Glowing Christmas Lights Cookies

Merry Christmas Eve! Boy, has it been a crazy month. With putting in overtime at work during the week, mixed with holiday parties (and the accompanied holiday hangovers) on the weekends, it's been a challenge finding time for making and posting about cookies.

I know it might be too late to actually make these in time for Christmas Day tomorrow, but I do have one more Christmas cookie post to share. Who knows, maybe these cookies will be worth revisiting again this time next year.  

One of my favorite activities around the holidays is decking the halls with strings of Christmas lights. I prefer the retro, multicolored, big C9 bulbs over the tiny, white light strands. They fill the room with a nice orange glow and remind me of the Christmas mornings during my childhood. They do get dangerously hot to the touch, but that's all part of the retro Christmas experience.  

Here's how to make Christmas lights cookies that have a subtle glowing effect.  

How to Make Glowing Christmas Light Cookies

Step 1

These cookies start with cookies that have been flooded with a light colored royal icing from the night before and are completely dry. White icing would work the best, but I decided to go with ivory.

I sketched a simple light bulb shape and made a template out of clear template plastic. You will also need food coloring markers.  

Step 2  

Trace light bulb shapes on top of the iced cookie. The placement can be random but make sure not to crowd the bulbs too close together. I color-coded the bulbs with a different color marker to help me help keep track, which you will see in a minute.

Step  3  

After tracing the bulb designs on the cookie, the next step requires some q-tips, a paper towel, and petal dust in your desired colors.

Step 4  

Using a q-tip, first dip one end in the petal dust, remove the excess dust on a paper towel, then rub the color around a bulb outline. This should create a glowing halo effect. Use a new q-tip when moving on to the next color.

Step 5  

With piping and flood icing, pipe over the bulb outline and fill the tops in the appropriate colors. Give this icing time to set (approximately 15 minutes) before moving on.

Step 6  

With dark green piping and flood icing, pipe over the bottom outlines and fill in the middle areas. Give this icing another 15 minutes to set.

Step 7  

With the dark green piping icing, start drawing in the wires. I initially tried to connect all four bulbs with wires, but that was a complete mess. You can see from the picture below, it is easier to connect only one or two bulbs with the same wire. Add loops in the wire to fill up the space between the bulbs. Don't be afraid to go "behind" the bulbs with the wire.

Step 8

Continue with a new wire strand to connect the remaining bulbs.

The end result should look like a jumbled network of lights and wires, similar to what I have to deal with when I retrieve the Christmas decorations from storage every season. (Getting organized is always one of my New Year's resolutions.)

Well, this should be my last Christmas post for the year. I'm really looking forward to Santa's visit tonight. Not for the presents, though. I'm just ready for the holiday season to end and have 2014 begin. Have a very Merry Christmas, everyone! I will see you in the new year!