You've Been Making Cookies All Wrong

As we've noted, the freezer can be a huge help when baking. But after cookies are out of the oven and you've decorated them, you'll want to keep frosted ones away from cool temps. Pansino likes to use royal icing, which is usually made with egg whites and powdered sugar, to decorate her creations (check out the glasses on her adorable "smart cookies"). Yet putting this icing in the fridge, or freezer, to harden will actually cause it to melt, because of the high humidity. Instead, let anything decorated with royal icing sit for five to six hours at room temperature (which tends to be drier than the inside of your refrigerator) before serving. Sugar cookies decorated with royal icing generally keep for two weeks; store them in an airtight container at room temperature.