i have decorated a cookie bouquet using a royal icing recipe(i forget where i got the recipe) & the cookies were gorgeous but when i tried one the next day they were cookie texture but the iciing was so hard it cracked when bitten into...any suggestions on what was wrong and how i can prevent this from happening on the next batch? thanks in advance gizmo

Try adding glycerine to your royal icing. I teaspoon to evry 1lb sugar. It stops it setting so hard

thanks for the tip! will they still be stackable?

Another option would be to use modified royal icing which has some butter in it..I guess the butter would work like glycerine to keep the icing somewhat soft on the inside.

Which Royal Icing recipe did you use? I have had a lot of success with Antonia74's recipe. It is stackable but still soft underneath after it hardens.

http://www.cakecentral.com/cake_recipe-1983-1-Royal-Icing-for-Decorated-Cookies.html

Good Luck!

The royal icing will be hard if left out and not covered. When you wrap the cookie the icing draws some moisture from the cookie and depending on what kind of cookie, it will make the icing soften underneath like with sugar cookies because of the fat in them. I find that I make the cookies, ice them then wrap them 12hrs + later and the next time I eat them they are fairly soft when you bite into them. The other ideas sound good too I have never done them though so I can't say how they work. Maybe place your cookies in a container and cover??? Not sure if you have done that or not.

with glycerine the icing still sets hard, so is stackable but when you bite it it stays slighlty softer underneath so doesn't shatter