Royal Icing With Egg White Recipe

Yield:

4 cups

Intricately decorated holiday cookies are just one of the many (delicious) ways to use our royal icing recipe—and you only need two staple ingredients: egg whites and confectioners’ sugar, which are mixed together to make a thick, sweet glaze. A stand mixer or electric hand mixer are a great tool for the task, especially if you’re making a big batch of royal icing. The beaters help incorporate the egg whites into the sugar, so you end up with a delightfully smooth glaze.

This royal icing recipe is perfect for piping decorations onto cakes and cupcakes, making homemade sprinkles, or coating pretzel twists and dried fruit.

If you don't want to use egg whites, try a recipe that uses meringue powder. Meringue powder is made by grinding dehydrated egg whites into a powder. It is usually pasteurized, so it's safe to eat.

Royal Icing with Egg Whites — Credit:
Grant Webster

What Is Royal Icing?

Royal icing is a sweet, thick glaze that is used to decorate cookies, cakes, and everything in between. You can pipe it onto confections, drizzle it with a spoon, or dip cookies into the glossy glaze. It starts off soft and liquid (almost like Elmer's glue), but as it dries, it hardens to create a crisp shell.

It is made using confectioners' sugar, water, and either egg whites or meringue powder. You can also mix in flavors at the end. Think fresh lemon juice or extracts, like vanilla, almond, or peppermint. You can also tint royal icing with gel food coloring to create fun colors.

Royal Icing Made With Egg Whites:

The most traditional way to make royal icing is with raw egg whites. Egg whites will create the smoothest, glossiest finish when dry. Royal icing made with meringue powder will have a more matte finish.

Raw eggs should not be used in food preparation for pregnant people, babies, young children, or anyone whose health is compromised.

Ways to Use Royal Icing:

Decorate holiday cookies, from Easter bunnies to snowflakes. You can either dip cookies into royal icing or transfer the icing to a pastry bag and pipe on designs.
Pipe fun decorations for cakes and cupcakes. You can use royal icing to make an otherwise simple cake or batch of cupcakes special. Pipe easy shapes like stars or hearts onto pieces of wax paper and let them dry before adorning the cake.
Make homemade sprinkles. Place the royal icing in a pastry bag fitted with a very small round tip. Use firm, even pressure to pipe long strips of icing (in your favorite colors) onto parchment paper. Once dry, break the strands of icing into smaller bits and sprinkle generously over birthday cakes.
Coat pretzels and dried fruit. Similar to candy-coated snacks, you can dip things like hard pretzels and raisins into royal icing while it's still wet. They are the perfect movie snack.
Decorate gingerbread houses. Royal icing can be used to both decorate and build gingerbread houses. Add a bit more sugar to the icing you plan to use to hold the cookie pieces together—thick, stiff icing is ideal here.

Different Consistencies for Royal Icing:

You can adjust the consistency of royal icing, depending on how you plan to use it for your baking project. As a general rule, whisking more sugar will thicken royal icing, while adding water will thin it out.

Stiff: Stiff royal icing should hold peaks, similar to whipped cream. This consistency is perfect for building gingerbread houses.
Piping: This consistency should hold its shape when piped rather than "melting." It is ideal for making designs on cakes or outlining cookies.
Flooding: Royal icing should be fairly wet, similar to the consistency of soap. You can use this royal icing to fill in outlined cookies.

Always make a test cookie and let it dry before continuing to decorate. This way, you can ensure your royal icing has the finish and consistency you desire.

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Ingredients

3 large eggs
4 cups confectioners' sugar (one 1-pound box), sifted

Directions

Royal Icing with Egg Whites ingredients — Credit:
Grant Webster

Beat egg whites:

Place egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat using the whisk attachment until frothy.

Credit:
Grant Webster
Add sugar and beat:

Add 1/4 cup of the sugar and mix well. Gradually add the remaining 3 3/4 cups sugar, beating on low speed and scraping down the sides.

Credit:
Grant Webster

Add the sugar slowly. Incorporating a little bit at a time will keep the icing smooth.
Finish mixing until thick:

Increase the speed to high and continue to beat the mixture until soft peaks form, about 5 minutes. At this stage, the icing will be very thick.

Credit:
Grant Webster
Add water:

Add water, a few drops at a time, to thin it to the consistency appropriate for the kind of decorating you are doing. As a rule, the icing should be stiffer for lettering, more malleable for making petals—but you will need to experiment to find the consistency that works best for you.

Credit:
Grant Webster

If adding food coloring to your royal icing, always keep some plain white icing as a reference. The food coloring will change the consistency of the icing a bit, so you can always look to the plain icing as a reference for consistency.

How to Store Royal Icing

Royal icing should be stored in an airtight container. To keep it extra fresh, place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the icing to prevent a skin from forming. The icing will stay fresh at room temperature for two days or in the refrigerator for five days. If refrigerating, let the icing return to room temperature before using it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Should eggs be at room temperature for royal icing?

Room-temperature eggs will incorporate into the royal icing more easily than cold ones, but it's not absolutely necessary for this recipe. Cold eggs are easier to separate, so if you have the time, separate the egg whites from the yolks and let the whites come to room temperature.
Is it safe to eat the raw egg whites in royal icing?

While the risk is minimal, there is always a possibility that eating raw egg products can cause food-borne illnesses. If you are concerned about food-borne illness or are preparing food for pregnant people, babies, young children, or anyone whose health is compromised, consider using merengue powder instead of raw egg whites.
Why won't my royal icing harden?

If your royal icing isn't hardening, you most likely added too much water. Whisk in more confectioners' sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, to thicken the icing. Royal icing also takes quite a while to set up and harden. Make sure you've given it enough time to settle before troubleshooting.

Other Royal Icing Recipes to Try:

Originally appeared: Martha Stewart Living, May 1995

Updated by

Riley Wofford

Beat egg whites:

Add sugar and beat:

Finish mixing until thick:

Add water:

Frequently Asked Questions