The Ultimate Cookie Decorator’s Guide to Mastering Royal Icing Consistencies

Hey Besties! From the time you whip up your first batch of royal icing, you will learn very quickly that in the world of cookie decorating, it all comes down to royal icing consistencies! It is hands down the hardest part of decorating! However, once you learn your consistencies, decorating is so much fun and you can really create anything! So today we’re tackling this beast and not only providing tips, but showing, the exact consistencies we use for all of our different techniques. This is one you’ll want to bookmark to come back to! Let’s dive in!

Not All Royal Icing IS Created Equal

When you see beautifully, intricately decorated sugar cookies, the artist is usually using royal icing as their medium. However, not all royal icing is the same. While most royal icing recipes utilize the same short list of ingredients, there are actually many variables that can make working with the icing and the results vary greatly. For example, some cookiers include corn syrup in their icing and some don’t. Corn syrup provides a softer bite to the icing and a better sheen to the finish but also provides more elasticity to the icing when wet. So, depending on if it is included and how much is included, can affect how the icing behaves when decorating.

But the biggest variable in how royal icing behaves is HOW it was made. The magic secret to beautiful royal icing is in the METHOD of making it. You’ll be able to avoid color bleed and other common issues when a few critical steps are followed. Many cookiers don’t even realize that they are missing out on the full potential of their royal icing simply be HOW they make their icing. And why do I bring this up? Because this is why not all royal icing is the same, which means everyone’s consistencies won’t behave the same. The consistency that works for one cookier may not work exactly the same for you, depending on the differences in your icing.

THIS post walks you through exactly how we make our royal icing for all of our cookies. This is the icing I’ll be referring to and demonstrating throughout this guide. If you need a beautiful royal icing recipe, I highly encourage you to try this one. Or if your current royal icing is giving you any grief, I definitely recommend using the METHOD described to get the full potential out of your icing. Cookie decorating is SO much more fun when you don’t have to worry about color bleeding or other issues!

Intro to Royal Icing COnsistencies

Surely, you’ve seen beautiful, decorated cookies and have probably wondered “How the heck do they make those?!” Well, you are not alone, and I remember when I was first learning, I wondered the same thing. It’s quite a leap going from spreading icing on cookies with a spatula to creating stunning, layered, works of art! The good news is that it’s all about your different royal icing consistencies! In this guide, I will break it all down for you and you will be well on your way to creating beautiful cookies!

Let’s cover a couple basic fundamentals to making your different consistencies. When you make your fresh batch of royal icing, it should be thick. Properly made royal icing should be mixed to medium/stiff peaks to have the structure it needs for the best results. In order to get the consistencies you need, you will thin it by using small amounts of water or thicken it by adding powdered sugar. You can change the consistency of the same bowl of icing several times if you’d like to use it for different techniques, simply by thinning or thickening. I highly recommend using a spray bottle of water for precise control of how much water you’re adding.

Secondly, you’ll commonly hear cookiers talk about consistencies in “seconds”. For example, a 15-second consistency. What does that mean? It’s simply a timing method used to convey a consistency of royal icing. Using the 15-second example, if you use a knife to cut through royal icing in a bowl, it will be perfectly smooth again in 15 seconds. So, if you were trying to make a 15-second consistency, you’d add sprays of water to your icing until it took 15 seconds to perfectly heal/smooth itself. In comparison, a 5-second icing would be much thinner, and a 25-second icing would be thicker.

So now that we know HOW you’ll adjust your icing to your desired consistencies, and the terminology you’ll commonly hear, lets dive into the different consistencies we’ll review!

Royal icing Consistencies

In this guide, I’m going to review 6 different royal icing consistencies with you. Yes, 6. You may find that other resources talk about just a few different consistencies, namely flooding, piping or medium consistencies. But once you’ve mastered the basics, you’ll find that there are additional consistencies that each serves a different purpose in the world of cookie decorating. And some of them can be only a few sprays of water different, but it is this precision that will unlock beautiful results and techniques for you.

Dipping: Some cookiers prefer to dip their cookies versus using a decorating bag. This can be extremely useful when needing to flood mass quantities of cookies. Cookiers who use an Eddie (edible printer) also like dipping for the thinner layer of icing it provides. This is the also the consistency used for the popular marble dipping technique.

