Patriotic Floral Star Cookies

I’m really looking forward to the Fourth of July.  Besides the whole freedom thing, it’s the holiday that cures my post-graduation cookie funk.  Seriously though, this is one of my favorite cookie seasons.  I’m so excited I decided to start the celebration early with patriotic floral star cookies.

To make these cookies you will need:

  • white outline and flood icing
  • blue piping icing {you can do two shades if you like}
  • red piping icing
  • yellow piping icing
  • red and blue food color marker
  • straight edge

Outline and flood the cookies and let them dry completely.

The next day, use a straight edge {I prefer a see through stencil so I can get an idea of size} to mark off the sections.

I use coordinating colors to serve as a guide and also to camouflage any show through.

This time around I went the easy route and divided the bottom space in half then half again, but it would have looked better if there were a stripe down the middle and then another halfway.  After I finished I realized it would have been just as easy to mark it that way in the first place but in the spirit of over-complicating things…

Once the cookie was sectioned off, I used a pushpin to maker where the stars would eventually go.  You can skip this step, but it helped to keep me oriented.

Once the cookie is marked, begin filling in the spaces.  This entire cookie is about layering.  Add some flowers, let them dry and then add some more.  I used dots in the spaces too small for flowers.

See the difference each layer makes?  I used two shades of blue to give the cookie a little dimension.

Once the outlines have been filled, add tiny yellow centers to some of the flowers.

Finish up by adding daisy stars.

Yes, I noticed this are pretty labor intensive cookies.  I like to call them “accent cookies”.  I use designs like this as the showpiece in a collection of simpler cookies like these flowers.

Here are a couple of tips to help you along:

  • For most of the flowers I used a #1.5 and #2 tips
  • If you’re getting little pointy tips, thin your piping icing a little

Independence Day is on the way and I have about a gazillion cookies to make so I better get to it.  How about you?  What are you baking for the Fourth of July?