AUSTRALIAN FLOWERS ROYAL ICING COOKIES

Instructions:

Bake the Cookies

Step 1 - Bake your favourite shortbread or sugar cookie. A larger size (9cm) will be easier to decorate. Allow cookies to cool.

Step 2 - Store upside down on paper towel (several hours or overnight). This will prevent butter bleed.

Making Royal Icing

Step 1 - Sift the royal icing into a mixing bowl, mixing as per instruction on the packaging. This will produce a very thick consistency white royal icing.

Step 2 - To create the different colours for the royal icing, mix the food colours with a dash of water to a portion of royal icing in separate bowls. Add colour and water until you reach the desired consistency and colour vibrancy.

Note: Gel paste food colour are very concentrated.  Start with a small drop of food colour and add more food colour as desired. A deeper colour may require time to develop intensity.

Cookie Decorating

Step 1 -Transfer the coloured royal icing into separate piping bags.

Step 2 - For the floral designs, two consistencies are used.

• Thick Royal Icing takes 20-25 seconds for icing to smooth out and become level. Use this consistency for the embroidery lace technique for the pink gum flowers.
• Medium Royal Icing takes 12-15 seconds to smooth out. Use this consistency for the border and flooding of the cookie.

Step 3 - Flood the entire cookie with white medium thick royal icing. Leave the royal icing to crust or dry completely overnight.

Step 4 - Pipe flower designs onto dried royal icing. Take care for each colour to crust before piping the adjacent colour.

Step 5 - For the embroidery lace technique of the pink gum flowers, pipe a small dot of thick royal icing and then use a damp flat brush to create brushstrokes.

Step 6 - Remove a sheet of the edible gold leaf and gently place the loose paper onto the cookie. Apply tiny pressure by gently tapping with your finger or paintbrush to transfer the gold leaf. Repeat if required. Or use a set of tweezers to apply the edible gold leaf.