Here is my classic easy royal icing made with meringue powder. It’s easy to work with, sets quickly, and won’t break your teeth when it dries. It has the most delicious taste and texture and makes decorating sugar cookies FUN and SIMPLE. Use this traditional royal icing recipe for both flooding and outlining your sugar cookies!
This is the only traditional royal icing I use. It’s my favorite because it’s easy to work with, sets quickly, and doesn’t require raw egg whites. And, best of all, it doesn’t have a hard cement-like texture. It won’t break your teeth like other royal icings!
Meringue Powder in Royal Icing
There are many ways to prepare royal icing and my favorite method is with meringue powder. Meringue powder takes the place of raw egg whites, which is found in traditional royal icing recipes. Both create a very sturdy and stable icing that hardens quickly on top of cookies. Meringue powder, while containing eggs, eliminates the need for raw fresh eggs, but still provides the EXACT same consistency. You can find meringue powder in some baking aisles, most craft stores with a baking section, and online. I just buy it on Amazon in the 8 ounce container. Super inexpensive and it lasts me awhile.
This royal icing is just 3 ingredients: confectioners’ sugar, meringue powder, and water. The trickiest part is landing on the perfect consistency, but I have a helpful video for you below. Sometimes I need more water, sometimes I need less water. But the wonderful thing is that you can manipulate the icing to get the proper consistency by adding more water or more confectioners’ sugar. It’s awesome.
Use This Royal Icing for Flooding and Piping
I use this one royal icing for both piping/outlining and flooding, like you see here on these Valentine’s Day cookies. The icing is thick enough to outline and thin enough to flood, which makes it super convenient.
Decorating Cookies
Here is the sugar cookies recipe you need. Soft centers, crisp edges, easy to decorate. You can also use this royal icing on chocolate sugar cookies, gingerbread cookies, or as the glue for a gingerbread house. It’s perfect for making these adorable Easter cookies, fireworks cookies, watermelon sugar cookies, and Halloween cookies. And it can even be used to top homemade mille-feuille.
For a full list of tools I use, see my top recommended cookie decorating supplies. The following is a good list to get started:
- Couplers – needed if you’re using the same icing color, but need to switch tips. Or if you have multiple colors of icing and only 1 tip, and need to move the tip to the other bags of icing.
- Disposable Piping Bags or Reusable Piping Bags – I prefer the 16 inch size for decorating.
- Gel Food Coloring – get the whole set. I love these colors for royal icing, cake batter, frosting, etc. They’re high pigmented so you don’t need as much coloring.
- Piping Tips – see below. Or use a squeeze bottle for less detailed designs, or these icing bottles from Michaels.
- Toothpick – I use a toothpick to help spread out the icing. You could also just use the piping tip, too.
And some piping tips. I always use Wilton piping tip #4 for outlining and flooding the cookie with icing. This is a wonderful basic piping tip to have in your collection. For any detail, I use a thinner round tip like Wilton piping tip #1 (super thin) and Wilton piping tip #2 (thin). For larger round tips that are easier to work with, I suggest Wilton piping tip #3, Wilton piping tip #4, or Wilton piping tip #5. The piping tip #s reflect their sizes. #1 being the thinnest and #5 being the largest of this particular bunch.
Just starting out with piping details? I suggest #1 (smallest), #3 (medium), and #5 (largest of the bunch). You can create anything basic with these three.
Royal Icing Consistency
After mixing the 3 icing ingredients together, lift the whisk attachment up. If the icing that drips off melts back into the bowl of icing within 5-10 seconds, you’re golden. If it’s too thick, add more water. If it’s super thin and watery, just keep beating it OR beat in more confectioners’ sugar.
Can I Freeze Royal Icing?
Yes, royal icing can be frozen. Many royal icing recipes, including this one, yield a lot of icing. Any leftover royal icing can be frozen for up to 2 months. Place leftover royal icing into zipped-top freezer bags. If you have more than 1 color, each color should have its own bag. Before sealing, squeeze as much air out of the bag as possible. Freeze on a flat shelf surface in your freezer. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before using again.
Sugar cookies decorated with royal icing freeze well up to 3 months. Wait for the icing to set completely before layering between sheets of parchment paper in a freezer-friendly container. To thaw, thaw in the refrigerator or at room temperature.
How Can I Make Royal Icing Ahead of Time?
You can prepare this royal icing 2-3 days ahead of time. I recommend transferring it to a smaller bowl or container and tightly sealing for up to 3 days in the refrigerator. When you’re ready to use it, let it come to room temperature, then mix it up with a whisk a few times as it may have separated. Whisking in a few drops of water is helpful if it thickened.
