Description
A foolproof royal icing recipe designed for perfectly decorated sugar cookies. This meringue powder-based icing dries quickly, pipes cleanly, and delivers smooth, professional finishes every time.
Ingredients
Scale
- 4 tablespoons meringue powder
- 4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
- 6 tablespoons warm water (plus 3–4 tablespoons more for flood consistency)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Gel food coloring
Instructions
- Combine sifted powdered sugar and meringue powder in a stand mixer bowl.
- Mix on low speed to blend dry ingredients.
- Slowly add warm water and vanilla while mixing.
- Increase to medium-high speed and beat for 5 minutes until stiff peaks form.
- Divide icing into bowls and color with gel food coloring as desired.
- Adjust consistency: keep stiff for outlining; add warm water 1 teaspoon at a time for flooding.
- Transfer to piping bags and decorate cookies as desired.
Notes
Always use gel coloring to avoid thinning the icing. Test consistency before decorating—flood icing should smooth out within 10–20 seconds.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Category: Frosting & Icings
- Method: No-Cook
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 tablespoons
- Calories: 91.5
- Sugar: 23g
- Sodium: 4.5mg
- Fat: 0g
- Saturated Fat: 0g
- Unsaturated Fat: 0g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 23.5g
- Fiber: 0g
- Protein: 0g
- Cholesterol: 0mg
Keywords: royal icing, sugar cookies, cookie decorating, icing recipe, meringue powder icing