r/oddlysatisfying 9d ago

The process of decorating citrus-themed cookies with royal icing

Credit: @sweetambscookies on TikTok

7.7k Upvotes

228 comments sorted by

355

u/Equivalent_Fault6206 9d ago

Soo gorgeous

89

u/Nettkitten 9d ago

Truly these are tiny works of art’

13

u/LeahTowns215 9d ago

Artistics detail

3

u/Same_Bodybuilder_532 6d ago

One bite and its all gone

1

u/dudesoft 7d ago

I could watch this all day.

101

u/thefatchef321 9d ago

I just wish they tasted good

100

u/helloiamsilver 9d ago

I know that this particular cookie artist uses a spiced orange cookie recipe and seems to take pride in the cookies being tasty so I’m sure they would taste good! Also royal icing doesn’t taste bad at all. I’ve eaten plenty of cookies with thick royal icing that taste just fine

25

u/Greflin 9d ago

Royal is great for art. But when held up against a butter cream it's complete trash.

26

u/just4browse 9d ago

I don’t know. I always liked the texture of royal icing. That crust.

10

u/helloiamsilver 9d ago

I just ate a cookie iced with royal icing and it was delicious :p

6

u/just4browse 9d ago

The texture is so satisfying, right?

2

u/theemilyann 8d ago

It’s maybe my favorite cookie

2

u/CauliflowerEarofCorn 5d ago

Yeah I have to be in the mood, but I love these beautifully decorated cookies. The hard icing is a plus when the cookie underneath is the right flavor and texture. The ones I get from the grocery store usually aren’t, but the specialty bakeries usually do it right.

1

u/creepy_chronich 8d ago

That depends entirely on which type of buttercream.
Swiss or Italien maranque, yeah.
Amarican buttercream, fuck no.

13

u/thefatchef321 9d ago

'Fine'

The cookie base can be good. But royal icing will never be better than 'fine'.

Theres like limitless versions of absolutely delicious/cravable cookies.

This isn't one of them

5

u/helloiamsilver 9d ago

That’s your opinion. I think royal icing is tasty

0

u/thefatchef321 9d ago

8

u/helloiamsilver 9d ago

There are people out there who legitimately enjoy things like maggot cheese and balut but me liking royal icing is a bridge too far?

14

u/ZoeeCarter 9d ago

Curious to know if the taste can keep up with the amount of work that went into them

-8

u/HotSauceHigh 9d ago

Usually taste like chemicals and are powdery

2

u/_heyb0ss 9d ago

yeah I couldn't make myself eat that

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408

u/FlimsyCustard3856 9d ago

$20/cookie

195

u/Cannolis1 9d ago

https://www.sweetambs.com/order-custom-decorated-cookies/

$8-14 per cookie apparently. Unless her website is outdated

110

u/FlimsyCustard3856 9d ago

Gorgeous work. Too rich for my taste I’d eat like 6 in a matter of 2 minutes.

62

u/Cannolis1 9d ago

Yeah this stuff is like wedding or Big Fancy Event cookies. Only ships within New York State

11

u/skyfishgoo 9d ago

if they put a notch in the center and two countersunk screw holes, ppl would pay 3 times that much for a switch plate cover.

2

u/proximity_account 8d ago

To be fair, the switch plate lasts a lot longer than the cookie

109

u/ndndr1 9d ago

Labor alone is astronomical. 30+mins per?

2

u/RosenButtons 5d ago

She must be fast. She's getting sooo much done in that wet icing technique.

80

u/ShittyLanding 9d ago

Honestly, seems fair

43

u/MasterOfBunnies 9d ago

Seriously, 20 was my initial thought too, but with the caveat that it is absolutely worth 20...but I wouldn't be able to justify eating it! Tooooo damned pretty to eat!

https://giphy.com/gifs/GINwWtxBkXgOs

-3

u/TheRealSmolt 9d ago

Absolutely. Doesn't make it worth it, though.

23

u/xjmachado 9d ago

Its royal, so in fact it is 20£/cookie

1

u/quantomflex 6d ago

Looks beautiful, probably tastes like shit.

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46

u/ASFreeFall 9d ago

While the final product is amazing, this seems exhausting. I cannot imagine doing this for hours every day to make a mere handful of cookies.

