Troubleshooting . . . it is, part 3 of our F.A.Q.'s. Let me stress that...these tips work for me, but they are not necessarily the "proper" fixes. I know there are a few cookie experts who read the blog, so I'm hoping they'll chime in with their tips in the comments. (You know who you are!)


My experience is that this is due to flood icing that is thinned too much. When flooding cookies, if the icing runs quickly to fill the entire cookie with having to be spread with a toothpick, it's too thin. Pour your icing back into the bowl, sift in some powdered sugar and let sit again for several minutes.

Why is my royal icing pitted looking and still wet?




Why do my cookies have white splotches on them?


Why is my royal icing full of bubbles?

Two hints here...stir in the water for flooding gently with a rubber spatula, not a mixer. Two: once the water is incorporated, cover with a damp dish towel and let sit several minutes. Most of the bubbles will rise to the surface. Stir gently again and you're good to go. Any other stray bubbles can be popped with a toothpick or a pin.



Why does my red or black icing taste terrible?




I can not write names or outline without the icing breaking.


Why are my colors bleeding?


  1. F.A.Q.'s
...I'll be updating these posts periodically with your questions.

{This post is also being linked to Works For Me Wednesday at We are THAT Family.}


  1. You have helped me so much thru the cookie world! thanks for all your guides!!!


  2. SO why do my edible pens (even brand new) never work...on any edible surface? Have you had this problem?

  3. Awesome tips. I learn something new from you every time I am here! Seriously.. people sometimes email me and ask me questions about this stuff, I cant tell you how many times I just give them a link to your blog!! lol (pretty sad huh!) You are THE expert! THE BEST!! THanks for all you do and all you share!


  4. Excellent info for someone like me - trying to get it right! Thanks,

  5. As always, so helpful! Thanks, Bridget!

  6. Those are bang on - awesome, AWESOME tips! I agree with all of them and you've covered so many important points.

    A few more ideas might be;
    -for bubbles in the icing, after you've piped your cookie and popped bubbles with a pin, you can also lift the cookie and gently drop it on your work surface to try and pop bubbles you haven't noticed. (Can I say bubbles one more time?)

    -if your hand is hurting from squeezing the piping bag your icing might also be too thick

    -if you can't write names or outline without the icing breaking you might be stretching the icing too far and pulling it while you're piping. Try piping by starting near the cookie, then slowly lifting the tip (piping bag or squeeze bottle), away from the cookie at least an inch, and just let the icing FALL into place while you guide it.
    It's a bit hard to explain but I have a pic of it here:

    By the way Bridget, I think the horse looks great with the splotches in this case... it looks natural! ;-)

    Thanks for the great post!!

  7. Marian!!! You are awesome!!! Thank you for adding your brilliant tips!

    And, it's so kiddo said (about the horse) it looks like a Palomino! ;)

  8. I laughed at the collage at the top of this was so funny and cute!!

    As always, great tips! You are the icing master! :)

  9. As always, you hit the spot with this post... have you considered writing a book on COOKIES?... check out Cake Journal, she did a great e-book... and I LOVE your son!! He is so clever AND fun... my kind of people :D

  10. Thanks for all your great tips. I can't wait to try out your recipes and tips. Thanks for sharing. Love & blessings from NC!

  11. I am loving these FAQs. I haven't been brave enough to try royal icing/flooding cookies, but I will some day. :)

    I hear you made shoe cookies for my friend Crystal's daughter's 2nd birthday party. She is one of my good friends and was my roommate in college. Small world, huh?

  12. Thanks so much for this entire series of posts :) And I must say, the horse looks amazing.. I was just about to ask you how you did that, and I realised you made a mistake!

  13. Great tips Bridget! I have also encountered the breaking icing, and you're right about the over-whipping it. Also, I have found that if the icing is too thick it also breaks easier. Add a few drops of water to it and it makes it flow a little easier.
    Also the edible markers question-DO NOT BUY WILTON! Like Bridget said...they do a lot of things right, but this is also not one of them. I use Gourmet Writers by Americolor. They are a touch more expensive but so worth it, you will never have those problems again.

