Sunday, March 25, 2012

Royal Icing Recipe, Step-by-Step!

Lately, I've been getting a lot of emails asking about my cookie icing.







I always use Royal Icing for my cookies,

 and although there are many resources out there to help, 

I thought it was about time I put together my own post for you all!






This is the recipe I use.




Yes....I did write the recipe directly onto the top of the container I keep 
the meringue powder in, with a permanent marker.


It's one less thing I have to remember.





ROYAL ICING


6 TBSP Meringue Powder

11-12 TBSP Water (3/4 of a cup)

2-3 tsp flavoring (vanilla, almond....whatever floats your boat)

1 TBSP light corn syrup





  Just so we're clear....I did not make up this recipe, 
I have no idea who did, or I would happily give them credit.
It's very close to the Wilton recipe.

There is a recipe out there called Antonia74,  
I've never actually looked it up, but it could be the same too.


This just happens to be how I put it together!

Here we go!






CK products happens to be the meringue powder I prefer.


Wilton also sells meringue powder that is easy to find at

Michaels, JoAnn's, Wal-Mart etc.









I measure out 3/4 cup of water in a glass measuring cup.  


If the air is very dry, like 'your hair keeps flying up with static electricity' dry, 

I'll add another tablespoon of water.


If its damp or foggy or about to rain, I take away a tablespoon.

Highly scientific...I know.









I stir up the meringue powder a bit with a little bitty whisk,

then measure out 6 TBSPS and dump it into the water.









Whisk it up until its frothy and all the powder has dissolved.

Then....I wait.


I answer a few emails, read a blog or two, 
watch the housewives of who-knows-where
wash the dishes, fold the laundry.









Next, I pour a two pound bag of powdered sugar into the 
bowl of my stand mixer.

Stir it around a bit with a whisk.

If you're feeling super industrious you could sift it.

I'm not usually in that kind of mood.





By now the meringue powder has been sitting 

for about 10 minutes or so.




One more quick stir with the whisk and it goes through

a fine mesh strainer into the sugar.









Right before mixing I add the corn syrup and flavoring.









The corn syrup adds a little bit of shine and cuts down on the 
'tooth-breaking' hardness of the icing when its dry.

The flavoring adds......well, flavor.



That's everything!

No secret ingredients!









I do have a favorite secret tool though.

I love my beater blade.

The silicone edges mean I don't have to EVER 

scrape down the sides of the bowl



EVER!!!!!




They have no idea who I am, nor did they give me anything for saying this.

I just really love mine...



So, the only thing left is to turn on the mixer!!!








After a couple of seconds on 'stir' to make sure all the sugar is wet,
I turn it to 3 and leave it on for about 5 minutes.

In some kitchens, it takes 3 minutes, some others, as many as 10.

Mostly, I've found, its important to be patient and not turn the mixer up too high.
Your icing can become gritty and have many, many air bubbles.


Air bubbles are bad for smooth cookie icing.

Keep checking and turn it off as soon as you get a peak.








Can you see those two peaks up there?

One is pointy and sticking up, the other is pointy but flopped over.

Just how I like it!!

One reader asked me if my icing was 'creamy'.

I wasn't sure at first, but I actually think that's a pretty good description.

Creamy and smooth, but still stiff.





From here its ready to be colored, wrapped and slipped into piping bags...



...or thinned down to flooding consistency and poured into squeeze bottles.






The other big question is usually 

"How do you store your icing?"





I really like these 20 oz disposable

 (but I use them over and over) ziploc containers.


They have an air tight seal and I can fit one batch of icing

into two containers perfectly!


I love that I can use half immediately and pop the other into the fridge!








One last tip.....

This stuff dries like concrete.

Be sure to leave the beater in your mixing bowl,

give it a couple of squirts of dish soap,

 and fill in to the top with hot water.



Nothing is more miserable to clean than a bowl of rock hard icing.

Except maybe decorating tips filled with rock hard icing.

Ick.


Thanks for stopping by,

Lizy B

  PSST!......Don't forget to enter the giveaway!!!!

Giveaway closed....congrats Brooksley!

30 comments:

  1. Thanks so much for posting this!!! Every time I have made royal icing it hasn't come out exactly like I had intended. Maybe the key is waiting...I am definitely going to try this out! Thank you!!

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  2. I love this post! Even though I have my own way of doing icing, I love to see how others do it! You are so right about the rock hard icing!! lol

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  3. I love that you pour the egg liquid through a sieve!! SO smart!

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  4. @Cari and Cortnee-I think the waiting helps, it changed my results for sure when I started!
    @Bearfoot Baker-its amazing how many different ways bakers make their icing!!! It's definitely a 'whatever works for you' kind of a thing....but it makes it crazy to try to explain!

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  5. Thanks for all of the icing notes! So smart to write your recipe permanently on the meringue powder container. Also, I NEED to get the beater blade!

