This Royal icing recipe is simple to make use of and ideal for outlining and flooding sugar cookies. Make enjoyable and easy, fantastically adorned cookies for any vacation or event!

Why You’ll Love This Royal Icing Recipe
This straightforward Royal icing recipe is made with meringue powder and units like a dream. You’re solely 3 substances away from attractive adorned cookies for any event! It’s excellent for outlining and flooding cookies and piping particulars. Listed below are extra causes to like it:
- Versatile. Royal icing is a basic sort of frosting that hardens because it units. This makes it excellent for adorning cookies in a great deal of other ways, from outlining to filling and detailing. One recipe, limitless potentialities!
- Straightforward. Sure, you can also make bakery-worthy royal icing proper in your personal kitchen! All it takes is a bowl and mixer. You’ll be searching for excuses to bake a batch of cookies for adorning (as if you happen to want one).
- 3 substances. You solely want three substances to make do-it-yourself royal icing: powdered sugar, egg whites (or on this case, meringue powder), and your selection of flavorings. That’s it!

What You’ll Want
Do-it-yourself royal icing wants solely 3 substances. Take a look at some fast notes beneath and scroll all the way down to the recipe card for a printable substances checklist.
- Meringue Powder – Meringue powder mixed with water is an egg white substitute. It’s what makes royal icing harden to a candy-like texture.
- Powdered Sugar – Additionally referred to as confectioner’s sugar, sifted earlier than you begin.
- Vanilla Extract – Actual vanilla extract, or you’ll be able to change up the flavors utilizing any flavoring extract you’d like.
The right way to Make Royal Icing
Observe these brief steps to whip up an enormous batch of do-it-yourself royal icing. Don’t neglect to scroll to the recipe card for printable directions.


- Whip the meringue. First, you’ll beat the meringue powder with water till it’s gentle and foamy.
- Mix. Slowly combine in powdered sugar, adopted by the vanilla extract. Progressively improve the blending pace to excessive, whipping till stiff, shiny peaks begin to kind.


- Divide and colour the icing. Divide the completed icing into separate bowls, and add your required colours. Stir the colour in by hand to keep away from air bubbles. Afterward, add the royal icing to piping baggage or you’ll be able to skinny out the icing for flooding, see beneath.
The right way to Skinny Out Royal Icing
As is, your royal icing is the proper consistency for piping outlines, textures, and particulars. In the event you’ll be utilizing a few of the icing to flood cookies (create a easy floor), you’ll have to divide the icing and skinny it out to a flooding consistency. To skinny out royal icing for flooding, stir in extra water, 1 teaspoon at a time, till the consistency resembles corn syrup (see picture).

Recipe Ideas
In the event you’ve by no means made icing at dwelling earlier than, listed here are my suggestions for getting it excellent each time:
- Get shiny white icing. In the event you’re after a pure white royal icing, just remember to use clear vanilla, or omit the extract altogether.
- Thicken royal icing that’s too skinny. In the event you add an excessive amount of water, or if you happen to discover that your royal icing is on the runny aspect, add slightly powdered sugar till you attain your required consistency.
- Use gel meals colours. Gel meals coloring makes the brightest, most vibrant colours, and slightly goes a good distance. You’ll discover gel meals colours in baking and craft shops, or on-line. Liquid meals coloring (like the sort you discover in most grocery shops) tends to water down frosting.
- Royal icing different. In the event you’d want to skip royal icing for one more variety, attempt the easy vanilla icing that I exploit for my iced oatmeal cookies. It’s made with solely powdered sugar, water, and vanilla, with out meringue.

The easiest way to make use of royal icing is to pipe it with a pastry bag. Royal icing has tons of various makes use of relying on the consistency, from creating stunning designs in your favourite reduce out sugar cookies to gluing collectively a gingerbread home on the holidays. Whether or not you utilize your royal icing for piping, outlining, or flooding, the approach is identical! See beneath for a simple tutorial on how one can flood a cookie for adorning.

Beneath, I’ll present you how one can flood a cookie utilizing royal icing and my favourite sugar cookies recipe. You can even use this icing on chocolate sugar cookies or brown sugar cut-out cookies. Even if you happen to’re new to adorning cookies, you’re going to be amazed at how straightforward it’s!


