Hi all!
I've been doing more cookies than cakes lately...and i'm rather enjoying the change...
i have been doing mostly royal icing with some marshmallow accents etc...but, i researched a bit and found that some use rolled buttercream...

do you cookies makers have any advice or preference? how easy is the rolled buttercream to work with?
any comments or advice that can be offered would be appreciated.
many thanks in advance!
Marianne

i meant MMF, not marshmallows themselves!!! but, you all probably knew that already!

looking forward to some advice on this!
Thanks

I really like rolled buttercream. I only use it or royal to decorate cookies. I don't care for fondant on cookies at all. Rolled buttercream is somewhat temperature sensitive but if your working environment is not too warm, it's a breeze. Try it for yourself and let us know what you think.

I'd like to hear as well. I usually use MMF but tonight I made up a batch of the rolled buttercream to try tommorrow. So I'm hoping to hear good things!
The Rolled buttercream recipe I have calls for lemon and orange oil but all I had was extract so I hope that isn't a problem...?

I prefer rolled buttercream as well. Has a more "icing" taste than the MMF on the cookie. Kids like it too! I didn't find it hard to work with at all.

What is Rolled Buttercream?

It tastes just like buttercream that is a thicker texture.... like fondant. You can roll it out and use it like fondant.

yea what is rolled buttercream? I also have been getting cookie orders lately and have been just using buttercream which you cant really stack the cookies because it will "stick" and smoosh.

well, i am enjoying cookies for sure.. and have used the royal and MMF like i said and everyone loves them... so i don't know why i want to mess with a good thing.. BUT, something about the taste of buttercream just sounds better to me.

now, for storage........ i know MMF can be stored at room temp for a week or so...what's the scoop on RBC? how is it stored and what's it's shelf life!?

thanks!

The cookies I have made have been fine stacked, just don't smooch them. I've used impression mats and things with it.
As far as storage, I've only had the cookies around about 3 days and they were fine...not sure about anything beyond that. I'm sure you could freeze them, no problem.

thanks everyone...

i was more confused on the storage of the rolled buttercream itself...prior to being used on a cookie? and does it remain soft? or harden like royal icing?



you are all so great with info! i'd be lost without you!

The recipe I used says its good for 1 week on the counter, 1 month in the fridge and 3 months in the freezer.

http://cakecentral.com/recipes/1603/rolled-buttercream-fondant-alternative

This is the one I followed.

I tried my rolled buttercream today... I found it was really soft. It tastes good, rolls fine, but I had a hard time picking it up to put on my cookies, It didn't really keep its shape well. So I kneaded in a bit more icing sugar and it was better. I guess I should have kneaded in more last night but I added all the recipe called for and I wasn't sure about adding more cause I though it might stiffen up more as it sat.
I put my cookies in cellopane bags and they didn't stick to the bags and I stacked them in a cookie tin, for my dd's Brownie group and the leftover came home looking the same as when I made them. So I think they hold up as well as MMF.

thanks for sharing that info! i was hoping to try it today myself but by the time i got done making cookie dough, baking, making my royal and MMF..i just didn't get around to it. but,i am looking forward to it!

Okay, after reading these great reviews about rolled buttercream...I made some today. It tastes great and rolled out just like fondant ( no problems there), but now that it is on the cookies, I am getting an oily sheen on top of all the cookies....I am worried about putting royal icing accents on top of that ....any ideas ?

thats the one thing i did hear happens with the rolled buttercream..not sure i will be a huge fan of that look... but i am going to give it a go...got lots of cookies to do in the next couple weeks...

keep the ideas and comments coming!

M

I was getting the same problem. Some members here have suggested letting it sit overnight on the cookies in order to dry. Others have recommended putting them in the freezer.
For me, it still didn't work. Still got the greasy feel and look and RI just broke down when i tried to decorate.

luv2bake6, This morning the cookies still looked oily ( I did put one in the freezer to experiment - oily too)...a few of them I dusted extra powdered sugar on top and those looked better, but still feel oily to the touch....I'm sure that the RI will fall apart....wish I could find a solution - this rolled buttercream tastes great -

Hmmm, I never had that problem when I did my cookies. They weren't oily at all. I didn't use the flavored oils though. I just used vanilla and almond extract. Maybe it's the oils in the recipe?

I had the same oily problem when using RBC on my cookies. I left them out on the counter, uncovered overnight and they still were oily. Then, I put them in the frig, overnight, uncovered and they were more acceptable.

One tip on picking up RBC cut outs cut them out, remove the excess RBC (around the cut out) and place the whole tray in the freezer for just a few minutes. When you take them out of the freezer they will be firm enough to pick up and apply to the cookie.

I used vanilla and butter flavoring in mine ( no oils) and kneaded in more powdered sugar than called for...I do love the tip about putting the cutouts in the frig-that definitely helped with handling ! Looks like I'm going back to Antonia's royal icing for my decorated cookies...

I think I read on here once that using high ratio shortening instead of Crisco will eliminate or cut back on the greasiness. Haven't tried it myself yet though. Personally, I don't think it's "greasiness" from the shortening, I think it's the corn syrup settling out when it sits for awhile. I ususally dust with corn starch once or twice until the icing sets...kind of like how buttercream crusts

I agree with them being oily. Mine wrapped in the cello bags are leaving a greasy smear on the bags. I'm going to try some royal on them later tonight but I would bet they won't hold up. I used orange and lemon extract instead of the oil as well.

update: I lightly dusted powered sugar on the cookies this morning and that seemed to fix the problem ! Since then, I have used imprinting stamps on them , luster dust and even royal icing with no problems at all !! My son says that the rolled buttercream tastes like the filling in an oreo.....

I agree that it tastes great, i just couldn't get past the oily part.
But puffcake is right. I too read that Crisco and other store brand shortenings are more oily and greasy and it's recommended to use high ratio shortening. I've not tried it yet but i do plan on finding this shortening to try to make RBC again.

I have some royal on them now and the royal is dry. I'm going to bag them up in the moring and see if it softens up.

I find the rolled buttercream to be too soft by itself, so I mix it about half and half with fondant. No exact amounts, just until it feels right kneading. It holds its shape pretty well, and there is no shininess.

(I usually use either vanilla or butter flavoring when I make mine.) They eat 'em right up!!!

I used RBC for a while and was having a hard time with the shiny/greasy thing. But was wanting to try MMF because everyone was using it on cakes AND cookies. So - I found a recipe on CC that mixed the two. I thought, it would taste good like RBC and function better because of the MMF.....It did work better. Easier to handle. The detail "add ons" I cut out also set up faster. And, no oily look.

The only thing is - I'd like to experiment with flavors. I thought of using candy oils. I'm not sure if the problems others have posted are due to the oils or just the normal characteristic of RBC & the shortening.

Anyone know for sure that the oils caused an issue?