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Making life a little sweeter.
 

Royal Icing Recipe for Sugar Cookies

 
 
 
royal icing recipe for sugar cookies
 

Royal Icing Tips

I use the best professional royal icing recipe for sugar cookies to achieve a design that dries hard but has a soft, sweet bite. When I started this journey, I tested hundreds of recipes, making my own adjustments along the way, trying to find the perfect mix of ingredients and steps. Other icings, like buttercream, don’t dry soft, making it difficult to design and package the cookies. I ultimately settled on the best royal icing recipe for sugar cookies.

I hope in sharing what I learned throughout the years that these royal icing tips will save you lots of time in the kitchen. Happy baking!

 
 

Royal Icing Consistency

Royal icing consistency is key. If you add too much water the icing could run over the edge of the cookie and will not dry well. If you don’t add enough water, you won’t get the design you’re looking for and could dry too hard preventing that soft feel when eating the cookie.

There are three different types of consistencies you should know about: thick, pipe and flood consistencies.

 
royal icing consistency
 
 

Thick Royal Icing

Thick royal icing consistency is typically straight out of the mixer. The thick icing is used to create florals, clouds, and anything that requires more structure.

 
 

Royal Icing for Piping

Pipe royal icing consistency is used to outline the cookie and create intricate details like lettering. This is applied through a royal icing piping technique and can act as a boarder to contain the flood consistency.

 
 

Flood Royal Icing

Flood royal icing consistency is used to create the base of the cookie. This is the first layer, usually applied after the pipe consistency has dried.

When flooding your cookie, make sure your cookie surface is flat and has a good boarder (achieved with the pipe consistency), so the icing doesn’t overflow.

 
 
royal icing for piping
 

Royal Icing Water Temperature

Water temperature makes a big difference when mixing royal icing. Always use room temp water.

 
 

Royal Icing with Meringue Powder

Royal icing is mostly made with meringue powder, which is an egg white substitute. This also lengthens the shelf-life of the royal icing because it’s a non-perishable ingredient.

 
 

Royal Icing with Egg Whites

Some bakers use egg whites instead of meringue powder. I choose not to use egg whites in my recipe to lengthen the shelf life of the finished cookie. Through my trial and error over the years I have found my best royal icing recipe does not include egg whites.

 
 

Royal Icing with Corn Syrup

Corn syrup gives the flood layer a nice sheen and is the reason for the soft bite once the cookie is dry.

 
 
mixing colors for royal icing
 

Mixing Colors for Royal Icing

When mixing colors for royal icing, add all ingredients in a bowl and mix thoroughly. The mix will be white. Then add drops of colorant in small increments until the desired shade is achieved. One method that has worked to get an even smaller amount is by dipping a clean toothpick into the colorant and then dipping it into the icing. This achieves the smallest addition of colorant possible.

When mixing a lighter color, you can usually get the desired shade after mixing in a small amount colorant.

When mixing a dark color, plan to give the colors time to develop. You just mix a little colorant with the icing and leave it be. Developing happens over a few hours. Add more colorant until you reach the desired shade. Doing this results in using less colorant.

 
 

Bonus Royal Icing Tip: Work Fast

Work fast. Royal icing dries quickly. You shouldn’t rush your design, but practice and work toward speeding up your process.

It takes royal icing 8 hours or more to dry depending on humidity. It is best to dry your cookies in front of a small fan.

When drying with a fan, it is not necessary to leave the fan on for the entire 8 hours. I also use a dehumidifier in my drying room to speed the drying process and avoid extra moisture in the air.

 
 

Royal Icing Ingredients and Steps

Moyin's Royal Icing Recipe
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Moyin's Royal Icing Recipe
$6.99

This is my royal icing recipe, including ingredients, instructions, and my personal notes.

This 2-page download includes:

  • 5 ingredients

  • 3-step instruction with detailed personal notes

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