Dipping and sprinkling require the least piping skill; painted stars and presents add a polished effect but require a waiting period between icing and painting; piped snowflakes demand the most control.
Best Value
- 【Package Includes】You will get 2pcs acrylic cookie turntable, 6pcs cookie scribe needles, 6pcs decorating cookie brush, 4pcs anti-slip silicone mat and 8pcs rubber feet bumpers. Complete cookie decorating kit.
- 【Size】The diameter of cookie turntable is 4.72inch.The cookie decorating brush is 6.3-7.28 inches and the sugar stir needle is 5.2 inches in length,non-slip net is 4.72inch,sutible size for your cookie decorating.
- 【Material】The cookie scribe is made of plastic handle and stainless steel needle,The cookie turntable adopts transparent acrylic base and plastic surface and the cookie brush is made of synthetic bristles and wooden handle,easy to use.
- 【Widely Used】Ours cookie decorating supplies can be used for biscuit icing sugar, sugar paste, mini cakes, cupcakes. Suitable for baking lovers and mothers in christmas and near year .
- 【Warm Tips】The needle is very sharp, please place it out of reach of children. The 360-degree cookie turntable allows you to rotate around the biscuit at will, easy to control, convenient to use.
| If you want… | Choose… | Why |
|---|---|---|
| The fastest, most forgiving snowflake | Small pastel snowflakes | Dipping covers the cookie without detailed piping |
| Detailed sparkle | Extra-large piped snowflakes | Lines, sanding sugar, and pearls create layered decoration |
| Chocolate richness | Chocolate-dipped shapes | Tempered chocolate supplies the main coating |
| A metallic effect | Shining stars or presents | Luster-dust paint adds a reflective-looking accent |
| Natural texture | Wreaths | Pistachios, berries, ginger, chocolate, and sprinkles vary the surface |
| The broadest assortment | One dough with several finishes | Shape, icing, color, texture, and embellishment create six distinct looks |
What should be on the shopping and preparation checklist?
Core tools
- Snowflake, star, square, tree, bear, reindeer, and fluted-round cookie cutters
- Pastry bags or squeeze bottles
- A medium plain round piping tip, such as Ateco #5 or #7
- Couplers if you plan to change piping tips
- Cooling racks and parchment
- Small bowls for dividing and tinting icing
- A toothpick or metal cake tester for moving icing and removing bubbles
- New small food-safe paintbrushes for luster dust
Ingredients and decorations
- Confectioners’ sugar
- Meringue powder or egg whites for royal icing
- Gel-paste food coloring, especially for red, green, and pastel shades
- Sanding sugar
- Dragées, sugar pearls, and nonpareils
- Tempered white, milk, or dark chocolate
- Luster dust and a small amount of vodka for paint
- Ground pistachios and freeze-dried raspberries
- Candied ginger and pink peppercorn berries for the wreath variation
For a deeper explanation of decorating tools and royal-icing technique, King Arthur Baking’s cookie-decorating essentials class is a relevant educational reference. The most important purchase is not a large collection of gadgets: it is the icing, cutter, and decoration combination required by the design you actually plan to make.
How do you avoid common decorating problems?
- Icing spreads: Use thicker icing for borders and details, and add water gradually when thinning.
- Icing becomes grainy: Avoid adding much liquid coloring; gel or powdered colors are better suited to royal icing.
- Flood icing leaves gaps: Pipe the border first, fill it, then guide icing into corners with a toothpick or metal cake tester.
- Sanding sugar will not stick: Add it immediately while piped or dipped icing is wet.
- Large decorations slide: Secure dragées or sugar pearls with small dots of royal icing.
- Paint smears: Wait until the icing is dry before applying luster-dust paint.
- Cookies stick together: Do not package or stack them until the finish has dried completely.
- Decorations detach from wreaths: Add pistachios, fruit, candy, and other toppings before the royal icing sets.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the easiest way to decorate Christmas cookies?
The easiest holiday sugar-cookie decorating method is dipping cooled cookies in royal icing and covering them with sanding sugar. Small pastel snowflakes use this approach and do not require detailed piping.
What icing is best for decorating sugar cookies?
Royal icing is the best choice for detailed sugar-cookie decorating because it can be piped for outlines and details, thinned for flooding or dipping, and finished with sanding sugar or other decorations. Use thicker icing for piping and thinner icing for flooding.
How long should royal icing dry before sugar cookies are packaged?
Royal icing generally needs approximately 2 to 3 hours to dry when the coating is thin and 6 to 8 hours when the icing is thicker. Martha Stewart recommends allowing 24 hours before handling cookies for packaging or mailing, although conditions and icing thickness affect the actual drying time.
PC Slower Than It Used to Be?
A free scan shows the junk files, broken settings and background clutter dragging Windows down - then fixes them in one click.Free scan · Windows 10 & 11Outdated Drivers Are Slowing You Down
One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware matchThe Bottom Line
The easiest route is to use one chilled cutout-cookie dough and make small pastel snowflakes, chocolate-dipped shapes, or decorated wreaths. For the most detailed results, use controlled royal-icing piping on large snowflakes. Whichever design you choose, match the icing consistency to the technique and allow every layer to dry before handling.
Quick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
