Reviews Needed Please - Alice's & Toba Garrett's Icings

Baking By sabbrina Updated 23 Feb 2006 , 11:58pm by JoAnnB

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sabbrina Posted 26 Jan 2006 , 12:54am
post #1 of 25

Hello Everyone,

I am going to be baking my fist batch of cookies tomorrow to decorate for my kids basketball game on Saturday. The snack bar is going to sell them and they said I can hand out buisness cards with them to drum up some business. Whoo Hoo!!

My question tonight it ... I do not want to decorate with Royal Icing because I don't want them to be rock hard on top. So I have choosen two icings that I am considering.

Alice's Cookie Icing
- suppose to taste really good and harden so you can stack the cookies, but soft enough to bite into.

OR

Toba Garrett's Glacé Icing Recipe
- Suppose to harden so you can stack them, but won't break a tooth.

Can you post your experiences with either (or both) of these icings. What did you like about it? What did you NOT like about it? How hard was it? What does it taste like?

The most important thing for me is: HOW LONG DID IT TAKE TO DRY??

Thanks icon_smile.gif
Sabbrina

24 replies
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missnnaction Posted 26 Jan 2006 , 2:11am
post #2 of 25

hi...
The royal icing will not be rock hard so you can still keep it as an option if you like...But, to answer your question, I have used Toba's I just can't remember the drying time...I have also used colorflow...it works great too, there is also a recipe here on CC...Antonia74 posted for us all..she also posted a tutorial....

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Euphoriabakery Posted 26 Jan 2006 , 2:23am
post #3 of 25

I tried Alice's icing, it hardes slightly, but I was unable to stack my cookies, they stuck together even after drying for 24 hours. Tastes really yummy though.

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Kos Posted 26 Jan 2006 , 2:29am
post #4 of 25

Give Toba's recipe a good 18 hours before stacking. I tried Alice's recipe and didn't care for the cream cheese taste on a sugar cookie. A lot of people love it. I thought it was too much. It also never really hardened enough to stack.

kos

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Euphoriabakery Posted 26 Jan 2006 , 2:58am
post #5 of 25

Maybe I'm confused? Alice's recipe on this site didn't have any cream cheese in it?

http://www.cakecentral.com/cake_recipe-1961-0-Alices-Cookie-Icing.html

Isn't this the recipe we were talking about?

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Euphoriabakery Posted 26 Jan 2006 , 3:01am
post #6 of 25

Maybe I'm confused? Alice's recipe on this site didn't have any cream cheese in it?

http://www.cakecentral.com/cake_recipe-1961-0-Alices-Cookie-Icing.html

Isn't this the recipe we were talking about?

Also Royal icing on cookies does not dry rock hard,but it definitely doesn't taste as good as some of the softer icings.

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Kos Posted 26 Jan 2006 , 3:08am
post #7 of 25

Euphoriabakery

Don't ask me why, but the Alice's has a cream cheese taste to it. I think others have mentioned it as well. icon_confused.gif

kos

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Euphoriabakery Posted 26 Jan 2006 , 3:10am
post #8 of 25

Maybe I didn't notice because I put it on an Almond butter cookie recipe that calls for cream cheese, maybe that's why it complemented the cookies so well?

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ge978 Posted 26 Jan 2006 , 3:17am
post #9 of 25

I haven't tried Alice's, but I love Toba's recipe...I've used it for cookies and a transfer on my cake and had good results with it.

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Kiddiekakes Posted 26 Jan 2006 , 3:21am
post #10 of 25

I have tried both and I liked Toba's glaze better for taste although it did not dry hard enough to stack cookies on top, but maybe that is the weather here.Alice's I thought was way too sweet but dried nice!

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Kos Posted 26 Jan 2006 , 3:22am
post #11 of 25
Quote:
Originally Posted by Euphoriabakery

Maybe I didn't notice because I put it on an Almond butter cookie recipe that calls for cream cheese, maybe that's why it complemented the cookies so well?




That could be. I used it on the "no fail" recipe with just vanilla extract and it was too much for me. Let us know what you go with and be sure to post pictures!

kos

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Kos Posted 26 Jan 2006 , 3:31am
post #12 of 25

ge978

I can't stop laughing at your avatar! That is so funny. Thanks I needed that!

icon_lol.gif
kos

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ge978 Posted 26 Jan 2006 , 5:06am
post #13 of 25

Kos: heehee...I saw it and it fit me so well....can't get my day started without my coffee icon_biggrin.gif I'm glad it made you laugh

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Cake_Princess Posted 26 Jan 2006 , 8:20am
post #14 of 25

I use Alice cookie icing on 95% of my sugar cookies. It's easy To work with and has a slight cream cheese taste to it. I think part of the trick is to find a cookie recipe that's not too sweet. If the cookie is too sweet to begin with then the overall sweetness can be overwhelming. My cookies dry in about 6 hours but I leave them overnight so that they are totally dry and 100% stackable. In the morning they are ready to be packaged and arranged.

