As decorators, we know how frustrating bleeding icing can be… I remember it being one of my biggest pet peeves when I first began. It turns out that learning some tips and tricks on piping is only one step to having an enjoyable cookie decorating experience. If you don’t know the following 7 tips already, I hope they help you eliminate bleeding icing on your cookies.
First, what exactly is bleeding when it comes to decorating cookies?
Basically, it’s when one icing runs or spreads into another. Take a look at these flood work butterflies as an example here; you can see the brown starting to diffuse into the light yellow.
Whenever an intense color such as red or black is beside a light one, such as white or yellow, bleeding seems to happen more. The red and white mushroom cookie above has none happening though. Here’s how you can do it too:
How to stop your colors from bleeding into each other:
1. The consistency of your icing is key – If it’s too runny, your colors will tend to seep more. Especially if you’re layering a dark color onto a light one. A good rule of thumb is to follow the ‘10 second rule’. See #2 of Top 10 Decorating Tips or detailed info. at the cookie tutorial here. To be safest, your icing should gloss over closer to 10 seconds than to 5. Icing that is 15-20 seconds is even better!
2. The icing recipe is also important. I use this one. It seems to have good ‘body’. Some royal icings which are more like a glacé or glaze don’t work as well because they tend to be thinner.
3. Americolor soft gel pastes seem to have better results than other brands of paste colorings, specifically with intense colors such as black, brown and red.
4. Tint your icing at least a few hours in advance as the colors usually deepen with time. That way you’re not necessarily adding as much food paste coloring as you can adjust your color later.
5. Let your outline or first layer of icing dry for 12-24 hours; again especially if your two colors are a stark contrast between light and dark. You can try less time depending on the humidity… Maybe 4-5 hours for a first layer, and 15 minutes to an hour for an outline, however, it is riskier.
I have to say; I usually err on the safe side. Preferably 24 hours for me!
If you have a few extra cookies, you can test if it’s dry by touching the surface (does it make a dent?), or even by biting into a test cookie.
Putting your cookies in an oven with the light on can help dry them faster, according to Colette Peter’s in her book, Colette’s Birthday Cakes (p. 170). I have also heard that some people actually put the oven on extremely low and leave their cookies in for a few minutes, or some use a heat lamp and others a fan on low air. I still need to experiment with that, so I can’t really comment at this point. Another future post! Update – the fan does help speed up the drying process, as does a dehydrator.
6. Never store your decorated cookies in the fridge or freezer as they can absorb moisture there. Some people say they have luck with it – If you have I’d love to hear from you in an email or a comment at the bottom of this post. Maybe the cookies are exceptionally well sealed?
7. If it’s really humid outside, use a dehumidifier in the room you’re decorating in. A climate controlled or air-conditioned room works too! Too much humidity can make the colors bleed, no matter how hard you’ve tried to do everything else right. Here’s a post with a little more information on it.
These have worked for me so far but I’m always happy to learn more; if you have any tips which you’d like to share you’re welcome to leave a comment below.
Happy cookie decorating!
xo,
Marian
p.s. Here are the rest of the fall cookies I made along with ones above. They’re sugar cookies decorated with royal icing and edged with copper-colored disco dust.
p.s.s. Since I’ve posted this I’ve had a few emails about the leaf and acorn cookie cutters. They’re from a Wilton Leaves and Acorn Cookie Cutter set.
Marian says
Hi Susan,
Can you explain/give more info. on the edible laquer spray please?
Thank you!
Susan Branham says
@ Marian:
Its just something I have seen online and wondered if it would work to keep the cookies from bleeding while adding a nice sheen. It says it works well in humid conditions.
Marian says
Awesome, thanks. I’ll have to try it out!
Michelle says
I stumbled upon your blog for the first time this evening, and of course your work is phenomenal! I’ve been doing cookies for almost 4 years now, and I’m very excited to try some of the very helpful tips from you/your readers. I’ve always being using the whisk attachment to make cookies, and I’m looking forward to going with the paddle. I get holes in my icing as well, usually in small areas. Have you ever tried using coloured white chocolate or candy wafers for those small spots, or would the fat affect the royal icing? Also, if I’m doing outlines, I tend to do them in brown, but use icing which has been mixed with cocoa. That way, I get nice flavour (especially if I’m putting orange rind in my cookies), and less chance of colours running. Just takes time to get the consistency right with the addition of the cocoa to the prepared icing – just make sure to sift to avoid lumps. Also, are disco dust and luster dust one in the same? Doesn’t appear so – any links for ordering disco dust? Can’t wait to spend the next few evenings browsing your archives!
