Royal Icing

Icing cookies with royal icing that dries hard is a super fun and creative project.

Serves: icing for 1-2 batches of cookies

Prep Time: 15 min

Cooking Time: 0 min

Total:  15 min

Ingredients
For Piping

2 cups confetioners' sugar
3 tbsp. liquid pasteurized egg whites
1 tbsp. warm water (or more if needed, 1/2 tbsp. at a time)
flavouring of choice (1 tbsp. lemon juice, 1/2-1 tsp. vanilla or other extract)
food colouring (optional)

For Flooding
2 cups confectioners' sugar
3 tbsp. liquid pasteurizer egg whites
3 tbsp. warm water (or more if needed, 1/2 tbsp. at a time)
flavouring of choice (1 tbsp. lemon juice, 1/2-1 tsp. vanilla or other extract)
food colouring (optional)

General Directions

1. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, or the bowl of an electric stand mixer.
2. Beat on high for 5 minutes with an electric stand mixer, and 10 minutes with a hand-held electric mixer.
3. After mixing, add food colouring if desired and beat until fully combined.
4. When desired consistency is reached, cover icing immediately or transfer to an airtight container, piping bag or squeeze bottle, as royal icing  hardens fast.

Piping Directions

1. When beginning to mix piping icing, it will be the consistency of white glue.  At the end of the beating process, it will turn glossy and become the consistency of toothpaste.
2. Test consistency by piping a small loops of icing through a #2 or #3 tip onto a piece of parchment paper or a test cookie.  The icing should hold its shape as it lands.  
3. Pipe a border of icing, or outline around the area of the cookie that you want to flood.  The aim to to make a seamless, unbroken wall, that will hold the flood icing.
4. Leave to dry before flooding.

Flooding Directions

1. When beginning to mix flood icing, it will seem very watery.  After mixing it for a while, it will turn opaque and slightly thicker. However, the consistency shouldn't be too thin or too thick, as it should spread easily over the cookie, creating an opaque layer of icing.
2. If your piping icing was coloured, try make the same colour flood icing.
3. Transfer flood icing to a plastic squeeze bottle.  Flood the cookie by squeezing icing into the area with piped icing walls.  If needed, use a toothpick or wooden coffee stir stick to guide icing over the cookie to cover every corner.
4. Decorate cookie with another colour of flood icing piped on top of wet flood icing, or by adding other decorations such as sprinkles metallic decoration balls.
5. Leave for 2-3 hours until icing has set.  Do not cover cookies while the icing is drying, as it slows the process and can damage your designs.

Recipe from Peterson and Fryer's Cookie Craft: From Baking to Luster Dust (2007).