How to make colored royal icing for decorating and customizing sugar cookies!
This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my full disclosure policy for details.
I’m sure that you have at least seen those customized sugar cookies around that can be ordered from bakeries and local independent bakers. You know, the ones that come in cute, custom shapes with personalized designs made with smooth, flawless icing. Maybe you’ve wondered if you can make some of those right at home for a special occasion. Well, I’m happy to say that you absolutely can! Once you have your cookies all sorted out with the right cookie cutter shapes, all you need to worry about next is making the right icing for the job, this easy Royal Icing to be exact!
This royal icing not only turns out picture perfect, but it’s also super easy and quick to make! Plus you only need a few tools and just a handful of simple ingredients to whip this fancy cookie icing together! For ultimate ease, I have broken down the process steps for you, and also included notes on how to make the right consistencies needed for successful decorating so that you can bake and decorate with confidence! No more having to wait in long bakery lines or having to worry about those expensive bakery prices! So, are you ready to make some of your own personalized cookies right in the comfort of your own kitchen? Then roll up those sleeves and let’s get started!
To make easy homemade royal icing, all you need is: confectioners sugar, meringue powder, warm water, vanilla extract, food coloring, a hand mixer, a mixing bowl, and some piping bags. First, combine the confectioners sugar and meringue powder in a large mixing bowl. Then, slowly add warm water, while mixing on low speed with the hand mixer. Next, add in the vanilla and continue mixing until the icing mixture is shiny. Mix at low speed for 5-7 minutes, and then add the desired food coloring. Finally, transfer the royal icing to the piping bag and start decorating.
Simple Equipment for Royal Icing
Lucky for us busy bakers, easy recipes usually only call for a few simple kitchen tools. That’s the case here anyway with this simple and quick royal icing! You are only going to need these 3 tools to whip this icing recipe together:
Simple and Sweet Ingredients for Royal Icing
As for the ingredients? Well, we’re working with a short and simple list here too! You only need a small handful of delectably sweet ingredients to make this easy royal icing!
- 1 lbs Confectioners Sugar
- 3 tsp Meringue Powder
- 6 tsp Warm Water
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- Food Coloring
How to Make Easy Homemade Royal Icing
Now, let me break down this simple icing process for you. Making this royal icing is really easy to do and won’t take up very much time at all. To make this process even easier on you, I have included some notes and tips on decorating and on making sure that you’re working with the right consistencies for smooth sugar cookie success! I recommend reading through the whole process along with those notes before starting this project on your own. With that in mind, let’s get started!
- First, combine the confectioners sugar and meringue powder in a large mixing bowl.
- Next, add in the warm water, 1 teaspoon at a time, while mixing with a hand mixer on the low speed setting.
- Then, drop in the vanilla extract and continue to mix, on low, until the icing mixture is shiny.
- Maintaining a low speed, beat the icing mixture for 5-7 minutes.
- After the icing has been thoroughly mixed, use a toothpick to add in a little bit of food coloring into the icing and mix until the desired color is reached.
- Finally, transfer the colored royal icing to the piping bag and tie it off. Always make sure that the cookies are completely cool before piping the icing on top!
Proper Consistencies for Decorating:
For decorating sugar cookies with this royal icing, you will need 2 different consistencies. You will need a thicker consistency for borders, edges, and details, and then also a slightly thinner one for flooding, or filling in. If you intend to make several different colored icings, you will need to have these 2 consistencies for each color.
- After making the royal icing recipe as above, transfer some of it into a separate mixing bowl to make the thinner consistency with.
- To make the consistency thinner, just add a little more water, 1 tsp at a time, into the mixture and mix until the desired consistency is reached. But remember, you don’t want to make this too thin.
- If you need to thicken the icing, just add a little more confectioner’s sugar, 1 tsp at a time, and mix until you get the right consistency.
- To drizzle the thicker icing, cut just a small corner from the piping bag, around a 1/16 of an inch. For thinner icing, cut ⅛ of an inch. If this opening is too small, you can always cut off a little bit more from the piping bag.
Sugar Cookie Decorating Tip:
After icing the sugar cookies, I like to use a craft heat gun to blow on them for just a few seconds, about 10 inches away from the cookies, to create a thin crust on the icing. Then, I let the cookies air dry the rest of the way. I do this so that the flooded icing does not cave in on itself. After this step, I let my sugar cookies air dry in a cool place for 2 days before they’re ready for packaging and storing.
More Cookies Recipes
Sweet Serving Ideas
Want to see this gorgeous royal icing in action? Then, go check out my recipe for these adorable Ice Skate Sugar Cookies that I made for my daughter and her skating teammates. These cookies turned out incredibly charming and the whole team just absolutely adored them! If you want more easy icing or frosting recipes for your homemade baked goods, then check out some of my other simple topping recipes:
- Toffee Glaze
- Caramel Glaze for Bundt Cakes
- Homemade Caramel –
- Chocolate Glaze for Bundt Cakes
- Homemade Whipped Cream
- Meringue Frosting
- Homemade Strawberry Buttercream Frosting
- Chocolate Ganache
- Buttercream Frosting
- Easy Bundt Cake Glaze
- Easy Bundt Cake Frosting
- Store-bought Buttercream Frosting Hacks
Royal Icing
Ingredients
- 1 lbs Confectioner’s Sugar
- 3 tbsp Meringue Powder
- 6 tbsp Warm Water
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- Food Coloring
Instructions
- First, combine the confectioners sugar and meringue powder in a large mixing bowl.
- Next, add in the warm water, 1 tablespoon at a time, while mixing with a hand mixer on the low speed setting.
- Then, drop in the vanilla extract and continue to mix, on low, until the icing mixture is shiny.
- Maintaining a low speed, beat the icing mixture for 5-7 minutes.
- After the icing has been thoroughly mixed, use a toothpick to add in a little bit of food coloring into the icing and mix until the desired color is reached.
- Finally, transfer the colored royal icing to the piping bag and tie it off. Always make sure that the cookies are completely cool before piping the icing on top!
Video
Notes
- For each color of icing, you need 2 different consistencies of icing. For a thinner consistency, add more water to the mixture. Thinner icings are used for flooding, and thicker icing is used for borders and edges.
- For thicker icing, cut the piping bag very thinly, around a 1/16 of and inch. For thinner icings, cut ⅛ of an inch. If this is too small, you can always cut more bag.
- After decorating cookies, dry the icing with a craft heat gun 10 inches away, so the flooded icing does not cave on itself.
- I like to let my cookies air dry in a cool space for 2 days, then they’re ready for packaging.
Leave a Reply