Marian says
Hi Michelle: Glad to ‘meet’ you here!
I haven’t tried using coloured white chocolate or candy wafers; I’d be concerned that the heat and the fat, like you said, would affect the icing. Still, it’d be interesting to experiment. If you get to it before I do, I’d love to hear your results.
Thanks for the cocoa tip! I’ve tried it once before and got a little more clogging than usual. Maybe I used too much. May I ask how much cocoa you put in please?
Disco dust is more like a glitter, whereas luster dust is like a fine powder, although it can have a sheen to it.
If you click on my disco dust post here, when you see the word disco dust highlighted pink, it’s a link to where you can buy it.
Hope that helps and hope to see you ‘around’!
Michelle says
Hi Marian; Thanks for the quick response!
I usually use about 2 heaping tbsp of cocoa, sifted, for a full soup bowl of icing. (I find a full corelle soup bowl is just about right for a full icing bag – and I use cellophane cones for icing, which are quite cost effective, but sadly not re usable. And not good if icing is too thick…). I’m using the whisk-whipped icing, so not sure if that makes a difference vs the paddle whipped icing when using cocoa. Also, when adding cocoa, I find it darkens and thickens over time. So wait a few minutes before adding more, if the colour isn’t dark enough. Wait too long, and it will be too thick to pipe! It can be tricky. I’m also using a larger tip for outlining in chocolate icing, #2 or #3, but not #1. I once tried mixing the cocoa with warm water, then adding it to the icing, but it caused my icing to quickly ‘deflate’. I can also recall using melted chocolate to do some outlining a while back,when I was in a pinch, and I don’t recall it causing a problem, but maybe I wasn’t paying close enough attention at the time! Must try again. I think I persevere with the cocoa mainly because I like the taste.
Patricia says
Hi, Marian! This isn’t the first time I’m in awe of your work/ asking you for help concerning my cookies! 🙂
You said that you’ve used egg-white royal icing before. I’m wondering, because meringue powder is very hard to come by here (and expensive!), if you have some further tips on how to prevent bleeding when using egg-white RI?
Also, my egg-white RI dries to a rougher/stranger texture than your cookies, do you have any idea why this happened??
Thanks in advance!! 🙂
marian says
Hi Patricia,
Humidity is the main culprit for bleeding, whether it’s egg-white royal icing or meringue-based RI I apply the same tips for both.
I’d love to see a picture of your RI to see whether it’s just the fact that you’re using egg whites or if it’s another issue. Would you be able to send an image?
Patricia says
@ marian:
I’ve sent them already, hope this mystery will soon be solved. Thanks for being very helpful! xo
marian says
Hi Patricia; I just got them – how cute! I love the turtle design.
It looks like too much air was incorporated into the icing. Did you use a whisk attachment or a paddle attachment?
It could be the recipe as well; although no egg white recipe which I’ve used has had that result, so I don’t think it’s the egg whites specifically.
To figure this out I’ll need to you to share exactly how you made the icing… the recipe, the steps you took to make it etc. Also, did you use it right away or did you let it sit for a bit. Walk me through what you did and that’ll give me a better idea as to what happened.
Patricia says
I’ve sent you the e-mail with more details, and I hope it’s detailed enough! And I forgot to add the first time I asked for your help that I live in INDONESIA! 🙂
Lisa says
I love your website; I just recently discovered it. You have great ideas and good tutorials. You said that you wanted people to post if they stored their cookies in the fridge. That is what I always do and have never had any problems. I use a big container with lid to put them in (decorated and undecorated). It’s usually a batch of about 40 cookies and they last for awhile and stay fresh. I am very busy and can only decorate a few at a time, so that’s the main reason I store them in there. Thanks!
marian says
That’s great! Thank you so much Lisa!
