How to Decorate a Butterfly

Repeat after me, "I can create cookies with confidence!" You have what it takes, my fellow cookie fanatic. Just take a deep breath, follow the tutorial step-by-step and have a blast! Happy decorating!
- Anne Yorks, owner The Flour Box

Scroll down for a written tutorial and recommended products!

Watch the metamorphosis... Royal icing and a little airbrush make this butterfly cookie ready for flight!

One of the benefits of using royal icing is that is dries smooth (and hard like candy). This property allows beautiful dimension to be created. Take a look at the butterfly cookies from this perspective. The section on the wings are created merely by allowing the top section to dry completely before flooding the bottom section. It's a simple cookie decorating concept with magnificent results!

Here is the same design in a pink color. The pink airbrush on the edge of the wing adds the drama!

These butterfly cookie cutter shapes are both available in the online shop...

This one is taller and narrower...

And this one is wider and slightly shorter.

Cookie Yield

This is a large cookie. For a single batch of dough, you can make about 16-18 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.

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 has 3 icing colors. I used Bright White, Deep Pink, and Lemon Yellow. l don't measure exactly...I estimate. For a more detailed look at icing planning, CLICK HERE to read this helpful blog post.