MAKE YOUR OWN STRESS-FREE ROYAL ICING!

  This diy comes from www.mykitchenaddiction.com .  If you're a baker, you will probably use alot of  royal icing to decorate your cookies, cupcakes and misc. other sweet treats.  Nothing is worse than not having the right consistency of your icing while in the middle of decorating a couple dozen cookies (let alone ruin a tasty cookie with a subpar icing).  Good luck!

Stress Free Royal Icing

   Last week, as I was decorating cookies for Halloween, I was reminded of the fact that I’ve been meaning to share my tips for making royal icing with no stress. After all, everyone wants to decorate beautiful cookies during the holiday season, but no one wants to fight with the royal icing. Between shopping for gifts, decorating the house, and lots of friends and family dropping in, there’s enough stress already!

This is one of those blog posts that has been writing itself in the back of my mind for quite a while. Almost every time I post about cookies that I have decorated, I get a few emails or comments asking me about my royal icing. I usually either give a quick reply with the ratio of meringue powder, powdered sugar, and water that I use… Or I direct the question to these posts from Bridget and Gail. They are both brilliant when it comes to cookies… And, they have taught me most of what I know. Want to see where their two worlds collide? Check out this fantastic video about royal icing over at the University of Cookie. They are the masters, and I cannot even begin to pretend that I know more about cookies or royal icing than they do.

But, here’s the thing… When it comes to royal icing, I think you have to do what works for you. I’ve made royal using Bridget’s method and meringue powder. I have also gone the egg white powder route and followed Gail’s thorough instructions. My problem is that no matter what I do, I end up with clumpy bits in my royal icing. And, those clumpy bits always end up getting stuck in my pastry tips and causing me quite a bit of stress. And, believe me, when you have a big batch of cookies sitting on the counter just waiting to be decorated, you don’t want the royal icing acting up.

I am pretty sure the problem lies with me 100%. I take full responsibility for the lumps in my royal icing. But, after having the same problem time and time again, I developed a new method that works for me. And, so far it has been 100% clump free.

My Stress Free Method…

Eventually, I realized that I was introducing all of the clumps into my icing when I was reconstituting either the meringue powder or the egg whites. I had issues both ways. I would always have gooey little clumps that just would wreak havoc on my icing and poor pastry tips. I tried pouring the mixtures through a strainer before adding them to the powdered sugar, but then I’d have a sticky strainer to deal with. No fun.

So, the one day, I had some extra time, and I decided to attempt making a batch of icing without reconstituting the meringue powder (I usually use meringue powder for no great reason other than that’s what I like to do). Instead, I whisked the dry meringue powder into the powdered sugar. Then, I added the water, popped the bowl into the mixer and went about my way. No. Clumps. I thought maybe it was a fluke, so I tried it again the next time I made royal icing, and sure enough, it turned out perfectly smooth with no clumps.

It’s been almost a year that I’ve been making my royal this way, and I don’t think I’ve had any issues with clumpy royal icing since then. Coincidence? I think not!

The Royal Recipe…

My recipe for royal icing certainly isn’t unique to me. I’ve referenced plenty of blogs, cookbooks, and even packages of meringue powder… And, this is the one I’ve kind of settled into. As I mentioned before, I do typically use meringue powder, so that’s what is included in my recipe. Just be sure to use a good tasting, good quality meringue powder for your royal!

This recipe for royal icing uses only one pound of powdered sugar. The number of cookies that it will cover will certainly depend on the type of decorating you are doing and the size of the cookies. It’s easy to double or triple, though… And, it’s usually better to err on the side of too much royal vs. not enough. I typically end up making a double batch.

Royal Icing

• 1 pound powdered (confectioner’s) sugar
• 3 rounded tablespoons of meringue powder
• 6 – 8 tablespoons of warm water
• 1/2 teaspoon of fresh lemon juice or clear vanilla extract (optional)

In the bowl of your stand mixer, combine the powdered sugar and the meringue powder. Whisk the two together by hand. Add 6 tablespoons of water to the mixture and add the lemon juice or vanilla extract, if desired.
Fit the mixer with the beater blade/paddle, and start mixing on the slowest speed until everything comes together and there are no visible pockets of dry powdered sugar. Gradually turn the mixer up to medium/medium-high speed and beat until the icing is fluffy. Adjust the amount of water, as necessary, adding just a few drops at a time, until you reach the desired consistency.
Use immediately or transfer to an airtight container to avoid the icing crusting over before you use it.

Happy decorating!