Royal icing is a baker’s secret weapon for creating stunning, professional-looking cookie designs. It’s the go-to for sugar cookie decoration, known for its smooth, glossy finish and ability to hold intricate details. Whether you’re preparing treats for a holiday, a special occasion, or just a fun baking project, royal icing lets you unleash your creativity.
For those looking for an eggless option, this recipe uses simple pantry ingredients like cornflour and xanthan gum—no need for aquafaba or complicated substitutes. It’s straightforward, versatile, and perfect for achieving various consistencies to decorate cookies, cakes, or even gingerbread houses. And while royal icing shines as a decorating medium, it’s also easy to work with when paired with buttery, delicious sugar cookies.
The Perfect Pair: Royal Icing and Sugar Cookies
Sugar cookies are the ideal canvas for royal icing. Their flat, sturdy surface and neutral flavor make them the perfect base for intricate designs and colorful decorations. When baked evenly, sugar cookies can hold their shape beautifully, ensuring your designs stay intact. The icing adheres perfectly to the surface, dries hard for durability, and adds a touch of sweetness to complement the cookie’s buttery goodness.
For best results, make sure your sugar cookies are fully cooled before decorating. This prevents the icing from melting or sliding off. A great sugar cookie recipe will balance softness and structure, giving you a delightful texture and a reliable base for any design.
Access our sugar ultimate eggless cookie guide here.
Understanding Royal Icing Consistencies
Getting the right consistency is critical, as it determines how the icing performs. Let’s break down the three main consistencies and how to recognize when you’ve nailed them:
1. Stiff Consistency (For Piping and 3D Designs)
- Uses: Stiff icing is perfect for detailed work like outlining cookies, piping borders, or creating flowers and other dimensional decorations. It holds its shape and doesn’t flow. If your icing is too thick to pipe easily, add ½ teaspoon of water at a time. If it’s drooping, sift in more powdered sugar to thicken it up.
- How to Test:
- Scoop a spoonful of icing and hold it upright—if the peak stands firm without drooping, you’ve got stiff consistency.
- Try piping a line; it should retain crisp, clean edges without spreading or sagging.
2. Medium Consistency (For Outlining and Precision Work)
- Uses: This is your all-purpose icing for outlining cookies, creating details like dots or leaves, and filling small areas. It’s slightly softer than stiff icing but still holds its shape well for controlled work. Start with stiff icing and add ½ teaspoon of water at a time to thin it to medium consistency. This is the best consistency for beginners, as it gives you control without being too rigid.
- How to Test:
- Drag a spoon through the bowl of icing—lines should hold momentarily and then slowly blend back together within 15 seconds.
- Pipe a line onto parchment; it should settle slightly but still maintain defined edges.
3. Thin Consistency (For Flooding and Smooth Surfaces)
- Uses: Thin icing is ideal for flooding cookies, creating smooth, even surfaces, and adding marbling or wet-on-wet effects. It flows easily and self-levels for a glassy finish. Start with medium consistency and add water in tiny increments (¼ teaspoon at a time). Be cautious—thin icing is easy to over-dilute.
- How to Test:
- Lift a spoonful of icing and let it drizzle back into the bowl—it should disappear into the rest of the icing within 8–10 seconds.
- When applied to a cookie, it should spread out smoothly without running over the edges.
Tips for Adjusting and Working with Consistencies
- Work in Small Batches: If you’re decorating cookies with multiple designs, separate your icing into smaller portions and adjust the consistency for each one.
- Keep It Covered: Royal icing dries quickly, so always cover your bowl with a damp cloth when not in use.
- Test Before You Decorate: Always test your consistency on a piece of parchment paper before applying it to cookies. This lets you make adjustments without risking your design.
- Layering Designs: If using multiple consistencies on one cookie (e.g., stiff for outlines and thin for flooding), let the stiff outline dry slightly to create a barrier before flooding.
Mastering the right consistency for royal icing transforms your decorating game. Whether you’re piping intricate details, outlining cookies, or creating smooth finishes, knowing how to test and adjust your icing ensures beautiful, professional-looking results. With a little practice, you’ll have picture-perfect cookies every time!
Eggless Royal Icing
Ingredients
- 2 cups icing sugar (powdered sugar)
- 1 tbsp cornflour
- 1/2 tsp xantham gum optional but recommended
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 2-3 tbsp water
- gel food colour if using
Instructions
- Sieve the icing sugar into a large bowl. Add cornflour, salt, and xantham gum and whisk all the dry ingredients together
- 1 tbsp at a time, add in water until the mixture forms a thick paste. You will need 2-3 tbsp approximately. If you are using liquid food colour instead of gel, reduce water content even further
- Add in your gel food colouring until the desired colour has reached. The mixture should be a stiff paste that is slightly gritty
- For stiff icing (to create very intricate details, write thick lines, or lettering): Add 0-0.5 tsp water. The icing needs to be barely pipeable textureFor medium icing (to pipe borders & create designs): Add 0.5-1 tsp of water. The icing should be fluid but leave a thick line if you drizzle a spoonful back into the bowl. For thin icing (to fill and flood the designs): Add 1-1.5 tsp of water. The icing should be self-leveling. The icing should smooth out into a bowl within 8-10 seconds if a spoonful is drizzled.
- Transfer to piping bag to use. Cut off a tiny tip at the end and pipe your designs. Stiff outlines take 15-20 minutes to dry before you can start flooding your designs. Once you've flooded your designs with the thin-medium icing, let set until cookies are completely dry (60-80 minutes under a fan). Transfer to airtight box.
