How to Make Simple Jelly Bean Cookie Decorations

I know it’s not quite time to make Easter cookies right now, but these jelly bean cookie decorations aren’t actually cookies. They’re royal icing candy decorations and we need to make these before Easter so we’ll be ready to decorate all kinds of cute cookies without stress. It may seem weird, but I promise, now’s the time to get started and the best way to make them is to use your leftover cookie icing from cookies you’re making now. I have several candy decorations planned for you and I thought I’d start with jelly bean cookie decorations because they’re fun and colorful.

I also have a cookie planned for you, but I wanted to show you the decorations that go with them first because we all know having a few cookie decorations makes decorating cookies easier.

Supplies for Jelly Bean Cookie Decorations:
(may contain affiliate links)

Recipes:

• Sugar Cookie Recipe
• Royal Icing Recipe

FREE Royal Icing Transfer Patterns:
(click each link below to download the free patterns)

• Small Jelly Beans Royal Icing Transfer Template
• Medium Jelly Bean Royal Icing Transfer Template
• Large Jelly Bean Royal Icing Transfers Template

Royal Icing Colors:
(Use any gel colors you like. I had these colors leftover from the Polar Bear Cookies. Leftover icing should never be wasted because you can use them for cookie decorations so decorating will be easier.)

The Cookie Countess Gel Colors:

• Countess Pink
• Outrageously Orange
• Sunshine Yellow
• Brick Red mixed with Royal Red Velvet
• Beachy Blue

AmeriColor Soft Gel Paste Food Colors:

• Avacado 

Wilton:

• Delphinium Blue

Tools:

• Turkey Lacer
• Wax Paper
• Tape
• Foam board – Foam Board or the back of a cookie sheet to tape your pattern down for piping your jelly beans.

Optional:

Airbrush System and Airbrush Colors:
(just in case you want to airbrush your cute little jelly bean cookie decorations I thought I’d share the colors I used. It really makes the jelly beans pop!)

• The Cookie Countess Airbrush System

The Cookie Countess Airbrush Colors: 

• Golden Yellow
• Tangerine Dream
• Royal Red Velvet
• True Blue
• Succulent Green
• Countess Pink
• Ultra Blue

How to Make Simple Jelly Bean Cookie Decorations Video

Don’t you love little jelly beans you can add to your cookies? Now you have all the patterns and information to make them yourself so they’ll be ready whenever you’re ready to decorate.

• Begin by printing the jelly bean patterns and taping them to a piece of foam board that you’ve cut a little larger than your paper pattern.
• The foam board is inexpensive and fairly easy to cut so I’d encourage you to buy a couple.
• If you’d like to see a video on how to cut the boards, here’s my How to Make Royal Icing Eyes that’ll show you the simple process.
• Once the boards are cut you’re going to love using them for all your royal icing candy patterns because they’re lightweight and easy to move.
• I usually use my stackable cooling racks to place them while they dry and since they’re lightweight, you can move them out of the way with ease.

• Now that you’re boards are cut, tape the pattern to the board.
• Tape a piece of wax paper on top of the pattern and be sure it’s smooth. Wrinkles will mess with your final jelly bean decorations because it’ll cause them to be uneven.
• If you’re wondering what kind of tape I use it’s Scotch blue painters tape because it’ll hold the pattern and wax paper in place. It’s easy to remove without breaking your cookie decorations so I highly recommend it or another brand of painters tape.

• Pick your favorite royal icing colors, or use leftover colors because it’s a great way to use your royal icing and pipe inside the jelly bean outline.
• My royal icing was a little thicker than my 15-Second Royal Icing and it’s about a 20-Second Consistency. Making my icing a little thicker is great because it isn’t showing craters and that’s a good thing.

• After you pipe the jelly bean, use the turkey lacer or a toothpick to smooth out the icing, pop any air bubbles, and push the royal icing to the edge of the jelly bean so they’ll be nice and smooth.

• Finish piping the jelly bean cookie decorations and place the foam board in front of a fan so the jelly beans will dry with a nice shine.
• There are three different sized patterns so make them all if you’d like so you’ll be prepared for Easter.
• You know you’ve “Bean” wanting to use them for a few “Cool Beans” Valentine’s Day cookies because cool beans is where Valentine’s is all about.

• Once the jelly bean cookie decorations are dry, it’s time to airbrush them.

• Store them in airtight containers away from the sun so you’ll have them when you’re ready to decorate cookies.

• Again, you can airbrush them or leave them alone after they dry completely because they’re cute either way.

Can you think of cute cookies you can make with these? I think we should all go on Pinterest and see if there are some Valentine and Easter cookie ideas we should make because you now have the free jelly bean cookie decorations. It’s time to decorate!

Bear hugs,