Hey Besties! We are getting into it today, breaking down royal icing myths, misconceptions, secrets and all your royal icing FAQs! I receive countless messages, emails and comments with a world of royal icing questions! And the whole reason I’m here is to help YOU be successful, while also finding joy, in all of your baking and decorating endeavors. So it PAINS me to see so many new, and seasoned, cookiers on the struggle bus when it comes to decorating with royal icing! And you know what? It’s usually because it’s being overly complicated. Working with royal icing is not rocket science and it shouldn’t be torture. It almost always comes down to science, which is great because then there are usually solutions! So, let’s dive into all your royal icing FAQs so you can have fun decorating beautiful, delicious cookies!
Common Royal Icing Misconceptions
It still boggles my mind as to how so many misconceptions are still floating around about royal icing. And not even just from decorators, but from consumers! Let’s dispel a couple of these crazy myths real quick!
Royal Icing Tastes Awful
To make this statement is like saying sugar cookies are awful. So if you try one cookie and you don’t like it, you assume ALL cookies are awful? Just like cookie recipes, not all royal icing is the same. The ingredients used, flavorings and HOW it’s made, offer a huge variation in the flavor, consistency and results of royal icing. So if someone makes a sweeping generalization like this, they usually just need to try another cookie from a different cookier.
Royal Icing is Rock Hard
No one wants to break a tooth eating a cookie, right? And thankfully, no one should! Cookiers these days almost always use royal icing that has a soft bite. If someone tried a cookie years ago with hard icing, they shouldn’t swear off decorated cookies forever. All of our decorated cookies have a soft bite royal icing because it’s not enough to be pretty, they need to taste delicious too.
Will EVERYONE love royal icing cookies? Of course not! Just like everything else, there will be people who do not prefer royal icing and that’s okay! But the point here is that not all royal icing is the same. So if someone had a poor experience with a decorated cookie in the past, that doesn’t mean they won’t love YOUR decorated cookies! And cookiers have really refined and perfected ensuring their royal icing is delicious as well as beautiful!
Royal Icing FAQs: Making Your Icing
The Best Royal Icing Recipe For You
A quick Google search will tell you that there are hundreds of royal icing recipes out there, all claiming to be the best! Bestie, here’s what I will tell you. We LOVE the recipe we use for all of our decorating, but it’s worth your time trying a few different recipes to see what YOU love best. You’ll be shocked at how seemingly tiny little tweaks yield very different results.
What Is The Royal Icing Recipe We Use?
If you want to try the same recipe we use, THIS will walk you through EXACTLY how we make our royal icing every day. It’s very simple, but critical, to follow the few steps. And in our experience, HOW you make your royal icing makes ALL the difference in your results. Once fully made, our royal icing looks like this!
Do You have a royal icing video tutorial?
Yes, I made this quick demo video for you, showing exactly how we make our royal icing! You can find it HERE!
My Royal Icing Didn’t Get as Thick as Yours, why is that?
Humidity plays a HUGE role in making royal icing. We live in a dry climate (most of the year) and so using a full cup of water works beautifully to make our icing. If your home is more humid, you may want to use less water when mixing your royal icing. In these cases, I recommend starting with 1/2 or 3/4 cup of water. You will find your sweet spot that works best for your home’s climate and know that it can absolutely change with the seasons too!
The size and shape of your mixing bowl can also play a role in the outcome of your icing! If you use a larger or wider bowl, you’ll want to mix at a higher speed or for longer compared to a smaller or more narrow bowl. This is just physics…the icing isn’t getting whipped as fast in a wider or larger bowl versus a smaller one, so you may need to adjust.
These are a couple reasons why there is no one foolproof recipe that works exactly the same for everyone in the world. But you will find what works best for you, your climate and your tools. And once you nail it, it’s ridiculously easy to make your royal icing moving forward!
Will a Different Royal Icing Recipe REALLY Make a Difference?
