Some may say, “April showers bring May flowers,” but in the cookie kitchen we say, “Extra royal icing brings toothpick roses.” Use up leftover royal icing to make beautiful roses that can be used on cookies, cakes, or other baked goods. Or, make up a special batch of icing for a future project. We love having a supply of toothpick roses on hand in lots of different colors. You never know when a cookie just needs a rose to fill in a blank spot and add a little pizzaz. They can be grouped together for a big impact or left on their own.
Mix powdered sugar into royal icing to get the right consistency. The icing should hold a stiff peak.
Place the stiff icing in a piping bag with a #101S tip. Angle the tip with the wider portion downwards.
At the top of the toothpick, pipe a petal up and over the top while spinning the toothpick. This will create a little bud shape.
To make the first row, pipe 3 overlapping petals. Place the tip at the bottom of the bud, while you turn the toothpick with one hand, pipe a small petal by pushing and moving your other hand up and down.
Turn the toothpick again in your hand and pipe 2 more overlapping petals to finish the row.
Pipe a second row of 5 petals, overlapping each one in the same manner as the first row.
Poke a toothpick through a square of waxed paper. Hold with one hand and pull the rose off the toothpick.
Allow rose to dry completely. Store on waxed paper in an airtight container until ready to use.
There are so many uses for toothpick roses!
When ready to use, simply pipe a leaf with royal icing, remove rose from waxed paper and place on wet leaf.
