Cookie Week! Day 4- Royal icing

Welcome to Day 4! How are you doing with the cookies? Any questions about yesterday's icing/glazing? Anyone willing to link me up to photos yet?

Today we're going full throttle. We're making the infamous Royal Icing! Most people only use this for their cookies- for outlining and filling, and also for detailing. Since I already outlined and filled, I'm going to use this for details.

Remember I said that this icing is very different from the one we used yesterday? The white is much whiter and brighter, and the colors are much subtler. We need a LOT more gel food coloring to get bright colors.

Here is what you need to make royal icing:

4 TBSP meringue powder (this is a substitute for raw egg whites, which were used in the original recipes for royal icing.)
1/2 c. water
1 lb. powdered sugar
1/2 tsp light corn syrup
few drops clear extract (the same clear vanilla or lemon go well with my cookies, but you can use any flavor)

I throw all of the ingredients in the mixer, mix to combine, scrape the bowl and then put the mixer on medium for about 5 minutes. 

You want to mix it until you get a stiff peak when you pull the beater out of the icing. This is NOT a stiff peak. It needs a couple more minutes.  That being said, you don't want to overmix, either.  10 minutes is definitely too long!

This is a little better. :)

I fill my bags just like I did yesterday. This icing is easier, though, because it's not as runny- it won't drip out the tip like yesterday's glaze.

I use a bowl and a toothpick to add royal blue gel food coloring. See how much more I'm using today than I did yesterday?

After you put the food coloring in the icing, if you think you need more, use a clean toothpick. You don't want to put that sugar back into the food coloring- it will go bad.

I use a butter knife to mix the color in.  Add more color if necessary. 

When you squeeze the icing out, it comes out nice and pretty.  This is the icing consistency you want when you are outlining the cookies or adding details. If you are filling in an outline, while the icing is in the bowl, add a few drops of water and stir it in.  You want the icing to be less stiff.  The test I've heard of is to lift the butter knife out of the icing and let it sort of drip back into the bowl. You want the drip of icing to blend back into the bowl of icing in about 3 full seconds.  When you do it you'll understand. :)

I don't have any pictures of me actually piping details, because I need both hands for that. Remember yesterday I told you how to roll the bag, hold the bag, squeeze and guide all at the same time?  (Click here if you need a refresh.)  Below are some examples I made. I really like the look of the blue candies in the icing!  It really made them look nicer.

Honestly I'm not the most happy with these cookies. It takes me 5 or 6 cookies before I find a design I like. 

My favorite cookies are the ones on the black plates in the collage below.  I made 3 basic designs, and 3 basic backgrounds- one with no background, one with white glaze, and one with blue glaze, and then I did all the details in white.  They turned out so pretty.

That's it for Cookie Week! I'll make a post in the next week or so with some easy but wonderful tricks and tips! I didn't do anything too fancy on the snowflakes, so I need to show you how to do polka dots, spider webs, and hearts! SO EASY! So come back and visit!


Some more links to check out:
Bake at 350: Royal Icing 102- awesome information and links to even more awesome information at this wonderful website. (There is a link to almond sugar cookies that I'm going to have to try soon!)
I'll add more links as I find them. I have a ton of cookie pages in my bookmarks!

Sweet Sugar Belle has a great post with three videos on the consistency of flood icing and piping icing (and what she calls 20 second icing- which I'd guess is more like I would make the glaze icing from yesterday.)


Links to Cookie Week:
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3

HAVE FUN!!!!