Hi everyone. I've been reading lots of posts regarding using squeeze bottles for the thinned fill-in icing and I've got some questions.
What is the advantage of the squeeze bottles over just putting thinned icing into bags as usual?
Isn't it hard to get the icing in the squeeze bottle?
What about the clean-up? Isn't it easier to throw away a disposable bag rather than have to clean out a squeeze bottle and let it dry?
Is there any additional advantage to the "squeezit mold painters" beyond being able to use your tips on it? Is the tip interchangability an advantage for thinned icing?
I hope I haven't "questioned" you out. 
I really want to make sure the bottles are necessary before I make the purchase. Who better to ask than all you wonderful experts here in this forum.
Thanks for any help you can offer.
Pam
I always use squeeze bottles for flooding. They are super easy to use. I actually find that it is easier to get icing into a bottle than an icing bag. And clean up is a breeze. Since royal icing, and variants thereof, don't have fat in them, the bottles don't get greasy at all and just a rinse with water is enough to dispel all icing. Then I use hot soapy water, just for cleanliness sake and its done. No big deal. One big advantage to the bottles is that I can just cap them and the icing won't dry out....tips won't plug, etc.
I use icing bags for outlining icing and for decorating on top of the dried base coat. So, usually I have a bottle and a bag for each color I am using.
I suppose if I ever get good enough to dispense with outlining all together and just do the outlining and flooding with the same consistency icing at the same time, then I may switch to all bags. I'll have to wait and see.
I just bought the small wilton squeeze bottles at Walmart, they were $1.89 for two bottles. I really like them because they stand on their own and the price is right! As for clean up, I put the top and little cap in a mesh bag (usually used for piping bag tips) and put the bag and the rest of the bottle in the top rack of my dishwasher.
Oooh i love my squeezy bottle, i rarely use it but it was a bargain at 1.50. i use it with thinner ri for flooding, i find with a bag it tends to run out a little to fast for my liking. As giraffe said, i can cap the bottle off half way through and my icing wont dry up !!!!
I've never used the squeeze bottles for cookie icing, so I can't say if they are better or not. I know that I like the control I get with a bag, and I didn't like the squeeze bottles when I used them for melted CandyMelts. I was able to use more of the icing in the bags than the bottles.
I always use the squeeze bottles for cookies.
I love to be able to changes tips(either 2 or 3-2 being my favorite)
They actually are pretty easy to fill, and I like the fact that I'm not adding any more to the trash than I have to.
I use the squeeze bottles for flooding and parchment cones for detail stuff. I keep a sink full of sudsy warm water and throw the bottles in to soak before they go in the dishwasher-no problems keeping them clean.
One of the best advantages of the bottles(for me anyway) is the cost. Reusing the bottles cuts down on the amount of parchment I need to use. And I like the "green aspect" of reusing as well.
I always use squeeze bottles for flooding and it's really easy. Cleanup is minimal, and it's easier to save excess icing that way.
I just bought some of the squeeze it mold painters, so that I could see how they would be with different tips, so I'll have to let you know on those. I want to see how they work with outlining vs. a bag. I'm hoping to quit using bags altogether, but I have a feeling I won't have the control I need for more detailed outlining.
As a newbie, (and fibromyalgia sufferer) I found the bottles to be the key to my successfully learning how to do cookies. Easy cleanup, can cap the bottle and most importantly less stress on my hands. I still like others, use the bag for outlining, but the flooding is very fast with the bottles. HTH.
I love the bottles! I use bags for smaller detail work after the cookie is dry. The bottles I only have to buy once and they are easy to clean and surprisingly easy to fill after some practice. I like being able to put the little cap on when I am not using the icing--save using plastic wrap, etc.
Kris
So what's the verdict between the cheap wilton squeeze bottles and the "squeeze it mold painter"? Does anyone think that the extra cost is worth it? I think it is always nice to have something inter-changeable. The cost for a squeeze bottle is not really that much although in comparison to the Wilton one it is signifacntly more. The squeeze it appears to hold a lot less. Would you perhaps use it for detail work and not necassarily for flooding a cookie?
I had trouble getting the feel for squeeze bottles, so I like my pastry bags.
(I also feel like I can squeeze more out of the bag at the end)
if you are worried about throwing stuff away, use the good plastic/fabric-like pastry bags, and wash them.
