Learning How To Write With Royal Icing!

Hey Besties! This is a topic you’ve been requesting I cover for a LONG time, and I’m thrilled it’s finally here! I have a confession to make! Writing with royal icing was something I dreaded and was not a strength for me for a long time! If I’m being completely honest, I still have my days when something doesn’t cooperate, but that’s just the nature of cookie decorating. But what I can tell you is that I actually LOVE writing on my cookies now. I forced myself to practice and do it over and over until it clicked, but there’s no reason you need to go through that painful process. I’m happy to share some of my most helpful tips, along with free printables to help you learn how to write with royal icing much faster! That’s what Besties are here for, right? Let’s do this, together!

A word About Royal Icing

This is something that’s not talked about enough (or hardly ever) in the world of cookie decorating. While we all share tips, tricks and methods for working with royal icing, everyone’s royal icing is slightly different. If you made 5 different royal icing recipes, you’d learn that they all behave slightly different. The ingredients used, amounts used, your climate, and most importantly, HOW the icing is made creates HUGE differences in royal icing results. So, what works beautifully for one cookier, may not work as well for you and vice versa. There’s no right or wrong; it’s about finding what works best for YOU! Why do I share this? Because learning how to write with royal icing will be easier and more successful with great icing.

And here’s the part you may not like to hear…you may need to break up with your recipe. I know…ouch…but stay with me. Bakers have a weird emotional attachment to their recipes and often stick with a recipe that they don’t like for FAR too long. If you are not getting results you want, you need to try something different. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. There is NO reason to stick with a recipe or method that is not serving you well. It doesn’t have to be one of my recipes, but for your sanity, please try something different if you’re struggling. There’s simply no reason for that and this is supposed to be FUN!

All that said, if you need or want to try the same royal icing recipe that we use for all of our decorating, you’ll find it HERE. It’s very simple to make with just a few important steps. No fussing, stopping, scraping, multiple steps. Once we start mixing, I come back in 5-6 minutes to perfect icing.

Cookie projector or not?

Time for another confession: It’s EXTREMELY rare when you find me freehand writing on a cookie. I was not blessed with the gift of beautiful handwriting, and I love fun fonts way too much. So when you see writing on my cookies, know that I used my projector or created a transfer. And this is the case for most cookiers. Almost every cookier gets to a point in their skills where a projector is the next natural step to create more intricate, complex designs.

I use my projector with virtually every cookie set in some way and could never go without it. And now that I LOVE writing and fun fonts, I use is more and more. The Kodak Luma 150 is what I use and love. It’s the most popular among cookiers for several reasons and you can learn all about it HERE, if you’d like.

If you don’t have a projector, royal icing transfers are a great way to still create fun writing, numbers and fonts for your cookies. You are limited in types of designs you can create with transfers, but I love to share options! If you want to learn more about making royal icing transfer fonts, THIS tutorial will guide you through it all.

If you DO have a projector, you might be saying, “Bestie, I have a projector, but my writing is still not perfect!” I hear you! A projector is a tool that helps immensely, but it still takes practice and skill to learn how to use it to make beautiful designs. It will show you where the icing should be on a cookie, but YOU are still the artist needing to place that icing. Fortunately, I’ve got some tips and tricks to accelerate this journey for you.

Royal Icing Consistencies

Besties, I’m going to level with you right now. The key to beautiful writing is ALL ABOUT CONSISTENCIES. Seriously. I use two different royal icing consistencies for all of my writing. And once I mastered these, it all became so much easier.

Royal Icing Writing Consistency

I use a writing consistency for all my thin fonts where I don’t want loops to close or pool together. This consistency offers clean lines that don’t change or move much once piped onto the cookie. And that’s exactly what I want. This is the consistency that allows me to create small, clear writing, like in these sets.

In my consistency guide, you can see videos of all the consistencies we use in all of our decorating. But here is a video that shows exactly what this writing consistency looks like in the bowl.

Puffy Royal Icing COnsistency

The other consistency I use in my writing is my puffy icing consistency. When I have thicker fonts or big puffy letters that need to be filled, this is the consistency I use.

