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Get Inspired with Dolce Sentire: Valentine's Love Boat

 

Valentine's Day is just around the corner and what better opportunity to talk about love? In this case, love for a cookie decorating technique: the crackle effect!

When I first saw this technique on Instagram, it was love at first sight!  Yes, of course, there were a lot of crackle effects, but this one was completely different: charming and really sophisticated!

Ever since learning about this unique effect (thanks to the generosity of @pryanichki_ot_manechki, a cookie friend from Kazakhstan), I haven't been able to resist the temptation to use it on my cookies, over and over again . . .

The crackle effect

Given the number of requests I've recently received for a crackle tutorial, I know that this finish has fascinated you as much as it has me! For this reason, I've prepared this tutorial, where I’ll explain how to create a lovely Valentine's cookie boat and an easy way to achieve a stunning crackle effect, which I have dubbed “crackle chalk paint”.

I hope you enjoy it! 

Supplies you’ll need for this project
:
  • Flooded right triangle cookie, with white or pale pink icing (I cut mine by hand and pierced it with a bamboo skewer before baking. See further shaping instructions below.)
  • Bamboo skewer (or two), for shaping and mast
  • Semicircular cookie (I cut the bottom of it in order to create a base for the boat.)
  • Acetate sheet(s)
  • Pale grey royal icing, medium consistency
  • Wafer paper (white and dotted, or any other design of your choice)
  • Small flat brush for dusting (I’ve used the flat one from this Wilton set.)
  • Piping gel or corn syrup
  • Fine hemp twine
  • Ruler
  • Vodka, alcohol rejuvenator spirit (such as this brand), or alcohol-based extract
  • Cornstarch, for the crackle chalk paint (I’ve used Maizena brand.)
  • Tiny royal icing roses and leaves (You can learn how to make them with Julia’s useful video.)
  • White royal icing, medium consistency, for "glue"
Colors:
  • For metallic finish on the anchor: Wilton Silver Color Mist (or any similar edible silver spray)
  • For the cookie mainsail decorations (roses, leaves, and stitching): AmeriColor Burgundy, AmeriColor Electric Pink, Rainbow Dust Green edible marker, and Rainbow Dust Chocolate edible marker.
  • To age the mainsail cookie, boat hull cookie, and wafer paper pennants: Rainbow Dust Milk Chocolate dusting powder
  • For the crackle mixture: AmeriColor White gel
Before we start, let's review the following key technique points.

Crackle chalk paint technique
:
  • The crackle paint recipe is 1 part cornstarch plus 2 parts AmeriColor white gel color. The goal is a toothpaste consistency (thick, but runny enough to paint). IMPORTANT: Use AmeriColor brand! I have tried this same recipe with Wilton, Sugarflair, and even Kroma Kolors, and it only works with AmeriColor. I don't know what's unique about AmeriColor that makes it work, but I aim to find out! 
  • This crackle method doesn't require any previous coating or preparation of your raw cookies. Just your baked cookies, a brush, and the crackle paint.
  • For the most impressive effect, use chocolate cookies and apply a thick coating of crackle paint to them. (The thicker the paint layer, the better the paint will crackle.) 
  • Dry the paint as follows to see the crackle emerge: either about half an hour at room temperature or about 10 minutes in a food dehydrator set at 30 ºC (86 ºF).
  • About its flavor: Well, obviously, royal icing tastes better! But the truth is that this mixture has no flavour or unpleasant aftertaste.

 The magical recipe for the Crackle effect

About the final assembly: Below you will find all of the instructions for the cookie boat assembly, but it’s important to know that I made the hole (where the mast goes) in the raw cookie.  Just insert a bamboo skewer where you want to place the mast, and bake as usual. After baking, gently wiggle the skewer to remove it.

Previous considerations: holes

At the very end of the boat cookie (right side), I made another two holes the same way, for inserting the twine with pennants.

Okay, I'm ready, and you? This will be fun to do! 

