Do the Everything Dog Treats Dog Treat Icing Mixes Dry Hard?

Yes - all of our icing mixes dry hard.  They will not melt during the hot summer months.  Unlike chips that contain hydrogenated fats (bad fats) - our icing mixes contain no added fats.  Simply add water, mix, decorate your treats and let them dry!  No more melting chips.  No more melted decorations.

 How long does it take the EDT Icing to dry / get hard?

While we cannot give you an exact drying time as multiple factors impact drying times (how thick the icing is that you use, how thick/ layered your decorations are, humidity, etc) we can give you a general estimate.  It can take anywhere from 6 to 24 hours for the icing to dry completely.  Make sure to allow your decorated treats to remain open to the air until completely dry.  Prematurely packaging them will cause the icing to not set properly. 

We typically recommend that you decorate your treats on one day - allow them to sit overnight up to 1 full day, and then plan to package them.  If you have access to a dehydrator - you can place your decorated treats in your dehydrator for 4 - 6 hours and this will help speed the icing drying time significantly.

Can I use your icing mixes as frosting for my dog cakes?

Yes - many of our customers will use our icing mixes as frosting for their dog cakes.  Simply add the amount of water that gives you the desired frosting consistency.  We recomend that you chill your frosting mix before applying to your cake.  Also, because this will be a soft frosting, we recommend that you keep your frosted dog cake refrigerated prior to serving for no more than 1 - 3 days.

 How many treats will a package of Icing Mix decorate?

This one is also a little challenging to give you an exact number of treats that can be decorated - because it will depend largely on factors that we can't know, such as 1.  how large / small your treats are, 2.  how much icing you use / how much decoration is on your treats.

To give you a general idea -  1 lb. of dry mix will decorate approximately 150 to 200 medium (2.5" treat) bones that are dipped on one side.  If you are simply drizzling the icing, depending on coverage, it could do more - if you are flooding and doing some more elaborate decoration, it will do less.  

How many treats will I get with your 5 lb. Dog Treat Mix?

As far as how many treats - this is a very difficult question to answer.  We cannot give you a count - as cutter size / shape and dough thickness impact the total number.  But we can give you an estimate in terms of lbs.

It does depend on how much scrap material after cutting your treats that you are able to rework into the dough and form treats.  Some folks are very efficient at this.  Also, how much moisture is remaining after you bake and / or dehydrate will also influence the final weight.  Also - what other ingredients you add will have an impact.

For 5 lbs. of dry dog treat mix, assuming that you have 10% moisture retained (fairly typical for a crunchy type treat) - and you only add water to the formula - you could net over 5 lbs. if you do a perfect job of using the dough scraps.  We expect some yield loss / scrap loss.  A 10% yield loss from scraps is reasonable.  So with 5 lbs of dog treat mix in this scenario, you should net out around 5 lbs. of finished treats. 

If you are adding additional ingredients (like peanut butter, honey, apples, etc), making soft treats (i.e. higher moisture formulas), or use more of your trim / scrap material, you can net out more.

 What is the Shelf Life of Your Icing?

Our icing mix is a dry powder that you add water to.  As a dry powder before hydrating, it will last for 8 to 12 months - with the only real issues being clumping because of humidity / moisture over time.  You can choose to mix what you need. If you do have extra icing that you have already hydrated - we do recomend that you place it in an air tight container (placing a piece of celophane directly on the surface of the icing so it doesn't dry out) - and refrigerated the unused portion. You can keep the refrigerated unused portion for up to 3 days.

Our Dog Treat Icing Mix will dry hard / crunchy on your dog treats.  Once completely dry on your treats, it is shelf stable for 6 to 8 months.

How Do I Add Color to Your Icing?

The icing mix does take human grade food coloring very well.  For natural options, you can look at dehydrated fruit and vegetable powders, though natural, the colors aren't as bright as the artificial ones.  It is a trade off for going natural.