Royal Icing Bones

I saw some icing bones adorning Halloween cupcakes in a bakery today…and I must say, any similarity to those squirts of icing and bones was purely coincidental. They looked more like blobs of toothpaste! The main thing that made them so unbelievable was the huge, obnoxious peaks that were left each time the tip was pulled away; truly a rookie mistake. All you need to pipe bones that are at least tidy (if not a little bit more realistic) are stiff consistency white royal icing, a flower nail, a Styrofoam brick to rest the nail in, parchment paper squares, a glue stick, and a dusting pouch filled with a 50/50 blend of powdered sugar and cornstarch. Use a round tip in any size; larger tips will make larger bones that take longer to dry. I used a tip #8. Start by sticking a parchment square to the flower nail with a dab from the glue stick. 

 Pipe a line of icing about 1" long while holding the tip just above and at a 45 degree angle to the surface.

Overlapping one end of the line, pipe a shape similar to a check mark, like a lopsided "V". When you pull the tip away, a peak will probably remain. Touch a fingertip to the dusting pouch and gently tap it down. 

 That little bit of asymmetry should keep them from looking like Milk-Bones (as astutely noted by my husband). Repeat the lopsided "V" on the other end, and set the bones aside to dry (dessicate?) before peeling away the parchment and using them to decorate some cute, ghoulish dessert.