Cookie Decorating Tips & Tricks

Use these tips to help with your holiday baking this year.

1) Use a plastic wine cork to make perfect little indentation in thumbprint cookies. You won't dirty your hands and the indentation is just the right size for a teaspoon of jam. Simply press the cork into the dough, twist, then fill, and bake!

2) For easy cleanup when frosting or glazing baked goods, place layers of newspaper under the cooling racks, then decorate as usual. When you're done, just roll up the papers with all the stick frosting and crumbs, and throw them away.

3) Save a step when making decorated sugar cookies. Portion out individual cookies by dropping scoops of dough onto a baking sheet. Then, to flatten the cookies and add sugar at the same time, use the buttered bottom of a large round glass. Dip it into colored sugar and flatten the dough (lift glass straight up to avoid smudging the sugar). Dip the bottom of the glass in sugar for each cookie.

Tags: Baking, Desserts