Royal Icing

  • Prep Time: 25 mins
  • Total Time: 25 mins
  • Yield: 24cookies
  • About This Recipe

    “A recipe for cookie icing.”

    Ingredients

  • 3largeegg whites
  • 1/2 teaspooncream of tartar
  • 1 (16ounce) packages powdered sugar, sifted
  • paste food coloring
  • Directions

  • Combine egg whites and cream of tartar in a large mixing bowl.
  • Beat at medium speed on mixer until frothy.
  • Add half of powdered sugar, mixing well.
  • Add remaining sugar and beat 5-7 minutes at high speed, until mixture is stiff and holds a peak.
  • Color with desired amount of paste food coloring.
  • NOTE: Icing dries very quickly; keep icing covered with a damp cloth when not using.
  • Reviews

  • “I received this exact recipe from my daughter’s grade 1 teacher for the gingerbread houses they were making in class. This icing was easy to make and spreading was a breeze. I doubled the recipe and used a 1 kg package of icing sugar and it was the perfect consistancy. I didn’t use any coloring this time, but I will be making this to frost cookies in the future and I will try it with the coloring then. Thanks for this recipe!”

  • “Thanks for posting!Used 1 teaspoon lemon juice in place of cream of tartar & 1 teaspoon of clear vanilla…came out great.”

  • “I used this to make favors for a baby shower (Recipe #112525).It couldn’t have been simpler to whip up or easier to work with.Can’t wait to decorate some Christmas cookies.Thanks, Miss Annie!”

  • “Great recipe-so easy to make!I used them for recipe #112525 Baby Pacifiers.The recipes worked perfectly together!”

  • “Exactly what I was looking for!Thank you for saving me a trip to the store for meringue powder.This will go in my recipe files for safe keeping!”

  • “Finally “real” royal icing!!! I love using this for decorations on cakes because the way it sets.”

  • “Great, simple icing! To Toots70 – confectioners sugar 16oz refers to weight not liquid measure. Also you don’t need to chill the bowl and beaters for egg whites – that’s for whipped cream. For egg whites you mostly just need to be sure they are clean as grease will prevent the whites from forming properly. Easy to get the rules confused!”

  • “Exactly right!”

  • “I hate paying big bucks for meringue powder to make royal icing. I’m thrilled to find I can make it without it! I made 1/3 of the recipe and used it to make flowers for my niece’s bridal shower cupcakes. They hardened beautifully! Thanks so much for posting this, inexpensive, easy-to-work-with icing recipe!”

  • “this is the easiest icing ever…..I did however use liquid food colouring as that was all I had at home ad it caused the icing to split…..on my second batch I used paste/gel colour and it was perfect. it hardened up and was glossy and wonderfull. thanks for the recipe”

  • “Thanks for a great recipe. Easy to make and just the right consistency for icing. Very good on gingerbread cookies. I’ll be using this recipe again.”

  • “This is such a great recipe-and if you plan on writing on cookies, etc and find it a little thick, use a few drops of lemon juice until it reaches the consisitency you’re looking for. This stiffens up beautifully!”

  • “This is the perfect icing if you need “glue”!We used it for a gingerbread house and also for a few more projects.I omitted the cream of tartar and it still held up perfectly.If you plan to eat it, consider adding a splash of vanilla.Without it, it tastes pretty much like the “glue” it substitutes.”

  • “Wonderful, easy recipe. Used it for gingerbread men. Very easy to work with.”

  • “I have a recipe a lot like this.I use it every year for milk carton gingerbread houses.It’s excellent.True, it does call for raw egg, but you can always use pasteurized eggs.Even if you used unpasteurized, you would be fine (I don’t eat it, anyway).”

  • “perfect!”

  • “I just wouldn’t risk using egg whites in a frosting recipe when there are safer alternatives like meringue powder and pasturized egg products.Why take the chance?”

  • “I used this recipe for my family’s gingerbread houses for Christmas.It was so easy to make and silky smooth.It was also very easy to work with and dries beautifully.Will be using from now on.”

  • “Excellent. Does not become stone hard, so eats well. Lovely white colour.Substituted cream of tartar with a teasp. of lemon.”

  • “Loved this recipe.It was so easy to make and so yummy.I love icing that hardens. I did add a 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla to the mixture to add a little more flavor.”

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