Mr. Dehydrator
I recently came across the subject of dehydrators on one of my favorite blogs (LilaLoa). Wait. How did I miss this important piece of information?! It's supposed to keep the cookies a bit shinier, dry them faster AND prevent cratering? Buddy, where have you been for the past 2 years!
After researching the different brands and sizes, I decided on the L'Equip 528 Dehydrator. It has 6 rectangular trays and it seemed to be easy to work with. It definitely didn't disappoint. All I have to do is plug it in, set it to the lowest setting (95 degrees) and turn it on. Easy Peasy.
Here's my buddy in action:
I really should have taken photos of the same cookie air-dried vs. using the dehydrator...good thing Bake at 350 did it! There is definitely a difference with the amount of shine. Now, I didn't leave my cookies in for more than 20 minutes per layer, so maybe I could have achieved a shinier cookie...but I was very afraid of them drying out. After a taste-test, I was able to rule that out too. Not dry. Still yummy!
My buddy also helped me save A LOT of time decorating!! Let's use my fun spring cookies (with character designs by Dorky Prints)...
Without my Buddy, my first step would be to "base" the cookies (flood the cookie with a solid color of icing to create a "base" for my design). This would usually need to sit overnight, or at LEAST a few hours to allow the icing to set and harden. Usually I'd do this at night, then in the morning start the next layer, which would be the start of the design. For the sheep, I'd do the white first, let that dry for another hour before putting the gray on top. Then I'd wait again to start the watering can, which needs to dry about 15-20 minutes between each piece, so the icing wouldn't run together and create a "glob" of a watering can. See how all of this adds up?
These cookies were done with my new Buddy. I based the cookies and popped them in my Buddy as I completed them, then I would start taking them out after 20 minutes. Now, they wouldn't be completely dry all the way through...
If I pushed down on the icing, I would get an indentation, like the picture above. BUT, the cookies were dry to the touch, which is all I needed to begin my design on top! And so begins the assembly line...add a layer, put it in the dehydrator, and by the time the tray is filled, I can start taking out the first cookie and add another layer on top! MUCH faster!!
Normally, when I'm working with small spaces, I get something called cratering (holes in my icing)...you can read about it on Sweetopia's blog. It's very frustrating and I could never figure out how to prevent it. My Buddy to the rescue! I worked on 3 different orders using the dehydrator and NONE of them had craters!!
Look Mom, no craters...
My Buddy has been an excellent addition to the cookie family!
