This is really a recipe for artists - the trick is to paint very thinly. No wonder there are negative reviews! Egg tempera is an ancient technique used for creating exceptionally brilliant colors and it just doesn't work when the colors are plastered on. It's not a technique that kids can handle very well and even adults have trouble keeping the layers very very thin. You might want to add the "paint in very thin washes" instruction.
After reading the negative reviews (smells/tastes bad) I was almost scared away from trying. But I was disperate for a quick decorating trick. This worked great - NO BAD SMELL and TASTES great. One recipe makes enough to decorate 60 cookies. I mixed the egg and water and then separated it into 5 small bowls to add desired color(s). It brushed on easily (I don't know how you could make it too thick it is a very thin wash). I then added colored sprinkles/colored sugar and baked. The result was quick and pretty cookies that tasted great too. I baked the cookies on parchment paper I used one sheet for all the cookies - no stains or any problems like others complained of. Definitely recommend for kids of all ages. This would also be great to use as a base and then add piped icing designs after the cookies are baked.
I gave the kids (ages 4 to 10) egg yolks and water. They mixed them and divided them among cups in an ice tray. They made their own colors and painted the cookies. It was much easier than icing the cookies and they loved their artwork. The colors change a little when baked but not too much. A definite "keeper".
I didn't need to spray or grease my baking sheet for the sugar cookie recipe that I used. The egg yolk tempra (which my son loved to easily paint on the unbaked cookies) ran off the cookies. I didn't wipe it off the baking sheet. While baking it sure didn't smell like cookies but eggs in a frying pan with the heat up too high...very distinct cooking egg smell to my kitchen. After the cookies were baked I had to use a very sharp knife to "trim" the cooked egg yolk/water mixture off the cookies. The "frosting" cracked and didn't look pretty. It did not change the taste of my cookies at all. I probably wouldn't ever use this recipe again but I would encourage someone else to try it to see if they had better luck than me. I'm just glad I have another day to bake cookies to take to the Christmas play.
Cute idea! I made red yellow and green; unfortunately the red turned kind of orangey from the egg yolk. I "fingerpainted" the stuff onto the cookies to control thickness and also added some sprinkles on top. It really jazzed up my peanut butter cookies!
i love this recipe. my mom always decorated sugar cookies like this as i was growing up and i could never remember how she made it until i found this recipe. the egg yolk part rang a bell. the shiny finish is great and a lot faster than waiting for the cookies to cool and making a whole icing recipe. just a note this recipe is purely for looks. it wont have a sweet icing taste. there's really no taste at all but if you have a good cookie recipe it doesn't matter
This was a very pretty addition to my sugar cookies. A light orange would be perfect for pumpkin cookies for this Halloween!
tasted nasty and made the cookies look really sick!
very cool! i didn't change the recipe and i applied it thinly. came out just like the picture! thanks so much! 3
