Tuesday Tip - Press 'n Seal

I use plastic wrap to cover small bowls of icing in between filling bags, but for longer storage (even a few days) and for better protection against crusting, I love Press 'n Seal!

So my Tuesday Tip this week is to invest in a roll of Glad Press 'n Seal and use it to cover your bowl of icing.  It has a great sealing quality and you will also find yourself using it all over the kitchen for all of your storage needs.

Tuesday Tip - Making Royal Icing + Recipe

I recently answered a survey about how I make royal icing.  The questions were multiple choice and when the question of how long I mix my icing came up, two of the options talked about mixing at high speed for 25-30 minutes.  I almost fell off my chair!  I literally mix for less than 2 minutes at the lowest or second lowest speed.  I might have a lot to do with not being able to tolerate the sound of the mixer for any longer.  I also have no interest in adding air bubbles to my icing that I am going to have to deal with later.  I really am trying to just combine the ingredients.  I make about 4 or 5 double batches each week and I have never had any problems with my icing - it dries with a lovely sheen, it is stable, it tastes delicious.  So I admit to being insanely curious how long you fellow cookiers mix your icing, please leave me a comment or send me a message!

I also make my icing thick, adding just enough water to make it combine - look for more information about that in next week's post.

So if I had to sum things up, I would say:

"Don't whip, make it thick."

After dissolving my meringue powder, I add my Redpath sugar and the remainder of the water.

I add it all at once, all the sugar and all the water.  Then I start my mixer on the lowest setting.

After just starting the mixer.

15 seconds of mixing.

30 seconds of mixing

45 seconds of mixing.

After about 60 seconds of mixing at the lowest setting, I stop the mixer and lift the whisk attachment out of the mix.

At this point the whisk attachment is clogged with dry sugar that I still have to mix in.  I think there are a variety of ways to deal with this, like mix at high speed or add more water, but I reach for a spatula.

I use the spatula to remove most of the dry sugar and to wipe the side of the bowl.

There - that looks better!  Another 30 seconds or so of mixing, this time at the second lowest setting.

And this is what I am left with:

At first glance it is not completely smooth, there are still lumps and bumps.  And it is thick.  Your first instinct might be to add water or mix it longer - but don't!  (More on that next week.)  I find that the lumps and bumps work themselves out as the icing sits.  For me this is the perfect base - I can now adjust the consistency and the colour and make a perfect icing for my cookies. 

Sweet Handmade Cookies' Royal Icing

10 tablespoons meringue powder

7 tablespoons of water

1 kilo icing (confectioners') sugar

5 tablespoons water

1. Place the meringue powder in the bowl of your stand mixer.  Pour the first amount of water over the powder and using a whisk, combine the meringue powder and water, no vigorous action required, just combining the ingredients.  Let sit for 5-10 minutes.
2. Stir the meringue powder one more time and then place the icing sugar on top.  Pour the second quantity of water onto the sugar and attach the bowl to your mixer.
3. Using the whisk attachment on the lowest setting, combine the ingredients for about 60 seconds.  Stop the mixer and clear the still dry sugar from the whisk attachment and wipe the side of the bowl.
4. Reattach the bowl to the mixer and mix for another 30-45 seconds.  Use the spatula to give the mixture another really good stir, make sure there are no dry pockets.

The icing will have lumps, but as long as there are no dry pockets, you are good to go!

In the next couple of weeks I will teach you about getting the perfect consistency!  I will be offering workshops in the new year, stay tuned to learn more!

Tuesday Tips - How to Prevent Cookies from Spreading

Today's Tuesday Tip discusses the challenge of spreading cookies.  Here is just one of my tips to prevent that:

"Chill and rest your dough."

I have tried many different techniques to prevent my dough from spreading, the most radical one being altering my recipe.  That was a disaster I will tell you about another day.  Today I will discuss chilling and resting your dough.

After rolling out my dough between two pieces of parchment, I remove the top piece of parchment, cut my shapes and slide the entire slab of dough onto a cookie sheet.  I chill for a minimum of one hour before separating the shapes and baking.

I have heard from more than one baker that they chill their dough, then roll it out and cut their shapes.  That seems counter-intuitive to me - then aren't you trying to roll super cold/hard dough?  I have excellent results rolling then chilling.  Try it next time and let me know if you chill and rest, either before or after rolling.

