Instructions

1. Prepare a batch of your favorite cookie decorating icing. Separate the white icing into small bowls, one for each color you plan to make. Tan, robin's egg blue and yellow are good choices for speckled eggs.

2. Frost sugar cookies cut in the shape of Easter eggs with the colored icings. You can spread the icing with a small spatula or butter knife, squeeze it onto the cookies from a pastry bag or, with thinner icings, carefully spoon it on and spread with the bottom of the spoon to cover each egg-shaped cookie. Allow the frosting to dry completely before adding the speckled effect.

3. Make a thin chocolate-colored icing to use for the speckles on your cookie eggs. One of the simplest ways is to mix a few drops of chocolate-brown colored food coloring with a little warm water in a small dish. Another option is to mix cocoa powder and vanilla extract in a 1:1.5 ratio until the cocoa is completely blended in.

4. Cover your workspace with a vinyl tablecloth, because the speckling process gets messy. Arrange the frosted cookies in a single layer on large, flat trays or baking sheets covered with wax paper.

5. Dip the tips of a small, stiff-bristled paintbrush or toothbrush into the chocolate icing. Hold the brush over the frosted cookies and quickly scrape one fingertip across the bristles, spraying the chocolate onto the cookies in a random speckled pattern. Repeat with all the cookies, using as much chocolate as you want to get the desired effect. Allow the chocolate icing to dry. As an alternative, use a small icing decorator bottle with a small tip. Add the chocolate icing to the bottle and gently squeeze quick bursts of chocolate onto the cookies, creating a fine spray that looks like speckling.