This is the best royal icing recipe! It is easy to make, has amazing flavor and dries softer than other royal icings. I’m always getting compliments whenever I use this to decorate my sugar cookies! I’m sharing everything I know on how to make royal icing, plus lots of tips! 
I have been DYING to get this post up for the longest time! I’m so excited to FINALLY share my “famous” royal icing recipe! This is my go to royal icing to decorate my Perfect Sugar Cookie Cut Outs.
The thing I like about this royal icing recipe the most is…well, there are two things.
- It is a very soft icing. This icing does not dry rock hard and is not crunchy. It has a softer bite but still dries plenty hard enough to decorate as you need.
- The flavor. I add lemon to my royal icing. Not a lot, but just enough to give the icing a hint of sweetness and some mystery background notes. Paired with my sugar cookies, I always, always, always get compliments on the vanilla & lemon icing combo. The blend of those two flavors is seriously magnificent.
These two recipes are the perfect marriage. My sugar cookies are thick, supremely buttery, soft and delicious. This royal icing is sweet, a bit lemony and beautiful. The whole bite is just soft and lovely.
That’s why my decorated cookies are completely addictive. Not bragging! That’s just what I’ve been told… š
It wasn’t always that way though!
When I first started experimenting with icing and decorated cookies, I hated it. Absolutely hated it.
It was messy, my cookies always looked so sloppy and the icing never dried right (read on for more hateful experiences). In fact, there’s a lot of annoying things about royal icing, which is why most people probably avoid it. That’s what I did!
With some practice and lots of research, I’ve been able to overcome a lot of my icing issues. Thank goodness because these cookies, are worth it!
I’m still working on my skills but after using these tips, I’m a lot better! In addition to sharing my recipe today, I’m also going to be sharing everything I know about royal icing so you can feel more confident working with it too!
First, for those that are already familiar with royal icing, here is the recipe so that you don’t have to scroll down through all the FAQ to find it. š
READ ON FOR FAQS & TIPS!!!
Famous Royal Icing
This is the best royal icing recipe! It is easy to make, has amazing flavor and dries softer than other royal icings. I'm always getting compliments whenever I use this to decorate my sugar cookies!
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp meringue powder
- 4 tbsp warm water
- 2 c powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp light corn syrup
- 1–2 tsp lemon juice powder ((up to 2 tsp regular lemon extract can also be used))
- 1 tsp white food coloring ((optional, but a very nice touch if you plan on using white icing for your designs!))
- desired food coloring
- additional water for thinning out the icing
Instructions
- In a large bowl (make sure there is no grease or oil residue in the bowl), mix the meringue powder and 4 tbsp of water using a hand mixer on high speed. Mix until completely dissolved and very frothy.
- Add half of the powdered sugar. Mix on low until incorporated.
- Add the other cup of powdered sugar along with the corn syrup and lemon powder (or extract). Mix on low until combined, and then switch the speed to high and mix for 2 minutes (no less!) Taste the icing and add more lemon flavor if desired.
- The icing should be thick and have a little more volume as well. It should hold a soft peak.
- Once mixed, grab a spatula and mix in the white food coloring or other colors as desired.
- To thin out the icing, add Ā½ tsp of warm water at a time until desired icing consistency is reached (10-15 seconds for flood icing). Mix with the spatula to avoid more air bubbles.
I usually make the entire batch flood consistency and then stiffen it up with more powdered sugar in smaller batches as needed. - This step is optional but helps with air bubbles, cover bowl with plastic wrap and allow it to rest for 30 minutes. The majority of air bubbles will release naturally giving you less trouble once your cookies are covered!
- Decorate your cookies and allow to dry uncovered overnight.
Notes
Recipe by Owlbbaking.com
*A quick note about adding the lemon flavor- when the lemon powder or extract is first added to the thick icing, the flavor can be intense. The powder specifically can have more of a citric acid flavor. Once you add water to create 15-20 second flood icing, the intensity of the lemon will lessen. The flavor of the cookie pairs very nicely with the flavor from the thinned out flood icing. If you are NOT making flood icing, feel free to adjust the amount and use less lemon.Ā
If you think you might not enjoy lemon, swap out it out for vanilla extract. Be sure to either get clear vanilla extract or white food coloring though because normal vanilla extract will darken your icing.Ā
What is royal icing?