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  6. So I noticed your Target brand corn syrup. My grocery store closed and I do a lot of shopping there, but a batch of icing I made last week was so grainy with MP powdered sugar. It tasted fine when it dried, but not out of the bowl. Have you used this brand? Also, I too write my recipe on the top of my meringue powder can, and my cookie recipe is taped inside my cabinet, in case I have a brain hiccup!

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  7. Thank you sooo much for sharing!!!! I love to see how differently everyone makes their RI. Yours IS creamy and your cookies are sooo beautiful!!! Have a great week!!

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  8. I am absolutely going to try this! I do like the recipe I am currently using, but sometimes it does get a little grainy on me - I'm loving that creamy look!

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  9. Your cookies are gorgeous and texture of the royal icing is fantastic! Stopping by from Make It Yourself blog hop. http://craftyandcookingmomma.blogspot.com/

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  10. Wow! Your cookies are beautiful! I love royal icing... but I've never used it on cookies. Guess I'll have to try it. :) BTW, I'm totally jealous of your beaterblade!

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  11. Wow! Your cookies are beautiful! I love royal icing... but I've never used it on cookies. Guess I'll have to try it. :) BTW, I'm totally jealous of your beaterblade!

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  12. How much icing does this recipe make? Or how many cookies would it ice?

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  13. You are so talented my friend! Just want to let you know that I am awarding you the Versatile Blogger Award today on our blog. Have a great week!

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  14. Great work! Thanks for sharing this awesome post.

    Mrs. Delightful
    www.urdelightfulhome.blogspot.com

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  15. I did the same exact thing on the lid of my royal icing container :)

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  16. You rock! I'm can't wait to give this a try!!! Thanks for sharing at MM.

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  17. This is wonderful information. Hopefully my cookies will turn out as beautiful as yours. Thanks so much for sharing at Mix it up Monday :)

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  18. Your cookies are adorable! I especially love the strawberry ones.

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  19. Hi Lizy!

    What a great tutorial, full of nice little tips. Thanks for taking the time to share this with all of us.

    I have to confess that the only time I ever made iced cookies was over twenty years ago. They were gingerbread boys and girls that I decorated to look like every kid on the block. They all got one in their little Christmas bag of goodies. I had a ball doing it and they looked SO darned cute!

    xoxo Bunny Jean
    Wednesday's Bunny Hop Party!

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  20. Thank you SO much for this recipe! I've been wanting to try a new one and so next time I'm up for RI I will try it. Is the CK MP the kind you buy at Hobbie Lobbie? I don't like the Wilton as much, and Williams-Sonoma barely ever caries it anymore. Thanks again!!

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  21. Thank you for sharing at our link party again this week! We always love having you! Featuring this incredibly sweet recipe on our facebook page today! :)

    https://www.facebook.com/pages/Uncommon-Designs/230596840284698?ref=tn_tnmn

    Bonnie @ Uncommon

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  22. This is a great royal icing recipe!

    Thanks for linking up at Beautify It Monday! We were thrilled to have such a great turn out for out first party! Features will go up on Saturday and we hope to see you back again on Monday for week 2!

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  23. I feel so inspired to try this...and scared too! I've never had much luck with making things looks pretty with icing. I know, practice practice! Thanks so much for sharing at Scrumptious Sunday!

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  24. Good morning! Just popping in to let you know that your recipe has been featured this week at Addicted to Recipes! Congrats! Check it out here: http://iamaddictedtorecipes.blogspot.ca/2012/03/scrumptious-sunday-4-features.html

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  25. I am excited to try this out but since it is my first time, I am wondering what you use to thin out the icing to get it to "flood consistency"?

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  26. I am excited to try this recipe out but since it is my first time,I am wondering what you use to thin out the icing to "flood consistency"? Thanks, your cookies rock!

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  27. Does this recipe dry hard enough to stack the cookies or pack them up for an outing? I'm going to try this recipe - my last 2 times I've made royal icing it's come out almost grainy and it just feels bad in your mouth. it tastes ok but the texture is kind of gross :(

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  28. Just curious what you do to think down your the icing to make the flooding icing?

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  29. How do you make your black icing? Every time I've tried it just turns out an icky brown...

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  30. I normally don't comment. I read, intake and enjoy the recipes. But this time I had to say something. I am fairly new to decorating and while I'm getting the hang of the decorating part, I was never really happy with my icing. I stumbled onto your recipe and tried it for this last batch of cookies and my cookies look and taste perfect. Since I just decided to try your icing recipe I wasn't quite sure I would continue to use it so I didn't save it. Silly me, because I have been scouring the internet to find your recipe for 3 days... I have finally found it and I will never let it go. Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe, my cookies thank you too!

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I love to read your comments (yup...I read each and every one!!!), thanks for taking the time to type out your thoughts! They truly make my day!

Your questions are so much fun, and I try to answer them by emailing you back directly. Please make sure you are not a 'no-reply' blogger so I can reach you!

Thanks everyone!

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