Royal Icing and Decorating Sugar Cookies

A thick and chewy sugar cookie isn’t complete without a layer of Royal Icing.  The Royal Icing adds much more than beauty to the cookie. The icing dries to a hard shell-like coating, and magic happens when you bite through that crispy layer into the soft cookie. (It’s the little things in life that make me happy).  I also feel that the Royal Icing helps prolong the freshness of the cookie.  I have made my Roll-Out Sugar Cookie recipe with this icing and, when thoroughly dried, placed them into individual bags.  Make sure to remove as much air as possible and tie with ribbons or strings, and the cookies have stayed fresh for a month. 

Royal Icing for Sugar Cookies

Making the icing is very straightforward, but it’s the decorating that can seem intimidating.  It’s just basically outlining and filling in shapes.  I go into detail, so you feel confident making pretty designs on your cookies.

Let’s whip up the icing.  Sift your confectionery sugar and cream of tartar into your mixing bowl.  Turn the mixer on low and slowly add your egg whites.  Once all the egg whites are well incorporated, add in your extracts and let your icing mix at medium speed.  As air whips into the icing, it will become bright white and thicken.  After about 5 minutes, you should reach medium consistency.  Medium consistency, in my opinion, is the ideal texture for your icing to start. From there you can color, thin, and thicken your Royal Icing.  Also, coloring your icing at the medium consistency stage helps prevent the color from bleeding once you thin it out with water.   

Allow the icing to sit, covered with a tea towel for about 30 minutes; this lets any air bubbles find their way out.

Medium Consistency Royal Icing

What is medium consistency?  The icing should be soft yet hold a peak or indent.  This type of icing is perfect for details on the cookies.  Think buttons on gingerbread men, pearl borders, or a pattern with a detailed design.

At this point, you can divide your icing into individual bowls for coloring.  I also reserve a small amount for the details on the cookie. A gel-based food coloring works best with icings, they are very pigmented, and they don’t thin out the icing as much as the water-based food colorings tend to do.

Mix until the color is completely distributed evenly throughout the icing.

Flood Consistency Royal Icing

What is flood consistency?  When you squeeze the icing out onto a flat surface, the icing should smooth out and pool in place.  Flood consistency should take about 10-15 to smooth.  This icing is perfect for outlining and filling in a cookie.

I use a measuring spoon and add ¼ teaspoon of water, stirring well between additions until I reach flood consistency.

Use piping bags to decorate your cookies.  The piping bags help give you control while decorating, but they also keep everything neat and clean.  A tall glass comes in handy when filling the bags.  Push the bag into the glass and flatten it out so there are no creases.  

Once you mix all your colors, fill the bags with flood consistency royal icing, and twist the tops closed. 

Unless I am writing on the cookie, I find just snipping the tip with scissors about 2 millimeters (a teeny tiny hole) makes the perfect sized opening; you do not need pipping tips. Not having to use piping tips is extremely helpful when you mix a bunch of different colors unless you have endless amounts of the size 2 piping tips and couplers, then go ahead and load them into your pastry bags.

Now you are ready to decorate.  Give yourself plenty of space to stay organized.  I like to have a cooling rack nearby to place the cookies on while they are drying and a bunch of tall glasses or quart-sized mason jars to slip the pipping bags into when I’m not using them.  Also, keep a damp paper towel for little messes and some waxed paper for testing the icing nearby.  A square of waxed paper about an inch larger than your shape helps you move freely without having to touch your cookie as much.

Outlining And Filling

Start by outlining the cookie first.  Apply an even amount of pressure, keeping the tip about an inch above the cookie; do not drag across the cookie’s surface.  Follow the shape of the cookie and move at a slow, steady pace.  When you are coming to the end of your tracing, ease up on the pressure and slightly overlap your outline.   

Then immediately fill in the icing and use a small object like a scribe tool or toothpick to move the icing into any blank areas. 

Push the icing into your outlines, so the entire surface looks seamless.

When doing two different colors next to each other, allow one of them to dry for about 15 minutes before adding the next color.  Letting the edges of royal icing slightly dry will create a slight divot, adding dimension and texture between the colors.

To add clothes to these gingerbread men, let the surface dry for about an hour before dressing him. 

Waiting until the icing is no longer shiny ensures a crust is on the surface and that his clothes will stay in place and not melt into his body.

If you want to add any final details to your cookie, this is to use the medium consistency royal icing like the zigzag on the gingerbread pants. Wait about 15 minutes, then you should be good to go.

After I know the icing has set, I like to lay them on a cookie sheet in a single layer and cover with foil overnight or for several hours.  Store in an airtight container with a layer of wax or parchment paper in between the cookies.  If you are giving them as gifts, place them into individual bags with ribbon.  

Storing The Royal Icing

If you have any extra icing, squeeze back into the individual airtight containers. You can store the leftovers in the refrigerator for about a week. Before using, give the icing a good stir. Sometimes the food coloring or water separates, which is totally fine, they just need a good stir to bring it back to the right consistency. Once the icing is back to room temperature, fill the bags and pipe away.