Royal icing is a soft, sweet, more liquid type of icing that is mostly used to decorate cookies.
Traditionally, royal icing is made from egg whites, powdered sugar, and water. Meringue powder is a common ingredient used in place of the raw egg whites, as it is shelf stable and completely safe to eat without cooking.
I have found that it is a key ingredient for royal icing.
Royal icing can be flavored and colored as desired. I prefer to always use a concentrated gel food coloring, like AmeriColor, as it’s easier to control the consistency. Similarly, I use lemon juice powder for my flavoring so that I can intensify the flavor without having to add more liquid. Regular extract can definitely be used but be sure to add less water to account for the extract.
What are the ingredients in royal icing?
As mentioned, meringue powder is a must have when making royal icing. It stiffens the icing and helps it dry. I have found that using meringue powder is absolutely essential to achieve the desired consistency. I’ve used plain sugar and water before and it really doesn’t ever dry.
The other ingredient that I’ve found to be needed is light corn syrup. Light corn syrup is not as common among other recipes, but this is the secret ingredient to achieve that softer texture I was talking about. All you need is about one tablespoon per batch but it actually really does make a world of difference!!
Is royal icing hard to make?
Nope! I promise. Royal icing is very easy to make!
You basically have to whip up the meringue powder with some warm water until it gets foamy.
Once foamy, add in your powdered sugar and flavoring.
Mix until thick and has grown in volume a bit. This will take about 5 minutes mixing on high.
And that’s pretty much it!
The hard part is….
How to get the right royal icing consistency
This was very hard for me to learn. The consistency will make or break your cookies.
The first step is to think about the design your trying to make. If you’re just making royal icing transfers or other details on top of the cookie, I would say to make the icing a thick, pipeable consistency. It should hold its shape but still be able to flow through the piping tip. Practice on the side before you start working on your cookies.
If you’re looking to cover the surface of your cookie, you want what is called, flood icing. This consistency is more runny and does not hold it’s shape when piped.
There are actually different consistencies of flood icing too. Those are measured in seconds. The longer the time, the thicker the icing is.
I always make my flood icing a 15-20 second consistency.
That means, if you were to pick up your spoon and allow a stream of icing to fall back into the bowl, it would take 15-20 second for the icing to melt back into itself and go back to a smooth layer. I use the stop watch function on my smartphone to check.
Many people often use a thicker, pipeable icing to outline their cookie, and then they use a 10 second flood icing to flood the cookie. To be honest, the thought of having two separate icings and bags and piping tips for one color of icing really bothered me. In the above photo I have 3 different colors. That would mean I’d need 6 bags of icing!
That’s why I just go with the 15-20 sec consistency. It’s thick enough to not run off the sides of the cookie and thin enough to still level out and make a smooth surface.
You can always fix the consistency; if you make the icing too thin, you can add a bit more powdered sugar..too thick, you can easily add a bit of water to thin it out.
Once I flood my cookies, I give them a gentle shake, side to side to help level out the icing.
How to dry royal icing?
Ooohh boy. I have battled this one for a long time. I have searched far and wide for tips, tricks and methods on how to dry royal icing and I’m always left with one answer.
Time.
Time is the only thing that will dry royal icing. Refrigerating royal icing does not work and freezing royal icing does not work to make it dry more quickly.
You have to let your cookies sit out on a tray for at least 12 hours or best, all day and overnight.
At first, I was not cool with this. I was TERRIFIED that my cookies were going to dry out and taste like pieces of cardboard in the morning. But you know what? They were FINE!
My cookies have so much butter in them that they would actually probably stay perfectly moist for a few days out (not that I recommend that!).
But time is definitely the only way they will dry. I have heard rumors that you can speed up dry time using a dehydrator (still scared my cookies would dry out…) or, leaving the tray of cookies in the oven with the light turned on. Apparently, the light gives off just enough heat to speed up dry time. I haven’t tried either of these methods.
BTW Royal Icing hates humidity
Royal icing is finicky. If it is very humid, the icing will have a hard time drying.
