birthday cookies
I made these birthday cookies for a friend I’ve known since–yikes!–1990. That’s twenty-plus years if you’re counting. I had the candle cutter, but I cut out the milk, the slice of cake and the fork by hand. Here are some tips on making them.
how to make birthday cookies
I used my cut out cookie dough and royal icing recipe. Made these colors with my handy Americolor soft gel pastes (Egg Yellow, Electric Pink, Orange, Turquoise, Electric Green, Bright White, Super Black): very light yellow, yellow, pink, orange, turquoise, lime green, white, two shades of gray and black. Prepared disposable frosting bags with couplers and decorating tips, filled with the colors and tied closed with rubber bands. (For tips on finding cookie decorating supplies, click HERE.)
For more cookie decorating recipes, click here. If you need vegan cookies and icing recipes, click HERE.
Need a tag to go with your cookies? Here is a free birthday gift tag printable.
To decorate the candles, I outline the wick and the candle with the black (3 tip). Outlined the flame with orange (3 tip). Filled the flame with yellow (3 tip). Then made the stripes with white and colors (4 tips).
To decorate the fork, I outlined with black (3 tip) and piped to fill with light gray and dark gray (3 tips). (As you can see, I should’ve flooded the gray icing, but I was feeling very lazy and just piped it in.)
To decorate the milk, I outline with black (3 tip), then piped an outline with turquoise and white (3 tips). Then flooded icing in the same colors to fill. To flood, thin icing by stirring in drops of water until the icing is the consistency of thick glue, fill an empty frosting bag, snip 1/4 inch from the tip, and loosely pipe in the area to be filled. Let the icing run to the edges, encouraging with a toothpick as needed.
To decorate the cake, I outlined the frosting with pink (3 tip). I outlined the cake part with light yellow (3 tip). Then I piped pink to fill the frosting area using a 5 tip and immediately added sprinkles. Then I flooded the cake part with light yellow.
franca says
January 22, 2011 at 3:43 pmciao,sono italiana ,girando per il web ho trovato il tuo blog e lo trovo molto bello,questi biscotti poi sono davvero bellissimi e di sicuro anche buoni, ciao,ora metto una traduzione online perchè non parlo inglese,quindi mi scuso per eventuali errori,
ciao e buona domenica
hello, I'm Italian, browsing the web I found your blog and find it very beautiful, then these cookies are beautiful and really am sure also good, hello, now put online a translation because I do not speak English, so I apologize for any errors ,
Hello and happy Sunday
Chic Cookies says
January 22, 2011 at 4:27 pmThank you so much Franca! I have some other readers in Italy and Spain and elsewhere in the world, so I use "freetranslation.com" a lot to read their comments 🙂 It lets me get the gist of the words and lets me keep in touch. I need to learn a lot more languages!!
kate says
January 22, 2011 at 5:05 pmSuper cute!! Love it! You are so creative! Thanks for sharing your ideas! I love when you have a new post. I have one question- how do you decide when to use a squeeze bottle? Is it only for flooding? Are there specific bottles for this or is it just some kind of dessert sauce bottle?
Thanks and have a great weekend!
Chic Cookies says
January 22, 2011 at 5:15 pmGreat question Kate! People use squeeze bottles when flooding (like in the milk up there, I should've flooded the fork, but I was lazy). Flooding is what makes a smooth, icing surface. You outline your cookie with a stiff frosting (I use a disposable frosting bag/coupler/decorating tip for this part), then use icing thinned with water to fill in. Most use squeeze bottles for this. I never use squeeze bottles. In lieu of a squeeze bottle, I use an empty, disposable frosting bag and snip the corner(so no coupler/decorating tip).
Chic Cookies says
January 22, 2011 at 5:17 pmOOps, replied too fast. The squeeze bottles people use for flooding (again, I have some of these, but I never use them) are available in the craft store. If you go to wilton.com and search "squeeze bottle," they show up first.
Sue says
January 22, 2011 at 5:30 pmMy favorite is the piece of cake…LOVE it!
Catherine says
January 22, 2011 at 6:25 pmYou are very talented. I am sure they taste as wonderful as they look. You friend will be delighted.
Catherine says
January 22, 2011 at 6:25 pmYou are very talented. I am sure they taste as wonderful as they look. You friend will be delighted.
Meg says
January 22, 2011 at 7:15 pmSo Cute! Love the slice of cake.
Linzy says
January 22, 2011 at 7:35 pmUmmm hello how cute are you! Love this set!
lora says
January 23, 2011 at 1:13 amso cute. The cake is especially awesome.
Lorraine says
January 23, 2011 at 1:58 amThese are so great! I love them. What a wonderful gift for your friend. They look so realistic! The colors in the cake are perfect!
kate says
January 23, 2011 at 5:40 amThanks! I have just been using a frosting bag with a larger tip. I like the idea of not having to wash a bottle, tip or coupler. I will try your way next time. I am still working on getting the right consistency. If I had a magic dish washing fairy, I'd make cookies day and night! :)I am not creative, so I love to "share" the ideas you and others come up with! Thanks for sharing them!
Stephanie @ The Brunette Foodie says
January 23, 2011 at 11:53 amAbsolutely adorable! Cake and cooking decorating are my kitchen nemeses, but I wish I could do something half this fun!
You probably said, and I didn't see it but what brand of tips do you use? Wilton? I'm planning to buy a nicer kit than I currently have {betty crocker}, and I want to make the right investment.
Momof1 says
January 23, 2011 at 2:12 pmLove it! You can make these for my birthday anytime you want. = )
Chic Cookies says
January 23, 2011 at 2:36 pmStephanie, I use Wilton. I use the Wilton brand 12-inch disposable frosting bags (clear plastic), their standard coupler, and the Wilton decorating tips, numbers 2 through 5, found in the craft store. Ateco is another good brand, and one used more by professionals rather than home bakers, found in Sur la Table and other specialty chain or cake decorating stores, but I feel like Wilton stay rust-free much longer.
Chic Cookies says
January 23, 2011 at 2:44 pmExactly, Kate. I find that the squeeze bottles are a paint to wash and that you end up wasting so much icing that clings to the bottle (I make my flooding icing thicker than most decorators). And the bag/larger tip idea works just as well, maybe even better for the control factor, than my empty snipped bag. I just skip that add-a-coupler/tip step due to laziness.
dadá says
January 23, 2011 at 11:54 pm¡Fantásticas!
Rowaida says
January 24, 2011 at 1:13 pmLove it! you are so creative! Love your cookies
bridget {bake at 350} says
January 24, 2011 at 2:34 pmOh my gosh….you are SO fun! Can I just follow you around your kitchen, please?!?
{stumbled, tweeted…and whatever else I can think of ;)}
BellaLovesPink says
January 24, 2011 at 5:27 pmSo freaking cute! Definitely on my to-do list!
Tiffany @ Conor and Bella says
January 24, 2011 at 9:27 pmThose look fantastic!
Jess says
January 25, 2011 at 12:37 amAbsolutely amazing, these are beautiful, especially the cake one. Would you consider putting on a video tutorial on how you did it? You've managed to make me go AWW, again. Just amazing.
Jess : )
Stephanie says
January 25, 2011 at 2:09 amI love these! I saw them on Tastespotting and had to stop by to tell you how great they were.
foodies at home says
January 25, 2011 at 2:30 amI am always so impressed with people you can decorate a cookie so perfectly! You my friend are one of those people!
franca says
January 26, 2011 at 5:52 pmI would love to be able to speak your language, I only know a few words so I have to arrange with the translator, but better than nothing even if it is not very precise you can make sense of what it means.
hello and I hope to see you in my blog.