Royal Icing Recipe and Guide: A Cookie Decorator’s Bestie

If you’ve ever wondered how bakers get those perfectly smooth, colorful cookies you see on Instagram, here’s the secret: it’s Royal Icing!  Royal Icing dries hard so we can easily package up cookies and stack them. You can also create intricate details with it or just flood a cookie with it (sometimes I even paint on it!). It’s super easy to make, so don’t worry, I will help you through it with this guide!

Ingredients You’ll Need

• Meringue Powder (Genie’s Dream is my favorite but you can use any brand)
• Warm water
• Powdered Sugar (don’t forget to buy extra for adjusting the consistency)
• Vanilla extract (clear or regular will work)
• Light corn syrup (this is for shine, stretchiness and a softer bite)
• Food color gels. Use white food color gel to brighten white icing.

Tools That Make It Easier

• Mixer with a paddle attachment (hand mixer works too)
• Bowls and spatulas
• Piping bags – tipless or classic with tips/couplers
• Scribe tools or toothpicks
• Embroidery scissors (for sharp, clean bag cuts)
• Spray bottle or squeeze bottle for thinning
• A table fan (or dehydrator if you’re hardcore!)

You can find some of these items listed in my Amazon Shop: https://www.amazon.com/shop/sugarhighscore/list/1DX9SQNCWVGDF?ref_=cm_sw_r_cp_ud_aipsflist_N6W6T23RKB5X8CW109CQ (earns commissions)

Step-by-Step Making Royal Icing

1. Whisk meringue powder and water

I like to start by whisking my meringue powder into ½ cup of warm water. Whisk until it’s foamy and smooth, no lumps allowed here, smooth and frothy is what we’re going for. I used to skip this step, but there were a couple times where the meringue powder didn’t fully dissolve and it ruined the icing (it was the chef master brand btw) so now I always whisk it in water in the beginning, and I use a different brand which I’ll link it and all my favorite supplies below.

2. Add powdered sugar and meringue powder

Next, pour your powdered sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer. For the powdered sugar, you will need a full 2 lbs, plus a little extra for adjusting the consistency, so I usually buy the big bag from Costco.

Now pour in the meringue powder/water mixture and mix on low.

3. Add vanilla, corn syrup and water

It’s thick at this point, so let’s go ahead and add the corn syrup and vanilla extract. Corn syrup makes the icing shiny, stretchy and gives it a softer bite, so I never skip it. For the flavorings, you can swap in other extracts or emulsions. Use clear vanilla if you want pure white and skip anything oil based, like lemon oil because it breaks down the icing.

Mix it a bit, then drizzle in extra water as needed, I usually add 1-2 tablespoons more. Humidity changes how much water you’ll need, so add gradually, and feel free to add it at any time during this process.

4. Whip until stiff peaks

Mix on medium speed until the mixture becomes thick, glossy, and smooth (about 3-5 minutes). We’re wanting it to be at a peak consistency. After about 2 minutes it’ll be pretty soft and shiny, so we’ll need to keep mixing and building volume. I like getting it to a stiff peak consistency with a slight curl (medium peak), but it’s up to you. If you’re making flowers or using a stencil, I would make it thick. I rarely make those, so I like it at a medium peak consistency which I find easier to work with. Also, the more you mix, the thicker it will get (but definitely don’t overmix which will cause it to dry spongey and with too many air bubbles – booo)

Cover the icing’s surface in plastic wrap, and then a lid.

Coloring the icing

Time to color! I like gel food colors because they’re vibrant and don’t water down the icing. Remember royal icing darkens as it sits, so it’s best to go a shade lighter than what you actually want. Some people will color their icings the night before, but that does take some planning ahead, which I rarely do, but when possible, I color a few hours ahead to let the shades deepen. Also, if you’re needing white icing, be sure to add some white food color gel to brighten the white.

My favorite icing consistency

Royal Icing is super easy to adjust! Just add more powdered sugar to thicken or a few drops of water to thin. My favorite consistency is called a “thick flood” or a “15 second icing” and is what I use most of the time for both outlining and flooding. 15-second icing means that if you drag a knife through it, the line disappears in about 15 seconds. I test it by counting: one Mississippi, two Mississippi… until you get to 15. Keep spritzing water and testing until its smooth. You can use a small squeeze bottle or a spray bottle for thinning.

Remember, whatever happens in the icing bowl, is what’s going to happen on the top of your cookie, and we want it to be completely smooth. If I count to 15 and it’s almost there, and then I shake the bowl a little and smooths out, that will actually work great. And if you thin it out too much by mistake, don’t worry, just add more powdered sugar.

Piping Bags

Let’s talk about piping bags. If you’re just starting out or you’re piping leaves or flowers, the classic piping bags with couplers and tips will give you more control, but they’re a pain to clean.  

Most cookie decorators these days use tipless piping bags. They come in different sizes, and are easy to fill. Just place the bag inside a tall glass, fill with icing, scrape the icing down the bag with a bench scraper, if you like, and then tie it off with a knot or a band.

To cut the bag, I like using embroidery scissors because they’re really sharp. First, flatten the bag with the seam centered, snip a tiny opening with the scissors. Then flatten it out the other way and make sure that side is cut straight too. Then before piping, I flatten it back out with the seam in the middle again.This will keep it from piping a thin flat line and more of a round line. And if you need a thicker line, just cut the hole larger.

My Set-Up

When I decorate cookies, I set up a little station so I’m not running around the kitchen looking for stuff. I grab all the tools I need and place them on a plastic tray or a baking sheet. I typically need a wet paper towel, a dry paper towel, a couple of scribe tools, my scissors and my piping bags filled with icing. The dry paper towel is great to practice or test piping lines. And the wet paper towel is for wiping off my icing bags and scribe tools. Having everything laid out like this saves time and makes it so much easier.

How long does it take to dry?

As far as drying times go, the icing should be crusted over after a few hours, and I let them sit out overnight on a baking pan (not a cooling rack) to completely dry. And if you want them to dry faster, have a table fan blowing next to it. Also, the thicker the frosting, the faster it will dry. A very thin royal icing will take longer to dry.

Storing royal icing

I usually go through a batch of icing in about a week. It’s fine at room temperature for a week, in the fridge for a couple weeks, and frozen for a couple months. Just be sure to cover the icing’s surface with plastic wrap and make sure it’s tightly sealed in a container.

You can also freeze the colored icing bags too. Nothing beats finding the exact color you need already made in the freezer. Just remember, before using frozen icing, make sure it has come down to room temperature, and you’ll probably need to re-stir it if looks separated. When freezing colored icing bags, close the bag with tape or tip clips and then pop them into a freezer bag and into the freezer for later.

And that is my go-to royal icing recipe! Once you get the hang of it you’ll be whipping up a perfect batch every time. Keep practicing, don’t stress about perfection!:)

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