ADDITIONALLY….
There’s this thing called “butter bleed” that will absolutely ruin your day. This was something that kept happening to me and I found very little help on the Internet.
Butter bleed occurs when the oils warm up in the cookie (from warm days or humidity) and seep up through the tops of the cookies, staining your beautiful icing. Yes, staining it. There’s nothing wrong with the cookies per say, they just don’t look pretty. And when it happens, I just want to cry.
Here’s an example-
I used the same white icing on all four cookies. Not sure why, but two of them got butter bleed. Note the yellow hue and discoloration.
How to prevent butter bleed
Luckily, I’ve found two tricks that seem to work very well against this awful, awful situation.
Here’s what you can do to prevent butter bleed:
- Using corn syrup in the icing (the icing dries softer, therefore already retaining moisture, less room for oils to seep into)
- Allowing your cookies to dry on paper towels. They will soak up any excess oils and drag them to the bottom of the cookie, keeping your tops nice and beautiful!
Dealing with Air bubbles
Air bubbles are another sneaky little issue that can pop up when your icing is drying. Tiny, tiny air bubbles find their way into your icing which can wreck the surface of your cookies. My advice is to buy one of those cookie sticks (aka a scribe) so that you can pop the air bubbles out of the icing before it sets.
Can royal icing be made ahead of time?
Yes! Yes it can. If you’re making royal icing early, just be sure to wrap the bowl with plastic wrap tightly. It can be stored at room temp on the counter, royal icing does not need to be refrigerated. I wouldn’t keep royal icing out for more than a week or so. If it starts to separate, use a hand mixer to whip it back up.
If you make royal icing transfers (pipe royal icing directly onto parchment, dry completely and it never touches any other food), then you can keep those almost indefinitely. However, if they come into contact with grease, oils or water then they will get ruined.
I know what you might be thinking at this point, “Why bother making something where so much can go wrong?”
Like I said at the start of this post, I actually really hated royal icing at first. I almost gave it up. But the challenge of conquering royal icing has been a fun adventure! It’s just like anything else, you have to educate yourself and practice, practice, practice.
I still look forward to perfecting my skills; I find a lot of faults in my work. But most of all, it’s fun and nothing brings a smile to someone’s face like a decorated cookie and that’s why I do this!! š
Cookie Decorating Ideas
I’ve done quite a bit of cookie decorating. First, here are some links to some tools that are a huge help to achieve the look you’re going for! At first, I didn’t think I needed these things, but TRUST ME! Having the right tools is the first step to getting the hang of it!
- Sugar Needle, or Scribe (needed to get rid of air bubbles and do detail icing work)
- Specialty, extra fine piping tips for writing and details
- Piping bags
- Brushes, for painting/watercolor effect
- High Quality Food Coloring
- My favorite cookie cutters
- Tiered cooling rack (this is a huge space saver when you need to dry several trays of cookies overnight!)
Here are some examples of cookies I’ve done in the past. Hoping to get some decorating tutorials up for you all soon!
Which of these would you like to learn how to make? Leave a comment below!
Famous Royal Icing
This is the best royal icing recipe! It is easy to make, has amazing flavor and dries softer than other royal icings. I'm always getting compliments whenever I use this to decorate my sugar cookies!
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp meringue powder
- 4 tbsp warm water
- 2 c powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp light corn syrup
- 1–2 tsp lemon juice powder ((up to 2 tsp regular lemon extract can also be used))
- 1 tsp white food coloring ((optional, but a very nice touch if you plan on using white icing for your designs!))
- desired food coloring
- additional water for thinning out the icing
Instructions
- In a large bowl (make sure there is no grease or oil residue in the bowl), mix the meringue powder and 4 tbsp of water using a hand mixer on high speed. Mix until completely dissolved and very frothy.
- Add half of the powdered sugar. Mix on low until incorporated.
- Add the other cup of powdered sugar along with the corn syrup and lemon powder (or extract). Mix on low until combined, and then switch the speed to high and mix for 2 minutes (no less!) Taste the icing and add more lemon flavor if desired.
- The icing should be thick and have a little more volume as well. It should hold a soft peak.
