Inspiring Hand-painted Cookies

Hand-painted cookies are incredibly special, and these are some of the coolest.

Inspiring Hand-painted Cookies

Hand-painted cookies are incredibly special. The care and attention that goes into them, remarkable. I keep a running folder of inspiration for when I have a quiet Sunday for baking. And lately, I tend to love the cookies that have a watercolor vibe. I'm linking to a bunch here. Illustration isn't my strongest suit, so graphic designs and patterns are typically where I land. Hope some of these inspire you as much as they have me!


1. Calendula Shortbread with Saffron Stripes

I do variations on these quite a lot. Made with shortbread dough (a nut-free version of this) The icing is made by mixing 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar, 2 egg whites, and enough water to thin to desired translucency. Divide the icing into separate bowls, and add color from there. The yellow was created using by infusing 1 teaspoon of vodka with a pinch of saffron and allowing it to sit for a couple of minutes. Strain the saffron liquid into the icing base a bit at a time, more or less depending on how saturated you'd like it.

Inspiring Hand-painted Watercolor Cookies

2. Ayako Kurokawa - (Burrow)
Ayako Kurokawa of Burrow patisserie in Brooklyn is the master. I love her work on so many fronts. Look at the detailed handwriting, the cat whiskers, and stripes. Ayako's work is as personal as a signature, and I love seeing her talent expressed in the most beautiful charming treats. Have you seen her paint Julia? Or, look at these if air-brush is more your thing. Follow Ayako on Instagram.

Inspiring Hand-painted Watercolor Cookies

3. Ultimate Sugar Cookies
Dream team at work here - Alison Roman + Nikole Herriott + Michael Graydon. Bold, graphic, fun, & super inspiring. Get the recipe here.

Inspiring Hand-painted Watercolor Cookies

4. Jacquelyn Clark's Water Color Cookies
Love the soft colors here, and the mix of florals with abstract. Super pretty. Get the recipe here.

Inspiring Hand-painted Watercolor Cookies

5. Albion x Sweet Marie Watercolor Cookie Tutorial - (Albion)
So pretty - I'd use natural coloring from ingredients like beets, dragonfruit, berries, and the like, but the general concept is perfect for a treat plate or dessert spread. See the process shots here.

Inspiring Hand-painted Watercolor Cookies

Tools: Some of my cookie tools: A range of brushes, cutters, and ruler. See that little salt cellar on the left? It has a pretty texture on the outside, I sometimes use textures like that as a bit of a template for designs. Simply roll it across the dough, and bake the cookies. It will leave a hint of the design, and you can use that as a guide for your patterns. For example, I rolled some striped pottery across the dough in the lead photo and used that as the template for the irregular stripes! Play around!

Inspiring Hand-painted Watercolor Cookies

Resources:
- Make your own Natural Food Dyes or, I tend to be a bit lazy * last-minute, so I like to keep a collection of powdered fruit/vegetable powders on hand. For example, I have blueberry, hibiscus, raspberry, saffron, cacao, charcoal (good for pencil effect). Play around!

101 Cookbooks Membership

Premium Ad-Free membership includes:
-Ad-free content
-Print-friendly recipes
-Spice / Herb / Flower / Zest recipe collection PDF
-Weeknight Express recipe collection PDF
-Surprise bonuses throughout the year

spice herb flower zest
weeknight express

Post Your Comment

Comments

Those watercolor cookies are just stunning! And I think they'd actually be doable for a decorating-challenged individual like myself.

Erica Lea | Buttered Side Up

The last cookies are the prettiest, IMHO, in a gallery of real beauties. Your instructions for natural colorings are wonderful and just in time for experimentation before the Christmas cookie mania begins.

Taste of France

More Recipes

101cookbooks social icon
Join my newsletter!
Weekly recipes and inspirations.

Popular Ingredients

Use of this site constitutes acceptance of its User Agreement and Privacy Policy.

101 Cookbooks is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. Any clickable link to amazon.com on the site is an affiliate link.