Lettering Help - Transfer vs. Direct Piping?

I can only speak for myself, but I don't like doing transfers - they need ages to dry, you need additional wax paper or the like (which means an extra expense), extra storage room... so I only do transfers if there is no other option.

For the cookies you plan there definitely is a much easier way. Flood your cookies and let them dry completely (no color bleed risk then). Make a template of the letter (e.g. with cardboard), trace thee outline onto the cookie with your scribe tool or an edible marker, outline in white (let the outline dry to minimize risk of color bleed), and fill with red icing.

The only reason I would consider tranfer letters for them is that you can achieve a cool effect if you place the transfers onto the wed flood icing. They sink in a little then which looks rather neat

I agree with Laegwen, I don't like transfer because there's more possibility of colour bleeding. I think colour bleeding is very likely to happen when I put RI tranfser onto wet flooded base.

Piping white outlines and the fill with red seems a little risky to me. I think red icing needs to be "not too runny" and I would try to dry the red icing quickly using a food dryer or fan.  Piping white outlines afterward is safer, but I think it looks better to pipe outlines and then fill the space with red.

I  agree with laegwen  and mint lemonade on all, but if I were doing that cookie... I  would flood base, dry , pipe and flood entire  letter with white,   dry, then pipe andream flood the red... please share with  us your results have fun and may sweet sugar rays shine upon you!

Thanks for the feedback ladies! Ended up flooding the base and letting dry conpletely. I then did an experiment:

1.  Piping white outline and let dry before flooding centre

2. Outlined white and flood while both wet so I could pull the points in the lettering. 

Surprisingly both worked with no bleeding! I did colour my white icing white and dried in front of fan which may have both helped with this ��

Excellent! Thanks for showing us the results, you did a perfect job on them

I dry my cookies in my convection oven and also rarely have problems with color bleed. But especially when I least expect it, it is suddenly there. A bit unpredictable...

Fabulous success! 

Great job!

Awesome results!! So glad that you posted this question as it's one that I've asked myself as well.

Teri Pringle Wood posted:

I  agree with laegwen  and mint lemonade on all, but if I were doing that cookie... I  would flood base, dry , pipe and flood entire  letter with white,   dry, then pipe andream flood the red... please share with  us your results have fun and may sweet sugar rays shine upon you!

A very happy belated birthday to you Teri!!! I hope your celebration was FUN

I also agree with your suggestion here...

I don't like transfers. Let cookies dry well and then go to the next colour, it won't blled if you don't use extra colorant which will also make it not so delicious btw )

The letters, make them with a thicker glasé, as flower consistence will be lovely!