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How to Flood Cookies: We Tested 6 Methods for the Best Results!
- Trendy Mint
- Oct 26, 2024
- 10 min read
Updated: Nov 2, 2024
How to Flood Cookies: Which Method Works Best? Plus a Professional Royal Icing Recipe
Article may contain paid links for products which I love and would love to share with you!
Contents:
Flooding cookies isn’t one-size-fits-all, so we put six different methods to the test to find out which one delivers the smoothest, most professional finish.
If you’re a beginner searching for how to flood cookies or a seasoned cookie decorator looking to perfect your cookie outline and flood consistency icing, this guide will help you choose the best approach for your cookie creations. Plus, we’ll answer some key questions, like how long to let royal icing dry before adding details and how to make flood icing that doesn’t drip or run.
Let’s get into it!
First Thing Is First, We need a professional royal icing recipe! Starting with a quality royal icing base, is the key to avoiding many decorating troubles. Here's my favorite, go-to recipe that I use for ALL of my royal icing cookies:
My Favorite Professional Royal Icing Recipe
Will Ice 6 dozen cookies
(I recommend halving this recipe if your stand-mixer is 5 quarts or smaller or if you are using a hand mixer, or if you are hand-mixing)
Ingredients:
1/4 cup meringue powder
1/2 cup warm water
Mix these together until foamy and it peaks when you pull the beater straight out of it. It will take several minutes.
2 T Vanilla (you can change this to whatever flavor extract you would like)
1/2 cup Corn Syrup
2 tsp White Food Color Gel
Add these into the mixture slowly while mixing. Beat until it’s glossy and fluffy with stiff peaks.
2 -2 pound bag of powdered sugar
½ cup warm water (possibly more)
Add in half of the powdered sugar at first, start mixing. If your mixer sounds like it’s working super hard or if the icing appears to be very thick and mostly in a big ball, add in a couple tablespoons of water at a time. Then alternate between the rest of the bag of powdered sugar and water.
Note: You’ll want your icing to be thick when finished because it’s likely you’ll want a thick consistency for outlining or detailed piping plus if you are adding and coloring, this will also thin down your icing a little.
Like any experiment, it's great to start with our constants. For each method, we used the same piping bags and same consistency (thick/thin), we used the same shape of cookie and we flooded the bottom of the cookie, meaning the side that was against the baking sheet while it was cooked.
List of Supplies Used For Royal Icing Recipe and Flooding:
Genie's Dream Meringue Powder (it is the absolute best, if you only purchase one thing from this list, I strongly recommend this!)
9 quart Stand Mixer (budget friendly and a work-horse!)
Piping Bags (I don't have a favorite, just use a tipless piping bag)
Scribe or toothpick
Parchment Paper (I was out of this when I did this experiment but it's my fav)
How to Flood Cookies, Our Six Methods:
To start, it seems like the majority of cookie decorators (that I've seen, anyways), use one of two methods to flood. We'll cover those two methods first! All of the methods were tested with our professional royal icing recipe.
1. Method One: One-Consistency Approach with Flood Consistency Icing and Wet Outline
For this method, we used a single consistency of flood icing for both outlining and filling, saving the hassle of switching bags or recipes. This was a 15-second consistency icing, perfect for both outlining and filling in smoothly.
Method: I outlined the edge of the cookie and then immediately flooded the cookie with the same icing, giving the outline no time to dry.
Results: The outcome was smooth with a seamless finish. The outline and the flood melted together perfectly and the icing was just thick enough that it didn't run off the edge. Using one consistency is ideal for beginners, as it reduces steps and speeds up the decorating process.
Pro Tip: If you struggle with icing running off or dripping off the edge of your cookie, try icing the bottom of the cookie instead of the top. The bottom of the cookie tends to be more flat and will hold the icing in place better than the top side of the cookie which is slightly puffed most of the time. (just be sure to flip your cut-out dough before baking if your design is directional)
2. Method Two: Traditional Piping with a thicker Outline and thinner Flood
This method involves outlining the cookie first with thicker icing to create a boundary, then filling the center with a thinner flood consistency icing.
Method: I piped the outline and let it dry just enough so that it was dry to the touch (no more than 30 minutes). Then I flooded the cookie with a thinner icing and pushed it up onto the outline with a scribe..
Results: This approach gave a nice amount of puff, or thickness, to the icing with no spillover. However, it required switching between consistencies, which took extra time to make and pipe. The outline being a thicker consistency is slightly visible on the finished cookie which in my opinion, is not desirable.
3. Method Three: One-Consistency Approach with Flood Consistency Icing and Dry Outline.
For this method, we used a single consistency of flood icing for both outlining and filling, saving the hassle of switching bags or recipes. This was a 15-second consistency icing, perfect for both outlining and filling in smoothly.
Method: I outlined the edge of the cookie and let it dry just long enough so that it was dry to the touch (no more than 30 minutes), then immediately flooded the cookie with the same icing, giving the outline no time to dry.
Results: The outcome was smooth with a seamless finish. The outline and the flood melted together perfectly and the icing was just thick enough that it didn't run off the edge. Letting the outline set up, allowed the cookie to hold more icing within the border resulting in a nice amount of puff.
4. Method Four: Flooding Cookies with a Spoon
This is an unconventional method for flooding cookies and one I have used in the past when the icing just can't flow out of the bag fast enough.
Method: For this test, we skipped the piping bags and used a spoon to spread the flood consistency icing across the cookie. We outlined with thicker icing, let it dry to the touch (about 30 minutes) then poured a small amount of flood icing in the center and spread it out with the spoon/scribe.
Results: While quick, it's easy to over-flood with the spoon technique. It’s best for simple designs or if you’re working with very large cookies.