Royal Icing Alternative
If you’d rather skip royal icing and try something easier, here’s my easy cookie icing. This opaque “glaze” style icing doesn’t set/dry as quickly as royal icing and it’s not ideal for piping sharp detail. That being said, sometimes it’s just the more convenient option! It will dry in about 24 hours, where the royal icing recipe below dries in about 1-2 hours.
PrintMy Favorite Royal Icing
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 3 cups
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: American
Description
Here is my classic easy royal icing made with meringue powder. It’s easy to work with, sets quickly, and won’t break your teeth when it dries. It has the most delicious taste and texture and makes decorating sugar cookies fun and simple. Use this traditional royal icing recipe for both flooding and outlining your sugar cookies.
Ingredients
- 4 cups (480g) confectioners’ sugar, sifted (I use and recommend Domino brand)
- 3 Tablespoons meringue powder (not plain egg white powder)
- 9–10 Tablespoons room temperature water
- optional for decorating: gel food coloring (I love this food coloring kit)
Instructions
- Watch the video of the icing above so you get an idea of what the final consistency should be.
- Pour confectioners’ sugar, meringue powder, and 9 Tablespoons of water into a large bowl. Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat icing ingredients together on high speed for 1.5 – 2 minutes. When lifting the whisk up off the icing, the icing should drizzle down and smooth out within 5-10 seconds. If it’s too thick, beat in more water 1 Tablespoon at a time. I usually need 10 Tablespoons but on particularly dry days, I use up to 12-14 Tablespoons. Keep in mind that the longer you beat the royal icing, the thicker it becomes. If your royal icing is too thin, just keep beating it to introduce more air OR you can add more sifted confectioners’ sugar.
- When applied to cookies or confections in a thin layer, icing completely dries in about 2 hours at room temperature. If icing consistency is too thin and runny, it will take longer to dry. If the icing is applied very thick on cookies, it will also take longer to dry. If you’re layering royal icing onto cookies for specific designs and need it to set quickly, place cookies in the refrigerator to help speed it up. See blog post above for make-ahead and freezing instructions.
Notes
- When you’re not working directly with the royal icing (for example, you are decorating cookies but you still have some icing left in the bowl that you intend to use next), place a damp paper towel directly on the surface of the royal icing. This prevents it from hardening.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand Mixer) | Meringue Powder | Americolor Soft Gel Paste Color Kit | Disposable or Reusable Piping Bags | Couplers | Wilton Tip #1 | Wilton Tip #2 | Wilton Tip #3 | Wilton Tip #4 | Wilton Tip #5 | Squeeze Bottle or Icing Bottle
- Optional Flavors: Feel free to add 1/2 teaspoon of your favorite flavored extract, such as lemon, orange, maple, peppermint, etc when you add the water. Taste after the icing comes together, then beat in more if desired. You can also use 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract.
Here is my recipe for sugar cookies.
I made your cookies and they are so delicious that I’ve made them over and over. I used your easy icing recipe since I didn’t have meringue powder. But I bought the meringue and I’m gonna try this icing recipe. My question is: can I refrigerate leftover icing? You mentioned it’s ok to freeze, but I like to make cookies once a week and it would be nice not to have to make fresh icing every week. Or could I split this recipe in half?
Hi Jennifer, yes you can split this recipe in half. Best way to store it for a few days is in the refrigerator already in piping bags. The key is to not have it exposed to air, which is when it dries out.
Can you substitute lemon juice for some of the water to give it a little tang? If so, same ratio of juice as water?
Hi Justen, you can definitely add lemon juice but I don’t recommend replacing all of the water with it. Replace half or a little less than half of the water with it.
Can I add corn syrup to this royal icing so it be shiny like your glaze icing recipe? However, would I be able to pipe designs in the cookies if I do that?
Hi Ree! It will be a little sticky and thicker, but you could still use piping tips. The icing won’t set as quickly.
I just made this icing using 4 egg whites instead of meringue powder and water and it turned out fantastic!! Note: I used the egg whites from 2 regular eggs and 2 silkie chicken eggs (which are smaller). I was a bit lazy and didn’t sieve my icing sugar and it still turned out silky smooth! Will definitely be saving this recipe.
Thank you!
Do you measure the powdered sugar before sifting or after?
Hi Irene! After. If the word “sifted” is after the ingredient name, that means you sift it after measuring. If it comes before the ingredient name, sift it before measuring. Hope this helps!
I just made it and frosted my cookies. It’s perfect. Thank you for publishing the recipe. I will be making it again for sure.
I made this recipe using meringue powder. I did use a bit more water to thin to the proper consistency. I wasn’t flooding, just decorating butterfly shaped cookies
I put in a drop of lemon extract to give it some flavor. It dried quickly, was easy to work with and a good texture with no grittiness.
The only thing soneone might not like is that it didn’t dry super shiny. For my purposes, it didn’t matter. It was perfect
I’d post a picture if I could figure out how!
