Royal Icing Treat Bag

This tiny treat bag would probably not hold even one M&M, but it would look very cute on cupcakes or petits fours (in any color you like, of course). You'll need stiff consistency royal icing, round tips #8 and #5, a glue stick, a flower nail, a Styrofoam block to rest the nail in, parchment paper squares, food-safe markers like AmeriColor Gourmet Writers, and a dusting pouch filled with a 50/50 mix of powdered sugar and cornstarch. Start by sticking a parchment square to the flower nail with a dab from the glue stick. Alternately, you can pipe the icing on the squares directly on your countertop. 

 Hold the tip just above the surface and pipe a tight "U" shape.

 Touch a fingertip to the dusting pouch and tap the surface and the sides flat into a rectangle.

 You might prefer to use an offset spatula; tap it against the dusting pouch, then against the sides of the rectangle. Allow the icing to firm up for an hour or so.

Pipe the handles with the #5 tip and allow them to dry. Always pipe more than you need to allow for breakage. These are actually leftover from when I made royal icing cauldrons. 

When the handles are firm enough to, um, handle, glue one on the bag with two dots of icing piped from the #5 tip. 

 Use the food-safe markers to decorate the bag any way you like!

Royal Icing Lipsticks

Girly-girl cakes are quite the rage, and invariably seem to feature life-size lipsticks crafted out of fondant. I wanted to try piping teeny-tiny cupcake-sized lipsticks out of royal icing; as you can see, there's not much to them. All you need is stiff consistency royal icing in black and whatever lipstick color you'd like, round tips #12 and #10, parchment paper squares, an offset spatula, a dusting pouch filled with a 50/50 mix of powdered sugar and cornstarch, a flower nail, glue stick, and Styrofoam block to rest the nail in (or just pipe directly on the parchment paper squares on any flat surface like your countertop). Start by sticking a parchment square to the glue stick with a dab from the glue stick. 

 Pipe a #12 cylinder of black icing about 3/4" long; keep the tip almost flat against the surface. Tap the offset spatula against the dusting pouch, and use it to flatten both ends.

 Pipe a cylinder for each lipstick tube.

 Pipe the lipstick itself with the #10 tip. Butt the tip against one end of the black cylinder, squeeze out about 1/4", then angle the tip to a 45 degree angle…

 …then slide your dusted angled spatula in between the tip and the icing and pull the tip away.

Remove the spatula before the icing has too much of a chance to cling to it. Touch a fingertip to the dusting pouch and neaten the tip so it has that iconic, chiseled shape. 

 You'll probably also want to pipe some royal icing eyeshadow (perfect for any girly-girl cupcake, cake pop, petits-fours; any tiny dessert that needs something just cute perched on top).

Royal Icing Apple and Worm

Why, oh why do I always seem to think of occasion-appropriate projects a day or a week or two after the occasion has come and gone? In this case, I've thought of something very school- or teacher-related, now that summer is in full swing: a royal icing apple and worm, which would be perfect perched on a cupcake or other small dessert. All you need to pipe them are piping bags filled with red, green, and brown royal icing, a dusting pouch filled with a 50/50 mix of powdered sugar and cornstarch, parchment paper squares, and round tips #12, #3 and #4, and leaf tip #65.

 Start by piping a #12 ball of red royal icing on a parchment square. You can flatten the top slightly by touching a fingertip to the dusting pouch then gently tapping it against the top of the ball.

 You can pipe tiny leaves on another square and glue them to the apples with dots of icing…

 …or you can pipe them directly on the apples.

 Switch to the #4 tip and pipe the worm. Start at the base, move the tip up the side, allow the icing to build up a bit, then pull the tip away to form the head.

 Touch a fingertip to the dusting pouch, then tap it gently against the tip of the worm's head to round it.

 Pipe the stem with a #3 tip on the brown icing. Hold the tip flat against the top of the apple, and squeeze while drawing the tip upwards. Stop the pressure, pull the tip away, and tap the tip flat.

 File this idea away somewhere for back to school, teacher appreciation day, or even summer school.

Tiny Royal Icing Teacup

I've been trying to think of things I could pipe (other than flowers) that would make a good decoration for small cookies or petits fours. A tiny little teacup is the first thing that came to mind. While a flower nail isn't mandatory, I like using one whenever possible (as well as a Styrofoam block so I'll have someplace to set the nail down). Additionally, here's what you'll need…

…royal icing in any color in a piping bag fitted with a round tip #3, a parchment square for each teacup, a non-toxic glue stick. If you want to paint a gold edge, you'll want a small brush and a product like AmeriColor's Gold Sheen Airbrush Color (no need for an airbrush; you can paint it straight out of the container). Start by sticking a parchment paper square to the flower nail with a dab from the glue stick:

Pipe a coil of icing, about 3 times around the center point. Don't stop like I did here…

…continue piping the coil until the cup is as high as you'd like it. 

While it's drying, pipe a few handles that are the height of the cup; use the one you like best. Attach it to the cup with a dot of icing at each end of the handle. 

Using one of the smallest brushes you have, give the edge of the cup a gilt edge (and do any other decorating you'd like).

 For reference, here's the cup next to a dime. Imagine the size of the tea bag!