Easy Royal Icing for Cookies

Every year as the holidays approach, I eagerly anticipate holiday baking and decorating sugar cookies. And every year, they don’t exactly turn out as planned. That’s because decorating cookies is a lot easier said than done — especially if you’re a perfectionist like me who likes straight lines and clean edges.

But this year, I’m prepared. I recently got to work developing a simple royal icing recipe that makes cookie decorating as stress-free (and mess-free!) as possible. It’s easy to make (no meringue powder necessary!), and its super-smooth texture makes it the very best icing for picture-perfect cookies. Fuss-free cookie decorating is possible, and this recipe is the perfect place to start.

Royal icing is a sweet icing that dries to a smooth, hard finish. It’s used to decorate cookies, cakes, and other baked goods. It’s made with egg whites and powdered sugar, plus flavorings like vanilla extract and food coloring for decorating.

The biggest difference between royal icing and the type of icing you see drizzled over coffee cakes or spread onto cinnamon rolls is the texture. Royal icing dries into a hard, candy-like coating that crunches when you bite into it. It’s designed to harden so you can decorate on top of it with piped royal icing, or even paint it. If you’re looking for picture-perfect sugar cookies, royal icing is the way to go.

• Egg whites: We’ve opted for egg whites rather than meringue powder (which you may see in other recipes) since meringue powder can be hard to source. We’ve also included measurements for using pasteurized liquid egg whites in our recipe. These are the egg whites that come in the carton near the shell eggs. They’re a bit easier to work with and will save you from having to separate your eggs.
• Powdered sugar: I recommend using conventional powdered sugar rather than organic, which can give the icing an unwanted gray color.
• Extracts and/or food colorings: Use extracts like vanilla or lemon, and your choice of food colorings.

When you’re ready to decorate, you’ll need two types of royal icing: piping and flooding. You’ll want to split the icing into two bowls, one for each type. It’s important to note that royal icing dries out very quickly and forms a crusty skin if left uncovered, so make sure to cover it anytime you’re not working with it. If the surface does dry out, discard any dry pieces and give the icing a good mix to rehydrate it.

• Piping icing: Piping icing is what you’ll use to pipe borders around the cookies. It should be relatively thick — like toothpaste. If you make the recipe as is, you should have the right consistency for piping.
• Flooding icing: This icing is used to fill the piped border of icing with loose frosting that evenly “floods” from edge to edge. This icing should be the consistency of honey: pourable yet still relatively thick. The best way to achieve this is to add a few tablespoons of water. We recommend adding one tablespoon at a time — stirring between each addition — until your desired consistency is achieved. You can always add more water, but you can’t take it away, so go slow and don’t rush it. If there are any air bubbles on the surface of your icing, use a toothpick to pop them.

While it might be tempting to stack your beautifully decorated cookies on a festive plate, rushing to do so will cause them to smear. Give your cookies at least four hours to dry before attempting to move them.

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