Shipping Royal Icing and Stability

Hi, Nika99, Congrats on making your first post. I look forward to many more to come!

Hi, Nika. The stability of royal icing depends on how thick it is mixed and your exact recipe (for instance, some meringue powder has additional gums and starch that stabilize it; and, the thicker the icing is mixed to start, the longer it takes to separate). Why don't you do a test run with your icing? Just mix and bag it, and watch how long it takes to separate.

In any scenario, I would ship it such that it's no more than a few days in the mail. And if it is bagged, she can always knead it in the bag to re-homogenize it.

What I do is flood the cookies and send edible ink pens.  It’s easier for the kids and they love it!

@Julia M. Usher posted:

Hi, Nika. The stability of royal icing depends on how thick it is mixed and your exact recipe (for instance, some meringue powder has additional gums and starch that stabilize it; and, the thicker the icing is mixed to start, the longer it takes to separate). Why don't you do a test run with your icing? Just mix and bag it, and watch how long it takes to separate.

In any scenario, I would ship it such that it's no more than a few days in the mail. And if it is bagged, she can always knead it in the bag to re-homogenize it.

Thank you. I made several tests already and it always starts to separate next day lastest.

It works with kneading, but it desnt look nice when you get such separated royal icing

@Nika99 posted:

Thank you. I made several tests already and it always starts to separate next day lastest.

It works with kneading, but it desnt look nice when you get such separated royal icing

It sounds like @Econlady's (Kate's) suggestion of doing PYO cookies may be your best bet then - have them color in a stenciled design with either edible marker or food colorings. Though I know others ship icing with some degree of success. Perhaps your icing recipe is less stable than others?

@Julia M. Usher posted:

It sounds like @Econlady's (Kate's) suggestion of doing PYO cookies may be your best bet then - have them color in a stenciled design with either edible marker or food colorings. Though I know others ship icing with some degree of success. Perhaps your icing recipe is less stable than others?

Yes, I know other ship icing and thats the reason I am asking if there is some trick. But I assume they use some other mixture instead of royal icing.

@Julia M. Usher posted:

It sounds like @Econlady's (Kate's) suggestion of doing PYO cookies may be your best bet then - have them color in a stenciled design with either edible marker or food colorings. Though I know others ship icing with some degree of success. Perhaps your icing recipe is less stable than others?

I don’t even use a stencil, the cookie is blank.  I use Lila loa minis and give the parents pictures of what Lila shows.  They can imitate or make their own.

No, I think they use meringue powder-based royal icing. I've used Genie's Dream powder for an event, and it stayed in bags for more than a few days without separation. I usually mix royal icing fresh from scratch though, and it can separate faster that Genie's Dream because it does not have the added stabilizers in meringue powder. So maybe try Creative Cookier's Genie's Dream powder, but recognize that, if your icing is very loose, it will separate faster. I hope that helps.

@Julia M. Usher posted:

No, I think they use meringue powder-based royal icing. I've used Genie's Dream powder for an event, and it stayed in bags for more than a few days without separation. I usually mix royal icing fresh from scratch though, and it can separate faster that Genie's Dream because it does not have the added stabilizers in meringue powder. So maybe try Creative Cookier's Genie's Dream powder, but recognize that, if your icing is very loose, it will separate faster. I hope that helps.

Thank you, I will try this one.