Royal Icing Sugar Cookies
This easy, no-spread sugar cookie recipe is absolutely perfect for royal icing. I have tried several with not much luck so I’m happy to share one I feel secures the best results. No need to be stressed out about the icing, follow these easy steps and you’ll start practicing in no time! Having a steady hand and patience are really the only two key take-aways here. As you can see, my designs and lines are not perfect… it takes a lot of practice.
Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
4 cups all-purpose flour (480g)
¾ teaspoon salt
¾ teaspoon baking powder
1 cup unsalted butter softened (227g)
1 cup granulated sugar (200g)
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, salt, and baking powder.
In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar together on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
Add the eggs, one at a time, while mixing. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Beat in the vanilla.
With the mixer running, gradually add in the flour mixture and mix until everything is well incorporated. Divide the dough in half, shape into two disks, and tightly wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 2 hours or up to 2 days. (if chilling longer than 2 hours, let the dough sit at room temperature for 15 to 30 minutes or until slightly softened.)
Once the dough is chilled and you’re ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375F.
Roll the dough on a lightly floured surface to ¼-inch-thickness. Cut out shapes using 2½-inch cookie cutters. Re-roll as needed for more cookies.
Place the cut-outs on a non-stick baking sheet or parchment-lined baking sheet 1 inch apart.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until the bottom edges start to turn brown. Let cool for a few minutes on the pan then transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.
Royal Icing
Tools
Scribe
Piping bags (no tips unless you’re getting fancy)
Damp washcloth
Tray for icing bags
Scissors
Small turntable (not required but very helpful)
Cool cookie sheet
Fan (not required but makes for a faster dry time)
Ingredients
2 pound bag of powdered sugar
90g Meringue Powder
½ cup water (+/-)
1 tbsp corn syrup
¼ tsp salt
1 tsp extract - Vanilla/Lemon/Almond
Instructions
Sift the icing to remove any lumps.
Combine the icing sugar, meringue powder, and salt in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Turn the mixer to low and mix until combined.
Stir in the water, extract, and corn syrup. Turn off the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl. Add more water as needed until no more dry sugar is visible.
Mix on low speed 3-5 minutes until the frosting is light and thick.
If using more than one color be sure to separate into multiple mixing bowls BEFORE following next steps.
OUTLINE: add water until the frosting is similar to that of toothpaste.
Add color to each separate bowl and mix thoroughly.
Separate out 1/4 of the colored icing into a piping bag and tie off.
FLOOD: add water until a ribbon of frosting disappears into itself in 10-14 seconds.
Fill piping bag and tie off.
NOTE: I used to write O and F on the piping bags but there is honestly no need to. The sharpie ends up coming off on your hands and all you need to do is squeeze lightly to tell the stiff one is the O and the other is F.
Decorating
Remember, if you want more than a single layer of depth to your design this will take a couple of hours and longer drying time.
If you’re using a fan be sure it is not on high and not close to the cookies or you will see a ripple effect.
Start by mentally designing how you want the cookies to look. How many defined layers do you want, are you using different colors on one cookie, do you want to use sprinkles or “dirt” like in the plant cookie example.
Cut a very small opening at the end of all piping bags, you can always go bigger. If you end up cutting too large, just pop the entire bag into a fresh one, tie off and re-cut.
Outline and flood your first layer on all cookies. This gives time for them to dry when you are back at cookie #1 to continue with the second layer. If the first cookie does not have a visible skin/dull sheen then wait 10 more minutes. This is where the fan comes in handy.
Layer your second, third and however many you want until your design is final!
I prefer to let mine dry overnight, especially in the hotter months because of the humidity. In colder months they will dry faster.
STORAGE: Place a piece of plastic wrap directly over the frosting so that a “skin” does not form. Store in the fridge for up to 10 days. If you freeze leftover piping bags be sure to massage the color back together because it will settle.
DO NOT PLACE COOKIES IN THE FRIDGE, THE FROSTING WILL RIPPLE.