Tips and the Tipless

Comments

Cathy Wiedmann - March 4, 2025

Hi!! Perfect subject to share my thoughts. I may be one of the very few that does not use bags when decorating. I’m all about the Sweet Sugarbelle bottles AND tips!!! Beginning my journey 4/2021, I was taught with tipless bags. Hated it. Couldn’t manage the bag, it was spilling out of the top. Being frustrated, I sort of gave up. I then watched a tutorial video, beginner level of a cookier we’re all pretty much familiar with, Mike of SemiSweetDesigns. He was using a SweetSugarbelle bottle. Boom!! I adapted to that method, and here I am 4 years later killing it with my cookie business. My personal preference but it works for me. So yes, I’m very familiar with many tips, and prefer the PME ones. Clean lines every times.

Rebecca A Fontenot - February 26, 2025

I like using tips for Royal Icing transfers such as flowers and such. I started out decorating cakes many years ago, so I typically am drawn to using tips. I do like the tipless method to flood my cookies. Details are usually with tips. So both methods are a plus for me.

Myrtis Darbonne - February 24, 2025

I’m from the old school! When I started my cake decorating journey some 35 years ago we always used bags (which we would wash after every use), couplers and a tip. Then about 20 years ago I fell in love with cookie decorating and used the same equipment with buttercream icing! After doing this for a few years I started with royal icing, tipless bags and tips. The only time I do not use a tip is when flooding my cookies. I might add, my favorite tips are PME!

Chip - February 24, 2025

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
I went to CookieCon in Austin with a few goals. One of them was learning to use a tipless bag. I thought I had to be doing it wrong because it was painful to get round piping, the seem kept getting in the way, after 2 doz cookies my perfectly snipped #1 was about a #2 and I just didn’t have any control. I soon learned I wasn’t doing it wrong at all.
The conclusion for me (only for me) is this: When I’m doing a quick batch for my daughter’s basketball team (for free) I’ll snip a tip. But, for me, the difference between someone that can make pretty cookies and a professional is in the details. If the difference between $45/doz and $65/doz is using a tip, then I’m team tip all day long. It only takes 3 minutes to clean a tip.

Cherie - February 24, 2025

I haven’t been able to master the tipples phenomenon. I’ve tried and tried to no avail. I love my tips!! I’ve been using tips for 20+ years. I just can’t give up a sure thing for me. I still use tipples bags with my tips and couplers for easy cleanup. I also use tipples bags sometimes for a real quick small situation that I may have overlooked and the customer is picking up soon.
So for me, I’m pro tip all the way. I guess it’s just what works for you. I’m definitely not against tipples bag use. They have many purposes and uses. And a good 👍🏻 for the cookiers that figured out how to use them as intended. I commend you! Thanks for letting me babble.

Laurie Morrison - February 24, 2025

Your article is me. As a newbie, I got sucked into thinking tipless bags are the way to go. When I first started decorating cookies years ago I bought tons of decorating tips never using most of them after watching videos/tutorials to learn. I was so confused, not understanding where are the tips and what are these “tipless bags”! So I jumped on board without even understanding not all piping bags are “tipless”. I’m still learning and struggle with inconsistency when using tipless bags. But after reading your article I realize why not use all the tips I have?! I’m going old school and gonna try out team decorating tips!

Michelle - February 24, 2025

I just started about 4 months ago. I feel like a failure because I just can’t get the cut on the tipless bag right. lol I am a tip girl all the way!!!

Margaret Lynch - February 24, 2025

Hi , my thoughts on tips , they are great . I believe a beginner would benefit more with them . Straight lines are hard to do as well as flowers . I started out free hand , and some times my cookies and cakes look like a 3 yr old did it. I can’t find tipless bags ! My question is are the tips used for cookies smaller then a regular cake tip ?

Amansa - February 24, 2025

“ The kind of pizzazz that makes you want to strut down Fifth Avenue with a piping bag in hand.” This made me laugh out loud! You’re an incredible writer. I’m intimidated by decorating cookies. I’ve only decorated a few batches, just to see if I was able to. And I did not use tips. Albeit, the cookies weren’t intricately decorated, but there were some “straight” lines, flooding, and outlining on them. I think I’ll try the tips next time. And I agree. Decorating without tips seems like it’s become a weird flex for some. Thank you for this article.

Theresa Patton - February 24, 2025

This was a very cute video! I love going tipless for flooding and nonserious detail work, but when it comes to writing the 1.5 is my go to. I actually just got another one from you all this week. Keep creating awesome content!