Good royal icing recipes are hard to come by, let alone magical ones. Treat your treats to this sublime icing recipe, passed down through generations of mythical fairies.
For a FREE, sharable, printable version: click here.
An alternate version was submitted and accepted on They Draw & Cook, which you can find here.
For instructions on finding icing consistency for cookie decorating, click here.
Thanks to my amazing designer/art director Arthur Kononuk, for creating this adorable illustrated recipe and intro for me! I love it and hope you do too.
xo,
Marian
p.s. I linked this post up to Tidy Mom’s I’m Lovin’ It.
Hello @ Nathalie!
My goodness, thank you so much! xo
I’m sorry it took me this long to answer, I got bogged down in emails etc.
So, how do I mix icing colours together… First, for the most part, I use Americolor Gels. That way I can just squeeze the icing colouring out. If I use Wilton or another brand with a twist top cap, I dip the tip of a knife into teh coloring and then into the icing. (Never double dip into the coloring with teh knife though, always wipe off.. dont want icing in the coloring). I then mix my icing with a spatula or spoon, and keep adding colours until I’m happy with the shade etc.
Toothpicks I only use if I want a really, really light shade.
Hope that helps!
Marian
@ marian:
Can I substitute with Dried Egg Whites? thanks!
Too cute! Yes this is the first time I have seen this :0
Hi! I love your recipes. I was wondering how to make royal icing without a mixing bowl cuz I don’t have one.
could you possibly make it another way?
HI @ Karla:
Sorry I missed this comment – it’s been a while since you posted it. Dried egg whites; I personally do not have experience using dried egg whites with this recipe. I believe someone has left a comment about it (somewhere… I’m sorry I’m not sure if it was on this post are not), saying that it worked for them. Logic might suggest that it would work, as meringue powder is a form of dried egg white (with a little vanillin etc.)… I think perhaps just trying it once when you’re making cookies for family or friends (and not for a major event or to sell etc.), to see what happens, is probably the best option. I’m sorry I’m not more help!
Thanks @ Kimmie!
Hi @ Sally: Do mean an electric mixer? Yes, you can make one without an electric mixer, by using a whisk by hand. It will just take quite a bit of ‘arm work’ and mixing.
@ Marian (Sweetopia):
@Marian
Thanks! So you just have to mix it for ten minutes by hand right? sorry. you can tell I just started.
Yes, that’s right @ Sally.
@Marian
Thanks! I love your little Japanese cookies! They’re adorable!
Can you use an electric hand mixer for this?
Yes, you can, @ Karen. A little more air will be incorporated into it than with a stand mixer, but it’s completely doable.
@Marian
How long can you store the icing and how do you store it?
Hi @ Karen:
You will see a tutorial with that exact title in the tutorial section.
@Marian
Hi! I love this recipe. It tastes so good! One question though. When you pipe the outline and it will be the same color inside, do you have to wait for the outline to dry or can you flood it right away?
Hi @ Rachel:
If you check out my youtube videos (yellow youtube button on top right of blog), you can see exactly how I do it. Happy decorating!
@Marian
Thanks!
@Marian
How would you get rid of the air bubbles in your royal icing?
HI @ Becca: There are 2 tutorials in the tutorial tab above on air bubbles. (those pesky things!)
@ marian:
Thank you! It’s so annoying when I try to pipe little details and an air bubble shows up!
God, thank you so much. This website has been helping me so much, I just love to bake. I am fourteen and I just love to make cute little yummy treats for my family to eat. I have been looking for a reliable website for royal icing so thank you. This is appreciated much!
Hi @ Asia: That’s great! Just imagine what you’re going to be creating at my age!
Happy baking!
I love your site and all of your invaluable information & youtube tutorials! Just wanted to say a big THANKS from an aspiring dessert decorator
.
i wanted to make your recipe for royal icing but i only have a 2 lbs bag of confectioners sugar i was wondering if i could still do it and if so should i edit the rest of the recipe??
hi! i found this website while looking for inspiration for my daughter’s first birthday party theme. i love love love your website and i think i might have found a new hobby (let’s see, i’m so excited to try it out!) i noticed that for the royal icing, you wrote 2.25lb of sugar..how would i measure that without have a scale in my kitchen? Thanks in advance!
Hiiii! I recently moved to Australia (much more humid and hot than Europe where I come from). And I’m having trouble getting my icing to set
. I would now like to try your icing recipe above, and also your tips (using a fan, dehumidifier, aircon, etc.). But the 6 oz. of water, is that 3/4 American cup? Cause here in Australia 1 cup is 250 ml. Just want to check how much ml. 3/4 cup is supposed to be. thanks!!!