- Once mixed, grab a spatula and mix in the white food coloring or other colors as desired.
- To thin out the icing, add Ā½ tsp of warm water at a time until desired icing consistency is reached (10-15 seconds for flood icing). Mix with the spatula to avoid more air bubbles.
I usually make the entire batch flood consistency and then stiffen it up with more powdered sugar in smaller batches as needed. - This step is optional but helps with air bubbles, cover bowl with plastic wrap and allow it to rest for 30 minutes. The majority of air bubbles will release naturally giving you less trouble once your cookies are covered!
- Decorate your cookies and allow to dry uncovered overnight.
Notes
Recipe by Owlbbaking.com
*A quick note about adding the lemon flavor- when the lemon powder or extract is first added to the thick icing, the flavor can be intense. The powder specifically can have more of a citric acid flavor. Once you add water to create 15-20 second flood icing, the intensity of the lemon will lessen. The flavor of the cookie pairs very nicely with the flavor from the thinned out flood icing. If you are NOT making flood icing, feel free to adjust the amount and use less lemon.Ā
If you think you might not enjoy lemon, swap out it out for vanilla extract. Be sure to either get clear vanilla extract or white food coloring though because normal vanilla extract will darken your icing.Ā
I LOVE your recipe and have a newfound Covid (I am stuck at home hobby!) My niece wants me to make cookies for her birthday and I am needing to make the cookies a little over a week before and was wanting to freeze the cookies already made and decorated. Have you frozen them like this and how did the icing hold up? I just don’t want the icing to bleed when they thaw. Thank you for sharing this recipe!!
★★★★★
Thank you so much for the kind words Allison!! You made my day!! Yes, I have frozen decorated cookies before and it works just fine! This is what has always worked best for me. After the cookies are decorated and FULLY dried, lay them out in a single layer on a cookie sheet lined with a paper towel (if you not done so already). Wrap the tray with a few layers of plastic wrap. Since you’re only freezing them for a short time, you can skip using aluminum foil. Place the entire tray into the freezer and freeze. They will need a couple hours to defrost, so be sure to plan accordingly. When you take them out of the freezer, IMMEDIATELY remove the plastic wrap and let them thaw completely uncovered. If they start to thaw while covered, condensation builds, the water droplets drip on the cookies and they’ll get ruined. The paper towel on the bottom also helps to absorb any moisture. I hope that helps – what a special treat for your niece’s birthday! š
Iām attempting royal icing for the first time. Do I use a different type of icing for the detail work? How long after flooding the cookie with icing do I wait to add details?Thanks!
Hey Heather! Great questions. When I make royal icing, the end result after all the mixing should be 15-20 second consistency. That’s what I usually flood with. Once the cookies are flooded, I let them dry overnight. I just find that’s always been best! Once you’re ready to do the detail work after they’re dry, I thicken up the icing I made using a bit more powdered sugar. The thicker icing should NOT be hard to stir, it should still be soft but hold its shape when you scoop it up.
I hope that makes sense! Can’t wait to see what you create!
Hello! Excited to try your icing paired with your sugar cookies. Since your icing is softer, does this mean I shouldn’t stack them for transport?
Hey Kathy!! The icing will definitely dry just as hard as traditional royal icing. I tend to not stack my decorated cookies anyway in fear of breakage, but yes, they can technically be stacked. š
This is going to be my first try at decorating sugar cookies. How do you apply the royal icing to the cookie. I need any and all help please
Hi Linda! You’ll need piping bags to apply the royal icing to the cookies. If you don’t have those on hand, you can make one of out of parchment paper, or if you’re really in a bind you can use a zip lock bag with a small tip cut off (although, I always have issues with these bursting).
If you have any piping tips to use that is also great! But you can easily flood (cover the whole cookie) in icing without piping tips.
All of my other tips are in my blog post and I hope they are helpful!! Let me know how everything goes and I’m here for you if you have any more questions!
How many cookies will this recipe flood?
Hi Kathy! It’s a bit hard to judge, but I’d say one batch could flood about 25-30, 3-inch cookies. I usually make a batch and divvy it up for flood and detail work at the same time. š
Thanks!