Royal Weddings, and Royal Disasters

One of the BIGGEST complaints about royal icing is that it can be a ROYAL PAIN IN the wazoo...

The royal wedding fever COMPLETELY missed me until yesterday morning.  I was too busy to even think about it.  I had a simple cookie design that I wanted to try as a gift for one of my childhood friends that I probably haven't seen in 15 years.  She was coming to town, and I wanted to make some special cookies for our little reunion.

Since I was expecting her in the afternoon, I got up EARLY the next morning when Bernie headed to work to give them a looksie and turn off my {NEW} fan.

I knew immediately something was VERY VERY wrong.  The icing was not the slightly shiny matte color it should be, but looked as wet as when I'd flooded the cookie.

My heart SUNK.  I mean, even if I could re-bake and re-decorate them, there was no way they would dry before it was time for her to arrive...

Luckily, since our actual get together wasn't until Saturday, I was able to shoot her a text and gain another day to fix things.

Obviously, I was less than pleased...besides the unplanned baking marathon at 4:00am, I was out of eggs and had to make an early morning convienence store run.  Have you ever noticed you see the darnedest folks when you go to the quick stop at 4am?

As for the icing, I was so busy throwing a FIT, I almost forgot to take a picture...ALMOST.

The best way to describe it texture wise is marshmallow fluff.  Slick, foamy, and when the surface is touched, it sticks and peels away in a layer, kind of did like Jello does when you touch it before it's completely gelled.

As for an explanation of WHY, I don't really have a great one {yes, I know that's not helpful at all} but, I have an educated guess.  At first, I really really thought I had added too much color.  BUT the second time around, I was forced to do the same thing, and it didn't happen, which leads me to believe that it was something else.

I think that some way, some how, I got oil into the icing.  It's really funny because after almost two and a half years, this has happened to me a TOTAL of four times EVER including this one.  The funny thing is...I have been thinking about this "phenomenon", especially since one of my FB fans recently had the exact thing happen to her.

So, on that note, even though I am not positive that was the cause, do everything you can to keep oil out of your icing.

Just for the record, my cookie buddies and I have a few other theories on what causes this to happen.

One is over addition of color, the other is humidity.  If ANYONE has anything to add, or anything they can contribute to solve this mystery, feel free to chime in.  I am not trained or an expert, so I may very well learn something.

The same things also happened to my friend Shelley, {HERE}. She thinks she may have overbeaten.  That may very well be what happened to me.  I walked away SEVERAL times...

Here's a few more shots...

As for the cookies, all's well that ends well.  I fixed it, I got to watch the most amazing wedding that I have ever seen, and I even got to take an afternoon nap.

As for that wedding...I went from not caring at all, to watching through tears.  I was proud for Britain.  Proud for the young couple, in awe of the traditions of the monarchy, and admittedly very excited to see what the future holds for the two.

I sincerely hope that life brings them the greatest joy and happiness, and that they use their celebrity and privilege to change the world.  I'm proud to have witnessed a joyful moment in history, when good news seems to be in such short supply.

On that note, I am praying for all of those affected by the storms last week.  I must admit, I feel a little helpless and overwhelmed with all of the devastation lately.

I hope that everyone spend this Saturday thankful for what they have, and for those that are struggling, I hope that you have peace.  I don't have a lot of money and I am kind of grounded, but, if you are reading this, and I can help in some way, I am all ears.

Have a peaceful day, everyone.