How to Decorate a Mermaid Cookie

Is it mermaid season yet? Maybe mermaids are popular all year long! In any case, this mermaid is great for any under the sea celebration.

I love this cutter from Ann Clark. This mermaid has a such a serene, floating look to her.

A little different than some of the more whimsical mermaids I've decorated in the past (see below for BONUS mermaid inspiration!)

Check out this video tutorial where I'll show you step-by-step how to make this cookie!

Here are some helpful tips for recreating these cookies!

PREPPING THE COOKIES and YIELD:

COOKIE YIELD: For a single batch of dough I made 24 cookies, 12 mermaids and 12 seashells. I should note that I roll my cookies to 1/4" thick using the Dough EZ Rolling Mat System. The thickness of your cookies will impact your yield.

COOKIE RECIPE: For a cookie recipe and rolling and baking video CLICK HERE - this recipe can be doubled in a KitchenAid Mixer. 

DECORATING TIPS: 

TEMPLATE: In the video you might have noticed that I freehanded these cookies. I felt pretty confident just jumping in. But, you can print the template and trace guidelines directly on the cookie if it is helpful - especially for the body. The template can also be used with a projector. This takes the guesswork out of piping those areas and makes cookies look more consistent. 

Download the file for the FREE template - CLICK HERE

CUTTER (click to view in shop): This video features the Mermaid Cutter. 

Check out these additional coordinating cutters that would go well with the mermaid! 

• The Seashell Cutter
• The Mermaid Tail Cutter
• The Sundae/Mermaid Cutter

ADDING THE SPRINKLES:

This is totally optional. You can definitely pipe the seashells. But I consider this working smarter, not harder...and I love the look of the purple candy seashells.  On the mermaid, I used Sugarbelle Mermaid Sprinkle Set. 

And on the shells (accent cookie for this project), I used the Mermaid Mix (bulk pounch)

I couldn't decide if using sprinkles was lazy or smart...maybe both.

But they certainly add a quick color, texture, and sparkle to the cookies!

Check out all our sprinkle sets and mixes - click here! 

PREPPING THE ROYAL ICING:

ROYAL ICING RECIPE: For a royal icing recipe and video CLICK HERE - this recipe can be doubled in a KitchenAid Mixer.

ICING COLORS: On this project I used 5 icing colors and colored directly from the bottles with my ChefMaster food gels: Turquoise, Violet, Fuchsia, Buckeye Brown, and Fleshtone. CLICK HERE to check out all the food gel options in our shop.

ICING PREP: For a single batch of dough, I typically use a single batch of icing. Since I'm using a KitchenAid mixer, I made a double batch of icing and split it in half (reserving half for another project). I used a total of 18 oz of icing. I don't measure exactly...I estimate. For a more detailed look at icing planning, CLICK HERE to read this helpful blog post.

For the hair and skin, I used the 20-second icing consistency. This consistency is thinner than piping icing and thicker than flood. It's great for small icing areas because you can pipe and flood all with one icing. I used 1 oz of brown and 1 oz of skin colored icing (see notes on skintones below),

Then I made a piping and flooding consistency of the following icings...4 oz of pastel fuchsia, 4 oz of turquoise, and 4 oz of violet.

Are you looking to create a variety of skintones for your project? Check out this very helpful blog post with a skin-tone color palette from Georganne Bell of LilaLoa - CLICK HERE TO READ!

A FEW OTHER SPECIAL TOOLS:

Before we wrap things up I wanted to point out a few other special tools I used to create the mermaid. On her face, I used a black and red Foodoodler. These are ultra thin and are great for adding the delicate face details (plus I didn't need to mix extra icing colors). And I blushed the mermaid's cheeks subtly with Carnation Pink Crystal Color (FDA approved petal dust) using a thin Silverwhite brush. 

PLANNING YOUR PROJECT TIMELINE:

I like to break up the decorating process as follows. It fits better in my life than tackling everything in one day. Times based on a single batch of cookies, increase as needed:

Day 1 PREP COOKIES AND ICING: Mix Dough (30 mins), Chill Dough (2 hours inactive time), Roll and Bake (1 hour), Mix Royal Icing and Prep Icing Colors (1 hour)

Day 2 DECORATE: Outline and Flood Cookies (1-2 hours), Allow to dry in front of fan before adding details (1 hour for standard cookies, but allow 6 hours of dry time on the face area before using a marker), Piping details, etc (1-2 hours)

**ALLOW COOKIES TO FULLY DRY 18-24 BEFORE PACKING. STORE IN A COOL OVEN OVER NIGHT.**

Day 3 PACKING COOKIES: For tips on packing cookies, CLICK HERE to check out this helpful blog post with links to my favorite packing and shipping materials.

MATERIALS LIST:

DECORATING TOOLS:

• Cuttes (see above)
• Food Gel Colors (black, fuchsia, turquoise, violet, and fleshtone)
• PME Scribe
• Tipless Decorating Bags
• #2 Tip (3)
• #1 Tip (2)
• Sprinkles (optional)
• Black Foodoodler
• Red Foodoodler
• Carnation Pink
• Silverwhite Brush

I want to see what you make! So be sure to tag @Flourboxbakery on Instagram and Facebook and use #flourboxbakery so I can see what you create!

Looking for more inspiration? Check out the Mermaid Tail Tutorial and the Mermaid (sundae dish) Tutorial. Just click on the photo!

Happy Decorating!

Anne