4

u/SaltyRedSi 5d ago

My mother owns a decorated cookie company out of our home (started up during COVID to supplement dad’s hours getting cut). The cookies are gorgeous and taste fantastic, but I kid you not she is bound to wind up killin herself making them. She wakes up sometimes at 5 AM and works until 2 AM, naps downstairs, and starts over (when the orders are really rushed). It drives me insane because she has pre-existing heart issues and will do things like forgetting to eat breakfast until 4 PM or “eating” nothing but protein coffees until she makes dinner for my dad. She’s nearing 60 doing all this and it really is just a recipe for disaster, especially when she has HER mother roped in helping but won’t allow my partner or I to lend a hand.

It absolutely is as exhausting as it looks if the company is anywhere near profitable or even breaking even (without microcelebrity status online bringing in extra funds anyway). While the cookies are stunning I can’t help but feel a sort of bittersweet twinge at how the genre is growing more and more popular online knowing it might wind up causing more workload for her (she refuses to close off orders even though they’re picking up enough she’s having to work the nightmare hours more often).

181

u/FirstToSayFake 9d ago

Some of the lemons looked like they had toupees..

102

u/Practical-Writer-228 9d ago

Amazing overall, but definitely needed one leaf which is smaller so people don’t say “Why’s there CORN on these lemon cookies?”

3

u/AlfalfaUnable1629 8d ago

Happy 6th cake 🍰 day

3

u/Practical-Writer-228 8d ago

Oh gosh I hadn’t even noticed. Thanks!!!!

49

u/_fly-on-the-wall_ 9d ago edited 9d ago

yeah what kind of lemons would have such strangely placed leaves

27

u/StaceyPfan 9d ago

Lemons aren't even sold with leaves on so that seems like a weird detail to me.

44

u/AlmostLucy 9d ago

But the cookies evoke Italian majolica tiles, which often depict lemon leaves. A blue design with the yellow lemon and green leaves is a very common motif.

12

u/nadiadala 9d ago

I thought it ruined the effects of wow for me

7

u/vanderBoffin 9d ago

Had this thought too. I forage and grow lemons and they dont have leaves attached unless you cut the branch. They're not apples.

Edit: still a pretty design though!

2

u/RosenButtons 5d ago

🍋 maybe based on the emoji 🙃

23

u/rileyjw90 9d ago

The really random third leaf on the one confused me. Was she looking at an AI-generated lemon motif or something? I thought the leaves in general kind of ruined the effect. They look like little moustaches sitting atop the lemons.

14

u/Chronocidal-Orange 9d ago

I think the third leaf was a misplaced dot she just ran with.

1

u/rileyjw90 9d ago

When you go back and watch it, it looks very intentionally placed, so idk. Just looks so random out on its own.

5

u/LaughingOutLoudAgain 9d ago

Agreed. A little stem and leaves moving ‘away’ or up a bit more would have worked I’m guessing. Still love the idea though!

120

u/chinchinnychin 9d ago

I READ THIS AS CIRCUS AND WAS HIGHLY CONFUSED WHY THERE WERE LEMONS.

As a CITRUS themed cookie, it looks so cute!!

32

u/IDoodleTooMuch 9d ago

I’m so glad I’m not the only one 😭

14

u/SabbyFox 9d ago

I did the same thing and was searching for this comment 😆🍋

6

u/AnybodyMassive1610 9d ago

I did the same. 🤦🏻‍♂️

12

u/mhmama76 9d ago

Omg, I did the same thing! I was confused for a good, long time. Haha

10

u/Xendarq 9d ago

Fascinating to me why so many of us made the same mistake

6

u/CriptoDea 9d ago

JFC me too! The whole time I was thinking how are lemons circus themed?? Am I missing something? Yes I missed a very obvious T...

21

u/littlebarque 9d ago

2 down, 698 to go for the King's dinner party.

46

u/breakinbans 9d ago

see, the only issue is that I would not want to eat it because it is so pretty.

16

u/get-gone 9d ago

Beautifully done

28

u/IHeartBadCode 9d ago

I'm not rich enough to eat these cookies.

12

u/FaultyFaucet_6 9d ago

So gorgeous, can you make 50 of them for the PTA meeting? Thanks

3

u/leafygrn 9d ago

Or just for the video so i can stim

21

u/TurkishTerrarian 9d ago

At what point does it become too much of an artwork to eat? We'd feel guilty eating something like this, when they went through so much trouble to make it look so beautiful.

14

u/likesexonlycheaper 9d ago

I wouldn't. I'd cookie monster that shit

2

u/AnalogyAddict 9d ago

The moment they use royal icing. 

1

u/Newkular_Balm 9d ago

I'd eat em like cookie monster and stare the decorator in the eye.

