HEART CUTTER
Even if you’re new to cookie decorating, I’d be surprised if you don’t own a heart cutter, which means that you can make at least three other designs from it. And if your cutter is one in a graduated set, you can do even more—make a school of fish, a pumpkin patch, or a field of strawberries.
Simple shapes can be tough to disguise, especially if you don’t fiddle with their orientation. These cookies are a little less about disguising the cutter shape than they are about filling it in an unexpected way.
HEART
beginner 
intermediate advanced
MAKES 20
what you need
TO MAKE THE COOKIES
3-inch heart cookie cutter
Cookie dough of choice (here), prepared, chilled, and rolled out
Cooling racks
TO DECORATE
3 cups Royal Icing (here)
Pasteurized egg white or water
Gel food colors: bright red, electric pink, whitener
2 plastic or parchment piping bags (here)
1 #1 tip
1 #1.5 tip
Assorted paintbrushes
- 1. Make the cookies. Cut out 20 cookies from the dough. Bake and cool as directed.
- 2. Make red lining and flooding icing; make pink flooding icing. Mix ¾ cup royal icing in a bowl with bright red gel to make red for the trim. Thin to lining consistency and spoon ¼ cup into a piping bag fitted with a #1 tip. Thin the remaining icing to flooding consistency and cover with plastic wrap. Mix 1½ cups royal icing in a bowl with electric pink and whitener gels to make pink. Thin to flooding consistency and cover with plastic wrap.
- 3. Outline the red trim and paint in. Paint in the pink heart. Using the red lining icing, outline the heart about ¼ inch from the edge. In that ¼-inch space, draw a scalloped edge all the way around the heart, making the bumps big enough to reach the edge of the cookie. Let set for 5 minutes. Reserve the red lining icing. Using a paintbrush and the red flooding icing, paint in the scallops. Using a paintbrush and the pink flooding icing, paint in the heart. Let set until hard, 6 to 8 hours or overnight.
- 4. Make white lining and flooding icing for the center heart. Refresh the royal icing on medium low for 30 seconds. Mix ¾ cup royal icing in a bowl with whitener gel to make white for the center heart. Thin to lining consistency and spoon ¼ cup into a piping bag fitted with a #1.5 tip. Thin the remaining icing to flooding consistency and cover with plastic wrap.
- 5. Outline the central heart. Re-outline the pink heart and trim; make details. Using the reserved red lining icing, outline the central heart on top of the pink icing, following the shape of the larger heart. Still using the red lining icing, re-outline the pink heart and the scalloped edge. Let set for 5 minutes. Reserve the red lining icing. With the white lining icing, pipe a dot in the middle of each scallop.
- 6. Paint in the white heart; make details. Using a paintbrush and the white flooding icing, paint in the smaller central heart, using enough icing to make it slightly puffy. Let icing set for 2 hours. Using the reserved red lining icing, holding the piping tip at a 45-degree angle and touching the cookie, make a border of tiny dots around the center heart, butting them up (see here) to the outline and spacing them slightly apart so that they do not blend together. Let set for 6 to 8 hours or overnight.
PUMPKIN
beginner intermediate advanced
MAKES 20
what you need
TO MAKE THE COOKIES
3-inch heart cookie cutter
Cookie dough of choice (here), prepared, chilled, and rolled out
Cooling racks
TO DECORATE
3½ cups Royal Icing (here)
Pasteurized egg white or water
Gel food colors: sunset orange, lemon yellow, whitener, neon green, buckeye brown, leaf green
6 plastic or parchment piping bags (here)
6 #1 tips
Assorted paintbrushes
- 1. Make the cookies. Cut out 20 cookies from the dough. Bake and cool as directed.
- 2. Make brown lining and flooding icing for the stem; outline and paint in. Mix ½ cup royal icing in a bowl with buckeye brown gel to make brown for the stem of the pumpkin. Thin to lining consistency and spoon ¼ cup into a piping bag fitted with a #1 tip. Thin the remaining icing to flooding consistency and cover with plastic wrap. Position the cookie so that the heart is upside down. Using the brown lining icing, outline the stem, leaving the bottom unlined where the leaves and pumpkin overlap it. Let set for 5 minutes. Using a paintbrush and the brown flooding icing, paint in the stem, thinning it out where the leaves and pumpkin overlap the stem. Let set for 1 hour.
