Writing on Cookies!

Hi y’all!

I promise I haven’t fallen off the face of the earth; we have just been extremely busy and soaking up as much of this beautiful weather as possible.

Today I wanted to touch on writing on cookies and the tools I use!

I went to school for art and had the amazing privilege of being able to dabble in a little bit of everything. My last semester at Ole Miss, I had the opportunity to do a little graphic design and fell madly in love with it. I would like to think that if it wasn’t for finding the art of cookies, that I might have become a print designer. Through graphic design I feel in LOVE typography. Most all of my cookie sets I use words of some sort. Crazy thing is, I have TERRIBLE hand writing, its always leaning to one side and a mess, I could never be famous, because my autograph would seriously stink ha!

My writing on cookies has evolved so much since I first started.

I first started with just free handing.

Then I learned about Camera Lucida.

This is an app that is designed for iPhones. The idea of the app is that you can “trace” the image. No, the image is not projected. The app gives you the ability to see your object and picture at the same time on your iPad screen. This app takes a lot of getting used to and is difficult to use. You are seriously balancing your iPad on a cup or books and then tracing, which for cookies is just asking for an accident. The other downside to Camera Lucida is that for me, it was impossible to trace with icing, so you need to use an edible marker to trace then go over that with your icing. With the edible marker you are now doubling your time (essentially writing everything twice) and you are also at great risk for bleeding. When I would do a white cookie or any light colored cookie I felt like I could see a yellow halo from the marker I used. Needless to say it’s a okay option for very little money $4.99 in the app store.

I purchased my Pico projector a little over a year ago.

The Pico is a mini pocket projector that can project an image on your cookie. This technique is so easy and can produce flawless cookies. Here are a few points on the Pico, good and bad…

I feel like it is cheaply made. I am on my second Pico because the charging port inside of the devise broke. The back where you attach it to the tripod has cracked on both projectors that I have owned as well. On the plus side they have awesome customer service and will not hesitate on sending you a new one.

You have to purchase a lot to go with it. For the Pico to function you need to purchase a…

Tripod

Mini HDMI to HDMI cable

AV adapter

The charger that came with my Pico does not have the capabilities to charge while the devise is in use, It will hold a charge for about 80 minutes if fully charged when you started.

I emailed AAXA Technologies asking if any of their products charge while in use and here is their response…”None of our projector are able to charge while in use, they are only able to charge when they are off.” I am still doing some digging to see if any other power adapters will give it continuous play. I have known many cookiers who are able to leave theirs plugged in for continuous use.

*****UPDATE***** After experimenting around with other power cords I discovered that if you use a charger that is 2 amps or higher the Pico WILL stay on while in use.

My favorite app ever…Monogram it!

My last tool is another app! Monogram It, is a wonderful app that is available for iPhones and Androids. The app is AWESOME and I use it almost every day. I would recommend upgrading for more fonts ($.99).

With this app, you just type in your text and then customize it. When picking a color for your font it doesn’t really matter, but be sure to pick a color that will “pop” for you to see it when projecting it.

The app saves your image to your photos for you to access to be able to use with the Pico or Camera Ludica.

I am also a tipless bag girl, so I first just snip the tip till I get the right thickness.

The consistency of your icing is everything! My icing for writing is pretty thick, not to the point that it is hurting my hand to squeeze the bag though, it is really important that the icing still flows. When writing you want it to look like the letters just melt into each other and flow without becoming a blob.

Here is a quick video of me piping text!

I hope these apps and tips can help!

Happy Baking

Love,

Morgan