If you’re a fan of fun and whimsical desserts, then you probably know Meaghan of The Decorated Cookie. She has so many cute ideas for easily decorating all sorts of foods to make edible masterpieces that kids can do too. Today she’s sharing her go-to kitchen tool and a bunch of great recipes and tips through the links to her blog!

Erica: Hi Meaghan! Please tell my readers a little about yourself and your blog.

Meaghan: Fifteen years ago I started decorating cookies at a just-opened cookie shop outside of Washington DC, where I live. I had never picked up a bag of icing. I thought I’d stay for a few weeks and I ended up staying for ten years. Gasp. Not only did I love it, but it gave me the flexibility to work while I went to graduate school (I have an M.A. in Liberal Arts and an M.F.A. in Literature). I left the shop in 2007 to have my first daughter, and that’s when my blog, the decorated cookie, was born. After ten years of creating super detailed cookies (you name it, I’ve put it on a cookie, from appliances to human organs to people’s dogs), I’m now all about simple and easy decorated sweets, mostly cookies and marshmallows. And I have a book! It’s called Sugarlicious, published in 2012.

Erica: What’s your favorite kitchen tool or baking tip you’d like to share with all of us?

Meaghan: The tool I cannot live without: Disposable decorating bags. I usually minimize waste and am all about re-using (such as using washcloths to wipe the messes my youngest makes instead of paper towels), but disposable decorating bags are my one indulgence. You can squeeze so much more icing from a bag than a bottle and clean up is a cinch. They are a must for cookie decorating with a lot of kids. And I fill them with more than icing. I use them to melt candy melts and make pops, pipe frosting on cupcakes, make pancakes, fill cupcake liners, even fill pasta. I buy them by the hundreds.

Erica: I must admit, I’m guilty of the same addiction to those disposable bags! Here are some links to Meaghan’s blog so you can use your disposable bags for decorating cookies just like her. 

Decorating Cookies with Kids  / /  Basic Cookie Decorating How-To

Swirly Cookie Pops  / /  Superhero Cookie Bites

And if cookies aren’t your thing, these bags are also great for decorating cupcakes, filling whoopie pies, or making crazy chocolate pops!

Piping Frosting on Cupcakes  / /  Mini Gingerbread Whoopie Pies with Cream Cheese Filling

Crazy Chocolate Pops  / / Ice Box Cake Cupcakes

Thanks so much for sharing Meaghan, and be sure to stock up on those disposable piping bags. I buy mine in packs of 100 from Amazon here, but you can also find them at any craft or baking supply store. Be sure to check out all of the great recipes at The Decorated Cookie to use up all those bags!