Remaining steps:

1. Prepare the anchor transfers: Print off your anchor template (I used a lovely anchor with a heart that I bought on Shutterstock), tape it to a flat surface, and cover it with an acetate sheet. Then, with the pale grey royal icing (medium consistency), trace the anchors (one per boat). Let them dry completely, and then coat lightly with silver spray to achieve a metallic finish. Let them dry again.

 Anchor royal icing transfers

2. Prepare the signboard, pennants, and pennant banner
  • Signboard: Print off your quote template (I used PicMonkey to design it), tape it to a flat surface, and cover it with a little piece of white wafer paper. Then trace the quote with the Rainbow Dust Chocolate edible marker (or any other brown food marker) and age the edges with the Rainbow Dust Milk Chocolate dusting powder (or suitable substitute).

 Wafer paper signboard

  • Dotted pennants and pennant banner: Cut the dotted (or other decorated) wafer paper into little rhombuses, fold them in half, and stick them on the fine hemp twine using piping gel or corn syrup. Let them dry. Age their edges with the Milk Chocolate dusting powder.
  • Heart pennant: Cut a piece of white wafer paper into a little rhombus, fold it in half, draw a heart in the middle, and age the edges as done on the other pennants. Set aside for later use.

 Wafer paper flags and pennants

3. Decorate boat (mainsail and hull cookies): Start by decorating the mainsail cookie (the flooded right triangle) by painting tiny roses on it. (Have you seen these roses from Rosie Cake-Diva? They are so cute! ) Then draw on leaves with the green edible marker.

Age the cookie edges using the Milk Chocolate dusting powder, and then draw stitching on the edge of the cookie with the Chocolate edible marker and the ruler.

Finally, paint the cookie edges with white gel coloring and a few drops of vodka (or alcohol rejuvenator spirit or alcohol-based extract).

Mainsail decoration

Now, decorate the boat hull cookie by applying a thick coat of crackle paint on the semicircular baked cookie. Cover the entire cookie surface (edges too) and let it dry following the recommended drying times above. (As the coat dries, you will see the “magic” of this technique!  )

Boat hull decoration [part 1)

Once the crackle layer is completely dry, you can continue decorating the hull by sticking on the wafer paper signboard, the anchor, and a royal icing rose and leaf. Finally, age the cookie edges using the Milk Chocolate dusting powder.

Boat hull decoration [part 2)

4. Assemble boat hull and mainsail: Stick the bamboo skewer to the back of the mainsail cookie with the white royal icing (medium consistency), and let the icing dry completely (about 1 to 2 hours in a dehydrator).

Cookie assembling [mainsail)

Now, cover the end of the skewer with a small amount of the white royal icing and insert it into the hole of the boat hull cookie. Let it dry completely (again, about 1 to 2 hours in a dehydrator).

Cookie assembling

After the drying time, insert the twine with little flags into the holes at the very end of the hull cookie, make a knot, and tie the other end of the twine to the back side of the mast.

Cookie assembling [twine with flags)

Finally, stick the folded heart pennant on the very end of the mast using a little bit of the remaining white royal icing.

Cookie assembling [heart pennant)

Let the icing dry completely and voilà! Our crackled boat is ready to set sail on an adventure of love! 

Finished!

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial as much as I did. I would love to see what you crackle too. Please share the love! 

P.S. I’m really happy to announce that my Facebook fan page has reached over 10,000 cookie friends! I am celebrating this milestone with another fun crackle tutorial on my site, and you’re invited, of course!  It’s in Spanish only, but I would be happy to answer any questions you have about it. I'll wait for you!

Cookie and photo credits: Aixa Zunino

Aixa Zunino is the soul of Dolce Sentire, a virtual corner of sweetness and creativity dedicated to cookie decorating. On her site, this garden engineer, self-taught decorator, and lover of flowers and animals lets her imagination fly, sharing everything she has learned since discovering the world of cookies in early 2012. She combines this activity with courses around Spain (her current home) where she teaches all the secrets to getting dreamy cookies. Meet her on Facebook or her website, and email her your cookie decorating questions or concerns at dolcesentiredolci@gmail.com.

