Cloudy with Rain...

I've just read that "moisture is the enemy of sugar" .
Royal icing = sugar . Rain = 100% humidity = moisture. Oh, boy. It's going to be a rough week.

When I first started decorating cookies with RI, it was also a very humid time of year. I thought my bad results were lack of skill and experience. Well, they were ; )
But the high humidity really didn't help. So, if you are battling with icing at the moment, take heart - both your skill and the weather will improve : )

Today, I took all the demo cookies for Friday's Scary Cookies class out the freezer (iced cookies supposedly freeze well..clearly, they just don't defrost that well!) Instant major condensation. Cookies       that had originally dried well, are now dull, pitted and ugly : (

before

after

I've written about it before, but it is all that I can really think of at the moment...so here we go again.

What to do to try combat the effects of humidity on royal icing:

Use a good recipe for royal icing, one that uses meringue powder (Actiwhite, here in SA) and some cream of tartar for stability.

Bake your biscuits slightly longer, to dry them out more. And if they soften, place them in a warm oven again before decorating to crisp them up (allow them to cool completely before icing, though!)

Store the cool cookies in airtight containers, between layers of absorbant paper towel.

When you decorate, do so in an air-conditioned room, if you have one (I ... don't....!)

Dry the iced biscuit in an air conditioned room (!), or use a fan - we have lots of those, but no tables tall enough to reach just below the ceiling ; )
Ok, I do use the ceiling fans, but I more directed breeze (not a gale!) would be better.

You can also try using a heat lamp (but, beware: high heat has its own perils) or putting the biscuits into the oven with just the fan and light on, and the door ajar.

Or just wave your magic wand...

Perhaps I should have made Fairy Godmother cookies instead of witches...

xxM