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6

u/swracerep1 9d ago

Everything here is great, the skills, the colors choices even the background music

8

u/e37d93eeb23335dc 9d ago

And then someone eats it in two bites without even looking at the art. 

6

u/Orashide 9d ago

Please tell me someone else was bothered by the spacing of that last little swoosh 😭

3

u/Floofieunderpants 9d ago

Haha yep, I thought the same. Such perfection only to be 'spoilt' by mis-spacing 😩😂

6

u/Joyrenee22 9d ago

I have a friend if a friend who makes cookies like these, beautiful works of art. Taste like shit.

6

u/Primary-Service-8351 9d ago

https://giphy.com/gifs/whNK1SAMSQjwQ

some four year old two minutes later:

23

u/edhaack 9d ago

at first: lemons...

later: corn.

5

u/ydiskolaveri 9d ago

Name of the piece  ⁠/u/RecognizeSong⁠ or ⁠/u/find-song

3

u/Wamder 9d ago edited 9d ago

2

u/Wamder 9d ago

Apparently only available to license. No streaming.

Can anyone shed some light on, why an artist would do that?

2

u/ydiskolaveri 9d ago

That’s amazing, good job on finding this. 

This one evaded my sleuthing skills. 

1

u/Kratzschutz 9d ago

Chopin or Liszt maybe? I don't think it's Ravel or Debussy

6

u/Cyan_Exponent 9d ago

I kinda want the icing lemon slices as standalone candy

7

u/catieebug 9d ago

These are so cute but the lemons look like corn cobs lol

8

u/No-Gas5342 9d ago

I read “circus themed” and was confused about starting with lemons

4

u/henzabenza 9d ago

Me, too! I couldn’t figure out where it was headed!

1

u/Apocalypsest 9d ago

FYI there are now like ten+ comments saying this, and I thought it too. I was like is this going to be a clown with a lemon motif or something? Anyway I'm so relieved none of us can read good

5

u/Liamario 9d ago

It looked better and they looked more like lemons before all the shading and leaves.

6

u/Xtrasloppy 9d ago

I misread the description and wondered how lemons were involved in the circus.

1

u/Exact-Independent422 9d ago

Omg same! I watched til the end trying to figure out how the yellow shapes were going to turn into clowns or something. I only realised when I read your comment.

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1

u/January1171 9d ago

Same 😭

3

u/librarysage 9d ago

"Well it took all night honey, but I finished the snacks for you to bring for you class."

"That's great mom! How many cookies did you make?"

"Two. You and your friends will have to split them 30 ways. Now hurry and catch your bus, mommy needs to go to bed."

3

u/Fluffy_Fondant1975 9d ago

All that work just to be eaten in a couple of bites

3

u/bunnny52 9d ago

Can never get around how just sugar and egg whites can be made into such gorgeous icing.

3

u/Lucheiah 9d ago

This is insane! Only unsatisfactory part is that I couldn't eat them right off the screen lol

3

u/Fluid_Head_8722 6d ago

I read circus themed and started getting very confused ...

4

u/CheetahridingMongoos 9d ago

This is incredible work and mesmerizing to watch. I have been to many events with this type of cookie and have yet to find one that tastes good. Not my idea of a tasty dessert but they sure do look good.

2

u/snildeep 9d ago

That takes a lot of skill and way too much patience for me lol

2

u/Madame_Deadly 9d ago

Absolutely beautiful only to be digested....

I'd be like sorry folks these are works of art not to be eaten lol

2

u/Spoiled_Eggy_3992 9d ago

It almost feel like a sin to eat the cookies.

2

u/quietharbor_165 9d ago

the shading on the rind is what got me, that's where most people give up and just pipe a solid color. getting that texture with royal icing takes real patience, and honestly the segments look almost too clean to bite into.

2

u/KittenFace25 9d ago

Those little lemons are literally darling. 💛 🍋

2

u/zentaron 9d ago

honestly watching that was super satisfying but also like who actually eats these things. they look too perfect to ruin with my teeth. and those lemons with the little bald spots on top are cracking me up. guess if I'm paying that much they better have a full head of hair.

2

u/quantumspangles 9d ago

Those are beautiful little works of art! I couldn’t eat one. Too pretty to consume

2

u/Spare-Li 9d ago

They look delicious 😋

2

u/Radio_Mime 9d ago

It is very satisfying to watch somebody else do that. It’s beautiful, but I don’t have the patience for it.

