I know I have read post before about leaving your cookies dry before adding red and black decorations, but how long is long enough? I am making baseball cookies for my son's league kick off tomorrow and I want to make sure the red pipping does not bleed. (I am using royal icing) I normally let mine sit for several hours, however in the past I have had issues with the colors running. It is normally the black, but I just wanted to get opinions before I start decorating.

I tend to err on the side of caution and let the base dry overnight, but that is me. I did like on the edge recently and did my base flooding and piped that evening. It is largely dependant on weather as humidity will affect drying time. One thing I also tried, was to flood an extra cookie with my base color and then used that one to 'poke' at it to see how dry it was.

Also, switching to Antonia74's RI recipe made a huge difference for me as bleeding used to be an issue. Also, to help with bleeding, mix your red as pink first, then add red. Don't go as deep as you might think and let it sit overnight for the color to deepen. This way you don't need as much red, which should help for bleeding. (I like Americolor Super Red). For black, I sing the praises of SweetDreamsAT as she really helped me with this hint. Mix cocoa powder (I use Hershey's Dark) in after you RI is done to get it about medium brownish. Then add your black (I like Americolor Super Black). As with the red, don't go as deep in tone as you will need. Let it sit overnight and the color will deepen. Again, you are not adding as much color as you might have originally. These tricks helped me and I hope they help you!

I agree with Tracy... I try to leave mine for at least 12-24 hours if I'm worried about color bleeding.

Tracy said it perfectly!

Thanks for the answers. I put the icing on this morning at 6 and I will have to start decorating tonight around 9. I will cross my fingers. I need to bag them tomorrow morning to bring to the baseball field.

Fingers crossed for you! I would think that should be enough time. Just make sure that your red is not to thin. That will help a lot.

Also, I typed too fast. It was supposed to be "I did live on the edge recently...". You would think I would learn to proofread better!

Bleeding also occurs when two different consistencies of icing are applied. For example, using regular white icing and then a thinner red icing. The red is thinner and able to "bleed" into the other colour.

I find it you make one single batch of icing, thin it and then only tint your colours from that without using more water....the colours won't run/bleed.

Even better, and to save yourself a lot of time, try adding the red stitching details to the wet white icing right away. If they are the same consistency the details sink into the background for a cool pro effect, there should be no bleeding AND you don't have to wait for the white to dry first. If you want to experiment with this technique, start with simple things like polka dots and stripes on cookies. SUCH a time-saver!

Thanks for all the advice. I waited about 14 hours and then put the red and black(players names) on the cookies and no bleeding. I guess I must have put the icing on too soon before and that was the issue. Thanks again.