Iced Biscuits / Cookies

[lookoveryourshouldernow]

Hi - I am hoping some experiences bakers call help me as I have lots of questions??

Have made some cookies/biscuits today - which I am in the process of icing.

Have done the outline and used "flood icing" for the design - how long does it need to dry out completely?

If I do two types of "flood icing" do I need to let each colour dry completely first before using the second colour ?

Is it OK to just leave them on a baking tray in the kitchen to dry ??

If I then use some more outline icing to attempt some wording ontop on the icing - how long does this take to dry before I can send them out ??

After all the faffing about will the biscuits still be crisp and edible ??

Many thanks for any help - thoroughly enjoyed the icing aspects and I was much much better than I thought I would be ...

I am attempting to make some Football Shirts - stripes and badges for my nephews - hopefully - fingers crossed they will work out.

...and my final question - how long will the biscuits last (if they are keep in a tin after the icing etc has dried)... they are made from flour/sugar/butter/golden syrup and vanilla...

Many thanks in advance for any replies - thank you...

...oh I spoke too soon..

All my blue stripes have now starting "bleeding" into the white stripes... and it looks a mess..

Back to the drawing board...

Help..

you need to make the outline icing quite "thick" - as in consistency.

the flooding bit :

I use 175 g icing sugar to 60ml liquid (water, lemon juice, apple juice etc) to cover my cakes. this spreads well, but dries reasonably quickly.

you might need a few extra drops of liquid (probably no more than a teaspoonful) to make it spread better for flooding, but you don't want it too runny.

you should not need to wait between colours if each area is separated by the contoure lines.

does that help?

Thanks for your reply - much appreciated.

I am happy with the outline - but the "flood" icing seems to be the problem

I outlined fine and then "flooded" with white icing on the stripes and then the blue.... It looked good when I left it - but when I went back to check it is fairly ropey..

First attempt - so happy for any feedback - thanks

Was using this "project" to distract me - as I thought that it would be a good way to send my son who has just gone to Uni - a little present each week with a different theme... and I have 100's of thoughts on themes that would amuse him (or perhaps me) and keep us in touch..

I have a lot to learn - hopefully in a few weeks time the "cookies" will be better and more professional..

The football shirts are for my nephews - so I need to get them done soon.

I am learning something new and if I wasn't diabetic I would eat them all!!!

well for a football shirt - stripey I presume you could flood with white completely, wait for it to dry, then do the blue stripes with "thick" icing.

the blue will be slightly raised but shouldn't run.

good luck and keep asking!

This blog www.sweetsugarbelle.com/2011/07/outlining-and-filling-cookies-with-royal-icing/ is AMAZING for biscuit/cookies icing.

I'm also very jealous of your son getting such nice biscuits every week!

www.sweetsugarbelle.com/2011/07/outlining-and-filling-cookies-with-royal-icing/

.. thanks for your tips so far - but I still have some questions especially on the drying aspects and biscuit "crunch"...

If I do the first level of flood icing - I have read that I need to leave the icing to dry - how long normally is sufficient to avoid a "bleed" ??

Then I do the second level and leave to dry - this probably would mean that the biscuits have been drying for quite a while - will they still be crisp ??

I have read about stuffing them back in the oven to dry on a low heat (my oven lowest setting in around 50 degree c... - would the biscuits not cook more and end up as biscotti ??) or using an electric fan to dry them ...

What are your thoughts ???

Thank you for the link - the cookies there are amazing.. I can only wish and hope - not a hobby for a shaky hand then !!!

The first attempt at the football were eaten before the rest of the decoration got added - I shall be attempting to spray wording on the front of the shirts and do free-hand wording on the next batch - but I am sure that will be another cry for help ???

Are you using royal icing? And what kind of food colouring are you using? I always use royal icing (I cheat and buy it from Amazon as a powder), and I have gel colouring.

Dark icing (like your navy blue) often bleeds into lighter colours. It's really annoying. I think either Sweet Sugar Belle or Sweetopia has a post about bleeding colours, but I can't remember off-hand. Their blogs are really good for learning more about cookie decorating in general though!

After flooding a cookie, I would leave it overnight to dry completely. I use these sugar cookie recipes from LilaLoa, and they don't dry out or taste stale. I decorate them on baking trays, not on a cooling rack, so it's only the edges that get any air at them.

The next day you can do extra decoration using your thicker piping/outline icing. Again, leave it to dry for 12 hours. There's nothing worse than having all your hard work ruined because you pack them too early. I wouldn't put them back in the oven. The cookies are good for at least a week, probably longer (if they ever lasted that long). Store in a tin, not a tupperware, for extra freshness.

Pack them well with bubble wrap between the layers, and make sure the bottoms of the cookies (which will inevitably be a little bit greasy) do not come into contact with the decorated tops of other cookies. Grease will destroy the royal icing. I'm sure Sweetopia (link above) has a post on packing.

...thanks for your links - I am just in awe of the creativity and expertise of some bakers within those links - it's make my little first attempt at a football shirt look pretty - meeehhhhh...

Anyway, shall be reading up on all the stuff - thanks again - much appreciated..

Perhaps I should start with something a little more simple and work up ..

I hope you aren't using glace icing because the water in it will soften the biscuits. I learned this from one of the GBBO programmes.

I think you've got the hang of piping just fine -- the shirts look great (apart from the bleeding, which isn't your fault!). As long as you can get the icing consistency right for flood and piping, you can let your imagination run riot. Try some lighter colours maybe. Keep practising, your son will appreciate your efforts whatever they look like!

OK - second attempt - I decided not to be quite so adventurous before I try the football shirts again.

...So I have made red and white toadstoosl, reindeer heads and little pink pigs + some other decorated biscuits with the left over icing sugar.

I am using the powder Royal Icing from Tate and Lyle but I am still really stressed getting the two consistencies correct (piping and flooding).

I am also using the small plastic icing bottles rather than icing bags as I find these easier to use...

Also still struggling on drying out these little "darlings" - trying to dry them out in the kitchen whilst try to cook with the steam/condensation flying around at the moment - doesn't seem to help that much ??

Will try and put some photos up (don't laugh) - in a day or so.

What I found out is that I really just need to focus on one or two designs for each "batch" and get these right - as I was trying to run before I could even get up out of the chair !!!

Thanks for your continued input... much appreciated

.. back again - 2nd attempt cookies.... and I found a use for all those dangling ribbons which you get in clothes these days !!!