This month's tutorial is a variation of my “3-D Lantern Cookie” project that I shared in October 2017. In that tutorial, my cookie lantern had isomalt panes as you can see below.
Lately, I've been experimenting a lot with royal icing panes (aka large transfers), as you may have seen in my recent September tutorial called "3-D Spooky Royal Icing Hut". For those huts (top left and bottom right photos), I made all of the sides with stenciled royal icing transfers. Since then, I've also made a spooky Halloween cookie house (top right and bottom left photos) where just the windows were transfers. In both cases, I put mini LED lights inside the huts, which, when turned on, revealed designs that I had stenciled (or printed) on the inside of each pane. I love this element of surprise!
IMO, royal icing panes are a good alternative to isomalt in 3-D cookie constructions. I know, they are rather fragile. But once they are secured to the cookies, they are much less vulnerable to breakage. Even though royal icing panes aren't see-through like isomalt, they are thin enough to be used as panes for cookie lanterns or houses, as you saw in the previous photo. Further, designs can be more easily and successfully stenciled, painted, airbrushed, or printed on royal icing. Isomalt can cloud or wilt under humid conditions (unless you use a protective spray or put your cookies in an airtight container), whereas royal icing is not affected in this same way. That said, you can prepare royal icing transfers further in advance without being as vigilant about sealing them in airtight containers, and have them ready to use when the time is right. In this tutorial, I use the same lantern cookie frames and 3-D construction techniques presented in 2017, but I use airbrushed-stenciled royal icing panes instead of isomalt ones for all of the reasons I just mentioned.
Now, let's get started . . .
Please refer to my previous tutorial, and follow Steps 1 and 2 to cut and bake the cookie frames and miter their edges. You will also ultimately follow Step 4 in that tutorial when you're ready for assembly. Below, I will focus only on cutting out the stencils for the royal icing panes and creating the panes (in Step 2 Redux), and on airbrushing-stenciling a design on the dry panes (in Step 3 Redux). If you don’t have an airbrush system, you can use a sponge to apply airbrush coloring to the stencil. Or you can stencil the design with royal icing as I showed in my September tutorial. Alternatively, you can simply paint a design. You have many, many options for decorating the panes, so just let your creativity lead you!
At the end of this tutorial, you’ ll find a video recap of the whole project from start to finish.
- Parchment paper, for making stencils
- Scissors
- Tape
- Acetate or cellophane bags, for stenciling surfaces
- Cake cardboards (or equivalent), for supports while stenciling
- Royal icing:
- White toothpaste-consistency (a tiny bit thicker than piping-consistency), for stenciling panes
- White piping-consistency in tipless pastry bag (or equivalent), for gluing panes to cookies
- Small offset spatula or spreader tool
- Kitchen paper (aka paper towel) or paper napkin
- Metal baking pan and 8 tiny (2-mm/1/16-in) magnets
- Any fall-themed stencil
- Airbrush system (optional), plus yellow, orange, and green airbrush colorings (or alternatives)
- Craft paint brush or scribe tool with blunt handle-end
- Mini LED light(s)
Step 2 Redux: Cut parchment paper stencils, and stencil panes
2a. Cutting the stencils is very easy. For the lantern sides, you will need four parchment paper stencils with a rectangular cutout in the center, all the same size and shape. (I recommend that you make one stencil for each side of the lantern, so you can use a new stencil for each pane.) For the lantern top pane, you will need one parchment paper stencil with a square cutout. The panes should be just a tiny bit larger than the windows in the cookies, so they can be attached to the back of the cookies. The rectangular windows in the lantern side cookies measure about 10 x 6 centimeters (4 x 2 3/8 inches), so cut a rectangular opening in the parchment paper that measures about 10.5 x 6.5 centimeters (4 1/8 x 2 1/2 inches). The square window on the lantern top cookie measures about 6 x 6 centimeters (2 3/8 x 2 3/8 inches), so cut a square opening in the parchment paper that measures about 6.5 x 6.5 centimeters (2 1/2 x 2 1/2 inches).
