Edible Cookie Painting

It’s no secret that in addition to cooking, I am also a huge fan of art and creativity. This recipe is the perfect example of when two of my favourite pastimes combine. 

I first started painting when I was a young teen.  I took lessons from a local artist, and painted my first canvas, which is hanging on the wall beside me as I write this.  My brother built me an easel in wood shop, and for a time, my painting gear always came with me wherever I went - especially on family vacations where I would spend hours on the beach painting.  It’s been several years since I’ve really just sat down and painted, until I started experimenting with cookies as the canvas.

Last year for the holidays, Sarah and I set out to master sugar cookies and I quickly realized there was a bit of a learning curve to painting cookies with royal icing.  It turns out it wasn’t nearly as quick and easy as the countless YouTube videos I binge watched indicated it would be (mad props to Sarah though, her cookies were works of art).

Determined to create something beautiful that required less time and supplies, I experimented with a few different methods and settled on this style of cookie painting as my favourite.  It’s quick, easy, and you can freeze sugar cookies in advance for a fun and creative rainy day activity.  

Ingredients

- Sugar Cookies, Baked

(see www.CookingWithJax.com for recipe)

Paint:

- Food Colouring

- White Vanilla Extract

Supplies:

- Pallets*

- Paint Brushes*

- Toothpicks

- Paper Towel

- Cups

- Water

* These must be brand new, or only ever used for a purpose similar to this.  Do not use pallets or paint brushes that were previously used with actual paint. 

Directions

For best results, bake cookies the night before, and allow them to harden on the counter overnight.  If the cookies are too soft, they will start to break down slightly when the paint touches them.

Pour a cap full of vanilla extract in each section of the pallet.  Using toothpicks, add a small amount of food colouring to each section, until you’ve achieved the colours that you want to paint with.

Use a small amount of edible paint on your brush to start, adding more food colouring to achieve a darker colour if necessary.  Too much paint on your brush will dissolve the cookie.

Once painted, allow cookies to air-dry for a couple of hours before storing.

Enjoy!