Easy Decorating Tips for the Holidays: A Guide to Cookies and Cake

Hey everybody, I'm Carla Hall, and I want to show you some easy decorating tips for the holidays. When it comes to cookies and cake, especially cutout cookies, there are a few things you need to keep in mind before you start decorating. First of all, it's a commitment - you have to make the dough chill, roll out the dough, cut the dough, and then there's wasted dough with these cookies. But don't worry, I'm here to help.

One tip that I want to share with you is about little star patterns or just little jagged edges on your cookie. You want the texture, so make sure to experiment with different shapes and designs. I'm also using a silicone baking mat because it's going to stay in your sheet pan if you use parchment paper, and it makes it easier to pipe the dough.

If you're right-handed like me, take your left hand, take your thumb and forefinger, and twist the bag. You'll apply pressure with your hand and guide with your right hand, as well as squeeze. Start at the top of your cookie, and if your dough is too stiff, just massage it a little bit. If it's still really stiff and can't come out of your piping tip, put it in the microwave at 5-second intervals to soften it.

Once you've got your cookie cut out, sprinkle some sprinkles on before baking - it may not be the prettiest thing when they're raw, but it'll be worth it in the end. Now, let's move on to making a decorated Christmas tree using cake. You don't need a special mold - just bake a sheet pan of cake and take off the top layer.

When cutting your cake into a triangle, use a serrated knife that makes cutting really easy. This will give you a nice clean cut, and it's also a great way to practice making a perfect square or circle. I always tell bakers that there's hot water and sawing through cake - it may sound scary, but trust me, it's one of my pet peeves.

Now, let's talk about crumb coating. A crumb coat is necessary because you want to coat the crumbs and seal everything in place. It's literally just enough frosting to do the trick, so don't overdo it. Put your cake in the fridge for a little while to set, and then swap out any excess frosting with new frosting.

One of the easiest ways to decorate a cake is to use candy - I'm going to use licorice for garland and want that draping motion, so make sure to bend it slightly. You can get kids involved in this part, too, which is always fun. Just take some gumdrops and use them as ornaments - they're easy and effective.

