Foolproof Royal Icing- Piping

Royal icing. How can a simple thing like royal icing be such a pain for so many of us? It’s just wet confectioner’s sugar, right?

Well, sorta-kinda-ish, yes.

But it can also be a huge pain in the butt. It’s fussy, it’s picky, it starts out too thick but if you add one extra molecule of water all of the sudden it’s too watery. Like I said, a total pain in the butt. But the good news is that it doesn’t have to be quite the pain that it wants to be.

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There are a few simple tricks to making the best royal icing of your life- or at the very least, one that doesn’t make you want to pull your hair out. Let’s start with the recipe.  (Click here if you’re a pro that doesn’t need the step-by-step, and you just want the recipe, darn it!) This icing will be for piping consistency- lines that stay where you put them, and don’t melt or lose their shape once you put them down on your cookie.

Royal Icing- Piping Consistency

1/2 cup of water
3 Tbsp meringue powder
4 cups confectioner’s (powdered) sugar, sifted
1/2 tsp Karo (corn) syrup (optional)

….That’s it. I’m not making this up! You can add in a small (1/8th to 1/4 tsp) amount of a flavored extract if you like, but make sure it is either clear naturally or you purchase a clear variety of a dark extract (you can get clear vanilla if you look for it online). Meringue powder is also available online or at many of your typical craft stores like Joann’s or Michael’s in their baking section. You can also skip the Karo syrup if you choose, but I like that it cuts the taste of the confectioner’s sugar a bit.

Now, let’s get going!

First, you’ll want to combine your meringue powder with your water. Use whatever mixer you have at hand, or a whisk if you must, but it must be well combined. It’ll get a little foamy like when you’re first mixing up egg whites- not surprising, since meringue powder is essentially powdered egg whites.

Once it’s nice and combined, you can sift your powdered sugar into the mixture. Use a low setting on your mixer until everything is wet.

Add in your Karo syrup and any extracts if you choose to do so.  When you’re ready, crank the mixer up to high and beat the icing for several minutes. You’ll need to pay attention to how the icing behaves for you to know when it’s the right piping consistency.

This icing not there yet. When you hold up a beater, you don’t want the peak to flop over onto itself.

This is what we want! It’s firm enough to hold a peak, it’s a bit shiny, and it’s smooth and pliable enough to use in a pastry bag without a lot of effort or squeezing. At this point, if you’d like to color your icing, go ahead and use some of your favorite gel colors. Beat them in on a lower setting until the color is uniform.

That’s all there is to it! You’re ready to pipe!

But wait, that’s only half the battle, right? You want your whole cookie frosted, not just lined! Click HERE for part two of this tutorial, all about cookie flooding!

Printable Royal Icing Recipe For Piping.