How To Decorate Holiday Cookies

Here at Krusteaz^®, when we think winter holidays, we think COOKIES! There’s no easier, tastier way to involve the kids in holiday preparation and create a new family tradition. Our Butter Vanilla Sugar Cookie Mix, Gingerbread Cookie Mix and Snickerdoodle Cookie Mix help you make classic holiday treats that are super easy to prepare – just stir in softened butter and an egg – and they’re ready to bake.

Get the Kids Involved

But what really makes cookies exceptional this time of year is taking the extra step to decorate them. You don’t need to be a trained pastry chef to make cookies look extra special. In fact, leave this step to the kids while you manage the hot cookie sheets. We’ve got a couple of easy tips to ensure even the youngest chef in your kitchen can be successful.

What You’ll Need

We recommend you have a few things on hand to make the best of your cookie decorating fun.

Small ramekins or bowls
Food coloring
Toothpicks for fine detailing
Tweezers for placing decorations
Craft paint brushes

Add Colorful Sprinkles

One of the simplest, prettiest ways to decorate cookies is by topping them with colorful sprinkles. Sprinkling cookies or rolling them in sparkling sugar before they are baked are the fastest, easiest techniques to add a fun and festive look.

If the kids are little enough that shaking sprinkles on the cookies ends up with more sprinkles than cookie, put the sprinkles in a little bowl and let them take pinches of sprinkles and dust the cookies. If you prefer sprinkling them after the cookies have cooled, you’ll first need to ice them and add sprinkles while the icing is still wet.

Easy Make-at-Home Sprinkles

Divide 2 cups of granulated sugar into several small bowls; add a couple of drops of food coloring to each bowl; stir well to distribute the color evenly.

Paint Cookies with a Glaze

Another easy-as-pie trick, let the kids paint the cookies! Set up a station with parchment-lined baking sheets for them to work on, make a thin glaze out of powdered sugar and water, add food coloring, pass out the paintbrushes and let them go. You’ll end up with beautiful, unique “watercolor-inspired” cookies.

Easy Make-at-Home Glaze

Place 2 cups powdered (confectioner’s) sugar in a medium bowl, add water or milk, a tablespoon at a time, until glaze is desired consistency. Divide the glaze into smaller bowls and add food coloring as desired. Then either brush glaze on or use an off-set spatula or butter knife to ice cookies.

Make it Festive. Make it Krusteaz^®

Have some holiday fun by decorating cookies with your friends and family. With Krusteaz^®, you can quickly make a batch of ready-to-decorate cookies that taste just like they came from a bakery. Turn it into a contest to see who can decorate the best cookie. Share your creations with those you love.

Don’t forget the glass of milk!