Tuesday Tip - Working with Meringue Powder

Today's Tuesday Tip is a simple one, but one that made a huge difference to my success with #1 and #2 piping tips.

"Dissolve your meringue powder."

Meringue powder is a powdered egg white product, usually sweetened with some sugar and sometimes with the ingredients cream of tartar and vanilla.  It is wonderful product to use in royal icing (my icing of choice) instead of raw egg whites.

One of the issues I had with working with royal icing, especially, but not always, when working with smaller tips (#1 and #2) was clogging of the tips.  It was very frustrating.  Then I read about dissolving the meringue powder in a portion of the water required for the royal icing recipe.

Here is what I do.  Place the meringue powder in your stand mixer's bowl.  Add about half of the water required.  Mix it with a wire whisk and leave it for a few minutes.  Whisk it again before adding your confectioners' (icing) sugar and remaining water.  How much water?  Watch for the answer to that and other questions in an upcoming Tuesday Tip.

And get hands on experience at one of my workshops.  Details to follow soon!

Tuesday Tips and being a Redpath Sweet Pro

In May of this year I received an email from Redpath Sugar.  Would I be interested in becoming a Redpath Sweet Pro at this year's Canada's Baking and Sweets Show?  I was honoured to get the invitation and I didn't hesitate in answering "yes!"  Not only do I love what I do, I enjoy sharing my knowledge, so I knew being a Sweet Pro would be a lot of fun!

The weeks leading up to the show were a whirlwind, with videotaping my Sweet Pro promo to preparing my demonstrations for the show.  I was scheduled to do two demos each of three days - Introduction to Decorating and Intermediate Skills using the theme of this year's Baking and Sweets Show, The Wizard of Oz.  I baked more than one hundred cookies, decorated about 40 for displays and the remainder I prepared to use at the demos.  I also made a large amount of royal icing which I prepped in all the colours I needed.  I packed my spatulas, paint brushes, food colouring, bowls, piping bags, couplers, whisk, scissors, lustre dusts... yes, it was like I was moving house.

Here is my car ready to drive to the "Big Smoke"

My nerves were in overdrive on the day I was scheduled to leave.  Would I run out of cookies or supplies?  Would I be to talk for 30 whole minutes?  Would I make a fool of myself on stage?  All those thoughts settled down once I started driving to Toronto, with the feeling of "whatever happens, happens".  I set up for my first demonstration and with both a camera person and assistant beside me, I began.  Soon 30 minutes were done and I could have spoken for another half an hour.  The crowds were amazing, standing room only!  I could see light bulbs going off for so many people in the audience.  I know I am not a fancy decorator, but I am efficient and practical and I have picked up a few tips making 20,000 cookies in the last two years, tips that I am happy to share!

After the first demo, I was so relaxed it was all about having fun!  On the second day my family came to watch.  This might surprise you, but they don't know a lot about the process of making cookies.  You see, they rarely see any part of it, mostly because they are not allowed in my Sweet Handmade Cookie kitchen.  You read that right - that is my rule.  It is a health board approved kitchen and I keep everyone out.  Also, they are not very interested in the subject of cookies.  I thought the demonstrations would be boring for them, but my family (my harshest critics) were fabulously complementary!  It made me feel terrific.

I also met a lot of local people who came to the show.  One of my friends won tickets to the show in fact and we had lunch together.  One local baker won the theme cake competition for the third year in a row!!  There was so much to see and do.  So many great famous chefs and bakers were there giving demonstrations.  And so much yummy food!  I finished my last demonstration on Sunday, packed up my things and headed for home.  It was a weekend I won't soon forget.  The Redpath crew were incredibly fun, kind and generous; the crowds were receptive, happy and inquisitive.  When I arrived home, my family had made me a beautiful and delicious dinner!

As a result of the positivity I received from the audiences, I am launching a new website feature, called Tuesdays Tips.  Watch this space every Tuesday for a new tip on how to make beautiful cookies easier than ever!  See you next Tuesday right here for a helpful and easy tip.

P.S.  Don't forget to follow me on Instagram for behind the scenes pictures as well as some more pictures from the show.