Royal icing transfers are used to decorate cookies, cakes and cupcakes (probably other desserts too). You can think of them as a big sprinkle or sticker for your cookie. They are made by piping royal icing onto a non-stick surface, drying and then popping them off and onto your cookies.

There are many reasons! Here are my top reasons: allows you time to work ahead before baking your cookies, you don't have to worry about messing up a whole cookie, a great way to use up left over cookie icing and keep a stash for those last minute cookie decorations and it eliminates the need of a projector and buying specific cookie-cutter shapes which can be pricey!

This is a great question that I have not found a definite answer to. I have tried icing transfers that were over a year old, stored in an air-tight container, out of daylight and they tasted just fine to me. This is royal icing that was made with meringue powder, I would not make transfers with royal icing made from fresh, raw, egg whites. Consider royal icing transfers as large sprinkles. I've yet to taste a sprinkle that has "gone bad".

Print a template. We have many free templates on our site (click here) for all occasions and holidays! Choose a non-stick material. I suggest food-safe acetate but you can use parchment paper or even a cello cookie bag. Lay this material on top of your template. Use thick-ish royal icing. You'll want it thick enough that it doesn't run when you pipe it but also not so thick that you can smooth it out with your scribe. Let them dry! This can take 1-4 days. It depends on the humidity, thickness of your icing, size of your transfer and the material you pipe it on.

Once your transfer is dry, attach it to your cookie by either placing it on your wet flood icing or use a small amount of royal icing as glue to stick it onto your cookie.

You're in the right place! We have lots of free royal icing transfer templates in PDF format under our freebie section! Or you can click here!

You can use any royal icing recipe, as long as it dries hard. I use the same royal icing for my transfers as I do on my cookies and you can find the recipe on our site!

The first reason would be because your icing wasn't piped thick enough and created weak areas so when you peel the transfer off, they easily crack. The second reason is that you moved the transfers before they were dry. When you pipe your icing, you should use a tray that you can leave your transfers on until they are completely dry.

Technically, yes but it's not preferred as it tends to wrinkle under the royal icing transfers as they dry which can cause undesirable effects. I prefer to use a sheet of acetate but you can also use a cello bag or even a page protector.