I have a set, that I usually use for BC, they have a better feel for me than the disposable ones, but I go back a forth.
JMHO
I use the wilton bottles for flooding. The other bottles, I just bought with the intention of using them for outlining. They ahve two sizes, 2 oz and 8 oz. The larger size would hold less than a Wilton (I think those are 12 oz.), but they still hold quite a bit.
I might have to do a test run with these this weekend, just to see how they stack up. If nothing else, the addition of interchangable tips should be great for my kids and their cookie parties. LOL
I HATE squeeze bottles! I don't feel like I have good control, I feel like I'm wasting icing that you can't get out of the bottle like you can with a bag. I'm only going to use 2 or 4 bags for a batch of cookies, so the cost of just pitching the bags vs. the labor cost of washing the bottles is a factor for me. Storage .... I can store a box of 100 disposable bags in WAY less space than I can 10 or 15 or more bottles.
If you're not sure which is for you, buy just one or two bottles and try them out before you invest in a lot of them.
If you lived close to me, I'd GIVE you the ones I bought.
I use both. I LOVE my bottles for outlining,flooding, and sometimes writing. I really didn't think I'd be able to write with bag, but actually it's not that hard. If I have really thick icing to do designs with tips, I use bag. To me bottles are easy to clean, pop them in the dishwasher. But I clean my tips by hand. Also with the bottle, if you'e got thick RI or TG, then you can thin it down right in the bottle. I have some bottles with the big neck, those you can't change out tips. My favs are the small bottles that can change out tips.
As for filling, I just kind of hold up my thicker icing in spoon, let it drop (like teardrop) in the bottle. If it's really thick, I squeeze the bottle, spoon some icing into the top and unsqueeze the bottle, it sucks the icing right in. For flooding TG, it just pours right in.
I know you all know TracyLH using only bags, I don't know where she gets that control and steady hand, but her cookies are amazing!
No stupid questions, here
Flooding consistency is really easy and the bottle opening is big enough, just pour and close...
Piping consistency... that's another thing, not that it is difficult, but you don't want to end with half your RI out from the bottle... what works for me: if I need just 1 bottle, I use a spatula and take it from the bowl I mixed the color into the bottle, and "spread" it on the opening little by little (it takes less than a minute to do, so no big deal).. if I need a lot I fill a large squeeze bottle just "dollop-ing" to the opening and close.. I then squeeze to the smaller one every time I need to...
Hope I'm clear...
Where do you get the bottles with the tips?
I've gotten some from kitchengifst.com, but you can get them other places. Beware of the large container of them at Michaels, I don't think those accommodate wilton tips. anyone know?
I love how it resembles me when I wake up...
I've never used the squeeze bottles for cookie icing, so I can't say if they are better or not. I know that I like the control I get with a bag, and I didn't like the squeeze bottles when I used them for melted CandyMelts. I was able to use more of the icing in the bags than the bottles.
ME TOO! But, I think we are in the minority here! LOL
Beth in KY
I like to use the Wilton bottles for flooding. The bottle has a nice wide opening and it is very easy to get the icing in the bottle. I have some of the squeeze it bottles that I can change the tips but it is an absolute pain in the rear to get the icing in those bottles. I would like to use them for outlining. The opening of the bottle is only 1 inch vs 1 3/4 inch for the Wilton and that makes a huge big difference. Sometimes I have filled a pastry bag with my icing and squeezed it into the bottle that way.
I've never used the squeeze bottles for cookie icing, so I can't say if they are better or not. I know that I like the control I get with a bag, and I didn't like the squeeze bottles when I used them for melted CandyMelts. I was able to use more of the icing in the bags than the bottles.
ME TOO! But, I think we are in the minority here! LOL
Beth in KY
Me too...only bags! Love them!!!
Quick question. I love using rolled buttercream but really want to try the flooding. Once the icing is in the bottle, does it tend to get hard let's say while your working on a batch of cookies.
Thanks!
Melissa
Either a funnel or you can use a decorating bag without a tip, just cut the end. If it's flooding consistency, just pour it in, after a few spills, you'll be able to guage it 
Were the bottles in a clear hatbox looking round container? Do they fit couplers and tips?
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