When I took my first stab at cookie decorating I was TERRIBLE. No, really, it was that bad. I had been decorating cakes for a couple years and figured if I could master fondant, I could also make royal icing my bitch. So I did no research, I watched no videos, didn’t obsessively read any cookie blogs. I just quickly looked up a royal icing recipe and got to decorating. When my husband saw my sad little cookies he quietly said “maybe you just stick to cakes?” Oops!
Then I did my research. I scoured the internet and read every cookie blog. I enrolled in the University of YouTube and watched countless cookie decorating videos. And I practiced… and practiced… and practiced…
My initial attempt, and subsequent epic fail, wasn’t entirely my fault. Royal icing is a jerk. It dries when you don’t want it to. It doesn’t dry when you want it to. You get a speck of oil in it and it’ll never dry. Too thin and it’ll pour right off your cookie. A little too thick and it will never fully smooth out. You bump the table while your cookies are drying and you’ll get these little speed-bump wrinkle thingies on the surface. You finally get everything perfect, the consistency is just right, the weather is ideal, the planets are aligned, Mercury is not in retrograde, you flood the cookie like a pro, everything is smooth and pretty…and then you accidentally stick your finger into partially dried icing, it cracks, and there is no way to fix it. So yeah, royal icing is a jerk.
If you Google “royal icing recipe” or “how to make royal icing” you’ll get over 20 million results. And they’re all a little different. Some will say to sift your sugar, some say don’t bother. Use a whisk attachment. Never use a whisk attachment. Add corn syrup. Don’t add corn syrup. You’ll find recipes with anywhere from 5-10 tablespoons per 2 lbs of sugar. Or recipes that use raw egg whites instead of meringue powder. Start with a thick consistency and thin it down. Start with a flooding consistency and add more powdered sugar to thicken it. After experimenting with a few dozen of those 20 million recipes, I found what works for me.
Let’s start with a little vocab lesson…
What is Royal Icing?
Royal icing is an icing made from powdered sugar, meringue powder and water. The egg allows the icing to dry to a hard consistency. You can also use egg whites instead of meringue powder and water, but meringue powder is going to be safer AND you can leave it out at room temperature longer than icing made with raw eggs.
What is Meringue Powder?
Meringue powder is a powdered egg white substitute used in baking. It also has cornstarch, vanilla flavoring, sugar and some stabilizers (like cream of tartar). I prefer CK or Fat Daddio’s meringue powder, but Wilton’s will work just fine and is more readily available at craft stores and retailers like Walmart.
What is “flooding”?
Flooding a cookie is the process by which you apply a smooth layer of icing to the surface of a cookie. Flooding icing should be thin enough so that it smooths out, but not so thin that it’ll run off the surface of your cookie. You might also see flooding consistency icing referred to as “10-20 second icing.” More on that in 3…2…1
Icing Consistencies
There are 3 different consistencies that I use when decorating cookies. Flood consistency, medium consistency and stiff consistency. The same ingredients are used for all 3 consistencies, the only difference is the ratio of water to powdered sugar. You add a little more water to thin the icing down, and more powdered sugar to thicken it up.
Flooding Icing
This is the consistency of icing used to create that super smooth layer of icing on a cookie. It’s the consistency that comes right off the mixer when I make a batch of royal icing. Some cookie decorators start with a stiff icing and then thin it down, but since I use flooding icing the most, and because flooding a cookie is typically the first step in decorating a cookie, I start with a flooding consistency and then thicken it as needed. The consistency of flooding icing should be like honey. You want flooding icing to be a little runny, but still thick enough to hold its shape.
To achieve this perfect runny-but-not-too-runny consistency, I use the 10-20 second rule. Take your bowl off the mixer, smooth out the icing, pick up your paddle, drizzle a ribbon of icing along the surface, and then start counting. The ribbon of icing should smooth out on it’s own somewhere between 10-20 seconds. Tah-dah! Flooding icing. If it’s too thick, use a spray bottle and spray a few squirts of water, mix it up, and test it again. If it’s a little too thin, just let it mix for a couple of more minutes. If it’s WAY too thin, you can add a little more powdered sugar, a tablespoon at a time, until you reach the desired consistency.
Medium Consistency Icing
This is the consistency of icing I use to pipe outlines, details and flowing script. I also use this consistency for things like eyeballs and smiley mouths. You want this icing to be the consistency of soft-peak whipped egg whites. I’ve also compared it to the consistency of toothpaste. It should hold it’s shape a little and not spread, but you can smooth it out with a scribe tool.
Stiff Consistency Icing
Stiff icing should be the consistency of stiff-peak whipped egg whites. It’s spreadable, but able to hold it’s shape. I use this icing for piping shapes like flowers and leaves, as well for making basket weave patterns, brush embroidery, and ruffles.
Recipe: How to Make Royal Icing
Ingredients
- 2 lbs powdered sugar
- 7 tablespoons meringue powder
- ¾ cup warm water
Instructions
- Fit your stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Be sure that bowl and attachment are free of any oil or butter residue.
- Dissolve meringue powder in ¾ cup of warm water.
- Place powdered sugar into mixing bowl, turn on lowest setting and slowly drizzle in water/meringue mixture.
- Add food colouring and mix for 8 minutes on lowest speed.
- Add water if needed for a flood consistency (10-20 second icing) or powdered sugar for medium or stiff consistency.
- Immediately cover icing in an airtight container or transfer to piping bags/bottles.
Notes
I’ve made a little video of me making royal icing. Yes, it’s 3 minutes of watching a mixer mix icing, but if you have any questions about when to add ingredients, how long everything should mix, and what it should look like, the video will show you everything.