  14. Now, this is really good information.

    I have often struggled with Royal icing and these are great tips.

  15. GREAT tips! Thanks for posting these! You were such a big help the first time I tried royal icing!!

  16. Im an avid cookie lover myself and all ur posts are super....jus worked with the icing bags today and i sure do kow what u mean by loads of practice.....


  17. Bridget Bridget sweet friend whose name I can never ever say just once!!
    Biggest question of all...
    WHY isn't your BAKE @ 350 adorable Cookie Book in my kitchen!
    Would you please just tell me so I will HUSH already!!!!!
    I mean you do know that this blonde airy head can't retain all of this OH SO CRUCIAL info after reading!
    You do not want to know what I made on my ACT test...twice!!
    And of course I can't run turn on my computer when I'm in the baking...decorating cookie mood! What's a girl to do?
    All of these TIPS are exactly what I need in my efforts to perfect these delicasies! Oh what a delicase an iced sugar cookie is! I am rolling laughing about your hubby and the humidity!
    I had NO idea I had to pamper those iced sugar cookies like I do my hair when I'm headed out somewhere and want it to look good...and there is 100%+ humidity outside! I mean I have been known to drive somewhere in the dead of bitter cold winter with the airco on LOW and blowing at full force just to keep this hair looking descent!!!
    Oh I just adore you Bridget!
    Can't wait til your famous!
    And Greg keeps asking me...
    now when is Bridget going to NYC?
    It's a BIG deal in our house!;)

  18. Of course I just realized I misspelled delicasy!!!
    Like I do not want to know what this blonde made on her A.C.T!!!
    Oh... I need to email you a thought I had about adding the cornsyrup to the icing recipe.
    Need to see if I have your email address!

  19. Wow!! Thank you. This is very helpful - you have a generous spirit! I think I have some worse looking cookie-failures but they jumped down the disposal in disgrace before anyone could take a picture!!

  20. You are SO awesome for doing these helpful posts!! I'm going to print all three and stick behind my royal icing and cookie recipes!!

  21. Thank you so much for this. You've answered so many questions!

  22. great tips! I learn so much about cookies from you and cant wait to get better with practice and your tips!!

  23. Thanks, these and your other tips posts are very helpful!

  24. Thanks! I am going to print your tips and put them in with my recipes!

  25. Hi! Thanks for all these great posts on icing, they are so helpful!

    I have a quick question for Bridget or any of the experts out there. When I do my outlines/lettering, I can never get the ends to just... end - instead I end up having to stick the tip in to cut it off, leaving me with kind of a smooshed ball, or as I try to cut it off, it pulls up into a peak at the end of the line. Does anyone know what I am talking about, and have any suggestions? Thanks in advance!!

  26. Finding your website has been like the best thing ever!

    As an aside - I made some royal icing (from the Cookie Craft book) and it would not dry/harden. I thought it was because I beat it too long - but your recipe looks like you beat it just as long?!

  27. good one! i just made tons of different emo backgrounds for my blog

  28. Bridget... I had a question on storing the cookie dough. How long can I store it in the fridge?

    1. Anu...I would store it in the fridge for only a couple of days. Any longer and I'd go ahead and freeze it. :)

  29. Bridget, Can you suggest a frosting(for cupcakes) that isn't runny? Every time I make a recipe or use a can frosting, it turns out runny. Thanks!

  30. Thanks for the valuable information and insights you have so provided here.

  31. I have 2 questions and hope you can help me. 1. My royal icing was tacky after it has dried more than 24 hrs. I saw you mentioned the icing flooding may be too thin. In my case it’s not too thin because I would still have to move it a round with a pick to cover the cookie. What else can it be? 2. I had decorated 4 different cookie cut outs and on one group of them, when my royal icing dried, it was pitted 2 days later. Why did that happen? Any help you can give me will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.



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