Photo credit:  Aixa Zunino

Note: This article expresses the views of the author, and not necessarily those of this site, its owners, its administrators, or its employees. To read more Cookie Connection tutorials, click here.

 

Attachments

Images (16)
  • Where We're Headed!: Cookie and Photo by Dolce Sentire
  • Intermediate Tutorial Banner: Graphic Design by Pretty Sweet Designs
  • The Crackle Effect: Cookies and Photos by Dolce Sentire
  • The Magical Recipe for the Crackle Effect: Cookie and Photo by Dolce Sentire
  • Placing Holes: Cookies and Photos by Dolce Sentire
  • Anchor Royal Icing Transfers: Photo by Dolce Sentire
  • Wafer Paper Signboard: Photo by Dolce Sentire
  • Wafer Paper Pennants: Photo by Dolce Sentire
  • Mainsail Decoration: Cookies and Photos by Dolce Sentire
  • Boat Hull Decoration (Part 1 - Crackle Chalk Paint): Cookie and Photo by Dolce Sentire
  • Boat Hull Decoration (Part 2 - Embellishments): Cookies and Photos by Dolce Sentire
  • Cookie Assembly (Mainsail): Cookie and Photo by Dolce Sentire
  • Cookie Assembly (Mast): Cookie and Photo by Dolce Sentire
  • Cookie Assembly (Pennant Banner): Cookie and Photo by Dolce Sentire
  • Cookie Assembly (Heart Pennant): Cookie and Photo by Dolce Sentire
  • Finished!: Cookie and Photo by Dolce Sentire

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Comments (53)

Newest · Oldest · Popular

O my gosh Aixa you're amazing!  This is incredible. How do you come up with these ideas?!  Brilliant!  What an absolutely delightful cookie  

Your tutorial is outstanding.   Beautifully photographed and precise text  

The cookie, the tutorial..... it doesn't get better than this.

"Crackle, oops, anchors away!"

Pip

Last edited by pip
Laegwen posted:

Just love this tutorial, another masterpiece - not that I had expected anything less from you

I'm off to get my corn starch!

Hm, my second set of trial cookies has just dried, and absolutely no crackle effect visible.

I don't have Americolor gels, so I first tried with Wilton. The second set was Rainbow Dust ProGel. Is it possible that this technique only works with Americolor???

Additionally, I find it increadibly hard to get a toothpaste consistency - the stuff dries so fast that I can paint about a quarter of a cookie and then it is already too brittle... and the stuff completely clogs my brush.

Last edited by Laegwen
Lauren Cortesi posted:

I love this effect, but when you have no other icing on the cookie, I can't imagine just eating gel color, or your recipe mixed with cornstarch.  How can that taste good?

I had the same thought - I am guessing this technique is best used to create a special centerpiece cookie as part of a (non-crackled) set!

This is absolutely fantastic!  I am TOTALLY going to try out this crackle effect. I love that you can get a crackle look on an already-baked cookie (mostly because I often don't plan that far ahead!) This is another brilliant tutorial all-around!  THANK YOU.

Zooks posted:
Lauren Cortesi posted:

I love this effect, but when you have no other icing on the cookie, I can't imagine just eating gel color, or your recipe mixed with cornstarch.  How can that taste good?

I had the same thought - I am guessing this technique is best used to create a special centerpiece cookie as part of a (non-crackled) set!

I have tasted a cookie where the crackle was done by applying a thick layer of Americolor white to a raw cookie and then baked.  In that case, the cookie tasted just fine.  I am not sure that the same would be true where you mixed the Americolot with cornstarch, but my bet is that it would taste pretty OK too.  I will try it at some point (because I am DYING to try this technique!) and report back!

Thank you so much for the tutorial. Your cookies look beautiful. Can't wait to try it. I first need to get some Americolor white because I only have wilton brand for white.

pip posted:

O my gosh Aixa you're amazing!  This is incredible. How do you come up with these ideas?!  Brilliant!  What an absolutely delightful cookie  

Your tutorial is outstanding.   Beautifully photographed and precise text  

The cookie, the tutorial..... it doesn't get better than this.

