{Mr. E....I love you for looking out for me. ♥ Aaand, I just used it 2 more times.}
On to cleaning icing tips...
This might be my least favorite part of cookie decorating. The dreaded tip cleaning.
1. Let your icing bags sit on the counter for several hours, or overnight, and hope someone else will clean them.
2. Fill a glass with hot soapy water.
3. Remove the tips from the couplers. Drop the tip and the coupler tip in the soapy water.
4. Squeeze the extra icing out of the bags.
5. Working from the small part of the bag, push the remaining piece of the coupler and work it out of the end of the bag. Place in soapy water.
6. Let the tips soak for a few minutes....several minutes if you've waited a while to clean them. *cough*
7. Scrub the inside of the tips and couplers with a tip brush.
(I use the spiral looking end. There is also a cone-shaped tip brush that is difficult to find, but awesome.)
(I do this under running water and hold the tip down, so I can see the water running through it....especially important on smaller tips.)
8. Let the tips dry on a drying rack. They are supposed to be rust-proof. To make doubly-sure they remain rust proof, dry with a paper towel, or stick them in a 150 degree oven for 5-10 minutes.
That's it! It's not too hard after all. (But still see if your hubby will do it.)
If you haven't visited us on University of Cookie in a while, here's what you are missing:
- Shelly's Soft Sugar Cookies (I'm SO making these!)
- a video tutorial on brush embroidery (yes, on COOKIES) from Ali B.
- a video about icing consistency from Marian
- Callye shows how she applies sanding sugar to her cookies
why don't you just pop them in the dishwasher? that's what i do and they're always get clean and have stayed rust free
ReplyDeleteI was hoping there would be more hints on how to get other people to clean them :) Damn, guess I'll just have to do it myself.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with you, cleaning tips us the worst part of cake/cookie/cupcake decorating. And sadly, my husband is as blind to the dirty tips beside the sink as I am :)
ReplyDeleteI have one of those brush cleaners... somewhere... I can never seem to find it when I am cleaning the tips :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for another great WMW!
...and don't forget to cover the garbage disposal while cleaning them, so you don't lose any down the drain like I almost did. They are slippery little suckers :)
ReplyDeleteI wonder if those tip cleaners are more expensive than the baby bottle brushes ie. Dr. Brown or the nipple brush on a Munchkin bottle brush.
ReplyDeleteok so I have to know which gray did you paint your room? I've been on the hunt for a good gray for the living room- I have about 6 swatch colors painted on my walls right now! LOL
ReplyDeletesend me pics!!
Oh man that thing is a lifesaver! I love it! Works for me too!!
ReplyDeleteI have a basket for the tips and couplers....I refuse to hand-wash so many tips.
ReplyDeleteI use a the small end of a bottle scrubber, and it works great!
ReplyDeleteAlso, instead of squeezing the rest of the icing out of the bag to push the coupler out, I just cut the bag off right above the coupler and peel it out. It's much less messy for me!
The cleaning up is always the worst! I haven't been able to get anyone in my house to clean them either...maybe if I threaten to withhold the cookies...hmmm
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI pop my tips, couplers, etc. into a plastic basket in the top rack of my dishwasher that I use for baby bottle nipples & lids, sippy cup valves, etc. I do rinse them in hot water first, getting them unclogged, but I let the dishwasher do the hard part for me.
ReplyDeleteThis is a fine way to clean easy to clean Royal icing, but when doing buttercream I put all the tips and couples in a microwavable bowl, cover the tips and couplers with water and a couple drops of soap, then microwave for 1 1/2 minutes. Let sit for five and clean like you showed. To then disinfect I put them in a clean bowl and do it again and done, let dry before putting away. I don't use the dishwasher because it is crappy at cleaning them.
ReplyDeleteI too just throw the tips in the dishwasher in the plastic basket and let 'er run. Works for me!
ReplyDeleteSadly, I do not believe my hubby will never, ever clean my piping tips. It's like painting for him - totally my hobby and no fun at all! Of course, I beg to differ.
ReplyDeleteI usually soak them too, but like a number of commenters, I also put them in the dishwasher, in a baby bottle "cage." It works well.
Ruh, roh. Several people have added "nipples" in the comment section of your toilet post. NOW your husband needs to worry.
ReplyDeleteLove the tips. Please keep them coming!
ReplyDeleteOn another note, is it wrong to use the word toilet on a blog? Oh dear! I wonder if I've used the word toilet... haha!
Sadly I don't just hope that my DH will do it anymore...the garbage disposal has ate about 3 of them and it only happens when he does it :(
ReplyDeletei do #1 pretty regularly and it has NEVER worked!! Those brushes are a savior for me :)))
ReplyDeleteI love your WFMW posts! So helpful. I was decorating some cookies just last night and thought: I wonder if Bake at 350 has any posts on the best way to FILL a squeeze bottle??? I can't seem to do it without creating a massive mess!