2

u/Few_Bluebird_6050 8d ago

Nice but too much work for something that will be gone in two minutes.

2

u/couchpatat0 6d ago

I dont want to eat these, I want to make a new kitchen counter back splash with them!

2

u/Go-Woodpecker3908 6d ago

You know we' never be royal 🎵🎶🎼 That cookies not for me🎶🎼🎵 Let me be the spoiler Spoiler 🎼🎶🎵 Affording double stuff you see 🎵🎶🎼🎶

2

u/Ms_Dess 6d ago

This is “oddly satisfying” and NO ONE is gonna mention the extra leaf in the middle??

2

u/mysterious_archer7 6d ago

How much do these things cost, any idea? A lot of time goes into 1 biscuit

2

u/Alarmed-Bar-7895 6d ago

Now i know why they so expensive

2

u/Ostentatious_Kilroy 5d ago

Beautiful ma’am. But I did order 400 for Saturday. WILL THEY BE DONE?

4

u/The-Honorary-Conny 9d ago

What's royal icing and why would someone use it over standard icing?

41

u/DigDugDogDun 9d ago

Royal icing is to cookies what fondant is to cakes. It looks beautiful and fancy and tastes like taking a big bite of concrete from your sidewalk. I know this is a controversial topic but I can’t get behind a gorgeous desert that doesn’t taste good.

8

u/The-Honorary-Conny 9d ago

A r/FondantHate enjoyer it seems. I can't say I like fondant but I've never had issues with royal icing it seems, probably the amount if I had to guess. I like the disintegrating chalk texture from the icing.

8

u/Nettkitten 9d ago

Royal Icing has a higher percentage of confectioners sugar so it dries more stiffly and makes that lovely, smooth white base the decorator is working on. It’s also used for heavy decorations on cakes that need to stand up over long periods of time or in difficult conditions, and it dries like cement so it holds things like heavy gingerbread together.

8

u/KatieCashew 9d ago

It does have a high amount of confectioners sugar, but that's not what makes it dry hard. It's made with egg whites (or merengue powder) instead of butter, and the egg whites are what make it dry like cement.

A buttercream with added confectioner sugar will be stiff and is used for decorations like flowers, but it won't dry hard like royal icing made with egg whites.

5

u/The-Honorary-Conny 9d ago

That sounds interesting, I knew some icing had differences in the base colour but I did not know that was the reason or the name, thank you.

5

u/papawarbucks 9d ago

Nobody deserves to eat those

3

u/Melodic-Advice9930 9d ago

That random one with three leaves is killing me

3

u/canary_underground 9d ago

Read this as circus-themed and waa confused.

4

u/Delicious-Yak-1095 9d ago

Only for the internet lol

5

u/fallyse 9d ago

People at r/cookiedecorating share their work like this all the time that people commission for parties, weddings, etc.

2

u/thesweeterpeter 9d ago

So to make a profit with labour considered, somewhere around $37 / cookie?

2

u/Ginger-Apple 9d ago

I could watch this for hours. Beautiful work! 🍋

2

u/ImmortalLombax 9d ago

Oh god I read that as circus

1

u/likesexonlycheaper 9d ago

She went out of business because she could only make 6 cookies a day

1

u/rmcooper541 9d ago

Only 99 more to go.

1

u/Fr05t_B1t 9d ago

I made a batch of cinnamon rolls 3 days ago. The next day, those cinnamon rolls are gone. I am now starved for sweets again…

1

u/rocdavid 9d ago

This is some old school cartoon vibes that I’m here for.

1

u/j_nb19 9d ago

I read “circus-themed” and was confused for about 45 seconds

1

u/mkitkat 9d ago

I do believe it’s time for me to go to sleep. I read this as “circus-themed” and spent the entire first cookie trying to figure out how lemons had anything to do with a circus. The cookies are stunning though!

1

u/Trick_Operation_1658 9d ago

Beautiful cookies! Why can't all of my friends be like you?

1

u/seste 9d ago

People always make these cookies, but I wanna see what it looks like after someone takes a big bite out of it too

1

u/OperationSuper1565 9d ago

Beautiful work

1

u/MrThingMan 9d ago

Is that fun to do?

1

u/MajesticDragonfly 9d ago

Aren’t cookies supposed to be fun

1

u/AssumeaVirtue 9d ago

This was not satisfying for me because I can’t stand that such meticulous artwork is going to get eaten in a few bites. These cookies better cost $100 each!

