Little craters in royal icing have always been a bit problematic for me. There doesn’t seem to be a whole lot of information on them out there.
It’s been a bit of an experimental journey, but my main theory was that air in the royal icing was causing the indents.
When it began to dry the icing would settle and air trapped underneath would ‘pop’ open, leaving a little crater.
On the off chance you hadn’t noticed them:
Before I go on, I have to mention that following the tips to avoiding air bubbles is good practice when decorating cookies with royal icing (for tips click here).
There might be something more to these little indents in the icing though. The only thing I can’t figure out is why it usually happens in smaller flooded areas. I’m no scientist, but guess there must be some physical/chemical reason behind it.
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I emailed the extremely talented Cookie Swap
… Funny you should ask about the crater issue – that’s one problem with icing that I haven’t figured out how to reliably correct. I have most trouble with it when, as you said, trying to flood a particularly small area. I actually don’t think it’s an issue of air bubbles, though, but one of surface tension. When wet, the icing looks fine; but as it dries, more surface tension and pressure on the drying skin causes the icing to sort of collapse into itself. The smaller the area, the more concentrated the surface tension – if you will – and the more likely the icing is to collapse. That’s my theory anyway. I can sometimes minimize the cratering effect by thinning the icing and applying less – using a toothpick to spread a smaller amount within the same area. The more I heavily flood a small area, the more it seems to collapse. If you come up with a better solution, let me know!!
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So, to experiment, when making these decorated Easter cookies I filled many areas with a little less icing.
The beak, because of its small size, would be a typical place where a hole might occur.
No craters! Hurray! Thank you Julia!
This is going to sound ungrateful, and I don’t mean it to be! I’m just thinking more experimentation might be in order because I still prefer the look of a ‘full’ flooded cookie.
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Since I last posted about how to prevent air bubbles some feedback was also provided by Noelle and Nancy in the comment section of the Valentine post, who seem to be thinking somewhat along the same lines as Julia.
Besides using less icing to fill in an area here’s what Noelle offered as a solution:
… My mentor finally decided that it helped to use a hand mixer on the royal icing that was being used in the small space. She would whip it for 5-10 minutes and use it immediately. She swore that it cuts down on the holes but I could never really tell a difference.
I recently tried a royal icing recipe out of one of the Cookie Craft books and it used lemon juice for the flavoring. I did not get any bubbles like these when I used it. It had a really nice flavor too, but I noticed that it separates much more quickly than traditional royal icing. I wonder if there’s something with the lemon juice that reduced the incidence of bubbles? Anyone else have a similar experience with that?
Interesting! In my response I wondered if the acidity of the lemon and/or the amount of liquid in the icing had anything to do with it.
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I’d also like to know why the craters occcur in some areas covered with a thick layer of royal icing and not others?
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Lots of ideas and questions. It would be great to hear your feedback on this issue. What do you think? Has anyone else tried the tips mentioned here with success? Any new ideas, theories or information to build on what we have here? Would love to hear from you in the comment section!
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Just a side note for you too… I’m happy to share with you that Julia Usher of Cookie Swap
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I usually get emails regarding how to make cookies I post (if I haven’t explained it), so for anyone interested in a visual guide on making these Easter cookies, below are some step-by-step pictures:
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Easter Cookies – Decorating Steps
If you’d like to make these, you’ll need:
4. Decorating Bag/Piping Bag
5. Couplers
6. Decorating Tips
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For an in-depth Cookie Decorating Tutorial see here, and for my Top 10 Decorating Tips see here.
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This is the order in which I piped the details of each cookie:
1. Base of Royal Icing
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2. Outline Shapes
Of course I made these using a Kopykake Projector
3. Flood Cookie
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4. Bag and ribbon
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Hoppy decorating!
xo,
Marian
p.s. Thank you for your emails; I love hearing from you! I’m a little behind though; if you’re waiting for a response I haven’t forgotten you and will reply soon.
p.s.s. I dusted the Easter bunny ears and cheeks using a paintbrush and pink luster dust
Hey marian remember me?I’m hanady I live in
saudi Arabia I asked you about the amazon anyway I love your cookies very much usually I use a hand mixer to do royal icing and it works very well sure I have air bubbles but not that much and I also use a toothpick to reach edges of the small area so I don’t have to use too much royal icing and it works
Thanks so much Hanady!
I get air bubble too, but I thought it might be from mixing the frosting too much.
I do have a question if someone could please answer. For some reason my royal icing is drying dull instead of shiny. Could anyone give me some tips?
Hi Diana,
Mine dry fairly dull too – I’ve just accepted that they dry with a matte finish. For pics, you could take the pictures while the icing is still wet.
I have also heard that adding clear corn syrup to the icing recipe helps add shine. Still have to experiment with that and find out for myself though.
Hi Marian,
Just knew about your web recently.Really love your cookies.it’s so cute & adorable.
