Simple Royal Icing Holly Decorations

December 4, 2012 | 22 Comments »

Okay.  Back to the royal icing accents.  Maybe I do have a problem but admitting it’s half the battle, right?  Today it’s holly.

Royal icing holly accents are super simple to make.  You will need:

  • Medium stiff green piping icing
  • Red piping icing
  • Some sort of leaf tip

I used a #66 for this demo, but anything from a #65s to a #70 or a #349 and #352 {these produce more bubbly leaves} will work.

Here’s an idea of what size accent each tip will produce.  There’s a few variables involved, of course {pressure, icing consistency, etc.} but this is pretty close.

If your leaf tip isn’t cooperating with you, try opening it up a little with a thin bladed knife.

Now for the piping.

Piping holly is a pretty rhythmic thing.    Almost like aerobics, but without the sweat and heavy breathing.  It goes something like this…touch, squeeze, pull, release…back underneath, squeeze, pull, release.  One more time squeeze, pull to a point, and RELEASE.

For those of you who are about as coordinated as well, me, I broke it down even further.

Begin piping like you would any leaf.  Touch your tip to the parchment paper {or cookie} apply pressure to create a leaf, pull back ANNNNNNNNNND that’s where things change.  Instead of pulling the leaf to a point until it breaks move the icing tip back underneath the first leaf and repeat two more times.

See?

Touch, squeeze, pull, and release…back underneath, squeeze, pull and release.  One more time squeeze, pull to a point, and RELEASE.

Here’s a side view, just in case I’ve really scared you.

After piping the bottom leaf, come back and add another {if you like double holly}.  Same thing.  Start by placing the tip near the center of the first leaf and repeat the steps above.

Finally, use a smallish {maybe #1.5 or #2} tip to add berries and let dry.

I like to have these on hand to add to snowmen and stockings but I’ve also been known to pipe them directly onto cookies and other things.

Like sugar cubes, for example.  Same thing as above, except I used a #65 tip.

Super simple and super cute, my favorite!

You can even used this technique to dress up store-bought cookies like white fudge dipped Oreos or homemade treats like Kevin and Amanda’s White Chocolate Dipped Ritz Sandwiches.

Oh yes, and for those of you that I’ve left completely confused with all my talk about aerobics, I made a {not so great I promise I will fix it soon} video.  Not an aerobic video, lest I end up on America’s Funniest Home videos, but one about piping holly accents.  Enjoy!

Christmas Cookies, Cookies, Holiday Cookies, Icing Accents, Royal Icing Accents, Sweet Sugar Belle, Tutorials, Video Tutorials
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