painted succulent cookies

Learn how to paint designs on cookies with these instructions for painted succulent cookies! A fun cookie decorating method. Scroll to the end for video how-tos. 

painted succulent cookies

Recently, I went live in my How to Make Fun Food facebook group all about how to paint on cookies. It’s such a fun and easy cookie decorating method. Here, I show you how to make painted succulent cookies.

more painted cookies 

Looking for more cookie painting ideas? Check out these: 

• painted flower cookie bites 
• watercolor flower cookies
• white chocolate snowman oreos 

how to paint on cookies

you will need:

• cookies (small circle and  square cookie cutters used here), baked and cooled
• royal icing 
• white food coloring
• disposable decorating bag
• size 3 or 4 decorating tip
• assorted food colorings for painting
• vodka or clear extract (such as lemon)
• palette 
• paint brushes (from the craft store and/or this set of brushes)

what cookie surfaces can I paint on?

For best results, I top my cookies with either white fondant that has stiffened a few hours or, preferably, flooded royal icing that is tinted white. You must let the icing dry very well, at least overnight, before painting or the brush can poke holes in the surface.

To cover a cookie with fondant, roll out the fondant and use the same shape cookie cutter to cut out the fondant. Adhere to the cookie with a thin layer of frosting or light corn syrup. To cover a cookie with royal icing, tint the royal icing white and thin to medium consistency. Assemble the decorating bag with tip and fill with icing. Pipe an outline on the cookie and pipe to fill. For basic cookie decorating instructions how to flood icing, click here. Remember to let the cookies dry overnight. 

Can you paint on white chocolate? Yes, you can, however regular gel paste food coloring will not work because the fats in the chocolate will resist the liquid. To paint on white chocolate, use either oil-based candy colors, or add a few drops of Flo-Coat to your gel pastes to make them candy-friendly. 

let’s get to painting

Pour a few drops of the color you’d like in the palette. If it’s a bit thick, add drops of vodka or clear extract. (Tip: A pipette works great here!) Use the back of the paint brush to mix. Dip your paint brushes in the paint and paint away! If you’d like more pastel colors, mix white food coloring in with the other coloring. 

TIPS:

• The more drops of vodka or extract you add, the more of a watercolor effect you will achieve. 
• To have colors blend a bit, like highlights, start with a lighter color and add darker highlights on top right away with a small brush. 
• To outline, let the colors dry and use a very small brush with black food coloring. 
• Rinse paint brushes with water and dab dry with paper towels.

how to paint the succulents

To paint the succulent cookies, I used white, peach, leaf green, electric green, and black. 

For the terra cotta pots, mix peach with a bit of white. Add white to each green until desired color is achieved. 

First, paint the pots and let dry. Then paint the greens. Let dry before adding black outlines with a small brush.