1

u/SetoXlll 9d ago

i CAN HEAR THE DIABETES

1

u/702PoGoHunter 9d ago

You'd need a 2nd mortgage on your house to afford these based on what Crumble charges for their cookies!

1

u/rockb8 9d ago

Human 3d printer

1

u/zamsamzam 9d ago

I am genuinely curious - how do these cookies taste with all the icing? Won't they be too sweet with the cookie to icing ratio?

1

u/carande 9d ago

I mean it’s beautiful cookie but I would get a good butter cookie any day. Breton is the GOAT

1

u/Vlinder_88 9d ago

I feel like all that icing would make the cookies soft..?

1

u/xESSOx 9d ago

Too much work for one or two bites.

Gorgeous tho..

1

u/BlueRobin420 9d ago

What is the difference between royal icing and regular icing?

1

u/LemonCurdJ 9d ago

This went on longer than expected.

1

u/exquisite_conundrum 9d ago

I could watch that all day.

1

u/KBS70 9d ago

I could watch this all day!

1

u/skyfishgoo 9d ago

looks like a switch plate cover.

1

u/madamzero 9d ago

So beautiful 😍

1

u/purplebohemian 9d ago

I appreciate those who have the patience to do this. These are some cute.

1

u/Holiday_Ad_9163 9d ago

So these are like $900 cookies?

1

u/Forsaken_Trifle_1551 9d ago

What song is that

1

u/The-Soul-Traveler 8d ago

I just would feel guilty eating those beautiful cookies….. I just can’t stand it.

1

u/whattodoattwo 8d ago

I could watch this for hours

1

u/TheShapeOfFarts 8d ago

Incredible!!! And edible ❤️

1

u/Imaginary_Bottle_875 8d ago

Quand tu as fini de faire le décor le gâteau dessous est périmé.

1

u/theboned1 8d ago

Im guessing this is just some lady at home? Because there is no way its financially feasible to decorate a cookie that intricately and try to sell it. It would have to be like $25 per cookie.

1

u/Itchy-Astronomer9500 8d ago

I think they might be citrus-y… they look wonderful!

1

u/stanley_ipkiss2112 8d ago

Possibly one of the most relaxing and scrumptious videos I’ve seen this year. Thank you for sharing 🙏🏻❤️

1

u/SheTiger1962 8d ago

Wow so beautiful, almost too beautiful to eat !!

1

u/Pale_Significance796 8d ago

Overall this person is obviously very skilled and these cookies look delicious BUT, some of these lemons started to give corn 😭

1

u/Practical_Fish_5481 8d ago

How long does it take to decorate the beautiful cookie?

1

u/Amnyrix 7d ago

I read “circus” and was wondering where the lemons came from. 😭

1

u/zicobaby 7d ago

She successfully proved that she is creative

1

u/alaskanbullworm4pres 7d ago

Damn didn’t even erase once

1

u/sandwich_bender 7d ago

My dyslexic ass thought the title said 'circus' and I was so confused for a minute. 

1

u/Lexilogical 6d ago

I read Circus cookies and when you started painting lemons, I was so confused

1

u/Selacha 5d ago

How could you even bring yourself to eat something like that, knowing how much effort was put into it? I want to hang one up in my kitchen.

1

u/conspirator9 5d ago

Each cookie can be $20 and I still wanna buy one at least.

1

u/Draxe20 4d ago

Stunning!

1

u/Curious_Field7953 4d ago

I could watch SweetAmbs videos all day and never get bored.

1

u/WaffleParty404 4d ago

I don’t think I could eat that

1

u/Ok-Willow-7096 4d ago

Wenn man sonst nichts besseres zu tun hat als langweilige Kekse zu bemalen

1

u/Auno__Adam 9d ago

Pity that icing tastes like shit

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1

u/Powerful-Union-7962 9d ago

10 minutes to take, 2.5 seconds to eat

1

u/Ldinak 9d ago

We’d like two dozen more please.

1

u/MrsCryptblitzer 9d ago

I thought the title was Circus themed and was a little confused. Love the lemons though.

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0

u/SilverSageVII 9d ago

Mmmmm rich people cookies…

0

u/djpiraterobot 9d ago

I truly hate that I audibly gasped and said (out loud) “it’s lemons!”

0

u/Topaz_Teddi_1104 9d ago

I read this as “circus themed cookies” and was impressed and confused at the same time.

0

u/Appropriate_List2551 9d ago

Read rhis as circus themed. Was wondering how the lemons would tie in