Hi, this is only my 4th time so I’m looking for advice if possible. I baked the night before and Thanksgiving using Your Baking Bestie recipe. One batch was accidentally over baked and I knew they would be hard – but the rest were 7.5 minutes and looked fine. Sat on paper towels overnight. When I decorated Thanksgiving morning, I put them in the dehydrator in between sections and for another 45 minutes or so after, because I was worried about them drying before our guests arrived.
They were all rock hard! The cookies and the icing. Was it the dehydrator?? What’s the max you can leave them in?
by tftg-tftg
14 Comments
I know nothing about Cooke decorating but it seems you’ve already found your answer. Why would you expect the dehydrator to take the moisture out of the icing but not the cookie?
I don’t use a dehydrator but the great thing about these cookies is you can make them a week in advance and they aren’t hard! I leave mine out overnight to dry fully.
I believe the class I’ve taken says no more than 60 minutes in the dehydrator but that’s pushing it. she recommends 15 minutes at a time. Also make sure that the surface you’re using in the dehydrator is solid (like a baking sheet). if jt is more like a cooling rack, the cookie will dry out and get stale.
Were they exposed to open air all night or were they covered? I always keep baked naked cookies in an airtight container to prevent them from drying out. I also suspect that the paper towel would draw out moisture but I’m not certain on that. The cookies may have been dried out before you even started decorating/dehydrating them
First, don’t put them on paper towel, that’ll draw out moisture –
Second, I’m not sure why you thought 45 minutes in a dehydrator wouldn’t dry out your cookies? If you’re using royal icing they’ll be dry in an hour, no need to do anything but just leave them on a counter.
I put mine on wire racks so they aren’t flush against the counters, but other than that, cookies are super easy and I feel like you did too much lol
When you use the dehydrator for you icing its not to fully dry the first layer, rather than to crisp it enough to do the next layer of details. If you are trying to rush an order its possible to crank them out in a day but usually i only do 10 min intervals. These type of cookies just take some time out in the open to dry. I commented yesterday that the surface below and the icing layer will help prevent the cookies from drying out. I leave mine out on the counter for 2/3 days between everything sometimes and never have an issue with either the cookies drying or the icing being too hard
I only bake for 6min and they be soft af! If you want my recipe lmk!
i do all the things that you did (except the paper towels- i leave mine on parchment)…and they are still soft. Where are you located? i’m in NE Ohio and my biggest issue during winter is a lack of moisture in the house. Sounds silly, but the air will pull moisture from cookies that are sitting out to air dry.
What temperature was the dehydrator? Only use the lowest setting- mine is 95 degrees. i use my dehydrator on all my cookies- up to an hour. Still soft cookies. i do have silicone mats in my dehydrator so the bottoms don’t get the air circulation.
Using the paper towels is a good idea because it prevents butter bleed. I never used a dehydrator and always had good luck leaving them to dry out overnight. Maybe it was the recipe?
I had this happen when my dehydrator temp was too high. The solution for me was putting a piece of bread in the container with them. I also sometimes just leave mine in a cold oven overnight to dry out instead of the dehydrator if I have time. They look beautiful.
I had this happen when my dehydrator temp was too high. The solution for me was putting a piece of bread in the container with them. I also sometimes just leave mine in a cold oven overnight to dry out instead of the dehydrator if I have time. They look beautiful.
I always just leave mine on the table in a cake plate with cover. I did some 2-3 days before Thanksgiving and they’re still soft.
Never leave your cookies on paper towel overnight. The towel sucked all of the buttery goodness out of your cookies!
After my cookies sit on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, I transfer them to paper towel until they are cool and then I put in an airtight container until I’m ready to ice. So they are on the towel for max 30 minutes. This ensures there won’t be butter bleed and it’s all they need.
Dehydrator may also be the culprit. I don’t use one because I’m terrified it will dry out my cookies!
God damn, some of these comments are pretty harsh. Folks, OP is new to decorating, let’s be a bit more kind.
For background, I use a dehydrator with my cookies and they’re not rock hard at all. OP, I have a few quick questions to help you troubleshoot, I’ll list those out below.
What were your settings for your dehydrator? Generally, I set mine to the lowest setting (95°F) and set a timer for 30 minutes only. This allows my icing to crust, without getting too dried out.
Do you use meringue powder in your recipe? If so, how much?
In the future, this tip might come in handy: Store your cookies along with some bread or marshmallows (not touching) or consider freezing them before your event to draw the moisture back in. It happens to the best of us, OP. Hang in there.
Day 1 dough/chill in the am bake in the evening. I dont use a paper towel at all, stack them on top of one abotner and store in a Zip lock bag on counter.
Day 2 base ice and dry all day if solid white. If color icing ongo ahead and do them on day 2.
Day 3 accent icing, dry all day and bag in the pm.