Royal Icing

Royal icing on sugar cookies may be my new favorite pastime!  I had so much fun and it was a lot easier than I thought it would be, but still very time consuming.  I still need to work on the decorating after the color flooding, but that will come with time!

Royal Icing (I used 1 batch of icing for each batch of 2-3 dozen cookies):

4 C powdered sugar

2 TBSP meringue powder

5-6 TBSP water (+ as much as it takes to get the desired consistency for each step)

Other Supplies:

cookies to decorate
icing gel colors

toothpicks/other pointy tool to spread frosting with

frosting tips (I used a number 2 tip)

disposable frosting bags or plastic bags with a corner cut off

squeeze bottle (I just used an empty honey bottle I got for less than $1 at the grocery store)

Prepare enough bags and tips for the number of colors you would like to pipe with.
Using the paddle attachment on a Kitche-Aid mixer on low speed, combine the sugar, meringue powder, and water for about 7-10 minutes until it is no longer shiny and is stiff.  It should still be too stiff to decorate with.

Transfer the icing to an airtight container and add more water (about 1 tsp at a time) and food coloring if desired and mix by hand until the icing reaches a consistency good for piping borders around the edges of the cookies (it should be thick, but if you cannot squeeze it smothly out of the tip, it is too thick).

Place enough icing in a prepared icing bag to complete the desired outlines.  Any left over icing should be kept in the air tight container (NOT in the fridge - it will harden).

If you want to used the same icing color in the piping bag for decoration after the cookies are flooded, place the bag, tip side down, in a cup of water so the tip is submerged in order to prevent the icing from hardening.

Outline the cookies and let them dry for about 1 hour (until the frosting is solid).

Using the remaining icing, stir in water (about 1 tsp at a time) until the frosting reaches the correct consistency to flood the cookies.  The frosting should run easliy off the back of a spoon and reabsorb itself back into the frosting within 10 seconds.  If you make the frosting too thin, add a little more powdered sugar into the mix to attain the consistency you are looking for.

Pour the frosting into the squeeze bottle.  I found using a funnel really helped.

Fill the outline with a squirt or two of frosting (depending on the size of the cookie) and spread it to the edges with a toothpick or other pointy tool (I just used a fondue stick).

If there are any bubbles in the frosting, use the toothpick to smooth them out.

Let the frosting set for a few hours.

Decorate with different colors of icing if you want to make some cookies with some flair!

*The tutorial information I followed was originally from annies-eats.com