How to Decorate a Birdhouse and Flower Pot Cookie

Flower in Pot and Birdhouse Tutorial

I'm starting to hear the sounds of spring and I can't wait for the flowers to start to bloom! Designing these cookie cutters and making these spring cookies was so much fun!

*If you're a member of the Flour Box Club, check out your club-only video to learn how I planned these designs and icing colors!

These cookie cutters are exclusive cookie cutters designed by The Flour Box and can only be found here - CLICK HERE!

Cookie Yield

For a single batch of dough, you can make about 18-22 of these cookies. 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. Before I bake my cookies, I like to sketch them out and come up with a decorating and icing color plan!

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

Prepping the Royal Icing

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).

This cookie set has 7 icing colors. l don't measure exactly...I estimate. For a more detailed look at icing planning, CLICK HERE to read this helpful blog post.

ICING PLAN BY THE OUNCE (THIS IS BASED ON MAKING 10 OF EACH OF THESE 2 COOKIE DESIGNS - 20 COOKIES)

Sienna - 4 oz (pipe and flood)
Turquoise - 4 oz (pipe and flood)
Red Red (just a few dots to keep it pastel) - 4 oz (pipe and flood)
Georgia Peach - 4 oz (pipe and flood)
Buckeye Brown - 3 oz (pipe and flood)
Leaf Green - 1 oz (20-sec)
Black Diamond- 1 oz (pipe only)

ROYAL ICING RECIPE

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

A few Extra Decorating Tips

You can scrape a bit of brown icing where the hole is on the birdhouse. This gives a little more depth. This is not shown in the video.

Also, masking off the little birdie is helpful when it is time to pipe and flood that area. 

Your birds will be the same size, but you won't need a projector or royal icing transfer.

CLICK HERE to download the birdie template

Project Timeline

Plan ahead to enjoy the most success with your cookie project! I break up the decorating process. It works better with my life to do a little each day. Here is the schedule for this cookie project and estimated times on how long each phase takes.

DAY 1 

Mix Dough (30 mins), Chill Dough (2 hours inactive time), Roll and Bake (1 hour), Mix Royal Icing and Prep Icing Colors - it is helpful to make the colors the day before you decorate because the color will deepen overnight (1 hour). 

DAY 2 

Outline and Flood Cookies (1-2 hours), Allow to dry in front of fan before adding details (1 hour for standard cookies). Piping details and stenciling (1.5-2 hours) 

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

DAY 3

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

Three of these cookies fit PERFECTLY in the 9" BRP window box - click here to view the white box! It also comes in diamond blue and natural/kraft.

 Recreate these!

I would be so flattered if you recreated these cookies!

Be sure to tag @theflourboxshop or use hashtag #theflourbox so I can see what you create!

Common Tools in this Tutorial: 

• 7 Food Gels: Georgia Peach, Sienna, Leaf Green, Red Red, Turquoise, Buckeye Brown, and Black Diamond
• 12 Icing Bags
• 5 Tip #2 (PME or Wilton brand)
• 1 Tip #65s (Wilton) for the wing on the bird
• 1 Tip #1 (PME or Witlon brand) for the black piping icing 
• 6 Couplers
• Royal Icing Scraper to scrap icing on the birdhouse
• Cookie Countess Airbrush System
• Stencil Genie
• Wood Grain, Narrow Stripes, and Tiny Dots stencils
• Hawaiian Blue, Metallic Pearl, and Sienna Chefmaster Airbrush Colors

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Happy Decorating!

Anne