Royal Icing with Meringue Powder
This royal icing recipe is your secret to turning simple cookies into something truly special. I love how this version, made with meringue powder instead of egg whites, comes together so easily - no worrying about raw eggs, just smooth, glossy icing ready for decorating. It's my go-to for holiday cookies. One consistency which works great for piping and flooding cookies - easy peasy is always welcome over the holidays!
Equipment
- Measuring Spoons
- Measuring Cups
- Mixing bowl
- Stand Mixer or hand mixer
- Piping Bag or zipper top bags (like a Ziploc)
Ingredients
- 2 cups confectioners sugar 226 g
- 1 ½ tablespoons meringue powder 15 g
- 3 ½ tablespoons water divided
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Food coloring optional
Instructions
Whipped Method
- In a mixing bowl combine the confectioner’s sugar and meringue powder. Add in the vanilla extract and all the water.
- Beat on medium to high speed until stiff peaks form, about 3-5 minutes. Stop once you reach stiff peaks as overbeating can begin to breakdown the icing’s structure.
- Alter the consistency of the icing to match your needs. Again if you need some of it for detailed piping you might want to remove some of the thicker icing to a piping bag before thinning out the rest. A little water goes a long way so only add small quantities at a time (like 1/8 tsp) and thoroughly mix it in with a spoon before adding more. Again, a 7-12 second consistency is good for piping and flooding cookies.
- If you will be using food coloring to dye the icing, divide the icing into as many bowls as you need different colors. Add drops of food coloring (gel food coloring is best) and mix in thoroughly with a spoon until you reach your desired color.
Add Icing to a Piping Bag
- Place the piping bag into a cup and roll the top of the bag down over the cup. Pour the icing in with the help of a spoon or rubber spatula, then remove the piping bag from the cup, give the bag a bit of a shake to encourage the icing to move towards the bottom.
- Twist the top of the bag and seal it closed with a bag clip as close as possible to the top of the icing. When ready to begin piping, snip the bottom of the bag with scissors. Start small, you can always snip more off if you need to.
Non-Whipped Method (Quick but not as versatile)
- In a bowl mix together the confectioners sugar and meringue powder.
- Add in about 2 tablespoons of the water and all of the vanilla extract. Mix together and determine if the consistency needs more water. Add about a 1/4 tsp at a time and mix thoroughly before adding more.
- A good consistency for the icing is if you bring up a spoonful from the bowl and drip it back down in lines, the lines maintain their shape for about 7-12 seconds before “melting” back in with the rest of the icing. This consistency will allow you to pipe and flood a cookie.
Notes
- Meringue powder can be found in hobby craft stores like Michaels or on Amazon.
- If you will be using multiple colors on the same cookies, it is good to adjust the consistency of the royal icing as a whole. Then you can divide the proper consistency icing in to different bowls to be dyed. This way all the icing is of the same consistency and will look best on the cookie.
- When filling a piping bag, I place the bag into a cup and roll the top of the bag down over the cup. Pour the icing in with the help of a spoon or rubber spatula, then remove the piping bag from the cup, give the bag a bit of a shake to encourage the icing to move towards the bottom, then twist the top of the bag and seal it closed with a bag clip as close as possible to the top of the icing. When ready to begin piping, snip the bottom of the bag with scissors. Start small, you can always snip more off if you need to.
- If you don't have piping bags, you can use zipper top bags instead. Just remove as much air as possible from the bag before sealing shut and then snip one of the corners. The size of the piping will be determined by how large or small the snipped corner is. Start small, you can always snip more of the corner off if you need to.
- Many people feel it is good practice to add white food coloring to your icing before adding other colors. I have found adding it or not adding it doesn't really make much of a difference for me. However, in using the non-whipped method the icing is not as white as the whipped method.