CindiLouWho says
I have problems using red as a base. I had a customer complain that the red cookies tasted ‘funny’ so I used the No-Taste red. Another problem is that it seems like the butter in the cookie ‘bleeds’ through the red causing a dark splotch. I’ve tried using different brands, even blending two different reds. I’ve also used a thin white base, letting it dry and then putting down another base of red. I have also layed them upside down on paper towels before icing. Do you have any suggestions? Thank you.
marian says
@ CindiLouWho:
Hmm, maybe making your cookies a little thinner so that there’s not as much ‘fat/grease/moisture’ inside the cookie. Maybe making the icing layer thicker? Not only that, but making the icing consistency thicker too. I think I’ll need to write a post on this one where we can all pool our knowledge.
suzanne says
Hi Marian: thank you for all of your expertise. I tried your posted sugar recipe today w/royal icing and had great results. My biggest concerns were getting all of the cookies the same thickness & smoothness on top: do you use the “2 slat method” for rolling? How many cookies can you roll out at one time? Lastly, is there a way to get the cookies to dry w/a sheen? The frosting is great, I just did the line & fill right away, but noticed they are all drying somewhat mat-looking…
marian says
Hi Suzanne,
I have ‘perfection strips’ (2 slat method), but hardly use them anymore. That doesn’t mean I always roll them out perfectly, but it’s gotten much easier with practice. I’ll be doing a video on it this summer so hopefully seeing it will be helpful. How many cookies do I roll at one time? That really of course depends on the size of the cookie, but if I had take a guess, it makes at least 30, 4 cm diameter cookies.
Cookies drying with a sheen; yes, the royal icing does dry with a matte finish, a few things I’ve heard have helped are; adding a small amount of corn syrup to the icing, or adding a small amount of glycerine to the icing. I’m currently experimenting with that exact topic, and will be writing a post on it soon.
Great questions b.t.w.!
Hopefully that helps somewhat for now!
Casey says
Suzanne
Placing the iced cookies to dry in front of a fan will help give the icing a nicer sheen as well.
suzanne says
thanks so much for your help, Marian, & for making my cookie experience so pleasurable. I look forward to viewing any video you might produce in the future! Happy Baking…
Brooksley Williams says
Hi Marian,
I am going to attempt the red & white mushrooms which are part of this post. Did you pipe / flood the red part (mushroom cap) first or the white stem? From a bleeding perspective, does it matter which color you start with? I am just a beginner and these look like a simple place to start! Thank you!
marian says
Hi @ Brooksley Williams: I did the red first, piped the dots right away, let the icing set for a few minutes and then did the white stems. HAVE FUN!!
Ally says
@Marian
I LOVE your recipies. Will liquid food coloring mess up the icing? Also, do you mix the color in after you mix it for 10 minutes?
marian says
Hi @ Ally: Yes, liquid food coloring will make the icing more liquid as well, but it of course depends on how much you put in. You will probably have to thin the icing after you mix it for 10 minutes anyways though. (See the video on icing consistency if you need to see what it should look like for decorating). If all you have on hand is the liquid food coloring, by all means, it’s fine to use, however, if you have an option, I would chose the gels. They mix nicely into the icing, (liquid takes longer to mix, therby adding more air), and are nice and vibrant.
Hope that helps!
luciana Grattoni says
Hi Marian,
I’m still struggling with this!… when using black and red, i dry the cookies goed , (also in the oven 50C, turn it off when wanted temperatured and put the cookies for 1/2 hour)… Pack the cookies in the bags and couple of days later my black/ red lines are totally stucked on the bag! i really hate this!, specially now i may have a very big order from a dutch magazine , and they all seem to be with red an black… any good tip??? thanks a lot!
love your work! and appreciate you sharing it!
Luciana
marian says
Hi @ luciana Grattoni: I would use the de-humidifier & air conditioner and not the oven to help them dry. This post should help you too (the same things apply to spots as to bleeding): https://sweetopia.net/2011/07/how-to-avoid-spots-on-icing/
DoodleBakes says
Thank you. Your tips have been a real help. I stumbled into the business of decorating biscuits about a year ago and I’m still learning!
