Decoration Details: Winter Tree Cookies
Once your green and brown base icing has dried, you can begin creating snowy details. Place white border icing in a pastry bag fitted with a small round tip (Wilton No. 2). Place paintbrush in water. Starting at the base of the tree, pipe a row of dots, keeping in mind they will be grouped in 2 or 3. These should be generous dots of icing, not tiny pinpoints, so you can brush them into snowy sweeps.
Remove brush from water, and wipe of excess water. Too much water on the brush will dilute your icing and make you lose definition. Place brush tip in the center of each dot and brush away from you, creating groups of 2 or 3 that meet. It should look like dimpled teardrops that join thinly at the top.
A fine-tipped paintbrush like the one we used tends to spring into a narrow cone shape. We want a more fanned-out broom shape, leaving dramatic swept trails in the icing. If you start losing the detailed sweep look, flatten your brush tip between your fingers to fan it out again.
Continue to dot and sweep your way to the top of your cookie. Use 2-dot clusters in narrow spaces at the top and edges. Let dry until hardened, about 30 minutes.