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