Flooding: The consistency used to outline and flood a cookie’s base layer. Most cookiers use one consistency to both outline and immediately flood their cookies for a seamless appearance. A subset of cookiers prefer to use a thicker consistency to outline their cookies and then fill with the flood consistency. It’s really personal preference, but the key here is that the flood consistency will perfectly smooth/heal itself for a flat finish. You’ll also use this consistency for what is called “wet-on-wet” work.

Piping: The consistency used to pipe or outline details on a cookie. Since this consistency is slightly thicker than flooding, it does not pool or run together like a flood consistency would. This gives you the ability to create beautiful lines and designs with your icing.

Puffy icing: Only slightly thicker than a piping consistency, the puffy icing consistency allows you to create beautiful puffy design elements. This includes royal icing transfers, puffy fonts and other design elements on your cookies.

Writing: Specifically for line writing, where you want clean definition in your letters and numbers. This consistency will ensure your writing won’t pool or run together.

Florals: This STIFF consistency ensure that your beautiful petals, flowers and leaves stay exactly how you pipe them. The delicate details will be defined and will set beautifully.

Much of the art of the consistencies is finding the feel that you like best. I know you hate to hear it, but it really does take practice and learning how the icing feels and behaves. But I promise you will learn with every set, and it will become much easier! You will find what works best for you too!

Let’s Review Each Royal Icing COnsistency:

As I shared earlier, these are the precise consistencies that work best for me, using my recipe. You may find the consistencies you love best are slightly different, but this should give you a very close place to start! Much of learning consistencies has to do with the feel of the icing, which you can only learn by practicing. But let’s look at each of these consistencies up-close!

Dipping

For cookie dipping success, a 5-second consistency works beautifully. It is thin enough to perfectly coat and smooth on your cookie but thick enough not to just run over the edges. Let’s see exactly what this look like here:

Flooding

The goal of successful flooding is to create a beautiful base layer of icing that is perfectly smooth and flat. It provides a canvas for adding additional layers of details or fills sections of cookies while creating designs. I use one consistency for outlining and immediately flooding my cookies and it is about a 12-second icing. You can see what that look like here:

Piping

This consistency allows you to create beautiful crisp lines, outlines and details on your cookies. The best way I can describe this is that if you pick up a spoonful of icing, it will glob back into your bowl with light ribboning trailing off the spoon. You can see exactly what I mean here:

Puffy Icing

Ahhh, the PUFF. It makes everyone swoon. It can be slightly challenging for new decorators to achieve because it’s only slightly thicker than piping. But once you nail it, you’re golden. With this consistency, you can create puffy lettering, shapes and details all with this one consistency. No need to outline and fill. I can best describe this consistency by saying it will glob back into your bowl, off your spatula, with no ribboning trailing off the spatula. It’s just slightly thicker than the piping consistency. You can see it here:

Writing

When you need those thin, clean lines for letters or numbers and don’t want them to run together or loops to close, this is the consistency you’ll want. The only way to describe this is to see it. Pay attention to how the peaks move.

Flowers

One of the biggest reasons cookiers struggle making stunning florals is because their consistency is not thick enough, so the icing does not hold the delicate petals and details. Your icing needs to be STIFF, to the point where the peaks don’t move at all. And secret tip: The royal icing recipe and method we use makes piping easily even at this STIFF consistency. If your icing makes your hand hurt, try THIS recipe. You can thank me later, Bestie. And you can see this consistency here:

Need a Deeper Dive Into Consistencies & Techniques?

If you’d like to dive deeper into any of these consistencies or see them being used in decorating, I have several tutorials to help every step of the way! Here are the links to each tutorial if you need any more help:

Dipping 101

Marble Dipping

Flooding

Piping

Puffy Icing

Florals

additional resources

THIS guide from Semi-Sweet Designs provides great visuals and details on achieving different consistencies!

THIS post all about tips on coloring your icing is very helpful as well. Believe it or not, it’s not as simple as just adding a drop or two of icing! And remember, always color your icing BEFORE creating the consistency you want.

let me know how it goes!

You’re at an exciting learning step and it’s also one that takes some practice and finding what works best for you! Be patient, you will learn with every batch. And don’t hesitate to reach out if you need help or have questions! You can always leave a comment, drop me an email or connect via our facebook group!

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