This how-to demonstrates marbleizing icing in swirled designs, as seen on this peppermint-candy cookie. For some of the detail work on this cookie, we used a squeeze bottle that can be fitted with a thin icing tip. If your bottle can't be used with icing tips, leave off those details or improvise with a squeeze bottle with a thin tip.

Once you've mastered this technique, learn how to make the Snow-Globe Cookies also shown here.

What You'll Need:

• Sugar Cookies
• Royal Icing, tinted to desired shades with food coloring
• Printable cookie-cutter template
• Plastic squeeze bottles, preferably with a thin tip
• Toothpicks

Step 1

Using white icing in a thin-tipped squeeze bottle, outline the center of the cookie, leaving a small space around the outline for a border. "Flood" the center by making a zigzag of icing.

Use a toothpick to spread the icing evenly to fill the space.

While the white icing is wet, use red icing in a squeeze bottle with a thin tip to make 2 Xs on the white icing. Let the icing lines fall onto the white icing -- don't drag the tip of the bottle through it.

Drag the tip of a toothpick through the icing to make three concentric circles.

Using silver icing in a squeeze bottle with a thin tip, outline and flood one of the "wrapper" ends of the cookie. Use a toothpick to spread the icing evenly to fill the space. Repeat on other end. Let dry for at least 1 hour.

Using silver icing in a squeeze bottle fitted with a thin icing tip, pipe an outline around the cookie.

Pipe "wrinkles" on the wrapper. Let dry completely, 8 hours or overnight.

Tip: When decorating cookies with a squeeze bottle, air bubbles will sometimes appear in the piped icing. To eliminate the air bubbles, just pop them with a toothpick.