- 3. Make orange lining and flooding icing for the pumpkin; outline and paint in. Mix 1½ cups royal icing with sunset orange and lemon yellow gels to make orange for the pumpkin. Thin to lining icing and spoon ¼ cup into a piping bag fitted with a #1 tip. Thin the remaining icing to flooding consistency and cover with plastic wrap. Using the orange lining icing, outline the pumpkin, going over the bottom of the stem. Let set for 5 minutes. Using a paintbrush and the orange flooding icing, paint in the pumpkin. Let set until hard, 6 to 8 hours or overnight.
- 4. Make green lining and flooding icing for the leaves;. outline and paint in. Refresh the royal icing on medium low for 30 seconds. Mix ½ cup icing with neon green and leaf green gels to make bright green. Thin to lining consistency and spoon ¼ cup into a piping bag fitted with a #1 tip. Thin the remaining icing to flooding consistency and cover with plastic wrap. Using the green lining icing, outline the leaves, starting each leaf from the top of the pumpkin, piping over the stem and out to the edge of the cookie. Hold the piping tip close to the cookie to make the edges of the leaves slightly ruffled. Let set for 5 minutes. Using a paintbrush and the green flooding icing, paint in the leaves. Let set for 2 hours.
- 5. Make lining icings: orange to re-outline the pumpkin, dark green for the leaves, and dark brown for the stem. Refresh the royal icing on medium low for 30 seconds. Spoon ¼ cup icing into each of three bowls. Cover two with plastic wrap. To the remaining bowl, add sunset orange gel to make dark orange. Thin to lining consistency and spoon it all into a piping bag fitted with a #1 tip. To the second bowl, add leaf green gel to make darker green. Thin to lining consistency and spoon all of it into a piping bag fitted with a #1 tip. To the third bowl, add buckeye brown gel to make darker brown. Thin to lining consistency and spoon it all into a piping bag fitted with a #1 tip.
- 6. Re-outline the pumpkin and make the ridges. Re-outline the leaves and make the veins. Re-outline the stem and make details. Using the darker orange lining icing, re-outline the pumpkin and add the vertical ridges. Let set for 5 minutes. Using the darker green lining icing, re-outline the leaves and add the veins. Make tendrils down the front of the pumpkin, going over the ridges. Using the darker brown lining icing, re-outline the stem, drawing in the details. Let set for 1 hour.
STRAWBERRY
beginner intermediate advanced
MAKES 20
what you need
TO MAKE THE COOKIES
3-inch heart cookie cutter
Cookie dough of choice (here), prepared, chilled, and rolled out
Cooling racks
TO DECORATE
2½ cups Royal Icing (here)
Pasteurized egg white or water
Gel food colors: bright red, leaf green, neon green, lemon yellow, whitener
4 plastic or parchment paper piping bags (here)
4 #1 tips
Assorted paintbrushes
- 1. Make the cookies. Cut out 20 cookies from the dough. Bake and cool as directed.
- 2. Make red lining and flooding icing for the strawberry; outline and paint in. Mix 1½ cups royal icing in a bowl with the bright red gel to make red. Thin to lining consistency and spoon ¼ cup into a piping bag fitted with a #1 tip. Thin the remaining icing to flooding consistency and cover with plastic wrap. Using the lining icing, outline the strawberry, following the shape of the cookie and rounding the tip at the bottom. Let set for 5 minutes. Reserve the red lining icing. Using a paintbrush and the flooding icing, paint in the strawberry. Let set until hard, 6 to 8 hours or overnight.
- 3. Make green lining and flooding icing for the leaves; outline and paint in. Refresh the royal icing on medium low for 30 seconds. Mix ½ cup icing with leaf green and neon green gels to make green. Thin to lining consistency and spoon ¼ cup into a piping bag fitted with a #1 tip. Thin the remaining icing to flooding consistency and cover with plastic wrap. Using the green lining icing, outline the three leaves at the top of the strawberry. Let set for 5 minutes. Using a paintbrush and the green flooding icing, paint in the leaves. Let set for 2 to 3 hours.
- 4. Make yellow lining icing and make the seeds. Mix ¼ cup royal icing with lemon yellow and whitener gels to make yellow for the seeds. Thin to lining consistency and spoon into a piping bag fitted with a #1 tip. Draw seeds on the strawberry, spacing them evenly apart, and drag the tip toward you to make them tear-shaped.
