America has 63 national parks and we’re making four of them into cookies!
This set includes four designs, all on rectangle cookies: a Yellowstone thermal pool, a Yosemite valley scene with El Cap, Half Dome, and Upper Yosemite Falls, an Acadia lighthouse, and the Everglades. I wanted to make sure parks from all over the country were represented in the set and only one, the Everglades, is one I haven’t visited yet.
No advanced prep needed to make these, but a lil overnight patience is!
Wet-On-Wet With Edible Pen Finishing Details
Each cookie in this set follows the same process:
- Draw your design lightly onto the cookie with an edible pen as a guide
- Outline each section with the corresponding icing color
- Fill in each section
- Allow to dry completely
- Finish with an ultra fine tip edible pen, outlining each section and adding additional details where applicable
The wet-on-wet approach means no waiting between icing steps, which keeps things moving. The edible pen finish at the end is what gives these cookies that pop-art quality, bold colors, and crisp drawn details. I only regret that I don’t feel capable of freehanding an alligator…or is it a crocodile?
Two edible pens can be helpful here: a fine tip (felt pen style) for sketching your initial guide design onto the cookie, and an ultra fine tip for the finishing details.
Yellowstone might actually be the first national park I ever visited. My family drove across the country when I was a toddler and stopped at the park along the way. There are a number of photos of me on my dad’s shoulders because, apparently, I almost walked off the boardwalk directly into a thermal pool. This cookie carries some history, even if I don’t remember any of it.
Supplies
- Brown sugar cookie base
- Royal icing in one consistency: hybrid for everything – follow along with my coloring and consistency video here: https://youtu.be/gCGaPgN_lL0
- Icing colors: white, light blue, blue, yellow, orange, red, and green
- Tipless piping bags
- Toothpick or scribe tool
- Edible pen for drawing your design onto each cookie
- Ultra fine tip edible pen for drawing on your icing
- Rectangle cookie cutter (3D print or buy)
Key Takeaways
- Start with Yellowstone cookie, it’s the most forgiving in the set
- The wet-on-wet step goes fast, the patience comes in waiting for everything to fully dry before picking up the edible pen
- Use your scribe tool on the Acadia lighthouse to sharpen any edges before the icing sets
- Have a light hand with the ultra-fine tip edible pen, it’s really easy to unintentionally jabbing it into the cookie
Download the free guide and let’s decorate together! I already want to make a second set of these – which National Parks should I include?