Janet says
I’m madly in love with you. Your cookies are such an inspiration! And your tutorials have helped me in so many ways. My cookies are still not great but I’m working on it. I find I have trouble “wasting” to practice, but I’m slowing getting over this. I just give all my practice cookies to the neighbor kids so I don’t feel so bad about making dozen upon dozen practice cookies. My husband does help eat some of the cookies but he doesn’t have the sweet tooth that is required when I’m making cookies. Anyway, I wanted to say thank you for helping me learn to make cookies that are tasty and pretty!
Janet
Marian (Sweetopia) says
That’s great, @ DoodleBakes, thanks!
@ Janet: You are so lovely, thank you! I like that you’re giving your neighbours the ‘experimentation’ cookies! Those are my favorite types… no pressure! Have fun on your cookie making journey, and please feel free to share pics on my facebook page or come back any time. xo
Skylar says
I’m doing a cake (sorry, not cookies) and it will be frosted with a white “high humidity” buttercream. I need to do some scroll work in black (or possibly teal) RI and was wondering if you’d know the risk of bleeding? I planned on doing the scroll work and letting it dry for a few days, but I haven’t worked with the icing before so I’m not sure if it will crust enough to “dry” and prevent bleed when I attach the pieces. I only worked with RI a few times before in college, (one was white on bright blue) but I can’t remember the outcome. Wondering if you could suggest anything. Sorry it’s not cookie assistance! And thanks in advance!
marian says
Hi @ Skylar: I’m sorry, I’m not sure in this case if it would bleed. I’ll only speak for recipes which I’ve personally tried. =( Sorry I’m not more help, but if you’d like to visit cakecentral.com, they have lots of forums there where people will help you out!
Jodie says
Hi Marian,
I am in awe of your skill and artistry! Truly fantastic. And to top it all off you are so wonderfully generous with your knowledge and experience so, thank you!
I was just wondering if you could give me some tips about how to decorate 4th birthday cookies with a mickey mouse theme red background with white dots. It’s my first time decorating anything let alone cookies and i’m afraid i’ve bitten off more than I can chew – the more research I do the more worried I become!
I’m wanting to outline the cookies with black royal icing and allow to dry fully, then flood the red background the next day. The problem lies with the fact that I really want to add the white dots with the wet technique so they gloss over but i’m worried about bleeding… Do you think I’m better off giving in and doing the white dots once the red has dried as well?
I’ve had a wonderful time reading all the various bits of information on your blog and watching your YouTube videos, thank you once again.
Jodie
marian says
Hi @ Jodie:
It’s a tough choice, especially in humid weather! If you live in a humid climate right now, I would suggest you use A/C & a dehumidifier in the room you’re working in. If you do that, you won’t have to wait overnight for the black to dry either. (A few hours instead). Also, you should be able to do the wet-on-wet technique with the red and white.
This post here should help as well:
https://sweetopia.net/2011/07/how-to-avoid-spots-on-icing/
All the best! xo
Cathy says
I didn’t notice if anyone answered you about freezing iced cookies. I made some penguin cookies a number of years ago as gifts for my classroom helpers and then forgot them on on the last day of school before vacation. I decided to freeze them and it worked fine! They were black and white with red bows and I had zero bleeding.
Oh, and I love your cookies and especially love how helpful you are!
marian says
That’s awesome, @ Cathy, thanks for sharing about the freezing iced cookies! Those colors are especially prone to bleeding, so it’s good to hear that they did well!
Thanks for your sweet comments too. xo
shalom says
Possible explanation for bleeding icing: DS in his homeschooling recently studied about solutes (a substance dissolved in a liquid) & solutions (the substance containing the solute and liquid). You have probably heard the saying that water seeks its own level. Two liquids, one with more solute, want to do basically the same thing. if the solute can pass through the membrane, particles will randomly pass through and both liquids will eventually have equal ratio of solute and liquid (called diffusion). If the solute can’t pass through the membrane, the liquid in the low solute side will be drawn to the side with more solute until both sides have an equal ratio, however one side will now have less liquid (called osmosis).
A lot more pigment has been added to darker colors than light colors therefore there is more solute to try to equalize. If the icing stayed wet long enough the entire space both colors cover would equal out and become one solid color. Even lighter colors would bleed if the icing stayed wet long enough, but since the icing has dried some and there is a lot less pigment bleeding happens slower and what little might occur is less noticeable.
marian says
@ shalom: IMpressive! *Thank you* for your feedback!!