And now, with all of the stencils made . . .
2b. Tape a piece of acetate (or equivalent) to a cake cardboard (or equivalent).
2c. Tape one of the lantern side stencils over the acetate.
2d. Using a small offset spatula (or equivalent), apply a small amount of white toothpaste-consistency royal icing to the side of the stencil opening.
2e. Using the same tool, spread the icing over the stencil to cover the opening. Pipe more icing in the opening if necessary to fill any gaps. The icing should be at least 2 millimeters (1/16 inch) thick, so you may need to apply more icing layers. Just make sure to spread an even top layer. You'll get the smoothest results if you swipe with the broad underside of the blade against the acetate (rather than the blade edge) and if you wipe the blade completely clean between swipes.
2f. Take the tape off the stencil, and carefully remove the stencil from the icing. Remove the tape from the acetate, and set the stenciled icing aside, still on the acetate, to fully dry. You can use a dehydrator or a fan to accelerate the drying process. Take care not to bend the acetate while the transfer is drying, or you will break the transfer.
2g. Repeat Steps 2b to 2f to make another three rectangular panes for the lantern sides and a square one for the top. Consider stenciling a couple of extra panes, just in case of breakage. For the record, I made a complete set of spare panes but I didn't break any of them, so I might need to build another lantern, or store the panes for future cookie projects! 😀
Allow all of the stenciled panes to dry completely. Drying time can vary quite a lot with ambient conditions. Transfers will also take longer to dry on acetate than on parchment paper. I dried my panes in a dehydrator for one half-hour and then let them air-dry completely overnight. The longer you dry the panes, the easier it will be to remove them from the acetate without breakage.
2h. To avoid breakage, place a dry pane transfer near the edge of your work surface, and gently peel away the acetate from underneath. Do not pull on the transfer, as it is fragile and may break.
2i. In the video at the end of this post, you'll see how I rotate the acetate until the transfer is fully released. In the middle picture below, I am showing the glossy side of the transfer that made contact with the acetate. That side is the one we will airbrush-stencil in Step 3 Redux.
2j. Repeat Steps 2h and 2i until all of the transfers are removed from their acetate.
Step 3 Redux: Airbrush-stencil royal icing panes, and glue them to cookie frames
3a. Lay a paper napkin (or equivalent) over a baking sheet, and place two lantern side transfers, glossy side up, next to one another.
3b. Place four tiny magnets at the corners of the two transfers. The magnets will keep the paper napkin in place, and will ultimately be used in tandem with more magnets in Step 3d to secure the stencil.
3c. Place a stencil of your choice over the two transfers. By chance, a standard square (14.0 x 14.0-cm/5 1/2 x 5 1/2-in) stencil will cover both transfers. I used a stencil with tiny scattered leaves.
3d. Place four more magnets on top of the first four ones so they sandwich the stencil and keep it planted flat against the icing. The flatter the stencil lays against the icing, the less likely airbrush coloring is to sneak underneath the stencil and result in underspray, a blurred effect. (Note: I used small clear magnets on top; they are not tacks as they might appear in the photo!)
3e. Add a few drops of yellow airbrush coloring to the airbrush coloring cup, and apply a light layer of coloring by spraying at a fair distance (a few inches) from the two transfers. Keep the airbrush perpendicular to the transfers and moving at all times until you've completely covered the stencil design. (If you airbrush at some other angle to the stencil, you will likely blow it up, which can also result in underspray.)
3f. Working a bit closer to the cookie, airbrush the transfers with more yellow coloring to create darker yellow spots in the centers of some of the leaves. As you're airbrushing, use the blunt handle-end of a craft paint brush or scribe tool to gently press the stencil flush against the transfers, as needed. Remember, any spot where the stencil is lifted creates an opportunity for airbrush coloring to go underneath it, once again resulting in underspray. Be careful though - don't push too hard, as you risk breaking the transfers.