"Crackle, oops, anchors away!"

Pip

Haha thanks! I think all my ideas begin on Pinterest!

Enjoy the cruise!

Joanie posted:

Thank you so much for the tutorial. Your cookies look beautiful. Can't wait to try it. I first need to get some Americolor white because I only have wilton brand for white.

Thanks! I'm looking forward to seeing your crackle!

 

Joanie posted:

Thank you so much for the tutorial. Your cookies look beautiful. Can't wait to try it. I first need to get some Americolor white because I only have wilton brand for wh

Noaa posted:

Thank you so much, I love it .

Thanks!!! ))

Laegwen posted:
Laegwen posted:

Just love this tutorial, another masterpiece - not that I had expected anything less from you

I'm off to get my corn starch!

Hm, my second set of trial cookies has just dried, and absolutely no crackle effect visible.

I don't have Americolor gels, so I first tried with Wilton. The second set was Rainbow Dust ProGel. Is it possible that this technique only works with Americolor???

Additionally, I find it increadibly hard to get a toothpaste consistency - the stuff dries so fast that I can paint about a quarter of a cookie and then it is already too brittle... and the stuff completely clogs my brush.

Yes! I forgot to mention that this recipe is only valid for Americolor gel. I've tried first with another brands (Wilton or Sugarflair) and it doesn't work  

Even I have tested with white Kopykake (Kroma Kolors) and nothing happens...

About the consistency: with this recipe it should work but I suppose this depends on how much cornstarch refined is and the weather (I live in a humid city and it takes longer to dry at room temperature). I always use Maizena brand and I have no problem to get the right consistency. Try with a little more of (Americolor) gel in order to obtain a runnier paste that is easier to paint.

 

Last edited by Julia M. Usher
Lauren Cortesi posted:

I love this effect, but when you have no other icing on the cookie, I can't imagine just eating gel color, or your recipe mixed with cornstarch.  How can that taste good?

Well obviously, royal icing tastes so much better! haha, but the truth is that this mixture has no flavour or unpleasant aftertaste...anyway, I make this crackle cookies just for fun...Maybe they are not the best option for enjoy eating them.

Last edited by Dolce Sentire - Aixa Zunino
Zooks posted:
Lauren Cortesi posted:

I love this effect, but when you have no other icing on the cookie, I can't imagine just eating gel color, or your recipe mixed with cornstarch.  How can that taste good?

I had the same thought - I am guessing this technique is best used to create a special centerpiece cookie as part of a (non-crackled) set!

Yes, of course! this cookies are just for "visual" enjoyment. If you want to enjoy eating cookies, royal icing is certainly the best option 

Bakerloo Station posted:

This is absolutely fantastic!  I am TOTALLY going to try out this crackle effect. I love that you can get a crackle look on an already-baked cookie (mostly because I often don't plan that far ahead!) This is another brilliant tutorial all-around!  THANK YOU.

Haha thanks!! Yes, this is the same thing I loved when I knew about this technique! is so easy to get it and you don't need anything else! 

Bakerloo Station posted:
Zooks posted:
Lauren Cortesi posted:

I love this effect, but when you have no other icing on the cookie, I can't imagine just eating gel color, or your recipe mixed with cornstarch.  How can that taste good?

I had the same thought - I am guessing this technique is best used to create a special centerpiece cookie as part of a (non-crackled) set!

I have tasted a cookie where the crackle was done by applying a thick layer of Americolor white to a raw cookie and then baked.  In that case, the cookie tasted just fine.  I am not sure that the same would be true where you mixed the Americolot with cornstarch, but my bet is that it would taste pretty OK too.  I will try it at some point (because I am DYING to try this technique!) and report back!

 You are great!

Well, the truth is this crackle cookies provide a striking visual impact , but honesty, I don't think I can afford to eat them like I eat my Oreos!

Anyway, have you tried with some non oil-based food flavouring?It could work 

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