ReplyDeleteI really would like to stop at step 1, but since the elves have never shown up in my kitchen or elsewhere at night to suprise me by morning, the rest of these instructions are "grand". Now I'll have to find one of those nifty little brushes. Many thanks!
ReplyDeleteToilet, Toilet. Toilet. Ha! What would Mr. E think of that? :) lol
ReplyDeleteAnd I thought your tip would be for someone else to clean up after us. Boo :(
I do exactly like what you did for cleaning icing tips. Soak them and then use that nifty brush!
ReplyDeleteI need to try the oven part...
I ALWAYS wash my tips the next day waiting for the night cleaning fairies. :)
ReplyDeleteAlthough I do have a dish fairy in my house, this fairy only does half the job by putting the dishwasher safe items in the dishwasher and leave everything else in the sink. And unfortunately, he classifies the icing tips and along with other baking supplies as non-dishwasher safe.
ReplyDeleteOh, I don't bother getting a brush, as I know it's going to get lost in no time. I just run the tips in hot soapy water and use a toothpick to unclog as necessary.
Funny post - our first steps are the same :-)
ReplyDeleteI absolutely HATE cleaning my tips - I need to get some of those brushes!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tip. I wrap the icing in plastic wrap and put it in the piping bag. I get to reuse the bag and once a coupler is in the bag it stays there until the bag is worn out.
ReplyDeleteLike Cherry, my cleaning fairy doesn't touch the hand wash stuff; apparently he only knows how to put things in the dishwasher.
ReplyDeletethis is awesome! whenever i'm using pastry bags, i ALWAYS take off all tips and couplers and put them in a separate bowl filled with hot water. i've had too many tips damaged by the garbage disposal otherwise. :(
ReplyDeletei also like to fold the bags inside out underneath running hot water. it makes it so much easier to make sure all the icing is cleaned out of them.
I just use a bottle brush that has a nipple brush attached. The bottle brush is great for the squeeze bottles and the nipple brush never gets lost and is great for the tips.
ReplyDeleteIsn't it funny how something so simple can be so tedious! I usually put them in the dishwasher, sometimes I still need to dry them with the paper towel too. xo
ReplyDeleteI keep waiting for the clean up fairy to come, but so far she has been a no show. I would settle for gnome or elf, but as of now, its just me and the mess. theenchantedoven.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteNice tutorial and advice! And there's no way my hubby would do that for me. But at least he'd refuse politely.
ReplyDeleteHi Bridget,
ReplyDeleteI've been a devoted reader for maybe under a year. My daugther is making her First Communion on May 7th and I've decided to go ahead and make cookies as part of the dessert table. I have the dove cookie cutter and I guess, I just wanted you to know that you are inspiring me to do this. Thank you for sharing all that you do. Jackie Hale
HEHEHE! Smart girl. I'd be embarrassed to tell you how I do this! But I have lost two of these to curious little boys. But BEST METHOD I have ever discovered is to make hubby do it =)
ReplyDeleteHi, love your website becasue it contains so much great tips and tutorials. i am new to cookie decoratings so I still need to keep learning.
ReplyDeleteI am planning to make these speckled eggs for my office bake-off day!! Thanks for the inspirations!
When I worked at a cake shop, we always fought to be the one NOT cleaning tips at the end of the week cause inevitably, there'd be 30 or so random piping bags to do it to.
ReplyDeleteBiggest tip we had that you seem to fight here, get a cheapo pair of scissors you're happy getting wet and use it to cut each piping bag just above the coupler in the bag. I'd grab a fistful of piping bags, snip snip snip on each of them letting the couplers/bit of bag attached fall in the sink. Then just pop out each coupler. Super fast!
And a hot glass of water with soap in it does wonders. I usually decorate things at night so I pop all my tips and coupler bits in a glass of hot soapy water, go to bed and come morning just a good rinse under hot water and they're good.
Also, look at the store for a syringe to give medicine to babies or pets. They all come with the tiniest cone shaped spiral brush to clean the syringe with and it is the worlds best tip cleaner!
I love my little brushes! I've used one for years for my decorating tips. I keep one in my bathroom so I can use it to clean my rings, too!
ReplyDeleteMy husband washes them since he wants to eat the cookies, cupcakes etc. Doesn't even complain! :)
ReplyDeletei've found tide laundry detergent works great.and alittle does alot.just soak and rinse in warm/hotwater,and i didnt need a pipe cleaner.hope you all find it to work as well for you as it did for me.
ReplyDeleteI use a disposable mascara brush to clean them. You can find them everywhere even a 2 dollar store.
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ReplyDeleteQuite a handy way I must admit. Sad that it's quite hard to find good cleaning tips on the web. I only managed to find this cool website which contains tons of information. Maybe you know some other good ones, guys?
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