Make and bake the cookies. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Melt chocolate in a medium sized microwave safe bowl and then let it cool.
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. In a large bowl, beat together the butter and the sugar using an electric mixer on medium speed until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla; mix well. Add melted chocolate and beat until smooth.
Gradually add flour mixture to the butter mixture, beating until smooth. Divide the dough in half and form into 2 discs. Cover and chill at least 1 hour or until firm.
Once firm, on a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough until it’s approximately 1/8 in. thick. Dip cookie cutters in flour, cut and then transfer cut dough to cookie pan or baking sheet.
Bake for 8-to-10 minutes. When done, cool on a cookie pan or sheet for 2 minutes, then remove them and place them on a cooling grid or wire rack to cool completely.
Make the royal icing. Beat all ingredients together in a large bowl until icing forms peaks (7-10 minutes at low speed with a heavy-duty mixer, 10-12 minutes at high speed with a hand-held mixer).
Let royal icing sit for 15 minutes to an hour to let air bubbles rise naturally. Alternately, tap the bowl on the table several times to force the air bubbles up. Gently stir the top surface to release the air.
Tint and thin the royal icing. Use the following food coloring and royal icing combinations to create the following desired colors:
- Ivory - 1/3 cup royal icing with ivory food coloring
- Green - 1/3 cup royal icing with ivory and juniper green food coloring
- Light Brown - 1/3 cup royal icing with brown and no-taste red food coloring
- Dark Brown - 1/3 cup royal icing with brown and violet food coloring
- Blue - 1/3 cup royal icing with sky blue and ivory food coloring
- Orange - 1/2 cup royal icing with orange, pink and ivory food coloring
Reserve the remaining royal icing.
Thin the green, light brown, blue, ivory and half of the orange royal icing by adding 1 teaspoon of water per cup of royal icing. Use a grease-free spoon or spatula to stir slowly. Add 1/2 teaspoon water at a time until you reach the proper consistency.
Proper consistency will be reached when the royal icing stays on a spatula placed above a bowl without dripping back into the bowl for 18 seconds.
Prepare decorating bags and flood cookies. Prepare five decorating bags, separately, with thinned green, light brown, blue, ivory and orange icing. Reserve remaining orange icing for a later step. Cut ¼ in. off the tip of each decorating bag. Outline and fill in the cookies with desired colors. Let them dry overnight (8 to 10 hours) at room temperature.
Cover unused or remaining royal icing colors and leave at room temperature.
Decorate cookies. Prepare three decorating bags with tip 1. Fill separately with full white, dark brown and the remaining orange icing.
- Use the white royal icing to pipe details on the blue cookies
- Use the dark brown and orange royal icing to pipe vines and flowers on ivory cookies
- Use dark brown royal icing to pipe a small circle in the center of orange flowers.
After cookies are decorated, let them set for at least 8 hours, then enjoy! Any unused or leftover royal icing can be kept in a zip-top freezer bag for up to 2 months.
