Outlining and Filling Cookies with Royal Icing
Hi everyone! I hope you all had a safe, wonderful, and cookie filled Fourth of July. Normally, I would chit chat about all of the fun things I did in big ol’ Crane, America, but I have a lot to say today, so I’ll just get down to business. There is SO much information here that I have actually broken it into two posts. That said, y’all get comfy and get ready to learn.
If you hang around here long, you will notice I often talk about outline, flood, and twenty-second icing. With a little bit of cookie experience, this probably makes a lot of sense. If not, I might as well be speaking Greek. To help demonstrate what these terms mean, I took pictures and made videos to give y’all a good strong visual example.
To begin, there is only one type of icing that I use, which is ROYAL ICING. There are other recipes available on this site, but royal icing is my preferred medium, and is what I always use unless specifically stated otherwise. If you would like to try my recipe, click HERE for a printable version.
The other icing words I use like outlining , piping, flood, fill, and twenty-second icing are used to describe consistency rather than recipes.
Bottom line is, you are working with one icing and adjusting the consistency to make it do different things.
Normally, you begin by using piping icing to outline the cookie. This creates a border or “dam” to make sure the icing does not flow over the edges.
Outlines can be very basic or complex, but in MOST cases, they are the “blueprint” of the cookie.
After the cookie is outlined, a thinner version of the same icing is used to fill the outlined area. This is called FLOOD icing. It will usually flow until it fills the entire cookie. If I am in a hurry like I usually am, I use an offset spatula to speed things along.
Now for a few videos.
I would describe the consistency of outlining icing as toothpaste. Here ‘s what it looks like before and after I put it in a piping bag.
I hope this helps clarify things a little bit. It takes a bit of practice, but you will be amazed at how easy piping will become if you get just the right consistency.
Now for flood icing. It should look more like this. I actually included a short side-by-side comparison of flood icing and twenty-second icing in this video, however, I’m going to wait until next week to get a little more in depth on that topic.
See? I would almost say it flows like shampoo. There is only a subtle difference between it and the twenty-second icing, but there IS a difference.
This video shows how you use the piping and flood icing together in sequence.
Are any of you getting the lightbulb effect? That’s how I describe the moment when something is suddenly demystified in my head. I LOVE that feeling! Yes, I am kind of a dork.
I would say that mastering consistency is the single most important cookie making skill. You can have all the talent in the world, but if you don’t have control over your medium, it will affect the final product.
With a little practice, all of your cookies will begin life as pretty as these.
Just a few more tips before I go:
- Always use a spray bottle to thin your icing. I learned this trick from Gail, AKA One Tough Cookie, and include it on my all-time list of best cookie tips I have ever learned. You can read her “Give it a Shpritz” article HERE. I highly recommend it. It literally changed the way I cookie.
- Play around with the consistencies. What works for me, may not work as well for you. The key is to find your groove. I bet I know over 100 women who make excellent cookies, and not one single one of us does things EXACTLY the same.
- USE Karen’s bag trick when preparing piping icing. This isn’t even a request, it’s an order. When you are at the park with your kids and NOT home washing icing bags, you will thank me.
- Keep a toothpick, cookie scraper, or even a lobster fork {my friend Lisa SWEARS by hers} handy to pop those pesky bubbles
- I also have a helpful articles on Coloring and Preparing Royal Icing and a step-by-step pictorial on how I make royal icing that can be viewed by clicking the links.
Feel free to add any tips you might have, or ask questions. There is a no-dumb-question clause specifically attached to this post. Keep your eyes open for my upcoming post demonstrating the difference between flood icing, and the slightly thicker 20-second icing.
Once again, I hope everyone had a long and happy weekend full of food, friends, family and memories!
Happy “feels like Monday, but it’s Tuesday!”
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I have been intimidated by making sugar cookies or roll-out cookies for years, but have always wanted to know how to. I am elated that I have found your blog and have had so much fun looking at the pictures and reading the tips. You are exceptional! What a talent you have. I’m SO thankful for all the time you’ve taken to share with the world. I have made three batches of cookies in the last week and get better each time. Thanks for the inspiration!
How long does the flooded icing take to harden or set and will the cookies dry out during the process?
It will take about 8 hours or so, depending on your climate. The cookie will not get stale. The bottoms are not exposed and the top is sealed with icing leaving only the sides exposed which is relatively little surface area.
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Hi!
I’m new to outlining and flood icing cookies, but was wondering if you can outline and then flood in different colours? I’m doing Batman cookies for a birthday and want a yellow outline and black inside…or am I crazy??
Any help is much appreciated 🙂
PS Love your tutorials :)x
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I love all of your tips and tutorials. Thank you for those. Can you tell me how far in advance you can decorate cookies and still have them be fresh tasting?
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How do you change the consistency of icing from outlining to flood? With water??
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if I dont want to make as much icing can I just cut the ingredients in half?
Karen’s bag trick may have just changed my life! What an amazing tip. What pointers do you have for using the bag trick for flood icing? It looks like outline consistency in the video.