Finally, remember that you don't have to be a perfect decorator to make your cake look great. The most important thing is to have fun and experiment with different designs and decorations until you find one that works for you. And that's it! With these decorating tips and tricks, you'll be well on your way to creating some beautiful holiday treats.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enhey everybody I'm Carla Hall I want to show you some easy decorating tips for the holidays cookies cutout cookies especially it's a commitment you have to make the dough chill the dough roll out the dough cut the dough and then there's wasted dough with these cookies I'm going to make some trees you can make any other shape you make the dough and you can actually go right ahead and pipe it you really want the dough to be soft and pliable this is a shortbread dough I have a tip that has like little star patterns or just little Jagged Edge because you want the texture and I'm also using a silicone baking mat because it's going to stay in your sheet pan if you use parchment paper it's going to lift up in my Piping Bag I am right-handed so I take my left hand I take my thumb and forefinger I twist the bag I am applying pressure with my hand and I am guiding with my right hand and also squeezing so I'm going to start at the Top If your dough is is too stiff just massage it a little bit if it's still really stiff and it can't come out of your piping tip put it in the microwave at 5 Second intervals you have your sprinkles sprinkle on before you bake them all right you can't appreciate them when they're like this but look at this super cute right I'm going to make a decorated Christmas tree and you don't need a special mold so I baked this cake in a sheet pan I am going to take off the top now I'm starting with the serrated knife that makes cutting really really easy now what I'm going to do is to cut this cake into a triangle you saw so that you can make a clean cut I'm going to tell you you all have seen me on Halloween baking holiday baking and I'm always telling the Bakers there's hot water and saw your cake it's one of my pet pece I love a nice clean slice you put these together that's going to be the top layer and so now now I'm going to put a little bit of frosting down on the platter so that the cake doesn't move now the one thing that I want to make sure is I don't want to mess up my platter this is the platter that I'm going to present on so I'm going to take strips of parchment paper to place on the platter so that I can have an easy clean up now what we're going to do now is a crumb coat a crumb coat is necessary because you want to coat the crumbs it's literally just enough frosting to seal everything in all right I'm going to put this in the fridge I'm going do a little swap out all right so look at that it's all set now I'm just going to add more frosting it's looking pretty darn good and as you can see I'm not making a mess but I don't care because I have what that parchment paper collar and I'm using an offset spatula yeah and if you want to you can use a spoon a spoon kind of has that lift like an offset spatula now what I'm going to do is add some texture I'm going to do that with a standard Fork you don't need any new tools you don't have to buy anything so what I'm going to do is just create movement with my Fork almost like pine needles this should be the fun part this is also why the cake doesn't have to be perfectly smooth one of the easiest ways to decorate the cake is to use candy I'm going to use the licorice for Garland and I really want that draping motion and I have a little Bend again because we want that movement right I mean get the kids involved and now what I'm going to do is just take the gumdrops for your ornaments so easy and effective right and now it's just a very simple cleanup look at this you use whatever candy you want for your ornaments and look at the Garland it looks so good look at that you know what I'm going to do toot toot Hong Kong auga this is me toot my own hornhey everybody I'm Carla Hall I want to show you some easy decorating tips for the holidays cookies cutout cookies especially it's a commitment you have to make the dough chill the dough roll out the dough cut the dough and then there's wasted dough with these cookies I'm going to make some trees you can make any other shape you make the dough and you can actually go right ahead and pipe it you really want the dough to be soft and pliable this is a shortbread dough I have a tip that has like little star patterns or just little Jagged Edge because you want the texture and I'm also using a silicone baking mat because it's going to stay in your sheet pan if you use parchment paper it's going to lift up in my Piping Bag I am right-handed so I take my left hand I take my thumb and forefinger I twist the bag I am applying pressure with my hand and I am guiding with my right hand and also squeezing so I'm going to start at the Top If your dough is is too stiff just massage it a little bit if it's still really stiff and it can't come out of your piping tip put it in the microwave at 5 Second intervals you have your sprinkles sprinkle on before you bake them all right you can't appreciate them when they're like this but look at this super cute right I'm going to make a decorated Christmas tree and you don't need a special mold so I baked this cake in a sheet pan I am going to take off the top now I'm starting with the serrated knife that makes cutting really really easy now what I'm going to do is to cut this cake into a triangle you saw so that you can make a clean cut I'm going to tell you you all have seen me on Halloween baking holiday baking and I'm always telling the Bakers there's hot water and saw your cake it's one of my pet pece I love a nice clean slice you put these together that's going to be the top layer and so now now I'm going to put a little bit of frosting down on the platter so that the cake doesn't move now the one thing that I want to make sure is I don't want to mess up my platter this is the platter that I'm going to present on so I'm going to take strips of parchment paper to place on the platter so that I can have an easy clean up now what we're going to do now is a crumb coat a crumb coat is necessary because you want to coat the crumbs it's literally just enough frosting to seal everything in all right I'm going to put this in the fridge I'm going do a little swap out all right so look at that it's all set now I'm just going to add more frosting it's looking pretty darn good and as you can see I'm not making a mess but I don't care because I have what that parchment paper collar and I'm using an offset spatula yeah and if you want to you can use a spoon a spoon kind of has that lift like an offset spatula now what I'm going to do is add some texture I'm going to do that with a standard Fork you don't need any new tools you don't have to buy anything so what I'm going to do is just create movement with my Fork almost like pine needles this should be the fun part this is also why the cake doesn't have to be perfectly smooth one of the easiest ways to decorate the cake is to use candy I'm going to use the licorice for Garland and I really want that draping motion and I have a little Bend again because we want that movement right I mean get the kids involved and now what I'm going to do is just take the gumdrops for your ornaments so easy and effective right and now it's just a very simple cleanup look at this you use whatever candy you want for your ornaments and look at the Garland it looks so good look at that you know what I'm going to do toot toot Hong Kong auga this is me toot my own horn\n"