Dipping Cookies: The Dos and Don'ts

Any cookier who has ever flooded dozens of cookies in a row has found themselves thinking "there has to be a better way" as they massaged their poor, cramping hands afterward. While flooding can be fascinating to watch and satisfying to do when you have that perfect consistency nailed down, it can also be time-consuming and hard on the hand muscles. And don't get me wrong--there are some designs that there just aren't any shortcuts for. But if you need simple cookies that have a base flood all the same color, it turns out there is an easier way--dipping! It can just take a little practice.

Flooding cookies requires mixing your icing to the right consistency (or consistencies), transferring that icing into piping bags, and then squeezing the icing precisely onto your cookies. Most cookiers outline first and then flood, using a scribe tool to pop any air bubbles and adjust the icing as needed.

Dipping cookies brings the cookie to the icing, instead of the icing to the cookie, as with flooding. This can be a time saver, since the full cookie is being iced in one go when done properly.

What vessel or bowl you choose to use for your dipping icing is just as important as the icing itself. You want to choose a vessel that has a wide, flat bottom, so that your cookie can make even, direct contact across its full surface. You don't want to have to struggle to fit your hand and the cookie into the bowl without knocking against the sides of the bowl. That's a recipe for a mess and frustration.

The Cookie Countess Dippidy Do can help streamline your dipping process by attaching to the perfect dipping container and freeing up your spare hand. Place the Dippidy Do across an 8" cake pan (we use, and sell, the Fat Daddio brand), and it becomes an integrated scraper and leveler. Simply dip your cookie into the icing in the pan, lift up, and gently scrape off excess icing on the offset edge of the Dippidy Do. Give your cookie a shake, use a scribe to pop any air bubbles, and move on to your next cookie. Done in a matter of seconds!

When to dip cookies is another question decorators often have. How do I know when it's better to dip, than to pipe and flood? This can depend on a few factors. If your cookie design has a solid base color, but a lot of time consuming details on top, saving time by dipping the base icing can help even out the work process. Also, dipping cookies puts less icing down than flooding, so it can be good balance of icing-to-cookie taste if you have a lot more details going on top. 

You may also want to dip when you have a LOT of cookies to make that all have the same base color. For example - you are making 200 PYO cookies and they all just need a white base. Dipping is going to speed up this process a TON. Same goes for if you are using an edible printer, and you just need a white base color on all your cookies. Such a time saver! 

Dipping cookies is also how you can create beautiful marbled cookies! We have a few blogs on how to do this as well. Marbling and dipping really adds some great color, and a gorgeous effect, in a time-saving manner.

No matter why you choose to dip, we hope these tips will fast track you to dipping success!