5 mistakes to avoid when decorating cookies with ready to roll icing

So you’re baking a batch of delicious cookies. The kitchen is full of the mouth-watering scent of chocolate, cinnamon, ginger or whatever delectable flavour you’ve baked. People would be willing to snaffle down the whole tray’s worth as they are, but to make them even more appealing you can decorate them with Ready To Roll Icing.

Although usually used for decorating cakes or creating models and decorations, it’s easy to use Ready To Roll Icing on cookies. They can add visual flair, a sweet taste and with some creativity you can make your cookies into eye-catching treats. However there is an art to successfully decorating your cookies. Here are 5 mistakes to avoid when decorating cookies with Ready To Roll Icing.

1.      Don’t Rush It. The number one rule in baking and cake decorating is: don’t rush yourself. Because you’ll be working on quite small surfaces be sure to take your time and get your Ready To Roll Icing perfectly shaped and prepared before applying them to your cookies.

2.      Don’t Let It Dry Out. Having said the above, it’s important to work quickly enough so that your icing doesn’t begin to dry out. A good Ready To Roll Icing will stay malleable and workable for some time before setting, but if you have to stop working for whatever reason, even if only for a minute, then be sure to cover the icing up. If you let it begin to dry before it’s on the cake you’ll get unsightly splits and tears.

3.      Not Dusting Your Work Surface Correctly. You’ll need to dust down your work surface with icing sugar when you begin working with the icing. If you don’t put down enough icing sugar, and continue to top it up regularly, you’ll find that your icing will tear easily when you begin to work with it.

4.      Not Kneading It Properly. Once you’re ready to begin it’s really important to spend a few moments kneading and working the Ready To Roll Icing to make it properly malleable. It’s best to work the icing in small amounts if possible, as very big chunks can be difficult to manipulate easily. Use firm and even pressure to squeeze and roll out the icing and make it smooth and pliable, but don’t overwork it either. Get this wrong and the icing will crack and tear, ruining your perfect decorations.

5.      Putting It On When The Cookies Are Hot. Always make sure to apply the Ready To Roll Icing to cookies at room temperature. If you try decorating when the cookies are still hot/warm then the icing will melt slightly, become sticky and difficult to work with and also crack when it cools.

1 thought on “5 mistakes to avoid when decorating cookies with ready to roll icing”

  1. Yes, I decided to test both my baking skills and my new oven simultaneously when making for my son’s class bake sale!!
    So far I am pretty pleased – but now for the icing bit 😉
    Thanks for the tips, fingers crossed this works or we’ll be going via the shop tomorrow

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