3g. Dump any excess yellow food coloring out of the airbrush, and add a few drops of orange airbrush coloring to the coloring cup. Just as you did with the yellow coloring in the previous step, add darker orange spots to some of the leaves in the lower parts of the transfers.
3h. Dump any excess orange food coloring out of the airbrush, and add a few drops of green airbrush coloring to the coloring cup. As in the previous two steps, add some dark green spots to some of the leaves in the upper parts of the transfers.
3i. Remove the magnets, and lift the stencil to reveal the very autumnal, multicolor leaf pattern!
3j. With the first two transfers now airbrushed-stenciled, repeat Steps 3a to 3i for the other two side panes and the top pane.
3k. Lay out all of the cookies that you cut, baked, and mitered (following Steps 1 and 2 of my “3-D Lantern Cookie” tutorial). Place a corresponding royal icing pane next to each cookie. Note: The mitered edges of the cookies should be facing up.
3l. Using white piping-consistency royal icing in a tipless pastry bag (with an opening equivalent to a #3 tip), pipe a line of icing around each window on each cookie.
3m. Place each pane, with its airbrushed side facing down, over the lines of royal icing piped on its corresponding cookie. Apply gentle pressure to adhere each pane to its cookie.
3n. Pipe more royal icing all around the edge of each pane. This added icing will act as reinforcement.
3o. Use a paint brush to smooth the icing. Let the icing dry completely.
Flip over the cookies, and assemble them - again, per the instructions in Step 4 of my “3-D Lantern Cookie” tutorial! (As you may have noticed, I baked my cookies on a perforated mat, and decided to face the textured sides outward in my final lantern construction. But, smooth sides facing outward would look nice too!)
And here's my final result: a 3-D lantern cookie with airbrushed-stenciled royal icing panes! For extra impact, I placed tiny royal icing leaves and other "sprinkle" transfers all around the lantern base. To make these sprinkles, I followed the instructions in LilaLoa's 2016 blog post and used the same stencil that I used to airbrush the panes. I like how the panes and sprinkles coordinate with one another!
Also, as you may remember from my “3-D Lantern Cookie” tutorial, I designed the lantern cookies with feet so that the assembled lantern can easily be lifted to place an LED light or two underneath. Here's my lantern fully illuminated, making a festive fall centerpiece!
And now, in case you got confused by my jumping back and forth between present and past tutorials, please enjoy a video of this lantern project from start to finish.
Happy fall!
Ciao, Manu 🍁🍃🍂
Manuela Pezzopane, affectionately called Manu by her friends and family, is the author of the blog feature Made by Manu, where each month she shares the method behind a magical cookie of her own making. In March 2022, Manu also assumed the role of host of our rebranded and reformatted Cookie Connection Challenges: Watch-Learn-Create Series, which debuted in a virtual video format in July 2022. A fan of everything handmade, Manu professes to have tried every possible hobby. However, it wasn’t until the end of 2014, when an American friend invited her to a Christmas cookie exchange, that she first discovered decorated cookies. In 2015, after watching Julia M. Usher's videos and signing up on Cookie Connection, Manu finally attempted her own designs. Since then, cookie decorating has become Manu’s passion, and her mesmerizing video shorts have earned her a large and loyal following throughout the global cookie community. Manu harks from Rome, Italy, where she currently resides. You can email Manu at manubiscottidecorati@gmail.com, follow her on Facebook and Instagram, or explore her past challenges and large library of Made by Manu tutorials here on Cookie Connection.
Photo credit: Manuela Pezzopane
Note: Made by Manu is a Cookie Connection blog feature written by Manuela Pezzopane, where each month she shares the method behind a magical cookie of her own making. This article expresses the views of the author, and not necessarily those of this site, its owners, its administrators, or its employees. To read all of Manuela's past Made by Manu tutorials, click here. And to see all of Cookie Connection's tutorials, click here.
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