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mjw15618 Posted 26 Jan 2006 , 3:00pm
post #15 of 25

I like Toba's recipe the best and use it all the time. It dries faster in dry weather (like now, in the dead of winter) than it does in hot, humid weather. The icing is easy to make, easy to use, and tastes really good. I only use royal icing for piping details...even though I use meringue powder, I think it still tastes like raw egg.

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Cake_Princess Posted 26 Jan 2006 , 8:53pm
post #16 of 25
Quote:
Originally Posted by Euphoriabakery

I tried Alice's icing, it hardes slightly, but I was unable to stack my cookies, they stuck together even after drying for 24 hours. Tastes really yummy though.





How much water did you add to your icing? The icing should have been dried way before that time.

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Cake_Princess Posted 26 Jan 2006 , 8:55pm
post #17 of 25
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kiddiekakes

I have tried both and I liked Toba's glaze better for taste although it did not dry hard enough to stack cookies on top, but maybe that is the weather here.Alice's I thought was way too sweet but dried nice!




What cookie recipe do you use kiddie?

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Euphoriabakery Posted 26 Jan 2006 , 8:57pm
post #18 of 25

I thinned it down to try to fill in like color flow. Maybe I should have not done this, because they never fully dried and I had some a week later.

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crisseyann Posted 26 Jan 2006 , 10:40pm
post #19 of 25

I've never tried either of these recipes. but I picked up on a fabulous Rolled Buttercream for cookies (from someone on the Wilton site) that is sooooo good, and super easy to make.

This is the rolled buttercream recipe I use for my cookies:
1 C Karo (light corn syrup)
1 C Shortening (I prefer Crisco)
½ tsp Fine Salt (popcorn salt)
½ tsp Extract of your choice (almond, lemon, orange.your choice)
1 tsp Clear Vanilla Extract
2 lb Powdered Sugar
Cream together shortening and Karo. Add salt and flavorings and mix well. Switching to the dough hook on your HEAVY DUTY mixer, add sugar, one cup at a time until combined. Mixture will be extremely thick. Turn-out dough and knead using more sugar if sticky for at least 2 minutes. Voila!

Store in airtight container and/or Ziploc bag either at room temperature or the refrigerator.Warning: Do not attempt to make this recipe in a smaller mixer....must be a Heavy Duty mixer such as Kitchen Aid or Viking.

You roll this out like your cookie dough and using the same cutter you used for your cookie, cut shapes of the frosting to fit on your cookies. Take a dab of Karo syrup or a dab of clear piping gel and rub on your cookie. Place the piece of rolled buttercream on your cookie and smooth gently. I got nothing but rave reviews on my Christmas cookies made with this icing. (See cookies in my album)

You can still decorate with royal, if you like. I left mine plain, with some sprinkles on top. They store very well. I kept them stacked between waxed paper in a plastic storage box. They do NOT mess up at all and are very soft to the tooth and touch. Give 'em a try!

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Cake_Princess Posted 26 Jan 2006 , 11:53pm
post #20 of 25
Quote:
Originally Posted by Euphoriabakery

I thinned it down to try to fill in like color flow. Maybe I should have not done this, because they never fully dried and I had some a week later.





I have posted in regard to this before. Alice Cookie icing should NOT be thinned to colorflow consistency, it will take forever to dry. For my rosebud cookies I only use 5 Tablespoons of water in total.

Kos did the same thing earlier. That's the reason the icing takes so long to dry.

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Kos Posted 27 Jan 2006 , 2:14am
post #21 of 25
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cake_Princess


Kos did the same thing earlier. That's the reason the icing takes so long to dry.




Yep, I did thin it out and you helped me out there. dunce.gif I think you mentioned that if you thinned it out, it would take 8 weeks to harden, or something close to that. icon_lol.gif
I guess we get "flooding" planted in our heads. Maybe they could add that tip at the bottom of the recipe.

kos

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dawnrunner Posted 27 Jan 2006 , 2:25am
post #22 of 25

I just made some of Alicia's Icining last night and it worked out rather well. I didn't thin it out very much and it took about 12-14 hrs to dry. I really do like the taste of this icing and so did the kids who were my "taste testers."

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sabbrina Posted 27 Jan 2006 , 4:24am
post #23 of 25

Thank you everyone who replied. Both icings sound very good. I may have to try them both (LOL)

Not only that ... now I will have to try a 3rd one... the Rolled Buttercream. Yum!!

Thanks again for all the details icon_smile.gif
Sabbrina

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cookielicious Posted 23 Feb 2006 , 9:37pm
post #24 of 25

Would Toba's icing taste better if I had used milk instead of water?
I made cookies today (my first paid order!!!) and I am decorating them tonight. I am still on the fence about which icing to use! I haven't tried the Alice icing yet...

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JoAnnB Posted 23 Feb 2006 , 11:58pm
post #25 of 25

If you use milk in Toba Garrets glace, it will not be as shiny, but will taste about the same. Alice's icing add butter which DOES taste better. Both look great on cookies.

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