Icing for Biscuits (Royal Icing)

Name: Icing for Biscuits (Royal Icing)
Prep time: 15 min
Yield: 60 serving
Ingredients: 500g / 1 lb PURE icing sugar / powdered sugar; 1/4 cup egg whites; 2 tbsp corn syrup; 1 - 1 1/2 tbsp water; Food Dye - liquid or gel

User Reviews

4.9

39 reviews

Excellent

Prep Time
15 mins
Servings
60
Calories
35 kcal
Course
Dessert, Baked Goods
Cuisine
American

Icing for Biscuits (Royal Icing)

Kai Walton

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Recipe video above. Known as Royal Icing, this is an icing that's made for decorating any biscuits and cookies, like the Christmas Cookies shown in the photos. It sets hard, has a lovely glossy sheen that's like the cookies you get from gourmet stores and the best patisseries about town. RAW EGG?? Don't worry! The egg is not raw. It is "cooked" by the sugar. Essentially cured actually, in the same way that salt + sugar is used to cure things like salmon (like my Beetroot Cured Salmon and Gravlax).Bonus: I'm also sharing my cheeky SHORTCUT method to ice the entire surface of the cookie without using a piping bag!

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Ingredients

Servings

Icing:

500g / 1 lb PURE icing sugar / powdered sugar , sifted (plus extra for adjusting) (Note 1)
1/4 cup egg whites (~3 eggs) (Note 2)
2 tbsp corn syrup (or 1.5 tbsp glucose syrup, Note 3)
1 - 1 1/2 tbsp water , plus more as needed

Colouring:

Food Dye - liquid or gel , go by eye for quantity (Note 4)

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Instructions

Place Icing ingredients in a large bowl, starting with 1 tablespoon water, and beat for 1 minute on speed 5 until smooth and glossy (start on low then speed up).
Divide icing into different bowls for colouring. Add food dye and mix - keep adding colouring until you achieve the colour you are after. If icing gets too thin, add more icing sugar.
Icing consistency test: Should be able to draw a figure 8 on the surface and you can see if for 2 seconds before sinking in and disappearing. Should be thick enough to pipe details but thin enough to spread smoothly on surface of cookie. ADJUST icing - thinner with water (1/2 tsp at a time), thicker with more icing sugar.

PIPING:

Transfer icing into disposable piping bags or ziplock bags.
Snip the TINIEST bit off the corner. Smaller hole = better detail in icing. Remember: You can cut hole bigger, but not smaller! OR using very thin piping nozzle.
Pipe decorations on cookies as desired.
Decorate with sprinkles etc while wet (so they stick). Or dry completely before piping on details.
To fill a large surface, use toothpick to spread.

QUICK METHOD to ice biscuits (see video demo):

Place skewer on edge of frosting bowl.
Hold edge of cookie with two fingers, then carefully dip face of cookie into frosting.
Pull out of frosting then lightly scrape surface across skewer to remove excess.
Decorate with sprinkles etc while wet (so they stick). Or dry completely before piping on details.

Notes

Icing sugar - if you're in Australia, use PURE icing sugar not SOFT icing sugar. Soft icing sugar is the everyday icing sugar used in frostings (like buttercream) and icing. Pure icing sugar is used for specific types of icing like royal icing which sets hard (if you use soft icing sugar, it may not set properly).
You may need extra icing sugar to adjust the thickness of the icing sugar. If you only have exactly 500g, then reduce water to 1 tbsp.
Egg whites - important to measure rather than use "3 egg whites" because even a small difference in liquid in this icing can drastically affect the thickness. The icing needs to be perfect thickness - pipable but holds it shape but spreadable (to easily and smoothly cover cookie surface).
See summary above for concerns about raw egg.
Corn syrup is a sweet, clear, thick syrup that is a staple in US and Canadian recipes. It's used in candy making and pies (like Pecan Pie). For this icing, it gives the frosting a lovely sheen, rather than being matte. Substitute with glucose syrup for a very similar end result (sold in baking aisle in Australian's grocery stores).
Food colouring comes in 2 forms - liquid (shown in video) and gels. Gels are stronger so you need less.Tip: Red icing requires a LOT of colouring, about 3/4 tsp (for 1/3 of the icing mixture).
Yield - makes more than enough for one batch of these Sugar Cookies/Vanilla biscuits. But you want to err on the side of caution if using multiple colours because you will lose some through handling.