Tips and the Tipless

A few Saturday’s ago, I found myself perusing Facebook. Admittedly, a place I don’t spend a lot of time these days. But the rabbit hole swallowed me and I ended up in a cookier group with over 100,000 members, reading a post about tipless bags. As I read the comments I was shocked by how many cookiers had more questions about tips, than the tipless bags. “Where do you find piping tips?” “How do you use them?” “Do they come in a #1?” “What’s a coupler?” And so on, and so on… I was completely taken aback. How were there so many people out there decorating cookies without ever having used a tip??  I couldn’t help but wonder… in a world of perfectly snipped tipless bags, have we left tips behind for good?

Over the years, tipless bags had become the sweatpants of cookie decorating. They’re easy, comfortable, and versatile. The kind of tool you’d Netflix and chill with. You can outline, flood, and detail all with the same bag. No couplers, no clogging, no fuss. For beginners, it’s a no-brainer. Why spend extra money on a collection of tips when you can get the job done with a pair of scissors and a steady hand? And just like that it hit me: was there really a generation of cookie decorators that skipped over the whole “tip thing”? It’s no surprise that the tipless bag is having its main character moment. But have we become so comfortable going tipless, that we have forgotten (or worse, never tried) the precision experience of using a tip?

When I began decorating cookies in 2011 piping tips were how you piped. No question about it. We used “disposable” bags. But they were made of a much thicker plastic than today’s tipless bags; we would wash them after using, and only throw them out when needed over time. We also had a collection of our favorite couplers and tips that you would wash a reuse. I’m not sure exactly who started the tipless bag movement among cookiers. But the first YouTube video I found with a tipless bag tutorial was in May of 2014 by Custom Cookies By Jill. So tipless bags, for sure, have passed their 10 year anniversary.

The appeal of the tipless bag is an easy one to understand. No fuss, no muss… or rather no mess to wash. But I couldn’t help but wonder… by attempting to makes our lives simpler by going tipless, are we in fact making our decorating more difficult? Tips were invented for a reason. They allow for precision, consistency, and shapes (think star or petal tips) that can’t be achieved otherwise. They also have the perfect round opening, every time. Why are we spending so much time stressing over how to cut a triangle bag into a round hole when we have the tools readily available to do it for us? When skilled cookie decorators say they make all their beautiful cookies without using tips, has it become a weird flex? Are we inferior decorators if we need to use tips? If your surgeon told you, he didn’t need surgical needles to stitch you up, but he could do it with his fingers would you feel confident in his skills? Would you feel like he’s a better surgeon for that? Or would you say - please sir, use a needle! I know what I would choose! But somebody, somewhere said I bet I don’t need a tip to flood a cookie. And just like that, the piping tip became the luxury item of the pantry.

But here’s the thing: decorating with tips is like putting on your favorite pair of heels — maybe a little impractical, maybe they pinch at first, but oh, the glamour. The kind of pizzazz that makes you want to strut down Fifth Avenue with a piping bag in hand. Sure, it takes a little more effort, but when you use tips… magic. That perfectly crisp writing from a #1 tip, the impossibly delicate lacework of a #00, or the beautiful drop flowers from a star tip — they’re a reminder that sometimes, the tools you use can elevate your craft to something truly special. It’s not just about aesthetics, either. Tips offer a level of control and consistency that can’t be matched. Need to pipe identical dots on a hundred cookies? A round tip will have your back every time.

So, where does that leave us? Somewhere between a perfectly snipped tipless bag and a drawer full of metal tips, I think there’s a sweet spot. Maybe it’s time to dust off those old tips, give them a whirl, and rediscover their charm. After all, cookie decorating is about more than just the final product — it’s about the joy of creating, experimenting, and maybe even getting a little messy along the way.

In the end, whether you’re team tip or team tipless, one thing is certain: there’s room for everyone in the cookie world. Because if cookie decorating has taught me anything, it’s this — perfection is overrated, and sugar fixes everything.