It’s a valid question! Royal Icing is all basically made of powdered sugar, meringue powder, water, flavoring and commonly corn syrup. How can there be such different results with such a short list of ingredients?! And there are two big answers here! The first is the ingredients you use. Not all meringue powder is the same; in fact, they are very different. So the brands of your ingredients make a huge difference in your results and flavor. Secondly, science. HOW you put these ingredients together will give you VERY different results. For example, if you dump everything into a bowl and mix, your results will be very different than if you take 30 seconds to activate your meringue powder. The magic is in the METHOD of making royal icing.
My Royal Icing Tastes Bad – What Do I Do?
The two main things that influence the flavor of your royal icing are the meringue powder you use and the flavorings you add. Not all meringue powders are the same and they can have very different flavors. We only use Genie’s Dream meringue powder because of the results but also because of the flavor (heavenly). Secondly, you have a whole world of flavoring options available to you to make a signature flavor you love best! Extracts, emulsions and super strength flavorings are just a few simple ways to create amazing flavors! For more information on how to use these, THIS explains it all!
How do you store royal icing?
Royal icing made with meringue powder is good for 2 weeks stored at room temperature. But you don’t want air to get to your icing, so we cover our icing with plastic wrap. As in, press the plastic wrap across the surface of the icing and up the side of the bowl to eliminate any air.
You may notice your ingredients will separate when left sitting for periods of time. No worries, just restir by hand, massage the bag or rebag and your icing is still perfectly good!
You can also freeze your royal icing, which is what we do if we’re saving it for future use. It thaws pretty quickly but we always restir or rebag to make sure ingredients haven’t settled.
Is All Meringue Powder the same?
Not all meringue powder is created equal, Besties! You will have very different results and flavors based on the meringue powder you use! For example, our meringue powder showdown illustrates the huge differences you’ll see just be using different meringue powders!
Is there an egg-free royal icing?
If you want to decorate cookies using an egg-free option, you’ll want to use Glaze. Royal icing will always contain meringue powder (contains dried egg whites) or actual egg whites. Some cookiers prefer to use glaze!
Can I use oil In my Royal Icing?
Using any oil products in your royal icing can affect the way your icing dries. Always check your ingredient labels and avoid using any products that contain oils.
Royal Icing Decorating FAQS:
It’s been 4 hours and my royal icing isn’t dry yet?
Even in the driest of climates, royal icing takes many hours to completely dry. We always let our cookies completely dry overnight before bagging or expecting a hard surface. Many cookiers use a dehydrator to speed up the drying process, but it is not intended to be used to fully dry your icing.
How do I make shiny royal icing?
The faster you are able to dry your icing, the shinier it will be, which is why using a dehydrator to quick set your icing gives the ‘dehydrator shine’ that is unmatched. However, you should also make sure to include corn syrup in your icing for a better sheen. And, the meringue powder you use makes a difference here too. Not all meringue powders offer the same amount of shine.
How Do I avoid Color bleed?
Avoiding color bleed has more to do with HOW you make your royal icing. When royal icing is properly made, it will have the structural integrity to avoid colors bleeding. Always make sure you are activating your meringue powder by whisking it to a froth before adding your powdered sugar. This is essentially reconstituting the egg whites so they can go to work for you in your royal icing. And always mix your royal icing to medium/stiff peaks when making it to ensure your icing is fully mixed to have the structure it needs.
If your home is really humid, a dehumidifier is going to be a worthwhile investment for you for cookie decorating.
What are these holes in my royal icing?
If you’re seeing holes or divots in your royal icing, particularly in small areas, these are known as craters. When these small areas are drying, the outer edges dry quicker and put pressure on the inside, causing it to collapse. You’ll see and hear a million different tips, tricks and hacks to avoid royal icing craters. The easiest way to avoid them is to quick set your icing using a dehydrator. Some cookiers use a cool oven with just the light on to help quick set their icing in a pinch.
Can I freeze cookies with royal icing?
Absolutely! We could never operate, manage our schedule or make as many cookies as we do if we couldn’t freeze them! And we’ve never lost a cookie due to freezer damage! Our freezing guide explains exactly how to freeze and thaw your cookies at every stage so you can manage your schedule like a pro!