5. Method Five: Dipping Cookies in Royal Icing
The dipping method involves dipping the top of each cookie directly into a bowl of flood consistency icing. This method is fast and effective for covering cookies with a full, smooth layer of icing in one quick motion.
Method: You'll want your icing to be slightly thinner than your normal flood consistency. I like to dip my cookies at a slight angle and then tip from side to side in the bowl of icing. I then, angle the cookie while pulling it away from the icing and tip from side to side to let the excess drip off. Once the cookie is flipped over, I pop any air bubbles and smooth out any imperfections.
Results: This technique produced a smooth layer, but excess icing does appear on the edges of the cookie. This method was the messiest of all, there's no avoiding your fingers getting in the icing and then when you pick up a fresh cookie, you'll get icing on it's edges before you even have a chance to dip it. While this method may be fast if you get in a good rhythm and work out the kinks, you'll compromise by not having any puff to your icing or a crisp edge. If you’re using this method, have a scribe tool handy to clean up the edges before the icing sets.
6. Method Six: Brushing on Icing
Finally, we tried brushing on royal frosting as a unique flooding method. This approach required thinner icing and a food-safe brush to paint the icing over the cookie’s surface.
Method: I start by adding a dollop of royal icing to the middle of the cookie with a spoon. I then took a paint brush and brushed the icing out toward the edges. When I got near the edge, I angled the brush down (so the bristles were pointing to the middle of the cookie and were angled up toward the ceiling) then I drug the brush at an angle onto the edge. The allowed for flooding to reach the edge of the cookie but not over-flow.
Results: The brush-on method gave a smooth finish but the border is slightly imperfect. This method was the fastest method for me. You do have to make sure you are using a quality brush to avoid losing any bristles in your icing. You definitely don't want anyone to find those in their cookies!
Pro Tip: Use a dark bristled brush so you can easily see if you leave any bristles behind!
How Long to Let Royal Icing Dry Before Adding Details
Once you’ve chosen your preferred flooding method, you may need to let the base layer dry completely. If you’re wondering how long to let royal icing dry before adding details, it depends on the details you're adding.
Piping wording or images on top of your flood: Let your flood crust over enough so that is sturdy enough to hold the weight of additional icing without cracking.
On the contrary, you don't want to wait too long to add these additional details as it will likely result in cratering of your freshly piped icing and that's no fun!
Adding Royal Icing Transfers: Let your flood layer dry over-night so that it can not only withstand the weight of your transfer but also withstand being handled.
Troubleshooting Common Issues
Decorators at any level can run into a few bumps, so here’s a quick troubleshooting guide:
Color Bleed: To prevent color bleed, you really need to start with a solid royal icing base. I recommend using our recipe in this article. I don't have any issues with color-bleed and I think it is due to the quality of my icing. I do recommend that you pipe your darker colors first, when possible.
(Explained) It's kind of a science thing. Remember that osmosis word you learned in science? Well, whatever you pipe first, will start drying first and water wants to go where it isn't. Whatever icing has started drying, will try to take moisture from your fresh icing. So if your white icing has been drying and then you pipe a dark color on top or beside it, the white icing will try to take moisture from the darker color. It's this same concept for icing craters!
Craters: How to avoid craters in your cookie-icing?
Don't let your base-flood icing dry for too long, it will try to take the moisture out of your freshly piped icing. Thus, resulting in craters in your royal icing.
If you aren't able to add the additional details within a reasonable amount of time, consider trying royal icing transfers. Royal icing transfers can be piped and dried separately from your cookie and then added on, kind of like a big sprinkle. They really are quite wonderful to work with!
Interested in trying Royal Icing Transfers?
If you're interested in trying transfers, we have a special VIP membership that sends you fresh, new transfer designs every month that will keep your cookie decorating ahead of the trends.
Each month, you’ll get exclusive access to unique designs tailored to upcoming seasons and holidays, plus step-by-step guides for making your transfers look polished and professional. Perfect for beginners and pros alike, our VIP membership is all about saving you time, adding fun creativity to your bakes, and helping you wow clients or friends with eye-catching designs!
Looking for the best method on How to Flood Cookies?
That's going to depend on a few things, here's our picks for the fastest, best puff, easiest and our overall top pick for how to flood cookies.
Fastest: Brushing. Was the fastest by far! Get the angle of your brush just right and you can whip out flooded cookies in no time!
Best Puff: Spooning! Adding an outline, letting it semi-dry and then spooning on the icing allowed for more icing to be applied on top of the cookie. The icing also stayed thicker (therefore had more puff) since it wasn't being warmed by my hand in a piping bag.
Easiest: One consistency with a Dry Outline. This method was the simplest because you only need to perfect one consistency of icing. Letting the border semi-dry, created a dam for the icing to avoid over-flooding. This method was the easies to manage and also provided results that were nearly equivalent to the spoon method.
Overall Best Method For Flooding Royal Icing:
After testing all six, we found that the one-consistency approach using flood consistency icing was the easiest to manage. It provided a clean edge and a good amount of puff.
Final Thoughts on How To Flood Cookies
Whether you’re learning how to flood cookies for the first time or experimenting with different approaches, these six methods offer many options for experimenting. As you can see, the "best" method depends on time-constraints and desired outcome and is going to vary from baker to baker.
Flooding cookies takes patience and practice, so don’t stress if your first attempts aren’t flawless. Just enjoy the process, and soon you’ll be creating beautifully flooded cookies with confidence.
The best part? If your cookie doesn’t turn out exactly as planned, you still get to eat it!
Which method looks the best to you or which method do you think you'll try? Let us know!
Which Method Do You Want to Try?
One Consistency - wet outline
One Consistency - dry outline
Two Consistency
Dipping
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