It’s very nice pink color that you put on bunny’s ears & cheeks.I have few questions about luster dust.Sorry if it is not related with the tutorial subject.
1. I want to know how to apply the luster dust on the royal icing?
2. When is the best time to apply it on the royal icing?
Thanks…
No problem Via. When the royal icing is completely dry, use a small paintbrush (only used for sugarcrafting), dip it in the luster dust and apply it onto your cookie. It’s as easy as that!
Thanks so much for your quick answer Marian!
Can’t wait to see another new tutorials from you…
I found it really helpful for me since i’m new in making cookies.
I knew about your blog a week ago, and always spend my time open it again & again every day to see if there is everything new in it.
Hi Marian,
It’s me again…
Have few questions to ask again :
1. Since i couldn’t find the same Luster Dust like yours, can i replace it with Wilton Orchid Pink Pearl Dust?
2. Are they the same products with different brands or what?
3. How can i apply Wilton Cake Sparkles (Edible Glitter) & Nonpareils on royal icing? When is the best time to apply them?
4. Just wondering, have you tried to put corn syrup into your royal icing yet? Really want to know the results …
Thanks so much!
Cheers,
Via
Hi Via,
1. Wilton’s Orchid Pink Pearl Dust is not as good in my humble opinion. It doesn’t have the same sheen to it.
2. I don’t think so.
3. Apply when the icing is wet. I just set my cookie on a plate or on parchment paper to catch the excess, and shake gently over the wet icing.
4. I had better get around to that! So many things I want to try!
Hope that helps.
Marian
@ Via:
Thanks for the nice comments b.t.way!
Thanks so much for answering all my questions Marian …
Cheers,
Via
No problem Via. Glad I could help in some way!
Hi Marian,
Do you use the luster dust dry?
Also where can I get the sugarcrafting brushes? I bought some brushes that were in the baking section of Michael’s, would that be the same thing. They were over in the area by the Fondant.
I so want a KopyKake. That is on my Christmas list:)
Thanks so much,
Diana@ marian:
Hi Diana,
In this case I do use it dry; it’s like make-up
You can use any kind of brush you like; paint, make-up brushes, as long as they’re only used for sugarcrafting and have never been used for other purposes.
Hope Santa is good to you!
Marian
I also just discovered this wonderful site. I’ve used the same simple royal icing recipe for years (conf.sugar, meringue powder and water). I would prefer it dry with a shiny finish so would corn syrup take care of that? I rarely have problems with air bubbles leaving holes in my icing but my big and continuous problems is when making dots, big or little. I always end up with the dimple effect, sinking in the middle. I’m thinking I could outline the eye area and then fill with a layer of thin icing. Once that dries, add another thin icing? Has anyone tried this and it not work? Thanks!
@ Melissa:
I’ve seen comments where people have said that the clear corn syrup helps create a shiny finish, but I personally still have to play around with that.
For the dot dimple effect, doing the two thin layers of icing should probably work – that’s the jist of what I learned by writing these two air-bubble posts and reading everyone’s feedback.
hey! just found your site! how on earth do you spread the base on soooo smooth and perfectly?
hey! just found your site! how on earth do you spread the base on soooo smooth and perfectly?
Hi Rachel,
I have a tutorial here which goes over how I decorate:
http://sweetopia.net/2009/06/cookie-decorating-tutorial-general-tips-butterfly-cookies/
My top 10 tips here:
http://sweetopia.net/2009/09/how-to-decorate-cookies-with-royal-icing-top-10-tips/
and a video here:
http://sweetopia.net/2010/12/video-how-to-marble-or-swirl-royal-icing/
Have fun decorating!
do you make your own black icing or buy it? I cant get mine to be black, it turns into a dark greenish color any tips? I ever bought black food coloring :/
I make my own icing and then color it black with *LOTS* of Americolor soft food gel/paste.
So true: craters do form more on small areas… I think in small areas sometimes icing clings to the border but don’t cover the COOKIE surface, so there’s air between the icing and the COOKIE surface and when RI starts drying air escapes and forms the crater… what has worked for me is using a toothpick to move icing around so that it touches the COOKIE surface and thus preventing craters…
Such a TIMELY post! I just finished decorating some cookies today and noticed all these craters! Had no idea what it was. I too use my electric mixer with the beater attachment so now I am going to use the paddle attachment instead.
@ Bea @ CancunCookies: Thanks so much Bea!! Will definitely do!
@ Tiffany: Have fun decorating!
This may seem like double work, but I thought that in order to avoid the craters and still have a full flooded cookie, you could maybe fill the small areas in layers, a bit of flooding first, let it dry, and then fill it again.
The other idea I had is that as soon as you fill one small area, use a toothpick there to move the icing gently and thus avoid any unwanted crater.
As you said its a matter of experimenting to get it right.
I loved your website and all the wonderful things you do.
Sweet hugs from England! x
Karin, thanks so much!