Well, I got my cookies done-I'll post pictures tonight after I've gotten them arranged-but they don't look as nice as I had hoped.

I used white royal--from Antonia74's recipe here--it actually worked beautifully. The problem is that the icing last night (the ones on the cookies) started to lose their shine and looked a bit grainy-before I put anything on them. Then, I painted each cookie with luster dust. I used silver rum instead of vodka but when I tried to paint it on with a nice, thick, smooth coat the dust clumped on me so I thinned it out a little, but that made it too thin and I had to use more than one coat. (That softened the icing and some spots are a bit splotchy now )

What did I do wrong with the icing? Does it lose its gloss over time? That doesn't seem right.

What did I do wrong with the dust? I know I used too much liquid, but if I go thicker then it doesn't smooth as nicely--ACK! I was just frustrated last night. I was envisioning that they would look so nice like they had been poured that way, like I've seen here, but they looked painted instead.

Any ideas would be so appreciated.
Traci

Don't know about the icing,
but maybe you need a softer paintbrush for a nice smooth finish.

From what I understood reading Toba Garrett's Cookie book, the royal icing dries with a flat look, the glace' icing dries with a shiny look. You can go online and do a search for "Toba Garrett glace icing" and several sites have the recipe. It's tasty too. If I were you, I might pm Antonia and ask her about that recipe.

Something else, I remember MissBaritone mentioning something about a reading light and royal icing. I found the forum thread and it pertains to royal icing that you use as cake toppers but it might apply to royal icing in general. Maybe you could try it on a cookie and see.

"A reading lamp is a good way to dry royal icing runouts. It gives them a lovely shine. Never put them in the fridge royal icing needs to dry out. Use a good quality wax paper or butchers wrap and they should release with no problems. Icing for runouts should be freshly made whenever possible." MissBaritone


kos

Excessive exposure to light can cause some of colors to fade. So you you may have a shine but some colors are not as vivid.

When it comes to royal icing I achieve the same thing by placing my run out in the oven. It dries much faster.


Princess

Well I just posted my cookies...you can see how they aren't nice and shiny the way I'd like to see them. Ah well. They turned out pretty well and I learned quite a bit, that's for sure!

I'm going to try to post them to this post, lessee how that goes.

From here they look really cute. Nice job!

Joan

I think they look great! Just curious, though. What do the initials mean?

I hope antonia74 chimes in because I love the shiney look and her cookies look VERY shiny!

http://www.kitchengifts.com/royalicing.html

Tobas Glace recipe

Thanks for the comments. ALS used to stand for Accredited Legal Secretary - now it technically means "the basic certification for legal professionals." Secretary isn't so PC any more. PP stands for Professional Paralegal. That is a tough test....I took that one (and passed).

I hope Antonia chimes in too. She's my cookie hero!

hmmmmm.....chiming in!!!! But not really sure??!!


I do find that my cookies are a lot shinier when I thin my icing and leave it covered with a damp cloth to rest for a good hour...or overnight. All the bubbles rise to the surface. To prevent the damp dish towel from drying out...I actually slip a grocery bag over the entire bowl when leaving it for many hours.

Less air bubbles seem to make a shinier cookie for me.

I think they look great.

I think they look great too.

I think your cookies rock!