Royal Icing Recipe

Royal Icing is an icing that magically hardens to complete the perfect cookie and/or perfectly decorated cake. Ok, maybe it's not magic, more like meringue powder and powdered sugar, but its hardening qualities definitely makes for magical and delicious desserts. This royal icing recipe is our favorite to work with, and tastes great. We love to use it on cookies, royal icing decorations, and even for cake decorating.

Before You Get Started Making Royal Icing

Measure/Weigh all the ingredients

Royal Icing Ingredients And Amounts (Yields Vary)

1/4 cup + 2 tbsp (88g) warm water

2 1/2 tbsp (25g) meringue powder

1/2 tsp (2g) cream of tartar

4 cups + 2 tbsp (500g) confectioners sugar (powdered sugar)

1/2 tsp (2g) vanilla extract

Royal Icing Step-By-Step Directions

1) In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, sift the powdered sugar into the bowl. Set aside.

2) In a separate bowl, add the warm water, meringue powder, and cream of tartar, and whisk until combined.

3) Pour the wet ingredients into the mixing bowl with the sifted powdered sugar and put the mixer on low (we suggest placing a towel over the mixer while getting started to keep the powdered sugar from escaping).

4) Once the royal icing is combined, add the vanilla extract and continue to mix on low for at least 10 minutes.

5) Once the royal icing is mixed well, you will be left with a very stiff icing. From here you can add water as needed to reach the consistency you desire.

Royal Icing Sweet Notes

If you're going to be decorating cookies, you may need some supplies. Piping bags and piping tips (Tip #2 and Tip #3) will be a good start

Don't forget your couplers so you can switch out your piping tips with ease

Never leave royal icing open to air as it does dry out and become crumbly. Keep a damp towel over the bowl if you are working with it, or keep it in an airtight container

Royal Icing can be tricky to work with if you are not familiar with it. Getting the perfect consistency that you prefer decorating with comes with practice, and more practice

A few great cookie blogs that you should visit if getting into cookie decorating are Sweet Sugarbelle and Sweetopia. They have great tutorials on royal icing consistency and lots more about cookie decorating