I tried the egg whites recipe and my 1st attempt was also a disaster. I got the icing right initially but it was way to thick. Thank you for your recipe and post and I’m going in with a 2nd attempt with your recipe. Fingers crossed.
My first attempt with this and it was SO thick! I ended up adding another 3/4c water to get it to flood consistency. The taste was great though.
Thanks you for all the information and recipe ! About to try it out now . I also want to say your cookies look beyond amazing!!
Excellent recipe! At what point would I add flavoring, and how much flavoring do you recommend? Also, what brand meringue powder works best for you?
I typically don’t add flavouring to my RI, as my cookies are flavoured. If you do want to add some kind of extract or flavour, make sure it is oil free, as any kind of oil will prevent the RI from drying. And just add it in with the water.
My favorite meringue powder is either CK Products or Fat Daddio’s.
How do u flood your cookies without a boarder first?
I use flooding icing for the border and flooding. I outline first using flooding icing, and then start flooding immediately. The only time I use a thicker icing to outline first is when I need really sharp corners (like on a square or rectangle shaped cookie)
What food coloring do you use to achieve those amazing colors?
I have only been using Chefmaster liqua-gel food color for the past couple years. I’ve tried everything on the market, but Chefmaster has become my go-to. They have the best pinks and reds that don’t taste funky. Princess pink, bright red, and neon bright pink are my favorite colors to mix together to get a really bright neon pink color. But definitely stock up on chefmaster colors, they last forever, don’t dry out, don’t get lumpy or coagulated, and go a really long way since the colors are super saturated.
How long in advance can these cookies be made and decorated?
You can make them several days in advance and they will stay fresh boxed up at room temperature. You can also individually package them in cello bags and they will keep for about 3 weeks. Or you can make them months ahead of time, individually wrap them in cello bags, and freeze them. To defrost, take them out of the freezer, and lay them out at room temperature still in their bags. That way, condensation will form on the outside of the bag and not the cookie. You can also freeze undecorated cookies and icing for several months, and just bring everything to room temperature before you start decorating.
What consistency does your basic recipe obtain?
Thank you
It should make a flooding icing or a medium consistency icing. You might have to adjust the consistency a bit, depending upon what you need it for, by adding a little more water or powdered sugar.
So, for the thicker icing, to pipe around a cookie, just add more powdered sugar? Do you suggest a tsp at a time?
Yeah, to make a thicker detail icing, you just add a more powdered sugar until you get the desired consistency. It’s hard to gauge exactly how much you would need to add, but I typically add anywhere between a tablespoon, and even up to a 1/4 cup, depending upon the amount of icing and the consistency you’re starting with. Flooding icing should be the consistency of honey, and a detail icing should be the consistency of toothpaste.
What is the ratio when i want to use eggwhites instemde of merengue poeder as that is not available here. I can’t seem to Find the Recipe here
Hi Ellen, I’ve only ever made royal icing with meringue powder and water, and have not used egg whites. I believe it should be equal parts egg whites to the amount of water that I use, so 3/4 cups. However, I would suggest searching online for a recipe.
Does this recipe separate in the bag? I had a meringue powder recipe I used last Christmas, and the icing separated in the bag overnight, I had to sqeeze the bag until it mixed together. Also I don’t use a stand mixer, what’s the best way for a standard mixer. And how do you make multiple colors with a single batch. Divide into a couple batches, add gel colors and then mix 8 minutes?
All royal icing will separate due to the ingredients. That’s why I store them in bags, so that I can just knead the bag to mix it back up. Separation is totally normal. To make different coloured icing, I make the recipe as normal, and then I’ll take the icing after it’s done mixing for the 8 minutes and split it up into different bowls and add the food colouing at that point. You can make this recipe using a hand mixer, since you don’t have a stand mixer, you just have to run it on the lowest setting and still mix it for the 8 minutes.
Thank you, I used your recipe last year during Christmas time. Had great results.Thought the mixer was the problem with the separation. I have found that friends that my daughter and I Decorate for are intrigued with the decorating of multiple types of Christmas cookie designs.
Last year I had some royal icing cookies made for my daughter’s baby shower. They were beautiful and delicious. Ever since then I have been wanting to learn how to make and decorate these cookies. I have reviewed many internet sites to learn the basics. I have really enjoyed your site. Thank you for sharing these recipes and decorating tips. If I was in California I would certainly attend your cookie classes. I’m in Florida but I’m going to give this a try. Question: Can someone who really has no drawing, decorating, or artistic skills make descent looking cookies? I am creative though, if that counts!
I try to teach cookie decorating so that it’s just like coloring in a coloring book. If you can follow some step-by-step directions, you can decorate cookies. I can’t draw to save my life, but I can do magic with royal icing. Just break down the design, and it paint-by-number.
How long do you wait until you put a layer on top of the initial flood of icing?
You typically want to wait until your flooded cookie is completely dry before adding details. Depending on the weather, humidity, thickness of you flooding icing, and how large your cookie is, it can take somewhere between 8-24 hours for a flooded cookie to dry.
Any tricks to getting your icing this smooth (like the heart cookie)? I seem to be hit or miss and it’s super frustrating because I can do so many other techniques.
It all has to do with getting your flooding icing thin enough so it will smooth out, but thick enough that it doesn’t run off the sides of the cookie. If your icing is too thick and you’re having issues with it fully smoothing out when you’re flooding, stop fighting with it, thin down the icing, and try again. It may be a little annoying, but it’s much less annoying than fighting with your icing and ending up with lumpy cookies.