What would be the best kind of icing to use if you are stacking cookies to resemble a mountain with some cliffs and need it to be able to come apart easily for serving?
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Am I adding more meringue powder to get piping icing consistency?
Your videos, tips and links are extremely helpful- thank you!
Hi, I’ve just recently log on to your blog, your work is beautiful, your tutorials & tips, its very informative. May I know how long can I leave the iced cookies to dry before storage. Will the cookies becomes soft? thanks.
Your articles are for when it abltsuoely, positively, needs to be understood overnight.
Thanks so much! I love Karen’s Bag trick too!
Wow… thank you so much. This was awesome. I always wondered how to get the icing perfect! Thank you for taking the time to post this information. I can’t wait to do some snowflakes!!
This is great, Thanks for sharing, and the recipes too. I can hardly wait to print and get into the Kitchen.
i’ve been wondering about this for years. thank you for the internet and sharing 🙂
This is hugely helpful. Thanks!
Can’t wait to give this a try… great information.
thank you so much !
I am a novice baker – and enjoyed beginner’s luck and success with fondant and gumpaste – but Royal Icing has frustrated me to the point where I didn’t think I would ever be able to use it (hindsight tells me the good ol Texas humidity may have played a role).
reading your straightforward recipe, piping, flooding, and coloring posts has given me confidence to at least try again — I can’t wait to get back in the kitchen. now where’s that spritzer bottle . . .
Hi! I’m so glad I found your blog. I’ve learned a lot. Will keep browsing later on. Thank you for sharing. This is really awesome. 🙂
spray bottle! brilliant idea… haha a lobster fork!
great post, and love how shiny those blue iced cookies look! ^__^
Brilliant! Your blog has been so helpful!
It all started when I knew I wanted to make and bring football cookies to a Super Bowl party (tomorrow). First I found your rollable chocolate chip cookie dough, then your chocolate royal icing recipe, and all these tips on decorating! I think my football cookies are going to turn out awesome.
Definitely adding your blog to my roll! Thanks for all the great advice and tips.
It is perfect time to make some plans for the future and it is time to be pleased. I’ve read this post and if I could I wish to suggest you couple of intriguing issues or suggestions. Perhaps you can write next articles referring to this article. I want to read far more points about it! xrumer
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Thank you so much! I was having trouble with remembering how the different icings are supposed to look for a better outcome. This definitely helped me. I love the videos too.
It looks very appetizing, I wonder how does it taste ^^
It looks very appetizing, I wonder how does it taste^^
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I feel like I have a dumb question LOL but is the piping and flooding icing the royal icing?
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Found your website and gave it a try….I’m never frosting cookies any other way again! So easy and so professional looking! I can’t wait to try it again! Thanks for all your helpful hints and videos!
I just wanted to thank you for all the information about sugar cookie outlining and flooding. I’ve never done it before or even attempted to do cause of just not knowing exactly how to do it. So I read your articles and decided to give it a try. It wasn’t a pretty batch of bunny ears, yeah from your article with the bunny ear topping, but i did it. so hopefully it will get better with practice.!! Keep up the great post/articles,
Please help!! I decorated some cookies last night and was fairly impressed with the consistency of the icing, so I think I’m okay with that. However this morning I noticed that after drying overnight the icing had lost its glossiness and shine, and become a very dull matte color. It even looked a bit grainy rather than smooth. Is there a reason for this or any tricks that might help? Could it be the icing recipe (I used Janice and Valerie’s recipe from Cookie Craft with meringue powder and vanilla extract), or perhaps moisture in the air? Very frustrating to see after spending a whole night decorating!
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Hi:)
Thank you so much for the awesome advice!!!
However 1 question please. I’m donating plain cupcakes and biscuits for a kiddies party, along with the icing in squeeze bottles and sprinkles. The kids will then decorate their own biscuit/cupcake with the squeeze bottles.
What is the best icing to use for them, as well as when do I prepare and bottle the icing (the party is in the afternoon, and I won’t necessarily be there to help out).
I look forward to hearing from you!
Thanks 🙂
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awesome TFS
At least he didn’t drop it on the dog!
Wow it really is Tuesday. How did you wish me Happy “feels like Monday, but it’s Tuesday”? Too much of a coincidence no? 🙂
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Hi, I am thinking of attempting to make the bumble bee cookies with your sugar cookie & icing recipe for a party & wanted to know how long the cookies will keep for & how to best store them (refrigerator/room temp?) I’d love to be able to make them in advance.
Thanks for your wonderful tutorials & your help!
Vesa
So sad that I just saw the picture from this post floating around Pinterest with a different frosting recipe. I live your blog and hate to see it misrepresented.
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Well done to think of soneihtmg like that
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Thank you so much for these great tips- I wish I would’ve watched these videos a few hours ago before flooding my cookies! Even though my border is the same color as the flood icing, my border has a really noticeable line of demarcation. Now watching this, I think it’s because I wasn’t filling my cookies enough, I was using a toothpick and I think I spread too little too far. I definitely had a “light bulb” moment just now! Thanks again- I LOVE your website, so many awesome tips 🙂
Looks wonderful. Can’t wait to try this. I love that it dries quickly,
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This is an excellent site and I just loved Karens bagging tip for icing….wish I had known this a few weeks ago when I was making my first batch (ever) of onesie cookies and had 3 different colors to bag! My icing was way too thing to be rolled in the plastic wrap….this must be outlining icing only….I will go back and read again, but wanted to thank you as I am so excited to find your site ! Thanks again.
