Royal Icing Recipe - Windy City Baker (2024)

Sugar cookies are delicious on their own, but they are evenbetter when decorated with a tasty royal icing.

If you have never used royal icing before, it’s an icing that dries hard. It can be used to create beautifully decorated sugar cookies, gingerbread houses, cakes, and more. Based on the amount of water added to the icing, it can be used to pipe designs that need to hold their shape (e.g., words, image outlines, etc.) or to flood an already outlined design so the icing will create a smooth layer.

Using this icing takes a little practice to get the proportions correct, but once you figure it out, you will have a very versatile icing in your baking arsenal. My favorite recipe is royal icing with meringue powder and corn syrup.

***This post may contain affiliate links, which means we may receive a commission (at no extra cost to you) if you click a link and purchase something. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Click to see my full disclosure policy.***

Why Make Royal Icing with Meringue Powder and Corn Syrup?

Have you ever wondered to yourself why you would want to make royal icing with corn syrup and meringue powder?

If you’ve struggled with dull royal icing in the past, adding a small amount of corn syrup will help to keep the icing shiny (even when dry). Royal icing with corn syrup also increases the elasticity of the icing. This means you can pull the icing further away from the cookie or cake without the strand of icing breaking. This is especially helpful if you’re trying to pipe rounded outlines or string work.

Meringue powder, on the other hand, helps the royal icing to quickly dry hard without cracking. It’s also used as a substitute for raw eggs (i.e., the traditional way to make royal icing).

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs (907g) powdered sugar
• 8 Tbsp (82g) meringue powder¹
• 1 cup (250g) water
• 2 tsp (14.5g) corn syrup
• 2 tsp (9.6g) vanilla extract²

Equipment:

• Sifter
• Stand mixer with paddle attachment (or hand mixer with large bowl)
• Digital scale (or dry measuring cups, liquid measuring cups, and measuring spoons)
• Silicone spatula
• Plastic wrap

Making the icing:

Place the meringue powder and water in the bowl of a stand mixer using the paddle attachment. Beat until it is combined and foamy.

Sift in the powdered sugar and beat on low to combine. It will probably be helpful to add the powdered sugar in 3 additions so that you don’t get powdered sugar all over the kitchen. Do not skip the sifting. Powdered sugar frequently has clumps. If you add powdered sugar without sifting it, your royal icing will have lumps that may not break up during mixing.

Once combined, add in the vanilla extract and the corn syrup (which helps to keep the royal icing shiny).

Increase the speed to medium-high on the stand mixer andbeat for approximately 5 minutes (or until the icing forms stiff peaks).

Cover the stand mixer bowl with plastic wrap. Make sure the plastic wrap touches the surface of the royal icing so that the surface doesn’t dry and harden. Divide the royal icing and color with gel paste food colorings, if desired.

If you need a thinned icing, add water to the “stiff” royalicing a teaspoon at a time. Theconsistency can change quickly if you add too much water. Add the water until you have the consistencyyou need to decorate the dessert.

Want to Learn More About How to Decorate Cookies Using Royal Icing?

Decorating cookies using royal icing allows you to make gifts for friends and family and to create edible artwork that shows off your creativity. If you want to learn basic decorating techniques including outlining, flooding, wet-on-wet technique, marbling, feathering, flocking, and more, then click the image below to get more information about my Beginner’s Guide to Cookie Decorating.

You may also like:

Harry Potter Bachelorette Sugar Cookies

Kawaii Rose Sugar Cookies

Paper Mario Sugar Cookies

Halloween Candy Sugar Cookies

Unicorns Galore Sugar Cookies

Getting Fruity Sugar Cookies

See Also

Corn Syrup Is a Pantry Must If You Love Baking

More posts for decorating sugar cookies

Sugar Cookie Recipe

Checklist for Cookie Decorating Supplies (FREE PRINTABLE!!)

Decorate Cookies with Tracing Projector App

Notes:

1. There is a lot of variation in the flavor of meringue powders. Make sure that you use a good tasting one like CK meringue powder or Ateco. Even though Wilton meringue powder is easily accessible in craft stores, I would highly suggest buying a different brand because the Wilton brand adds a distinctive flavor to the royal icing that is not good (in my opinion). (Back to “Ingredients“)
2. If you need your royal icing to be white, you can use any clear extract (e.g., lemon, almond, or clear imitation vanilla extract) or a few drops of white food coloring. (Back to “Ingredients“)