I do all of my decorating and writing with one consistency. Meaning, I don’t outline with one consistency and fill in with another consistency. I use either writing or puffy icing consistency for each font, for a seamless look. That said, if you find it easier and don’t mind the outline, you can use a thicker outline and then fill with a thicker icing as well.

The puffy icing consistency I use icing is thicker, but thin enough that it heals itself smooth but remains puffy with great dimension and shape. Here are a couple examples of my writing with this consistency.

And in this video, you can see exactly how this consistency behaves in the bowl. Pay attention to how the peaks behave. If you’re familiar with the “glob and ribbon” method, this is just a smidge thicker than that. If your icing is pooling or running together, it’s too thin, so add a little powdered sugar.

Bestie Tips for writing with royal icing

I use tipless bags for all of my decorating (unless I’m making flowers). You may want to experiment with and without tips to see if you find one way easier than the other. I prefer tipless because it gives me the freedom to make the hole in my bag as small or as large as I want. Here are other helpful tips:

• When you are creating thin fonts, make sure the hole you cut in your bag is no larger than the thickness of the font. If your hole is larger than the thickness of the font, you’re already losing that battle.
• If your consistency is not right or not working, STOP. Go fix your consistency and then come back and try again. As annoying as it is to have to fix your consistency, it’s the only way you’ll be happy with your results. Don’t fight the wrong consistency.
• GO SLOW. Writing with royal icing is not quick. When I’m making puffy letters, I’m perfecting each letter with my scribe before going to the next letter. You will get faster, but don’t worry about how slow you are when you’re learning.
• Many cookiers, especially left-handed cookies, have more success writing right-to-left! It often helps them see where they are going easier, especially when using a projector. It might be worth a try for you!
• Do not use really full bags of icing. If your bag is really full, you’re really going to struggle in controlling the accuracy of your writing. Try putting smaller amounts of icing in each bag for more precise control.
• You will likely develop a skillset or preference for the kinds of fonts that are easier for you. I personally prefer big, puffy letters. I find they are much more forgiving than the thin-line scripts that show every little wiggle. But you may be the opposite! Keep your strengths in mind when selecting fonts for your cookies!
• This is my best tip of all…are you ready? Think of the letters and numbers you are piping as lines and shapes. When writing with royal icing, you’re not actually writing the same way you would with a pen or pencil. Forget what you know about handwriting and pipe everything as lines and shapes, and it is much easier. It may sound simplistic, but when you shift your mindset on how you see the fonts, it makes a world of difference.

How to write with royal icing – Practice Sheets

Regardless of whether you have a projector aiding in your writing or not, practice, especially with your consistencies, is the name of the game! Which is why I created these royal icing writing practice sheets for you to use. Each page contains different types of fonts, each in two different sizes. You can download these HERE or by clicking on this photo.

While many of you might already have a projector, these sheets help immensely in practicing and learning the consistencies you need. Slip these inside a sheet protector and you can practice and try different consistencies over and over again. Once you’ve nailed your consistencies, then take it back to a cookie for better success.

And here’s a secret…these practice sheets are going to tell you which types of fonts are easier or harder for you! Everyone is different and by using these, you’ll learn exactly what types of fonts play to your strengths and which types you want to avoid. I suggest practicing with the larger fonts on these sheets and then once you’ve mastered your consistency, you can try the smaller fonts.

Royal Icing Writing Video

You can see me using these practice sheets HERE in this video! I piped several different examples of the different font types so you can see exactly how I write with royal icing. I hope seeing this in action, the tips I’ve shared here, the consistency videos and these practice sheets help! I’m confident you can love writing with royal icing too!

Was this helpful?

I can’t wait to see your beautiful writing!! Bestie, I can’t emphasis this enough; practice and learning your consistencies is key. And if you’re icing is not cooperating, try another recipe! You may be SHOCKED to learn how much easier it is with a different recipe. That just may be what makes the difference for you.

If this was helpful, follow along for more tutorials and free resources! And if you’re not receiving my weekly newsletter, you are missing out! Subscribe below so you never miss a new recipe, tutorial, technique, product recommendation, free printables and other free Bestie perks! Happy Baking, Besties!