Royal Icing Mistletoe

Let me start this post by letting you in on a useless piece of information: I'm blogging from the same hotel room where I did my first "remote post" back on January 2 (Road Trip Cupcakes). So if the hideous faux burl table looks familiar, that's why. Imagine my astonishment to learn that mistletoe is Oklahoma's official state floral symbol. I thought it would be amusing to serve up a batch of cupcakes this Christmas that are decorated with this poisonous parasite; I wonder if anyone would actually be hesitant to eat them? To honor Oklahoma by piping a crop of its oldest state symbol (actually adopted 14 years prior to Oklahoma's statehood), you'll need stiff consistency royal icing in green and white, two #8 round tips, petal tip #104, a glue stick, parchment paper squares, a flower nail, a Styrofoam block to rest the nail in, and a dusting pouch filled with a 50/50 blend of cornstarch and powdered sugar. Start by sticking a parchment square to the nail with a dab from the glue stick. 

 Attach one of the #8 tips to the bag of green icing (you'll want to use a coupler). Pipe a few branches, allowing them to touch each other securely; you might want to touch a fingertip to the dusting pouch and gently tap the branches together where they join.

 Switch to the #104 petal tip and pipe a few round leaves. Hold the wide side of the tip against the "branch" and rotate the narrow end of the tip around in a fan-like shape while piping steadily. Stop pressure and pull the tip away towards yourself when you've reached the end of the "fan." Neaten the edges with a dusted fingertip if you need to.

 Lastly, pipe the berries with the other #8 tip. Hold the tip just above the surface, squeeze briefly, then stop pressure and pull the tip away. If a peak remains, tap it down with a dusted fingertip to form a ball. I tried to pipe a berry or two at any place on the structure that I perceived to be a weak point. When the icing is completely dry, peel away the parchment paper. I can't guarantee this creation will have the same magical kissing effect of the real deal, but I'm about to find out.