If you plan on decorating cookies, you need an easy royal icing recipe in your baking toolbox! Super simple cookie icing in under 10 minutes, ready to transfer to a piping bag and get to making beautiful cookies! Below are two recipes, one for using egg whites and the other using meringue powder.
Both royal icing recipes result in a cookie icing with a lovely shine, that holds it shape, and dries without becoming hard or chalky. They’re also perfect for piping and flooding. Piping being the outlining of the cookie shape and flooding is filling in the outlined design. It has a great consistency to do both!
If you plan on adding food coloring to your icing, simply make the icing then dribble a few drops of desired icing color and mix again until color is incorporated.
Easy Royal Icing Using Egg Whites:
- Use fresh room temperature pasteurized egg whites
- Store in airtight container in fridge for 4-5 days
Easy Royal Icing Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 Egg Whites large
- 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 4 Cups (440 grams) Powdered Sugar
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, whip egg whites on medium high until soft peaks form.
- Add vanilla, then mix in 1 cup of a sugar at a time while continuing on medium high speed.
- Scrape bottom and side of bowl with rubber spatula to incorporate all powdered sugar stuck on sides.
- Whip on high for 4-5 minutes until thick and glossy.
- Transfer icing to a piping bag with desired tip. Let decorated cookies dry on counter for 1-2 hrs before stacking.
Royal Icing Using Meringue Powder:
If you prefer to not consume raw egg whites, you can make cookie icing with meringue powder. This form of icing can also be frozen in a freezer safe ziploc bag for up to 1 month.
Royal Icing with Meringue Powder
Ingredients
- 4 Cups (440 grams)
- 3 Tbsp Meringue Powder
- 9-10 Tbsp Water room temperature
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, with whisk attachment whip sugar, meringue powder and water together on medium high until combined and thick. (4-5 minutes)
- When you lift the whisk from the bowl, icing should be glossy and softly fall back into the bowl without completely falling off whisk. If it seems to thick add another Tbsp of water and mix again. On the other hand if its too thin, slowly add more powdered sugar until desired consistency is reached.
- Transfer to piping bag with desired tip and decorate. Set frosted cookies on counter to set for 1-2 hrs before stacking.