My Favorite Icing Bowl
I know you will probably think I am obsessive when you read this. Well, I am! I have 2 identical bowls I use for mixing my icing colors and I have convinced myself that I can’t make the right consistency of icing without them. I do not use them for anything else. They are for ICING ONLY!! Can you guess which bowl is my favorite?
I am not going to tell you which one it is until the end of this post!
I talked to a few cookie friends and asked them if they used the same bowl for mixing their icing colors and every one of them said, “YES!” I asked them why and their answers was very close to mine.
- I know how much icing to put in my bowl to fill my bag.
- I know how much water to add to get the consistency I want. I know about how many times to spray for outline icing and flood icing without thinking about it a lot. When you use the same bowl you just kinda know.
- I don’t have to worry about any grease residue in the bowl. If there is any grease at all it will make your icing splotchy and make you want to scream when it dries and it is all different colors! That can make you have a bad day!
Well, I guess I am not so weird after all since I am no the only one who has designated “icing bowls”. I even did a little experiment to see how my icing turned out when I used different bowls to mix it.
Here they are, 3 bowls almost the same size and a spray bottle to add water for mixing. Gail from One Tough Cookie found a way to add a little water at a time to your icing. She gives it a “shpritz”. You can easily control the amount of water you add. Gail told Callye from Sweet Sugar Belle about it and Callye told me and now I am telling you! Gail and Callye are the best!!
Now let’s get started!
Bowl #1: looks pretty good!
Bowl #2: Needs a little more water but I love that color!!!
Bowl #3: Looks good! I love this color also! Time to bag them and see how I did.
The green and the light blue have about the same amount of icing and the darker blue has a little more icing in it.
As far as the consistency goes, there is a little difference.
(Imagine Goldilocks here!)
The light green is a little too thin.
The light blue is a little too think.
The dark blue is just right! So my favorite icing bowl is:
The one with the little moose on it! My mother-in-law got me 2 of them for Christmas a few years ago. I love them and don’t know what I am going to do if they break! I guess I might have to stop decorating cookies!!! Just kidding!
Seriously though, get yourself a bowl you like and use it for icing only. Use it every time you mix your icing and you will be surprised how much more consistent it is. I promise, it really does work.
Happy Creating,
I am a stainless steel kinda gal…I like the small mixing bowls. I have a few in that size, but I can see your point! Maybe I should just stick to one!
Give it a try! I think you will like it and if not go back to your stainless steel.
I have some little plastic containers with lids that I got from Ikea. Love the fact that I know how much icing it will make for my icing bottles. Guess we cookiers are all a little obsessive about some things. Great post.
I know I am obsessive! lol But like I have said before, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!! One bowl works for me! Glad to hear you’re a little like me! hehehehe
I use drinking glasses that we don’t use to drink out of but have not perfected the consistancy 🙂
Try using the spray bottles. I know about how many sprays for my bowls to get the outline consistency and the flood consistency. The weather here sometimes throws me off but for the most part I count the number of sprays.
Thanks.. I will try that with my next batch.
I lovvvvvvvvvvvvve you for helping with the ole clog problem on teeny tips!
Thank you so much for these wonderful tips. Sometimes these small techniques can make such a big difference. I really appreciate you and all the wonderful people in the decorating community that are so kind to take the time to share their experience with us!
I am happy to share some tips and tricks that I have learned along the way. Hope you try this and like it!
Ok Lisa! How is this for obsessive. I just started weighing my icing when I divide it up. I measure out 8 oz. I know this will give me enough for outline icing and then fill the bottle. I’m like you, I know roughly how many squirts (give or take 1 or 2 squirts) it takes to get to outline and then how many more to get to flood icing! Consistency make me sane! 🙂 Thanks for sharing! Oh, and I picked the right bowl! 🙂
LOL!!! I thought about weighing my icing!! I am going to do it now!! Great idea!!
Just another thing to love about ya’ my sweet quirky friend. We are soooo two peas in a pod. haaaaaa
I have only begun showing you quirky I am!!! hahahaha!! Love you D.J.
I had one glass bowl that I loved so much that I ordered a pack of twelve!! Best investment! Before I would never let my flood icing sit long enough for all the bubbles to rise because I needed to use the bowl for the next color! I had to hide them though. My boys decided they are also the perfect size for ice cream…..
Lizy, you are so lucky to have 12! (((((Happy Dance for you))))))
Did you feel like goldilocks when you were doing the experiment?? Talk about being obsessive – remember my spice jars??? Love the way the colors turned out in all three bowls!!
I have NEVER felt like Goldilocks!! LOL I always wanted the baby bear!!!! LOL He was just so cute!
Such an adorable post Lisa! I think we all have to be a little nutsy to spend the amount of time that we do on cookies and still LOVE to make them! You seem like such a fun and cutesie gal. Thanks so much for sharing your tutorials!
You are the one having all the fun riding your bike 73 miles!! I am still in shock! lol I live in Tennessee and I don’t know of a place you can ride 4 miles without hills. I seriously think there is a Super Woman Cape in your closet!!! LOL
If you are wondering what I am talking about here is the post http://www.cristinscookies.com/2012/02/castle-cookies.html where she rode 73 miles and then made cookies!!!!! My hero!!
Lisa, this is a great consistency tutorial! Love the moose-y bowl, too!!!
And,thank you for the shoutout!
That spray bottle has saved my royal at least 1 million times, maybe even more!
You changed the way I decorate cookies with the spray bottle!! SOOOOOO SMART!!! Thanks for teaching us this:)
That’s such a great idea! I can’t believe I’ve never thought of it before.
Thanks for the great advice!
Nicky, when I started doing this, my icing improved!! It was like it took all the guess work out of it. I really hope you try it!
great info!! I found that I was using my KA mixer for both my RI and buttercream (that has shortening in it) and I was getting funky RI) – now I just use a different bowl and bought a cheap mixer to mix my RI and it seems to look better and dry better too! THANKS!
I have made funky icing because of oil before. It might be a good effect for some things but not good for everyday icing!
HAHAHAHA, I cannot stop staring at those beautiful colors! Okay like two weeks later, I GET it. Duh! Yes, I have a fave, I always mix in plastic measuring cups that I only use for icing. It helps me see what I am getting! Awesome post!
Hey Lisa, thanks to you (and many of the above!) for helping the rest of us along the way. Here’s my question though….how do you transfer your icing to squeeze bottles with small tops when you don’t use a cup with a pouring ‘spout’? I had to switch from bowls to measuring cups (per Callye! <3) when I began using the bottles with narrow openings as I was making a real mess with overspilling! Still think I may need to take a new look through my cabinets to find "Mr. Right"!
Hi Mary! I am glad you are finding information on things that help you. I will do a tutorial and post it Saturday on how I get the icing into my bottles. I was always making messes and finally found something that worked! I will be happy to share but it will be easier to show you. So come back Saturday! Also, if you have any other questions I would love to hear about it. Others may want to know the same thing and I will try to do tutorials to answer as many questions as I can. Feel free to ask!
I’m a bit confused. You mentioned making your icing in a stand mixer and then you mention using a special bowl. Do you transfer from the stand mixer? At what point? Is the special bowl just for mixing colors?
Hi Leeann,
I do use a Kitchenaid Stand Mixer, but when I add color to my royal icing I like using smaller bowls that fit in my hand. Sorry to confuse you.