Not to be a bother, but I was also wondering…If i want to make grey royal icing for an elephant cookie, could i just use a little bit of black gel paste or do i need to do some mixing? (i read that people have gotten purple instead of grey)
Is there a substitute for merangue powder I cannot seem to find it anywhere and my daughter really wants too bake
Hi Marian. When I try to dissolve the white egg powder in water there are always bits of it undissolved. What should I do?
Thank you so much @ nadia bleu!
HI @ irene: Sorry I missed these comments! Yes, you can make it with 2 lbs of royal icing… it’s pretty close to 1kg (2.2 pounds), and either way you’ll need to adjust the consistency at the end.
@ cecilia: I’m so glad you’re interested in this new hobby! I definitely can’t get enough of it! Now, about weighing… I can’t believe I don’t know offhand, but I don’t know how many cups of icing sugar 1 kg is. I guess the reason why I don’t, is that I never really have to measure it out, because the bag I buy is 1kg. I hate to recommend spending money, but to be honest, weighing things is much more accurate than cups etc. I still use and recommend recipes with cups etc., but if you really want to be precise, maybe think about purchasing a lower end scale. I will measure the next time I make the recipe and will come back and share though!
That’s right @ Marije: Using your 3/4 of your 250 ml cup is fine! Note that you’ll need to adjust your icing consistency after the icing is made anyways, depending on what you want to decorate. (Do you want a thicker icing like the lamb cookies on my home page right now, or do you want flood icing consistency, like what I show in my YouTube video). Hope that helps!
@ cecilia: I do use a little bit of black gel in white icing to create grey. I use Americolor black. Hope that helps!
@ Nadia: I have a recipe which doesn’t call for meringue powder, but is made with egg white… it’s in the tutorial section, called Gingerbread House icing. If you’re using it for cookies, you can take out the cream of tartar or just put 1 tsp in.
@ Marta: A few questions first if you don’t mind… are you using warm water? are you using a whisk to mix?
I am making bunny face cookies and I’m going to try this recipe. Thank you.
Hi,
I am going to attempt to make owl cookies with a tulip cookie cutter for a shower for my daughter’s shower. I copied the royal icing recipe on your sight but a little confused powdered icing sugar. Is that simply powedered sugar or should I be looking for something else? Thanks Joyce
Absolutely, @ Joyce Arndt: Powdered sugar, confectioner’s sugar and icing sugar are all the same. Have fun!
Hi Marian. (Sorry, I haven’t have internet on the last 3 weeks) Yes, I’m using warm water and a whisk to mix. Maybe I have to change the brand… :S
Hi Marian!
I use a royal icing recipe that is very similar to yours, just minus the cream of tartar – I was just wondering what cream of tartar adds to the icing?
Thanks!
Hi @ Erin: It’s a stabilizer. It helps the icing set and slightly firm up. You don’t absolutely need it in this recipe with your decorated cookies, especially if your meringue powder already has cream of tartar in it.
Hello Marian,
I tried making your royal icing recipe and it came out very runny. I followed the directions exactly with the exception of using 1 tsp of almond flavoring instead of vanilla. After 10 minutes of mixing it in my kitchenaide with the paddle attachment, it still had a runny consistency.. I added confectioners sugar a little at a time, and continued mixing but could never get it to the meringue consistency! What could have gone wrong?
Thanks!
Hi @ Laura: It sounds like mis-measurement. Either too much water, or not enough icing sugar. How did you measure the icing sugar?
Hi I seriously love your work. Thanks so much for sharing all this info! I’m just wondering if I can flavor the Royal icing with the Nielsen-Massey Lemon extract? Or will that cause it to not set?
Hi @ Deborah: Yes, that’s a great vanilla to use. It won’t affect the setting. Enjoy decorating!
Hello Marian, I have a question about maybe substituting the meringue powder with dry egg-white powder, would that be ok? My problem with meringue is that it’s hard to get here, and the one store that has it, on the whole island has the Wilton brand for 8.50 euros (I believe that it’s a tad much) anyways it’s just less expensive and easier to buy egg-white powder instead if I can substitute it. Well thanks for your time all you do on this site is very much appreciated, I am one the the many you have inspired to start baking cookies !! LOL
Hello @ Angela: Thanks for your sweet words!
I can’t say for sure that it will work as I haven’t personally tried it, but really, I don’t see why not! (Egg-white powder). You might want to try it with this recipe below instead though, as it is a royal icing recipe made with egg whites:
http://sweetopia.net/2011/12/gingerbread-house-royal-icing-video-kitchenaid-7-quart-mixer-giveaway/
Have fun and good luck! Oh and I’d love to hear how it goes if you’d like to come back and let us know. =)
Can you use just powdered sugar and milk for the icing? Will it get as hard as the royal icing? Love your website and your videos are very helpful!
Hi @ Tina: I’m sorry I haven’t tried it. If you have the right consistency, I’m sure you could decorate with it using the same techniques – I just don’t know how it sets.
Hope that helps and have fun!