I was using my icing decorator last week to make my buttermints (see "Butternmints" article, Cook'n Newsletter, Mar 21, 2014), and I wondered as I was working, what ELSE could I do with this handy tool. The Internet rarely lets me down, and I found 10 great ideas on a hugely helpful blog called "Feels Like Home," (https://www.feelslikehomeblog.com/2010/08/10-uses-for-an-icing-decorator/) that I thought you might appreciate:

1. Deviled eggs. Mash up the egg yolks, mix them with mayo and mustard, then fill your decorator with the yolk mixture. It is quick and easy to pipe the filling back into the egg whites. [Alice: I like to use the STAR tip for this process.]

2. Filled cupcakes. The blog author and clever creator, Tara, says this makes the cupcakes into homemade Twinkies. She explains: "As soon as the cupcakes come out of the oven, fill the decorator with frosting. Using a long tip, pipe a healthy amount of frosting into the center of each hot cupcake."

3. Fill cannoli shells and manicotti noodles. This one is self explanatory. Needed: a long tip, as with the cupcakes above.

4. Stuffed squash blossoms. [Alice: Who knew? Foodies, that's who, and ideas for this side dish or way to do antipasto are all over the Internet. Plan on doing this at the end of garden season when the zucchini put out their last blast of blossoms. And for how-to directions and a great-sounding recipe—I haven't tried it yet—go to https://cookingwithchristen.com/2013/06/19/pimiento-cheese-stuffed-squash-blossoms/.]

5. Whipped cream makes a pretty garnish for any dessert (cakes, cookies, etc.) but there is not a dessert in the world that doesn't look prettier with some sweetened whipped cream shapes piped on top. Pudding, Jello, trifles, and cobblers are a few more suggestions.

6. Sour cream to garnish any dip. As with the whipped cream garnish, most dips and many Mexican dishes look better with a sour cream garnish.

7. Make cupcakes into a cake. Have you ever seen those fancy pull-apart cupcake cakes such as this monkey? You set the cupcakes close to each other, then use a decorator to frost them as a single cake. The frosting will hold the cupcakes together, but they're easy to pull apart when you're ready.

8. Fudge rosettes. In the microwave, melt a bag of semisweet chocolate chips in 30-second intervals. When finished, add a recipe of your favorite chocolate frosting and mix well. Microwave for another 10 to 20 seconds and mix again. Fill your decorator and use it to pipe small rosettes onto a piece of wax paper. Allow the rosettes to cool until set. Instant fudge! (And, by the way, you can try lots of variations of chips and frosting as this picture shows. Mint chips with chocolate frosting. Peanut butter chips with chocolate frosting. White chocolate chips with orange frosting. Experiment!

9. Brownie cake. The author, Tara, thought this might seem like it's cheating since she already mentioned cookies and cakes, but it's a great idea that deserves separate space. Cook a brownie mix [Alice: or your favorite from-scratch brownie recipe] as directed. When it's mostly cooled, top with your favorite pie filling, and then pipe sweetened whipped cream rosettes on top using the decorator. The best combination in Tara's opinion is cherry pie filling with a fudge brownie.

10. Cheese straws. These are simple and quick. You can find lots of recipes online, but this is my favorite. Mix 12 ounces of shredded sharp cheddar cheese, 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, 3/4 teaspoon salt and 2 sticks of butter. Gradually add in 2 1/2 cups of flour and mix until a thick dough forms. Fill the decorator with dough and press out long sticks on a cookie sheet. Bake the straws for 15 minutes at 350°F. You don't want them to brown, just get crispy.

And to conclude, what do YOU use your decorator for? One thing I've done is to fill mine with deviled eggs filling and stuffed small Roma tomatoes with the filling for an unusual but tasty picnic appetizer. My guess is, there are a lot more than 10 uses for this very versatile tool!