What is Color Bleed and Why Does it Happen?

When I made these bee sugar cookies, I noticed the next day that my royal icing colors had blended together and looked faded. I couldn’t figure out what went wrong—until I learned this issue is called color bleed.

Color bleed happens when one color of royal icing pulls moisture (and pigment) from the icing next to it. In the photo above, the black icing bled into the yellow, and the white icing on the wings bled into the yellow body, causing the colors to look blurry and washed out.

How to Prevent Color Bleed in Royal Icing

Preventing color bleed can take a bit of trial and error, since every icing recipe behaves differently. Your environment—humidity, temperature, and even elevation—can also affect how your icing dries. That said, here are several tips that have helped me significantly reduce color bleed:

1. Add White Food Coloring to Your Base Icing

Start by adding white food coloring to your base icing before mixing in other colors. This helps stabilize the icing and can reduce color migration. I personally love AmeriColor, Chefmaster, and The Sugar Art—all are high-quality brands I recommend.

2. Avoid Oversaturating Your Icing

Using too much food coloring can cause excess moisture in your icing, which increases the risk of bleeding. Remember, a little color goes a long way, and icing darkens as it dries.
To preview the final color, swipe a bit of wet icing onto a paper towel and place it in front of a fan. Once dry, you’ll see how dark it will actually be.

3. Add Cream of Tartar

Cream of tartar acts as an egg stabilizer and helps prevent sugar crystallization. Some meringue powders already include it, so check the label before adding more. A good rule of thumb is 1 teaspoon of cream of tartar per 2 pounds of powdered sugar.

4. Use a Fan for Drying

Drying your cookies in front of a fan speeds up the drying process and helps colors set faster, which greatly reduces color bleed. Even a small tabletop fan can make a big difference and save you time.

Fun fact: You might notice in the same photo that the bee wings have a slight crater or “valley” with a rim around the edge. That happened because my icing was a bit too thin. Thickening it slightly with more powdered sugar would have helped the wings dry flat and smooth.

Final Thoughts

These are all the tips I have for preventing color bleed! It may take some experimenting to find what works best for your recipe and environment—but that’s totally normal. And remember, color bleed doesn’t affect the taste at all. Don’t stress—you’re doing great 💛🍪

Coastline Cookies Co