- Fill the piping baggage. Start by deciding which colours you’ll use to brighten your cookies. Shade the royal icing and fill your piping baggage, some with define icing and a few with flooding icing. I discover it helps to position the empty piping bag right into a glass and fold the highest down over the edges of the glass to open up the bag.
- Define the cookie. Use define icing to pipe a skinny define across the outdoors fringe of the cookie. Squeeze the highest of the piping bag firmly and use your different hand to information the icing tip within the route you need it to go.


- Fill the define. After you’ve outlined a couple of of your cookies, it’s time to fill or “flood” them. To flood the cookie, use your thinner flooding icing to rigorously flood the outlined form.
- Clean out the icing. Gently faucet and jiggle the cookie to unfold the icing out. Then, use a toothpick to pop any air bubbles and convey the icing proper up in opposition to the perimeters of the define.
- Let the cookies dry. Let the adorned cookies dry down for a couple of hours, or in a single day, earlier than including extra icing particulars.
What Dimension Piping Ideas Ought to I Use?
I like to recommend a small #1 or #2 piping tip for flooding and outlining cookies with icing. These fundamental piping suggestions are additionally nice for including finer particulars afterward, just like the traces and dots you see within the images.

Steadily Requested Questions
The principle distinction between royal icing and buttercream frosting is the feel. Conventional frosting is mushy and creamy because of substances like butter, whereas royal icing makes use of egg whites and dries down arduous and candy-like.
Most often, royal icing takes wherever between 6-8 hours to dry completely. After this time, it’s secure to maneuver and stack your cookies with out denting or messing up the floor of the icing. You’ll discover a skinny crust begin to kind after about half-hour.
Undermixing can result in weak, unstable royal icing. The identical will be stated for overmixing, which creates an excessive amount of quantity within the meringue. The ensuing icing might be mushy/brittle and should not set totally.
I’ve all the time used water in my royal icing recipe. That being stated, I’ve heard that milk or cream additionally works effectively. Be at liberty to make use of whichever you favor.
That is attributable to “butter bleed”. In case your kitchen is just too heat, the butter from the sugar cookie melts and seeps into the royal icing, creating yellow-ish blotches. Whereas your cookies will nonetheless style scrumptious, there’s not a lot that you are able to do to repair it. See the following part for detailed storage suggestions.

The right way to Retailer
- Retailer the royal icing. Royal icing comprised of meringue powder will be stored at room temperature for 1-2 weeks. Retailer any leftover icing in an hermetic container, with cling wrap pressed straight in opposition to the floor of the icing to stop crusting.
- Storing adorned cookies. After you’ve frosted your cookies, be certain that to let the icing harden utterly. Retailer the adorned cookies hermetic in a cool and dry location, both on the counter or within the pantry.
Can I Freeze Royal Icing?
Sure! You may freeze royal icing for as much as 2 months. You probably have a number of icing left over, freeze any colours individually in an hermetic container or freezer bag. Thaw the icing within the fridge after which convey it to room temperature earlier than you utilize it.
You can even freeze sugar cookies adorned with icing for as much as 3 months. I like to recommend storing the cookies in an hermetic container with parchment paper between the layers. Defrost the cookies at room temperature or within the fridge.
Extra Frosting Recipes
Description
This straightforward Royal icing recipe made with meringue powder is ideal for outlining and flooding cookies! Make enjoyable and easy, fantastically adorned cookies for any vacation or event.
- 1/2 cup water
- 3 tablespoons meringue powder
- 1 pound field of powdered sugar (roughly 4 cups), sifted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or any taste you favor)
- With paddle attachment combine the water and meringue powder on low till mixed then on excessive about 1 minute till foamy.
- Add the powdered sugar on low pace slightly at a time, add extract after which combine on medium to mix collectively. Now combine on excessive for 4-5 minutes till stiff, shiny peaks kind.
- I separate and colour the icing at this level.
- With the icing as is, it’s excellent for outlining cookies and including gildings.
- In case you are planning on flooding your cookies, add water, 1 teaspoon at a time,till you get the consistency of corn syrup.
- In the event you add an excessive amount of water, sift in additional powdered sugar.
Notes
- If you’d like a pure white frosting, use clear vanilla or omit extract.
- Retailer in an hermetic container with a layer of cling wrap pressed straight in opposition to the floor of the icing, to stop a crust from forming.
Vitamin
- Serving Dimension:
- Energy: 177
- Sugar: 23.6 g
- Sodium: 70.2 mg
- Fats: 3.7 g
- Carbohydrates: 35.2 g
- Protein: 1.1 g
- Ldl cholesterol: 15.1 mg
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