Royal Icing

Why am I the only person to start threads in the dessert forum?

Does anyone have a good royal icing recipe? Yes, I know, it's just powdered sugar and water (or milk), but I can never get the ratio right. I want to be able to pipe a border and then fill in the middle so that the icing doesn't run down the sides ... is that too much to ask?

[SuzySunshine]

Jenn, I use the Wilton Meringue Powder recipe.

3 T Wilton Meringue Powder
4 cups (1 lb) powder sugar
6 T warm water

I pipe the outer edge of the cookies at that consistency and then I put some of the icing in one of these: http://www.michaels.com/art/online/d...100&channelid=

Then I water it down just a tad more and it "runs" out of the bottle but the piped edging contains it. You have to be careful though because if you make it to runny it won't reconstitute.

I made these Halloween cookies that way:

thanks Cheri! Krystal actually just suggested using meringue powder (via chat on FB) ... and I have some, so I'll try it.

[bokelley]

Those cookies look great!

[HouseofWool]

Jenn - royal icing has egg whites in it, that is what make it so hard. I know the Joy of Cooking has a recipe for one with egg whites that is cooked. I will try to find it in the morning.

the meringue powder should accomplish that w/o having to deal with cooking egg whites. that said, I've got 6 egg whites in my fridge from eggs i separated when making the cookies (they call for 6 yolks + 4 eggs!), so I've got them to spare, for sure.

[GreyhoundsRUs]

My favorite part about making cookies is having the left-over egg whites - I just toss them in a pan and cook them for breakfast

Jenn - I love decorated sugar cookies for Christmas and always have problems with the royal icing (usually I use homemade cake icing). I tried this recipe and her tips this year - I seriously have bakery quality decorated cookies. The key (along with her recipe which uses merigue powder) was the icing consistency which she describes very well. http://annies-eats.com/2008/12/23/su...h-royal-icing/

Great! Thanks, Laura (and everyone). I've got scones in the oven right now, but will attempt the icing at naptime.

This is also on her site and gives pictures of the icing process/consistency
http://annies-eats.com/2009/12/04/ho...h-royal-icing/

[HouseofWool]

I have been sorely tempted by these cookies and purchased meringue powder. Now, the big question for me is how does it taste? Can I add a bit of vanilla to the royal icing to add more flavor?

It just tastes like sugar. You could add vanilla, but I'd remove that quantity of water, otherwise your "base" (concentrated frosting) won't have the right consistency.

[HouseofWool]

It just tastes like sugar. You could add vanilla, but I'd remove that quantity of water, otherwise your "base" (concentrated frosting) won't have the right consistency.

That's what I was planning. Thanks.

[Lynn]

A friend of mine, who makes fabulous decorated cookies, now buys the royal icing from the grocery store bakery. Much easier, she says.

[GreyhoundsRUs]

Just bought 100 Wilton Cookie Cutters from Walmart - sooooo glad this recipe was here I'll post my first cookie-decorating attempt next weekend!