Wedding Cake Cookie Decorating Ideas

These wedding cake sugar cookies are simple and elegant. Using a gluten-free sugar cookie and topped with royal icing and a simple design, they are perfect for any engagement party, bridal shower or wedding.

Six wedding cake sugar cookies decorated with royal icing on a marble table.

It's wedding season y'all!

You know what that means, love is in the air and so is the aroma of fresh baked cookies. Sugar cookies.

There is nothing more special than some personalized cookies to celebrate an engagement, bridal shower, or wedding, is there? (Debatable, but for my purposes we're going with it.) There's just something I love about wedding activities in the summer. My friends are getting married, engaged, having babies, and I'm just making cakes and cookies for the occasions. My apartment constantly smells like amazing desserts and that is definitely okay by me! I really do love making cookies and cakes for special occasions like this. I feel so honored that my friends and family ask me (and trust me) to do them for such big moments in their lives. In some way it makes you feel more a part of it.

A row of wedding cake sugar cookies decorated with royal icing on a marble table.

We had a bridal shower here at work for one of our coworkers who is getting married in a few weeks. I wanted to create some cute, but simple, cookies for the occasion. I've made this design a few times and I'm absolutely in love with it for a few reasons:

1. I'm kind of obsessed with anything monogrammed.

2. The subtle white on white details with just a little pop of pink are delicate, yet fun.

3. I'm a sucker for anything that allows me to pretend I'm making a wedding cake (it even looks like the most recent one I did here!)

So if you're looking for cookies for a unique dessert table, or some edible party favors, you don't need to look any further!

**Bonus! It's National Sugar Cookie Day today! Who knew! You can check out a few of my favorite sugar cookie designs here.

A collage showing the process of decorating wedding cake sugar cookies with royal icing.

For the Cookies

▢ 1 cup butter (softened)
▢ 1 cup powdered sugar
▢ 2 tsp almond extract
▢ 1 tsp vanilla (make sure it is gluten-free)
▢ 1 tsp salt
▢ 1 egg
▢ 2.5 cups gluten-free flour blend
▢ 1 1/2 tsp xanthan gum (if your blend does not already have it)

For the Royal Icing

▢ 4 cups powdered sugar (sifted)
▢ 2 tbsp meringue powder
▢ 5 tbsp water
▢ 1 tsp vanilla or almond extract (optional)
▢ gel food coloring (pink)

For the Cookies

In a medium bowl, whisk together brown rice flour, white rice flour, potato starch, tapioca flour, cornstarch and xanthan gum. Set aside.
Cream butter and powdered sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer. Mix in egg, vanilla, almond extract and salt and beat until mixed well.
Gradually add in flour (1/2 cup at a time) and mix after each addition. Put dough in the refrigerator for an hour or so, or until the dough firms up.
Sprinkle your work surface and rolling pin with powdered sugar. Roll the dough out to a 1/4 inch thickness.
Using a cake shaped cookie cutter, cut shapes into the dough. Place cookie dough shapes on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet and place in the freezer for 10-15 minutes.
Then, bake cookies in the oven at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 8-10 minutes. The cookies should not brown completely, but the edges can be slightly browned (that's a good indication it's done). Cool on a wire rack.

For the Royal Icing

In a bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine the powdered sugar, meringue powder and water.
Mix for 7-10 minutes, until the ingredients are well blended and the icing has a matte finish. This is the base consistency. I usually add about 1 tsp more of water for a good outline icing (I use a 10 second rule) and add more water until I reach a 4-second icing for flood icing. This means that when you drizzle icing over the bowl of royal icing then the icing will flow back in with the rest of the icing in 4 seconds (10 second icing is the same but it will sink back in with the rest of the icing in 10 seconds). If you need to thin it out more then add more water. If you need to thicken it add more powdered sugar.

To Decorate

Outline the cookie using white icing (10 second icing). Flood with thinned out white icing (4 second icing). Let dry completely. Using a pastry bag fitted with a number one tip, make the dots on the cookie in your desired pattern with the white icing (10 second icing). Also, carefully write out the initials of the couple on the middle tier of the cookie, leaving a space in the middle for the pink heart. Using a pastry bag fitting with a number 2 tip, make "V's" in between the monogrammed letters using the pink icing (10 second icing). Depending on how much the icing has been worked, it will spread out a little bit forming a heart. It's best to start with a "V" and then curve the heart from there.

Instead of the gluten-free flours and xanthan gum, you can also use 2.5 cups of all-purpose flour.