Wise Owls For Teacher Appreciation Week

Hi Veronica,

Your owls are cute, they have so much personality! It looks like what's happening with your spots is that you're getting some "bleeding". Often that can happen if the icing is a little too thin or runny, or sometimes if it's humid. Over on Sweetopia there are lots of resources I've seen over the years. I found this link, but if you do some digging I think there is more info on her site somewhere. I hope that helps a little http://sweetopia.net/2009/10/h...rom-bleeding-7-tips/

Kathy

Thanks, CookieVanDough !  The link you shared is very much appreciated. It's extremely humid where I live and even on hot days when my icing crusts in less than 15 mins, I still have bleeding issues.

Agree - they're super cute even with less than perfect dots. Do you have trouble with dot shape even before the dots bleed? If so, then I suggest holding your bag as vertically as possible (90-degree angle to the cookie); anything less and the icing can come out more sideways and look more oval than round. Also, perhaps try a smaller tip/hole (so you have more control over the flow of the icing), and press less firmly (more slowly and gradually), steadying the tip of the bag with a finger, again for more control.

Thanks Julia, for the helpful tips. I think it has something to do with the consistency. It kinda curled when I was piping it out  but I was too lazy to thin it down. Besides, it's the monsoon season now and I noticed the bleeding continues even when the icing has crusted rock hard! 

Yeah, sounds like the icing was too thick relative to the hole in the bag (to easily get through the opening) if it curled. But the flatness of the dots and the bleed still make me think the icing was too thin overall. Have you tried a thicker consistency and/or quick-drying with a dehydrator to prevent bleed?

I do not have a dehydrator but I do my piping under a ceiling fan and we are talking about temps that are in the 90s here, usually higher on very hot days. My icing dries very quickly. It's just that they continue to bleed even after I've placed them in an air-tight container with silica gel. And by the third day, they look really awful which is very disheartening. Those clips you see on my page are taken right after I've iced them.

The other bleeding issue I encounter is my cookies 'sweat' on very hot days! You can actually see beads of moisture/oil on the iced surface. Looks like it's a no-win situation for me!

But even if it's hot, if it's humid, cookies won't dry well all the way through; they may crust on the top but the underlying icing may not be dry - until it is, bleeding can continue. The dehydrator is a closed system, so you might find you have better results with it. You also need to be careful about containing cookies before they're completely dry, or they will never dry and can bleed a lot. Not sure if that's part of the trouble.