How to Make Royal Icing. Learn how to make royal icing so you can place your decorated cookies in cute little bags & boxes.
Watch this video for some great tips… pun intended.
Royal Icing
- 1 pound powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoons meringue powder or egg white powder
- 6 tablespoons warm water
- 1 tablespoon almond extract (or vanilla)
Beat all ingredients until icing forms peaks (about 7-10 minutes). This is important. Colors are more likely to run together if you miss this step.
Make sure all utensils completely grease-free for proper icing consistency.
Using a decorating bag, Outline areas of cookie you want to fill in. Allow to dry for about 10 minutes – in front of a fan is best.
To fill in the outlines on your cookie, add a little water to the color you are working with too thin it down a bit. Add the water slowly so you don’t end up with icing that is too runny & dripping out of the bag on its own. Don’t ask me how I know this can happen. I just do.
Fill in centers of the edging with thinned icing. Start near the insides of the edges you created earlier. This will make for a cleaner look.
Be sure not to over-fill so the thinned frosting doesn’t go over the edges. Again, don’t ask me how I know. I just do.
If you’d like to add polka-dots for other touches and want them to settle into the thinned frosting, you can add them right away or you can use the stiff icing for any additional touches you’d like to stand out after the thinned icing has a chance to firm up.
Royal icing needs to sit for several hours. It’s easiest to just let them dry overnight before packaging or stacking. A fan is your best friend because it not only allows for quicker drying, but faster drying keeps colors from having a chance to run together.
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