BOO! Royal Icing – AH!
I have decided this weekend to try and make cookies with royal icing. I have all these cute Halloween cookie cutters and I am geared up for my quest. Here is my worries…I have never made royal icing before! That’s right I am a royal icing beginner. My mom scared the “you know what” out of me talking about the icing. I got the “are you suuuure you want to do that?” face.
So…the reason for this post is to ask for all of your help. I decided that I would use one of my fellow blogger posts to help me out. You can find the post at BrownEyedBaker. She has a GREAT step by step guide to the royal icing and what looks like a great cookie recipe as well.
I have heard that many people use egg whites for the icing but then there are others who use the meringue powder. What do you all suggest?
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Also, this whole concept of flooding scares me…haha. So, I make the icing and COVER IT…got that part, hehe…and then once I outline the cookie I am supposed to add drops of water to the icing until I get a consistency that will fall off a spoon and disappear within 10 seconds. Does that scare anyone else? Any tips on flooding??
Lastly…I want to make 3 different types of cookie shapes. I think that the pumpkin shape is a must. I have other options too though. Need your help! What do you think??
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Happy Early Halloween everyone! I hope you have a great weekend and wish me luck!! 🙂
11 Comments
fooddreamer
I have to confess, I have not made royal icing in years. I don’t like the taste, I would much prefer a cream cheese or butter-based glaze. But good luck, I can’t wait to see the results!
whatsfordinneracrossstatelines
Sounds like fun! I can’t wait to see your results. Use the powder, much better I think. Start with your frosting on the thicker side for the outlining then thin it out for flooding. You might have to make two batches of icing, but I bet by the second one you will say, OH! Have Fun! And I hope you got some disposable icing bags from the craft store, makes clean up a snap, just don’t throw out your tips, I’ve done that before. He He
-Gina-
Karen
Unfortunately, I have no advice to offer since my one and only attempt at royal icing is not one I want to think about!! 🙁 But I have helped a friend decorate with her royal icing, and if the consistency is right, it does flood the cookie between the lines beautifully. We ended up with glossy, shiny cookies when all was said and done.
Good luck with your project!
manfoodblog
Use the powder, it’ll be easier.
And I don’t think the flooding sounds too scary so long as you take your time!
Kristen
I must confess that if I actually made royal icing for cut out cookies, my family would scream, “where’s the butter cream?” I can’t wait to see how yours turn out, though. Good luck!
foododelmundo
I too have never made Royal Icing because the flavor is so dastardly. It seems like a LOT of work and effort for something that looks beautiful, but tastes not so great. I used to do cut-out cookies all the time and piped regular butter cream frosting on in the star shape. That too is a lot of work and they’re not easily transported or stored. Good luck, I’m excited to see how it turned out for you!
Evan @swEEts
Royal icing is a tricky adventure that takes a lot of patience! I always use the simple sugar, water and meringue powder and my icing turns out fine. Just make sure you take your time outlining the cookies before flooding. I always use the 5 second rule when determining whether your icing in the right consistency- if you slice through your icing with a knife it should smooth over again within 5 seconds. Hope that helps a little!
Dionne Baldwin
I seem to be going at this a little backwards…but I can see how something like this might sound intimidating at first. You did awesome though!
Trade you cookies for Whoppers and Oreo’s?!
RavieNomNoms
Thanks Dionne!! That is a good trade, done! hehe
elisabeth@foodandthriftfinds
Your cookies turned out fabulous, although it may not taste good with the powdered mirengue, so it may not be much fun not being able to enjoy the fun Halloween cookies.
Don’t be afraid to use the fresh eggwhites, I have not had any salmonella problems in 30 yrs of making royal icing. The only thing is is once you get the mixture together, you have to work fast, otherwise it will dry too quickly. The cookies come out so tasty, the kids actually lick off the icing before eating the cookies.
Here’s the equavalent that I use…you can of course double the recipe.
Royal Icing Using Egg Whites:
2 large (60 grams) egg whites
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
3 cups (330 grams) confectioners (powdered or icing) sugar, sifted
Read more: http://www.joyofbaking.com/RoyalIcing.
RavieNomNoms
Thank you very much, I went with the meringue powder and I didn’t think it tasted bad despite what everyone said haha, but someday I will try to egg whites 🙂