There are some really talented cookiers out there, and I could literally spend all day looking at cookie blogs and Flickr sets for inspiration. When I saw these polar bear cookies from Sweetopia, I decided to try them myself just to see if I could do them.
I have to say that I really struggled with them. I ended up making a paper stencil of the bear shape, and then kind of tracing it with a toothpick into the blue royal icing background so that I could make my polar bear outline. It was such a pain, and I got really frustrated with the process. I began to rush them at the end, because I wanted them to just be finished already, so the black bled a bit into the blue.
Now, thanks to the wonderful and generous cookie bloggers out there like SugarBelle, Karen’s Cookies and Sweetopia who are so willing to share their tips and tricks, I know that an easier way would be to just trace the outline on the cookie with an edible marker and then go over it with icing. Genius!
Since I had leftover icing and was NOT about to make a whole bunch of polar bears, I also whipped up some penguins and some more traditional Christmas themed cookies.
The Treat Garden 