Royal Icing – How to Dry Royal Icing Fast?

cookiesequipmenticing

I'm going to lead a workshop for kids about decorating gingerbread cookies with royal icing. It will take place at a cafe, so I need the icing to be as dry as possible as fast as possible, otherwise the kids will not be able to take the cookies home or the icing might get broken on the way.

The problem is that I have very limited space and resources, for example, the cafe doesn't have an oven, so I can't dry the icing like meringues. There is a microwave, but I haven't got one at home, so I don't know if it will work or how to set it. I could bring a fan, but will a fan be enough? Nobody I know has a dehydrator, so this option is also out of question.

I plan on making the icing as stiff as possible while keeping it liquid enough for the kids to pipe on the cookies, but my experience says it will still need 2-3 hours before it's hard enough to be carried home more-or-less intact. Is there anything more I could do?

Best Answer

To expand on Jolene's box idea, I'd recommend :

  • shirt boxes (talk to a local department store if you're not planning on buying a bunch of shirts)
  • pizza boxes (again, talk to a local store about getting some ... likely get the smallest ones you can, such as if they have ones for a few leftover slices as opposed to for a whole pie)
  • restaurant takeout containers (depending on the size of the cookies ... talk to a local chinese carryout or similar)

Some cake and candy supply stores will sell a variety of box sizes as well.

I'd also agree with irwinners in recommending a fan -- I can't quantify the exact speedup, as it's affected by ambient humidity, temperature, airspeed and such, but a box fan near the cookies (I use it to suck air over the cookies, not blow, as I don't have a good way to dust the inside of the fan without disassembling it each time) will help to crust up the icing to make it a little more sturdy.

Related Topic