Mine had a horrible chalky texture to it. I do believe after reading all of the other comments that I over beat it. But what causes the chalk texture and lack of flavor? Thanks
Hi Stephanie, Royal icing is inherently very sweet – it tastes like the sugar you use! You can certainly try a different brand of sugar and you can also add flavoring. Feel free to add a very small amount of vanilla, almond or any other extract you wish for different flavors (just be sure they are oil free).
Can cookies be frozen after decorating with this frosting?
Hi Judy, yes, cookies decorated with royal icing can be frozen after the icing sets completely.
Hello. I’m wondering if I can pipe the designs onto a silicone baking mat and transfer them later.
Hi Peggy, this does work if you let them completely dry before removing them! You might need a thicker icing depending the design you are making.
Hi Sally,
I used your recipe to make Royal Icing for the first time. I beat it with 9 tblsp water, and then beat it again with each add’l tblsp of water. It didn’t get to the flowing consistency you described and I just stopped at 19 tbls. Should I not beat it after every small addition of water? Only stir? It wasn’t changing, maybe overbeaten? The white ended up setting on the cookies, but the icing with color did not set. That didn’t make sense to me either. By the time I was using the ones with color, they were too runny. I added confectioners sugar to one, but I didn’t know how much and each addition didn’t seem to make much difference. I was out of time so I just used them anyway, not pretty, and I froze the remaining icings. Is it still usable? Do I just STIR in sugar and not beat it anymore? Why do you think the white set, but not others? I didn’t use very much gel color. Thanks!
Hi Colleen, It sounds like the icing was over mixed. For royal icing if you mix it for that long it will begin to incorporate a lot of air which changes the texture. If you feel like you have already mixed it for a long time but it still needs more water try stirring it in. I’m unsure why your white frosting would set but the color frosting wouldn’t, but I have heard that some deep colors (dark red, black, etc) take much longer to set.
I made some royal icing and needed to add a CRAZY amount of water (almost 20 tbsp) and it still seemed thick and didn’t leave a smooth finish. Is it possible I overbeat it?
It could have been over-beaten, yes. Too much air will prevent the icing from setting. Depending on the day, I add close to 14-15 Tbsp of water. Try sifting the confectioners’ sugar and meringue powder together if you decide to try it again. That will help too.
Hi! Can I add corn syrup to the icing for a glossier look? Also, can I just use a regular whisk to make the icing? Sadly I don’t own an electric mixer 🙁
It will be quite the arm workout using a whisk, but you can try it! A little corn syrup would be fine, but it will thin out the icing. You may want to reduce the water.
I’ve made your icing twice now, and each time it has turned out perfectly. Thanks so much for sharing!
Just made and used this. So easy, came out wonderful!
Have you ever had trouble with your royal icing recipe not drying?
If it’s applied too thick, it will take a considerable amount of time to dry.
If I can’t find meringue powder (no where here has it right now), how many egg whites would I use to substitute? Is there anything else I need to differently if using egg whites? Thanks!
Hi Lynette! I recommend this glaze icing instead. Or you can search for traditional royal icing using egg whites. (I don’t have one of those on my website because I prefer meringue powder!)
Can you add vanilla or almond extract?
Absolutely. Go light as extra liquid could throw off the final consistency.
Will this icing take black gel food coloring without ruining the taste? My son wants batman cookies for his birthday.
Yes, it will! Definitely use a gel food coloring and not the liquid drops.
Thank you!! My cookies are kind of ugly but that’s because I am possibly the messiest artist in the world. Great recipe though xo
Hi Sally, have you tried using freeze dried fruit to color the icing instead of the coloring gels? Would it change the consistency of the icing?
Thanks!
Hi Michelle! I haven’t tried adding freeze-dried fruit powder to the royal icing, but I don’t expect an issue. Let me know if you try it.
I’ve tried this recipe a few times now and it always turns out very thick and fluffy. To get the right consistancy I end up adding a LOT more water than called for. I’ve always chickened out and tossed it but I’m determined to get it. So two questions: Any thoughts on what I am doing wrong? And what is the risk with too much water, will it not set? Thank you!!!
It’s possible you are mixing it too fast/long. You could simply be whipping too much air into it. But there is nothing wrong with adding more water if you need to!
Hello! Thank you for the tips! When adding detail i.e. a second colour to a flood icing base, can you do so immediately? Or is it best to wait a bit? Thank you
You can do it immediately and the colors will stay separate and have a seamless look. For a more defined boarder between the colors you need to wait for the first to dry!
My grandson and I made this recipe to decorate our Christmas cookies and it was fabulous! We’ve never made
royal icing before and this was super easy to use. Thank you do much for posting this recipe!