Simple Delft Blue Easter Egg Cookies

I have always wanted to make Delft blue Easter eggs, but somehow, every year I’ve run out of time.  This year, I have the time, but somewhere along the way I decided that tons of intricate piping was not my thing {might’ve been the burlap bunnies}.  Anyway, I decided that the world might be a better place if I came up with a lazy human way to make  Delft eggs.  I’m passing it on to you, so you can be lazy too, and I won’t feel as bad about myself.

To make these cookies you will need:

I made navy blue icing by mixing royal blue and black Americolor gel.

Before we get going I want to spend a second talking about stencils.  Technically any stencil will work {I got the blue one from Home Depot of all places} but if you’re more comfortable using food grade stencils, Designer Stencils has an amazing array of cake and cookie stencils for you to choose from.

You’ll notice that the stencil I am using is actually a cake top stencil.  When I purchase culinary stencils, I usually choose a cake top over a cookie stencil.  It’s a bit pricier, but I find that it’s a lot more versatile.  If you’re using it as an icing stencil and need to match the shape of the cookie, Designer Stencils also sells square and round cutouts that allow you to mask off sections of the stencil to make it the size you need.  I ordered both the three and four inch sizes in both shapes, but in the case of cookies like THESE, I traced the shape of my cutter onto stencil paper and cut it out with an Exacto knife.   More on that later…for now, back to the task at hand.

Before I decorating, use a cookie cutter to mark off the area of the cookie you plan to leave solid.  In the tradition of making things difficult I made mine curved but you can do straight if you’d like

Begin by outlining and flooding the cookies.  Make sure your flood icing is liquid enough that it creates a flat surface for you to work on.   Let them dry completely before moving on to the next step.

When the cookie is dry, it’s time to add the pattern.  If you have an airbrush, you can definitely use that, but since mine is currently out of commission, I used spray color.  Wilton doesn’t make Navy Color Mist, so I added a thin layer of black over the blue layer to make Navy.  See the difference?

To make airbrushing a little easier, cut a four by four notch out of a piece of foam board and place the cookie inside to create an even surface so the stencil will lay flat on the cookie.

If you’re using an airbrush you can apply a heavier layer of color, but go easy with the color spray or it will bleed.

Carefully remove the stencil, then outline and fill the rest of the cookie with Navy blue icing and let dry.

When the blue icing is dry, add a dotted border along the color seams to give the egg a finished look.

Easy.  So you can spend more time doing, oh, you know…lazy things.

 A few tips to help you out:

  • Follow the instructions if using Wilton Color Mist.  If you over spray, the color may bleed.
  • to make the cake stencil lay evenly over the cookie, cut a small notch out of a piece of poster board.  I’ve been bugging Bernie to make me a wood version of this little invention for a few years and he hasn’t.  My friend Tracy suggested this as an alternative and it works.
  • Airbrushes are great for this when you don’t drop and break them, ahem.  If you don’t have one, you need one.  I got mine from Karen’s Cookies and I love him, or rather I loved him…before I killed him.
  • When investing in a patterned stencil, consider purchasing a cake top rather than a cookie stencil.  They’re much more versatile and can be adapted to many shapes.
  • Designer Stencils has great customer service.  If you call or email them they are very helpful and will try to get you exactly the product you need.

I hope you have a great, lazy week!