Under The Sea Christmas Cookies

These Under The Sea Christmas Cookies were made from the latest cookie decorating kit in my Baker’s Club. Watch the video tutorial below!

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Supplies

• Orange Cardamom Cookie Recipe
• Royal Icing
• Tipless 12 inch Piping Bags
• Wilton leaf tip 352
• Teal green gel food coloring
• Super red gel food coloring
• Sky blue gel food coloring
• Royal blue gel food coloring
• Seahorse cookie cutter
• Starfish cookie cutter
• Jellyfish cookie cutter
• Metal scribe tool
• Paint & Water Tray
• Opal sanding sugar
• Brilliant sparkle luster dust
• Round sable brush

Instructions

1. Make the cookie dough according to the recipe instructions. Roll the dough to 1⁄4” thick and cut the cookies with the cookie cutters.
2. Bake the cookies at 350 ̊F for 10-12 minutes.
3. Make the royal icing according to the recipe instructions. The icing should hold a stiff peak. Set aside about 1/3 cup of stiff consistency icing.
4. Thin the rest of the icing to flood consistency by adding a teaspoon of water at a time. To test the consistency, take a scoop of icing out of the bowl and drop it back in. It should take between 15-20 seconds to be smooth again. This is called flood consistency icing.
5. Fill tipless decorating bags with a few scoops of white flood consistency icing. Secure the tops of the bags by tying them into a knot or close them with a rubber band. This will prevent the icing from spilling out of the top of the bag.
6. Cut a small hole in the tip of each decorating bag.
7. Ice the tentacles of the jellyfish by piping thin lines of white flood consistency icing then fill in the body. Use the scribe tool to help shape the icing. Set the cookie aside.
8. Ice the starfish and seahorse cookies with the white flood consistency icing and use the scribe tool to help shape the icing
9. Go back to the jellyfish and pipe another layer of tentacles. Allow the icing to dry for about 30 minutes. Empty the leftover icing into a container and cover it tightly. Refrigerate it until you’re ready to use it again.
10. Fit a tipless bag with the tip 352. Fill it with a couple of spoonfuls of the white stiff consistency icing.
11. Pipe another layer of tentacles on the jellyfish with the stiff consistency icing. Hold the tip so that the “V” of the tip is facing up and use a wavy motion as you pipe.
12. Separate about 2 tablespoons of stiff consistency icing from the icing that was set aside earlier (use any leftover stiff icing from piping the tentacles). Use 3-4 drops of red food coloring to color this icing red. The color will darken over time, so don’t add too much food coloring. Cover this icing tightly and refrigerate it until it’s time to use it.
13. Color the remaining stiff consistency icing teal with 2-3 drops of food coloring.
14. Clean the tip 352 and put it into a clean decorating bag. Fill the bag with the teal stiff consistency icing.
15. Pipe teal leaves on a piece of parchment or wax paper. Hold the tip so that the “V” of the tip is on the sides and the point is facing up. Place the tip on the paper and pipe the leaves using a wavy motion as you pull the tip away. 
16. Allow all of the iced cookies and the leaves to dry completely. It’s best to let them dry overnight.
17. Place one drop each of sky blue, royal blue, and teal food coloring into the paint tray. Add a few drops of vodka, grain alcohol, or any flavor extract to form edible watercolor paint.
18. Paint the jellyfish, seahorse, and starfish cookies with the edible watercolor. Start with the royal blue on the edges, then the sky blue, then the teal. The color should be more concentrated on the edges and fade toward the center.
19. Fill tipless decorating bags with the leftover white flood consistency icing. Secure the tops of the bags by tying them into a knot or close them with a rubber band.
20. Once the paint is dry to the touch (this should only take a few minutes) pipe dots on the starfish and lines on the seahorse cookies. Allow the icing to dry for about an hour. Dust the cookies with dry pearl dust.
21. Pour the sparkling sugar onto a shallow dish. Pipe a little bit of white flood consistency icing on the cookies wherever you would like the sparkling sugar to be. Dip the cookies into the sparkling sugar. 
22. Remove the leaves from the parchment paper and attach them to the cookies with a little bit of icing.
23. Fill a decorating bag with the red stiff consistency icing and pipe berries on the leaves.