- 5. Make green lining icing to re-outline the leaves; re-outline the strawberry and leaves and make the details. Mix ¼ cup royal icing with leaf green gel to make darker green. Thin to lining consistency and spoon all of it into a piping bag fitted with a #1 tip. Using the reserved red lining icing, re-outline the strawberry. Using the dark green lining icing, re-outline the leaves and add the veins. Let set for 1 hour.
FISH
beginner intermediate advanced
MAKES 20
what you need
TO MAKE THE COOKIES
3-inch heart cookie cutter
Cookie dough of choice (here), prepared, chilled, and rolled out
Cooling racks
TO DECORATE
4 cups Royal Icing (here)
Pasteurized egg white or water
Gel food colors: leaf green, neon green, whitener, electric pink, lemon yellow, super black (or black edible marker)
6 plastic or parchment paper piping bags (here)
6 #1 tips
Assorted paintbrushes
- 1. Make the cookies. Cut out 20 cookies from the dough. Bake and cool as directed.
- 2. Make lining and flooding icings: light green for the fish and pink for the fins. Spoon 1¼ cups royal icing in each of two bowls. Cover one with plastic wrap. To the other, add leaf green, neon green, and whitener gels to make light green. Thin to lining consistency and spoon ¼ cup into a piping bag fitted with a #1 tip. Thin the remaining icing to flooding consistency and cover with plastic wrap. To the second bowl, add electric pink and whitener gels to make medium pink. Thin to lining consistency and spoon ¼ cup into a piping bag fitted with a #1 tip. Thin the remaining icing to flooding consistency and cover with plastic wrap.
- 3. Outline and paint in the fish and fins. Position the cookie so that the point of the heart is on the left. Leaving space on the top, bottom, and right edge of the cookie for the fins, outline the fish’s body using the light green lining icing. Allow the icing to set for 10 minutes. Using the pink lining icing, outline the top, bottom, and tail fins, stopping at the outline of the fish. Let set for 5 minutes. Reserve the pink lining icing. Using a paintbrush and the green flooding icing, paint in the fish’s body. Using a paintbrush and the pink flooding icing, paint in the fins. Let set until hard, 6 to 8 hours or overnight. Reserve the pink flooding icing.
- 4. Make yellow lining and flooding icing for the stripes, eye, and mouth; outline and paint in. Refresh the royal icing on medium low for 30 seconds. Mix ½ cup royal icing in a bowl with lemon yellow and whitener gels to make yellow for the stripes, mouth, and eye. Thin to lining consistency and spoon ¼ cup into a piping bag fitted with a #1 tip. Thin the remaining to flooding consistency and cover with plastic wrap. Using the yellow lining icing, outline two stripes, making them slightly curvy and one shorter than the other. Make the outline for the nose and the eye. Let set for 5 minutes. Using a paintbrush and the yellow flooding icing, paint in the stripes and the nose. Add a little whitener to the icing, then paint in the eye. Let set for 2 to 3 hours.
- 5. Make dark green lining icing; re-outline the fish and make the mouth and gill. While the yellow flooding icing sets, mix ¼ cup royal icing with leaf green and neon green gels to make darker green. Thin to lining consistency and spoon it all into a piping bag fitted with a #1 tip. Re-outline the fish’s body, excluding the fins and tail but including the nose. Draw a short horizontal line onto the yellow icing for the mouth. Add the green gill under the eye. Let set for 5 minutes.
- 6. Outline and paint in the side fin. Using the reserved pink lining icing, outline the side fin, beginning at the gill and going over one yellow stripe. Let set for 5 minutes. Using a paintbrush and the reserved pink flooding icing, paint in the side fin, stopping at the green gill line. Let set for 4 to 6 hours.
- 7. Make dark pink lining icing; re-outline the fins and tail. Make the eye. Mix ¼ cup royal icing in a bowl with electric pink gel to make darker pink. Thin to lining consistency and spoon it all into a piping bag fitted with a #1 tip. Mix 2 tablespoons royal icing in a bowl with super black gel to make black for the eye, or use a black edible marker. Thin to lining consistency and spoon into a piping bag fitted with a #1 tip. Using the darker pink lining icing, re-outline the fins and tail, then add lines inside the fins and tail. Using the black lining icing, draw a circle inside the yellow circle for the pupil, using the piping tip to fill in the circle with black icing. Let set for 1 hour.