Hi! Love your posts! Is the royal icing recipe you use good for cookies that get shipped? I want to make sure the royal icing will harden and be stackable! Thanks
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I’m trying to find the recipe for outlining and the one for flooding I think I’m missing it maybe. I found Royal Icicng 101 but is it fill icing or border icing if it is 1 in the same how do Ialter to make one runnier or thicker?
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I see the Royal Icing recipe you posted and you use this for the flood or fill icing, right? How to you ‘thicken’ it a little to make it the piping icing, or was there a different recipe? I looked and clicked all over, but each recipe was the royal icing recipe.
Thanks!!
It’s all the same recipe, just different consistencies. Here’s something to help you out.
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Hello! I am a cookie decorating beginner and I wanted to know exactly how you get the different consistencies of icing from the same batch. Do you cut your recipe in two or do you mix it all at once? I’m assuming you do it all at once and change the consistency after you outline. If so, how do you do it? Add water to make it flood icing? How much and how long do you mix it? I’m sorry if I sound like an idiot but I want to make sure I’m understanding how to do this correctly.
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Hey there! I found your blog by googling “How to Flood Icing”, and I love your blog, and I LOVE the video you linked to Karen’s icing bag trick. I will be using this method from now on for EVERYTHING I do with an icing bag!
Thank you for the great information!
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Thanks for the royal icing refresher course! My husband/dishwasher wishes I had known about Karen’s bag trick YEARS ago 🙂
Just like Erica I too found your page after googling how to fill cookies, and am amazed by Karen’s bag trick. I presume this works with all types of frosting / icing so this is going to rock my world. Love this blog post, thank you for the great info!
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hey
yesterday i made a cookie and firstly i did flood icing then i made horizontal line on this icing but my lines are merged in that base . my icing got melt after some time i don’t know whats going on?did i keep my cookie with flood icing on refrigerator first then i drew designs or whatever?
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How long does it take for frosting to dry?
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Can you share the bag trick? I went to the link but no video 🙁 and I hate cleaning up! Thanks 🙂
Heather
Okay so I made my trial snowflakes and they turned out AMAZING!
I used your cookie recipe when mine was fluffying up too much. It tasted better too.
The saran wrap was the best! Worked soooo well!
I think I waited to long between outlining and flooding cause I had such sharp outlines that I didnt like that much. I ended up doing a 20 second icing on the outline and flooding and it worked well.
Hi there, Iw as just wondering about a few things. I am super new to cookies and am throwing my friend an East Indian themed bridal shower. I want to make henna design cookies and your website is the best in showing how to do and what to look out for. Thank you for that! My questions are did you pre-bake the cookies that you lined and filled in blue as in the pictures its not quite clear, and I would assumed yes, they would have to be cooked and cooled because won’t the sugar icing melt? But then I got thinking that maybe with a meringue powder in the icing, it holds up and needs to cook? Also, after lining, and filling. What consistency of icing can be used to go over top of the cookie to create the henna design on it?
Thank you so much!
f
Thanks for sharing. I made my first iced cookies for my dil’s baby shower and with your blog tips and the Karen’s tip on how to fill icing bags, it helped me produce a bunch of cookies that I was proud to say that I made.
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Hi! First of all, thank you! I found your blog a couple of years ago when I was just starting to decorate cookies and I can tell you I’ve learned almost everything I know about cookie decorating from your tutorials, I always refer friends to your blog when they have cookie questions :). Anyway, I have one question too… I’ve noticed that randomly my RI doesn’t dry to a smooth-shiny finish. It looks a bit dull, almost with a grainy texture. Flavor is fine, but it doesn’t look as pretty, and I can’t pinpoint the reason. The rest of the time it looks great. I haven’t been able to correlate it to different sugar brands, and it has happened both with my flowing RI and 20-sec RI. Any ideas of what could be causing this? Thanks in advance!!
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Beautiful cookies! How did you get the beautiful Tiffany blue color? Thanks in advance!
Hello and thank you for all the great advice. One question – would you be able to add to this blog what you mean by “Karen’s bag trick” because I’ve tried the link several times but the video seems to have been taken off 🙁 . I too would like to spend more time with my boy at the park! Thanks in advance, Delphine 🙂
Hi- LOVE your page. Thank you very much for all the helpful advice. Do you have any tips for piping the borders of the cookies? I feel like it should be so simple but it seems to always come out so sloppy. 🙁
Also- the icing videos etc. seem to have been taken down. Do you have any good ones to direct us to? 🙂
Thanks!
They will be back soon. Look ahead is my best advice. Don’t touch the cookie, squeeze from above and pull as you go.
I love all your work! Do you think you can post these videos again. I would love to see them.
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