What is Your royal icing recipe for flooding?
This is a common question! In the art of cookie decorating, there aren’t different recipes for different consistencies. You will use the same recipe for all of your decorating, but just thin it (with water) or thicken it (with powdered sugar) to achieve the consistency you need. Our royal icing consistency guide is helpful in learning all of this and shows exactly what consistencies we use for all of our different decorating techniques!
How DO I get a seamless outline on my cookies?
Some cookiers, myself included, prefer a seamless look to their flood icing. In order to achieve this, you need to outline and immediately flood your cookie so the outline seamlessly blends in with the flood. If your outline begins to dry or crust, you will not have that seamless look. Now this really is a personal preference because some cookiers prefer to have a visible outline. In that case, they outline all their cookies, let the crust and then flood. But if you want that seamless look, this Flooding 101 tutorial will teach you exactly how to achieve that.
Why Do I Have Ripples in My Royal Icing once dried?
If your icing dries with a rippled appearance, it is usually due to lack of airflow while drying. Take care not to tightly cover your cookies while your icing is drying, they need airflow.
why does my royal icing separate after sitting?
This is VERY common and completely normal for royal icing to separate when left to sit for long periods of time. Especially thinner consistencies which contain more water. Simply massage the bag really well to reincorporate the icing, or dump back into a bowl and restir by hand. If you find that your consistency has thinned at all, add a little bit of powdered sugar and restir to rejuvenate it!
How Can I dry My Royal Icing Faster?
It is completely normal for royal icing to take many hours to dry but should not take more than 24 hours. If your home is really humid, a dehumidifier will make decorating with royal icing much easier for you. Many of the most well-known cookie decorators also use a dehydrator to speed up their decorating process. It is not meant to fully dry your icing to bag them faster but speeds up the steps in between decorating. And a dehydrator also provides great shine, and other benefits.
When can I package my decorated cookies?
Always make sure your royal icing is completely dry before bagging. If there is any residual moisture, your icing may stick to the bag or bleed. We always let our cookies fully dry overnight before bagging.
Should I brush my cookies with cornstarch?
This is another opportunity for testing for what works best for you! We’ve NEVER brushed a cookie with cornstarch and haven’t had any reason to. But we live in a dry climate home. Some cookiers always brush their cookies with cornstarch, particularly if they used edible markers or luster dusts. If you’re icing or details are sticking to your bags, you may want to test dry brushing your cookies with cornstarch to remove any of that moisture before bagging. I will also mention that not all bags are the same! THESE are the only bags we use for our cookies because they don’t ever stick to our icing like so many others do.
Why is my royal icing not smooth?
If your royal icing is drying with an uneven finish, it’s likely for 1 of 2 reasons. Your icing may be a tad too thick. Your icing should be completely smooth, healing itself before it starts to dry. If you’re noticing any peaks or an uneven surface, thin your icing a little more next time. The other potential reason is that you may not be using enough icing. If you’re using your scribe to pull or push icing around to cover the surface, you’re not using enough. Fill the area so that it has a smooth, flat surface.
Why does my royal icing look sunken?
If your icing is drying in larger areas and appears sunken or an uneven surface, you may not be using enough icing. Make sure to fill your areas with enough icing so that it is full and smooth with a flat finish before starting to dry.
Can I just Mix my royal icing to flood consistency?
If you only mix your royal icing to flood consistency, you have undermixed royal icing and will likely be plagued with color bleed and other issues. Royal icing should always be fully mixed to medium/stiff peaks to give it the structural integrity it needs. Then you can use water to thin to your desired consistencies.
These Royal Icing FAQs won’t end here!
While I hope the solutions, answers and tips in these royal icing FAQs have been helpful, we never stop learning! I will continue to add to this list of questions and answers to serve as a helpful repository for you! If you run into a new question, check back to see if we’ve covered it! And if not, leave a comment and I’m happy to address it!
And if you see fellow cookiers struggling with their royal icing, please share this with them! Cookie decorating is SO much more fun when your icing cooperates, is beautiful and tasty!
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