Cookie Chat with SweetAmbs, aka Amber Spiegel
This chat has ended.
Welcome, everyone! We're thrilled to have SweetAmbs with us today to answer your cookie-related questions! Thanks for joining us, Amber, especially in the middle of a weekend!
Who was your greatest influence in the cookie world?
Have you ever had cookie block (i.e., can't come up with new ideas)?
Hayley: I would suggest opening an Etsy shop! It's an easy and inexpensive way to start selling cookies (www.etsy.com). I don't know if cookies will be taking over the cupcake trend, but, as I mentioned in the Cookier Closeup a couple of weeks ago, I do see decorated cookies becoming more and more popular. I like to believe that they are here to stay rather than being a trend that will pass.
When decorating under humid conditions, do you adjust your icing consistency or just take measures on the drying process? Thanks. Marta
Amber, when I made royal icing once, it took more than a day to dry out. Is this because I didn't add corn syrup?
Do you mix your own shades or do you buy ready-made colors?
Hi! I'm from a far far away place, Argentina! I have trouble finding a retailer that will send internationally at a reasonable price! It is almost impossible to find supplies down here!
So you mean we should add less color, Amber? (When it is humid.)
Yes, I generally but through Ebay, but I will check Wilton page! thanx!
I tried your recent "piped lines on bare cookie" marbling technique on some minis and mine didn't look very good...do you ever do marbling on minis? Any particular technique work better than another.I' m a big marbling fan but only have luck with marbling on medium to large cookies.
Are there any good color charts or tutorials out there for beginners that would help with mixing colors. I have been looking and haven't been able to find one.
Can you please give us an idea on how to price a cookie? In Portugal, people still ask sometimes if decorated cookies are priced by weight because there is "tradition" for buying regular cookies like that. Sometimes the work even on a small cookie is not considered because it's just a small one.
Do you have any advice for preventing color bleed? I absolutely hate finishing a cookie, loving it, and then coming back to find my dark colors have bled into my light colors while the icing was drying! I think humidity makes it worse so have started keeping my dehumidifier running more. But it's not a 100% guarantee.
Is there remedy to dry the royal icing faster, if we don't find it drying out on time?
This is so much fun!!!!! Does anyone ever really eat your cookies - you too Julia? I'd put them in my China closet; they are so lovely.
How long is it possible to keep the cookies sealed so that you can eat them?
Can you freeze cookies before and after decorating?
Hi, Amber! I am a big fan of your work. My question relates to using gold to color cookies. I have noticed that when I mix the gold with vodka and try to paint on the cookies, it eats into the icing and creates holes in the piped lines. Also, I live in the Middle East so it's not advisable to use alcohol in food. What else can I use to mix the gold with that will evaporate? Thanks!
Any recommendations (or perhaps a new tutorial?) for learning the scroll technique? I have trouble wrapping my brain around it and it ends up looking like a kindergarten kidlet scribbled it. I watch your tutorial but I can't seem to mimic it with royal. I need baby-step-by-baby-step instructions!
Any spaces left on that course (in Spain)?
Amber, I'm a big, huge fan of your work!! Lately you have been a busy bee... Working on a tutorial per week!
I have bought your icing recipe and tried a few others, but my icing always looks grainy. Not sure what I'm doing wrong. Any advice on grainy icing? Thank you!
Wow, that is awesome for you to be sold out.
Hello, Amber, many greetings from Vienna, Austria. I really appreciate your tutorials; they've been a great help for me! I have one question: Are your recipes in the shop also available in metric units? Thank you so much, xoxo.
Lucky us! Amber will be joining us for our second Cookie Connection chat of the summer. She'll continue the conversation started in our earlier Cookier Closeup and answer any cookie decorating or business questions you might have. The chat is live and text-based, so you'll want to be comfortably settled next to your computer before it kicks off!
That said, if you can't make it, transcripts of all chats are saved here on the site for later reading.