I took a cookie class on the weekend and we did basic flooding and fondant decorating.

I bought an apple cookie cutter and thought I'd make teacher's gifts: a dozen cookies per teacher.

With help from this forum I have the icing made and in the fridge and the cookies are out the oven.

The more I see the beautiful cookies in the gallery, the more I realize we didn't even come close to proper technique in the class I took.

So how DO you flood cookies properly so you don't see the outline? Should the outline be done with a tiny tip like #1 or thicker like #2 or even 3. Is the outline icing a thicker consistency and flooding thinned down a bit.

I tried the search engine but it seems a lot of threads that may be relevant contain no posts. I've seen reference to the crash - maybe these were affected?

If you don't want to see the outline, flood the cookies after you let the outline sit for a few minutes, don't wait til it gets hard and use a small tip, #1 or 2. When you flood, the RI is always thinner (BTW, why is it in fridge?) than the consistency of the outline. HTH

I dont outline, I use a squeeze bottle, with ri thinned (to the consistancy if I count to 5 when drizzled it melts back in to the bowl.) I flood with the squeeze bottle right around the edges the work concentricly into the middle, take a toothpick or the tip of the bottle and spread to fill in the gaps.

The best tip is to get the consistency right. Mix your RI (room temp - no need to 'fridge it) so that if you lift up and drizzle a spoonful, it takes to the count of ten to disappear. Any more and you will not get that smooth finish you want, any less and it may run off the side of the cookie.

I do outlining and then filling in one step with this consistency.

Thanks for the tips. So 5 seconds 0r 10. Guess I should start thicker and thin as needed.

It's in the fridge because I made it yesterday (I read on here that red takes longer to develop true color) and because I thought it had to be refrigerated.

I dont refrigerate my ri, never have, it sits on the counter in a sealed container. Never had a problem. I reread your original question, I used to use a tip 3 or 4 for flooding depending on the area to be covered, then I switched to the squeeze bottles. After everything is dry I use a little thicker consistancy to do any outlining or detail usually using a 1s, 1 or 2 tip depending on what I want.

love2bake4six,
Check out GeminiRJ's thread " Before and After". There is alot of great tips on decorating cookies.

Thanks for the tip of to GeminiRJ's thread.

I tried her technique last night and while the apples I made ended up with no visible outline, spreading the icing with a knife resulted in a very bumpy glaze. How do I get a glass smooth look like tracyLH has on her apple cookies in the gallery?

I always do outline (tip3), as I don't like my RI run down the site of the cookies. It will give you a clean look. Then I thin the icing (count to 5) and using painting brush I paint the cookies with it. Some people are using little bottle to fill the space. I like the brush method. Your icing will be smooth. I think smoothing with a knife is mostly when buttercream is used instead of RI.

I read gemini's thread and she uses some sort of glaze. I also tried spreading my ri with a knife and it doesnt dry smooth. Maybe with a glaze you have more time to "play" and thats why it looks smooth.

I only use the glace recipe that is on page one of the "Before & After" thread. Even if you don't get it smoothed out perfectly, the icing settles all by itself into a nice, smooth coat. I'm not much help when it comes to RI, but maybe Tracy can jump in with her tips. Not only is she one of the most helpful decorators on this site, but her work is beyond compare!

I personally haven't used glaze icing yet. I believe TracyLH's apple cookies you are talking about are iced with Antonia74 royal icing. that icing is the only one I have had luck with so far. I outline on most shapes that I want the edges to look sharp. Maybe, on an apple, you could get away without outlining though. I outline with full strength royal with a tip 1 then I fill with thinned icing with a tip 3 or 4 depending on the size of the area.

I use a modified version of Antonia74's royal icing and I love it. It works beautifully and I can thin it to whatever consistency I want to. I outline and flood in one move, with the same consistency of icing (usually about a 7-count).

Here are some links that might give you more helpful information. Plus, check out the cookie forum (you can search for specific topics if you want) for loads more great info and tips!

Freddyfls how to
http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-623107.html

icing tips/info
http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-588155.html


outlining tricks & tips
http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-581262.html

Antonia74s article
http://www.cakecentral.com/article54-How-To-Bake--Decorate-Cookies.html


The best tip I can give you is practice, practice, practice. My cookies still aren't where I want them to be, but the difference between the cookies I did even a yer ago and now is tremendous!

Thanks for the links Bonnie.

My jaw HIT the floor when I looked at your photos. Those fish are incredible!! Are they RI, fondant or a mixture?