This is killing me. Back in March I had made Dora cookies using edible images and they stuck to the wax paper. Okay. I figured it needed more time to dry (made them the day before). NOW I just made over 100 cookies for a party with images and they have been drying since Tuesday eve. The woman was supposed to pick them up Friday, only to tell me that she actually needs them today (thursday)! My issue? They still aren't dry!!!

What am I doing wrong? Are they supposed to take this long to dry? They have been out in the open and my house is dry. The RI has dried, but not the image. I tried to stack cookie upon cookie and it is still sticking. What am I supposed to do? And how do I guarantee they will be dry by tomorrow?!?!

HELP?!?!?!?!?!?

I don't use edible images, but you might put the cookies out in front of a slow blowing fan. The air circulation will help dry the icing.

Or I have heard you can put them on a cookie sheet inside your oven with only the light on

Maybe stick them in the oven with the light on? That has helped me before.

Just don't forget they're in the oven!!!!!

Thank you!!! My oven is weird in that the light only comes on when the door is open (no button or switch to turn it on when closed - go figure). Would it still work? I have them on the counter with the fan on.

The RI is dry all around the image. But if I push my fingernail into the part with the image, you can see it. Again, any and all suggestions are welcome. But I still don't know why this is happening. Is it the RI recipe (using Wilton) or the cookie recipe? I may try different ones this weekend. I told the woman that she couldn't pick them up until tomorrow. SO I have the rest of today - as long as my two toddlers don't get to them!!! What a dilemma!

Thanks again!

I would try some in the oven if you can leave the door up... but still open, so the light stays on. I can leave my oven about 4 -6 inches open but the door stays up in that position by itself. Can't hurt to try some that way and see what happens.

Sorry, I can't help you with the why.

Prop the door open like if you were broiling. That should keep the light on.

Unfortunately I cant help you with how to fix it, but I've had the same problem. Hopefully theres a good answer out there!

I dont have the answer but Good luck!

First off, I know nothing about edible images. But there are a couple of things I can think of that could cause the problem. If you have the booklet that came with the printer, see if it offers any suggestions on adjusting the quantity of ink it uses, and look at the type of edible paper it recommends. And, you could, in the future, put the printed images on a mesh rack to dry, allowing for air circulation on both sides. LOL

they should be dry after on a few minutes from being printed. Maybe you are using too much ink. I use to work for someone that thats all she did was image cookies. When it was time to do the cookie we put the images in the freezer to harden them a little. This would make them easier to get off the papaer they are on and easier to handle. good luck

The image is preventing the water in the royal icing from evaporating which is causing it not to dry. This is of no use this time, and this is going to sound crazy,but I spray my edible images with a spritz bottle of water ( just a light mist) This helps the image sheet to dissolve, and the cookies dry faster.

Thank you all again. I think they are finally dry. I mean, the images were pretty hard this morning, so hopefully nothing will go wrong when they stack them and package them fro the party. *keeping fingers crossed*

hey sat out under the ceiling fan during the day and then I put them in the oven with the light on overnight. When I do the the cookies, I put on RI then the image (which I keep in a ziploc bag so it doesn't get hard, and then I put it on the RI before it dries because I found that it 'dissolves" better that way. I have tried letting the RI dry and misting the image and the image got blotchy and runny (tried it with varying amounts of spray).

I am seriously considering changing my cookie recipe because my Wilton instructor and mentioned that this recipe (made with cream cheese) tends to retain more moisture. I'm thinking: cookie retains extra moisture, RI has water, and then image takes longer to dry. Make sense?

Then my next thinking is this: in general, my house is EXTREMELY dry and always have to use more water than called for in my RI. Is all this extra water catching up with me when using the images? Esp. in combo with the all ready moisture retaining cookie? I don't know enough about this stuff o know if my thinking is on target or plain crazy.

txkat: Do you spray the back of the image before putting it on the RI?

I am nervous though about making larger cookies with larger images unless I have a full week to let them dry! Otherwise, I am going to boot myself out of cookies.

Nevertheless, thank you again everyone for your input! I will keep you posted.

Nope, I actually spritz them after I set the image. Be very careful and use a fine mist, because too much moisture can cause the image to bleed.

You should try using white chocolate to attach the images its much easier and better tasting

White chocolate? Oooh, that sounds extremely yummy!! I just melt it and spread? Like white Ghiradelli chips?

By the by, one of the cookies is in my photo gallery. I didn't upload the other two since they are actual pictures (on edible sheets) and I'm unsure of the policy about that here. Feel free to be brutally honest. As mentioned before, I need to know whether or not to continue to offer this or stop while I am behind.

you should let the RI dry all the way through first...then apply the edible image with some vodka or clear vanilla extract and a small paint brush

when I made edible image cookies we used the bottom side of the cookie spread white chocolate and put the image on. set them in the fridge for a few minutes and they were done. I use Merkens chocolate made for molding its about 2.50 a pound

Thanks! I will definitely have to try that. And it sounds yummy.