This easy recipe for royal icing is made with meringue powder. The icing has a nice soft texture and can be used to decorate sugar cookies. The benefit of royal icing is that it will harden as it dries and allows you to stack cookies without ruining the decorative design.
For a long time, I was scared to try royal icing because it seemed complicated. Just jump right in and give it a try! It is actually very simple to make and only has three ingredients.
Easy royal icing that tastes great and dries hard. Perfect for sugar cookies!
Makes 3 cups of icing
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Below you will find tips and tricks to help achieve the best results possible!
Powdered sugar – make sure the powdered sugar is sifted. You do not want clumps of powdered sugar in your icing as that will make cookie decorating more difficult. Powdered sugar is the same as confectioners’ sugar.
Meringue powder – many crafts stores sell meringue powder or it can be purchased online. The meringue powder helps to stabilize the icing and prevents it from cracking as it dries. Traditional royal icing recipes use egg whites, but I think meringue powder is easier to use.
Stand mixer or hand mixer – I suggest using a stand mixer, if available, due to the long mixing time required for this recipe.
Whisk attachment for stand mixer
Hand whisk
Measuring spoons
Start the stand mixer at a low speed. Otherwise, you will have powdered sugar all over your countertop!
Scrape down the sides of the bowl and the bottom of the mixer to make sure any dry powdered sugar is incorporated.
You can make flavored royal icing by adding extract to the recipe. Peppermint extract is nice during the holidays but be careful not to make it too potent. Other extracts to use are almond, orange, lemon, etc. Start by adding 1/2 teaspoon of extract at a time until you reach the desired flavor.
You can also add spices to royal icing but it may change the icing color or leave the icing speckled. In the past, I have added cinnamon, vanilla bean paste, or pumpkin pie spice to royal icing. Again, start with a small amount at a time and add more as needed.
Royal icing can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 7 days. The longer you store royal icing, you will see that the icing will begin to separate. Stir together before using.
I often make my icing one day ahead of time so it is ready to use when I want to start decorating cookies. The key here is that the icing is covered in a container so it does not dry out before you work with it.
I am working on a blog post on how to use royal icing for sugar cookies. I will explain how to get the desired consistency to flood and fill cookies…stay tuned!
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