Javene McCabe says
can you give us any tips on flooding issues we have when doing cutouts? we outline with royal icing and let it dry. then we use a glaze (confectionary sugar, karo syrup and water and Americolor) it looks and goes on beautifully and dries great. after a couple days there are white blotches all over the cookie. We have tried adding butter but that makes it worse. we do not want to resort to royal icing for the whole cookie as the taste of the glaze and texture is so much nicer.
marian says
Hi @ Javene McCabe: When I experience spotting with royal icing, this is what I do; https://sweetopia.net/2011/07/how-to-avoid-spots-on-icing/
I’m sorry, I can’t speak to an icing other than royal icing, as that’s what I use. xo
Heather says
Hi Marian!
I am late to the party, but thank you so much for your tips to prevent bleeding! I’m going put them to good use tonight.
Do you order your Americolour soft gels online? I can’t seem to find them in my area.
marian says
HI @ Heather: Yes I order them off Amazon if I run out… there is a ‘local’ place for me to shop… but it’s about 1 1/2 hour drive, so I go maybe once a year and stock up.
Have fun decorating!
Kyan says
Hi Marian,
I absolutely love all the helpful tips you’ve put online! I live in Darwin, Australia, so there’s a lot of humidity but I try to do it in the air con, which definitely helps. I’ve experimented a little so far with cakes and cupcakes and a bit last night with cookies, but it’s expensive and I can’t find a perfect recipe. (So far shortbread has been the best) Do you have a specific sweet biscuit recipe you use?
I’d also like to say thankyou for all the images you put up – I’m only realising today that a tonne of your images have been part of my inspiration to try with biscuits now. In fact, last night my little sister loved the image of you owl biscuit (seen on Google Images) she loved it and attempted one of her own that turned out pretty well. We did use fondant/sugarpaste predominantly though as it was easier for her to work with and I always have difficulty with the consistency of royal icing. However I did a bit of research today and found your site and tips – I now can’t wait to try flooding with the help of your ten second rule! I have a feeling that the cherry blossom biscuit I made last night will look/taste much nicer with a RI base instead of fondant!
(also a thanks to @Shalom for the explanatory note on the bleeding effect – it makes a lot more sense now!)
marian says
Hi @ Kyan: Yes I have a shortbread and sugar cookie recipe which I favour – both are in the recipe section above.
Thank you so much for your kind words – they mean the world to me! xo
josanne joseph says
my fruit cake is flooding liquid when am icing, please please tell me what to do?
marian says
Hi Josanne,
If your area is humid the cake might be releasing some of it’s moisture. If you could work in a climate controlled environment, with A/C and a dehumidifier, that would help. (even if only in one room). xo
Jennifer R. says
Hi Marian!
I am a huge fan of your site!! It has really helped me in my cookie decorating, which I have been doing for about 3 years now.
In all of that time, I have improved tremendously, but still cannot beat the bleeding issue. I live in Miami, Florida and I decorate out of my house. I have an open floor plan that does not allow for me to have a dehumidifier.
I have asked MANY other cookie decorators for tips, as well as reading all of your posts on bleeding. I have tried everything! I have tried the heat fan, using less color, putting a fan on my cookies(which helps some)…and to no avail. I still have bleeding. Not only with dark colors bleeding into light, but my white bleeding into darker colors. I love the taste of both my sugar cookie and icing recipes and don’t really want to change them.. For my icing, I use pasteurized egg whites, confectioners sugar and pure vanilla. (I have a hard time finding a good tasting clear vanilla that is not processed in a plant that also processes nuts – since I have nut allergies).
So, the last tip that I received told me to try drying my cookies in a dehydrator..So, I got one, but have yet to use it.
The humidity is driving me nuts (seems to be worse this year than others as well) and ruining all my hard work. Any suggestions you might have would be helpful. I am running out of things to try. Thanks so much!
marian says
Hi Jennifer,
That’s a tough one – humidity is frustrating! If you’re not able to work in a closed area with a/c and a dehumidifier, I think the dehydrator is the best suggestion. It’s been a while since you posted (sorry I missed it!). Have you tried it yet?