Valentine's Day Latte Mug

Directions

• 1

  Bake and cool cookies before decorating. For a caffeinated twist on this shape, make our Coffee Bean Cut-Out Cookie Recipe.

  Make sure cookies are fully cooled. If they are warm, the icing will run off of them. Make royal icing.

• 2

  Prepare the following icing colors:

  
  Piping Consistency:
  White
  Black
  Red

  
  Flood Consistency:
  White
  Black
  Red

• 3

  Outline the sections of the travel mug with piping consistency as shown. The different areas you outline will create definition between the different areas of the mug.

  
• 4

  Using flood consistency icing, flood every other section of the mug. You don't want to flood two sections that are touching, as the different flood icings will bleed into each other, blurring definition and mixing colors. We flooded first the top part of the lid black, then the two light white sections located above the sleeve and below the sleeve.

  Wait for the flood icing to dry until it is just crusted over, 30-60 minutes. You can speed up this process by placing your cookies under or next to a fan set at medium speed.

  
• 5

  Pipe a few squiggles of red piping consistency icing in the sleeve of the cup, and then flood with red flood consistency icing. The squiggles will help give your flood consistency icing structure, preventing it from collapsing. After flooding the shape, move the flood icing around with a toothpick or scribe tool to remove any air bubbles trapped in the icing and to coax it to the edges for full coverage.

  Flood the top of the mug with black flood consistency icing at the same time.

  
• 6

  While the red flood icing is still wet, pipe white flood consistency dots throughout the sleeve for some additional interest.

  Let the flood sections dry until just crusted over.

  
• 7

  Last, add details. The sleeve offers the perfect place to write a message, and outlining the lid of the mug will add more definition.

  
• 8

  This design is a simple way to show someone that you love them a latte. Perfect for Valentine's Day, Christmas, or just because.