Hi All, I am new to the site and I do hope this becomes a great tool for me. I made these cookies this weekend and was a bit disappointed with how the icing dried. To me it looks a bit dry even though it's not dry at all and tastes great, I live in Florida and must dry my cookies under a small fan so the colors won't mix and make a mess. Can you give me some feed back on how I can get the cookies to dry with more of a shiny finish? I want my cookies to look yummy too. Thanks! Staci
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Hi, humidity is what makes the cookies dry duller. Usually drying them under/near a fan will give them a slightly shinier (satin) finish, but if that is not working for you, I'd try drying them in a dehydrator. I get a reasonably satin-y (not high gloss, but far from matte) finish when I quick-dry my cookies for a few minutes in my dehydrator. There are several forum threads on the site already about dehydrator options; you may want to check some of them out before purchasing one.
P.S. I moved this thread to a different topic. The "Suggestions and Feedback" forum is intended for suggestions for site improvements. I moved this to the "Technique Help" forum, which is intended for this kind of question.
Thank you Julia. I appreciate your feedback. I will read what has been posted about dehydrators.
Also, your video tutorials have been a great inspiration and motivation for me. I am embarking on a new stamping and stenciling adventure in the very near furture.
Thank you!
Staci, I too live in Florida and have to deal with the high humidity...I almost always have a fan directed at my cookie rack to help "cool the area" and keep my colors from bleeding (and my cookies most of the time dry with a nice shiny surface). I usually have to dry the base coat of RI for 24 hours to ensure no bleeding from colors that will be going on top. 
HOpe that helps!
I do think your cookies look lovely.
Hi Staci,
I live in sub-tropical Brisbane that has high humidity too. I find a desk-top fan (if you've a big order) or if smallish order - a heat gun (on low) that I bought at a hardware store also helped to get a shiny finish on top. Links that I read about this technique are:
http://www.flourboxbakery.com/...thy-and-the-heat-gun
http://www.flourboxbakery.com/...heat-gun-round-table
http://flour-de-lis.blogspot.c...okie-decorating.html
http://www.cookiecrazie.com/20...istmas-gift-for.html
Hope that helps! BTW, the cookies are lovely. Like the brush icing too 
Thank you Julia. I appreciate your feedback. I will read what has been posted about dehydrators.
Also, your video tutorials have been a great inspiration and motivation for me. I am embarking on a new stamping and stenciling adventure in the very near furture.
Thank you!
Thanks. I think you'll love both stamping and stenciling!
Staci, I too live in Florida and have to deal with the high humidity...I almost always have a fan directed at my cookie rack to help "cool the area" and keep my colors from bleeding (and my cookies most of the time dry with a nice shiny surface). I usually have to dry the base coat of RI for 24 hours to ensure no bleeding from colors that will be going on top. HOpe that helps!
I do think your cookies look lovely.
I think they look lovely too!
Your cookies are beautiful. I have found that since I began adding corn syrup to my royal icing and using a fan to dry my cookies, I now get a nice smooth satiny finish. Good luck!
