In other posts I have talked about how your scribe is your best friend in decorating sugar cookies and while I still stand by that, a dehydrator is making a run for that #1 spot! I’ll admit that I waited longer than I should have to purchase a dehydrator for my cookies. My husband regularly uses one for making beef jerky but I wasn’t about to put my precious cookies in that one! Who wants teriyaki-flavored cookies? No one!
I’m also well-aware that other cookiers delay in investing in a dehydrator too…it’s another thing to store, right? But let me tell you, it is a true game changer! You will save a tremendous amount of time, avoid craters and also get a shine like no other! In THIS recent post, we talked about how to prevent craters; an issue that plagues cookiers. And while the recommendations in that post will help to ensure perfect, puffy icing, the methods are not nearly as efficient as a dehydrator. Read on to learn why it’s a worthwhile investment…you’ll thank me later!
I did a ridiculous amount of research on dehydrators specifically for cookie making and THIS is the one I highly recommend and there are several reasons why. First, it has 6 pull-out trays which are perfectly spaced so your cookies have plenty of room. I wanted to make sure my dehydrator was able to hold A LOT of cookies, so this design works great. It was also critical that it opened from the front, so you’re easily able to access all your cookies. Many dehydrator models have levels or trays that stack on top of each other. I did not want to have to disturb all my trays in order to access specific ones, so a front-opening door is a priority. Next, I did a lot of research on performance, reliability, size, weight, temp and timing features. Behold, the winner, which I have affectionately named “Dottie” the dehydrator.
Benefits of using a Dehydrator for cookies
You may be asking “What is so special about a dehydrator when making sugar cookies with royal icing?” There are several benefits!
Time Saver
Without a dehydrator, your cookies may need to be out drying over a few days, depending on the level of detail. This can lead to drier cookies and who wouldn’t prefer to get them done over the course of a day?! With a dehydrator, you can easily complete all your decorating in less than a day.
Cookie Aesthetics
Your icing will be much shinier! Some people use a fan blowing over their cookies while decorating, but a fan is not as effective or efficient in getting the shine that a dehydrator delivers.
Your icing will remain puffy! How many times do you flood or add details to your cookies and wish they would dry just as puffy? Well, your wish has been granted. You can confidently decorate your cookies and pop them into the dehydrator to maintain that beautiful puffy icing!
This is also your easiest answer to preventing craters in your icing. As we learned in THIS post, the biggest factor in preventing craters is using a quick dry method so that the icing dries evenly. It is this same reason that a dehydrator will help prevent color bleed in your icing.
How to Use a Dehydrator for your Cookies
Set your dehydrator to 95 degrees F. This is how much time I recommend for each step in your decorating process:
- Flood: 30 -45 min
- Piping or additional layers: 15-20 min
Note that a dehydrator is not meant to completely dry your finished cookies. You will want to decorate your cookies, using the dehydrator after each step, but then let your cookies dry overnight before packaging. Although, you could leave your cookies in the dehydrator, turned off, as a “cookie vault” overnight too!
Also note, if you will be doing stenciling with scraped royal icing, you will want your flood to set much longer in the dehydrator.
Putting Dottie to Work
I make some simple Ukraine flag cookies, that were donated to a family we are friends with from Ukraine, for this trial. Since the dehydrator trays are plastic and somewhat slippery, I purchased dehydrator liner sheets to avoid cookies sliding around and this also helps your cookies from drying out from the bottom. THESE are the liner sheets I purchased and cut to size. These will be cleaned and reused for a VERY long time, so the small price was worth it.
Which bring me to another question you may have; “Won’t a dehydrator dry out my cookies?” And the answer is “no”! Sugar cookies are made of mostly fat with very little to no water in them, so it would take an incredibly long time in a dehydrator to dry out your cookies.
Here are some images of Dottie, and my cookie trays through the process of making these beautiful cookies!
I actually baked these in the morning, flooded the blue, dehydrated for 30 min, flooded the yellow, dehydrated for 60 min and these were ready to be packaged that evening. And check out the dried shine!
As a cookier running a business, you have to be conscious of every dollar you spend. And for me, this is an investment worth making in the time savings alone, but the great cookie aesthetics are a huge bonus! Time is money and if I can save hours of time, that allows for more orders…or doing something else fun! Always be considering your ROI (Return on Investment) – this one is a game changer!
Helpful Links:
Recommended Dehydrator Liner Sheets
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I would love to learn how to bake good sugar cookies & flood them!!! Praying for Ukraine 🇺🇦 & Owen…🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