How to make icing for cookies: Recipe and tips

It's cookie time, and we'll agree they look beautiful with a cookie icing to decorate them. Icing is all about consistency, and it's as easy to make as mixing sugar and egg white. If you haven't done it yet, with all the explanations you have in this post about how to make cookie icing, the time has come to start.

There are many and varied cookies you can make with icing, but what I encourage you to begin with is what I personally find most refined, pretty and elegant: making white royal icing and decorating your cookies without great complications, but giving the cookie a beautiful decoration and finishes that bring tender smiles to anyone who sees your pretty decorated cookies.

You may get the impression that decorating cookies with royal icing isn't easy, but making the icing is very simple and after some practice with the piping bag you'll see you get the hang of it quickly and make beautiful cookies.

In this post you'll find the recipe and tips for making cookie icing, and soon I'll bring you decoration ideas for Christmas cookies, so that this Christmas the table, the tree and the gift boxes are full of lovely Christmas cookies.

How to make royal icing for cookies

Ingredients

• 480 gr of powdered sugar (extra fine sugar)
• 2 egg whites from an L egg, at room temperature and ideally pasteurized**
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or the essence you choose if you prefer another, such as lemon, orange, anise...)
• water, as needed (to soften the icing if it hardens)
• gel food coloring (only necessary if you want colored icing)

*Icing is all about consistency! The ratio to make icing is 1 egg white per 250 g of powdered sugar.

**Many people use fresh egg whites. You can make icing with them, no doubt, but there is a risk they could be contaminated with bacteria (since we are talking about using raw egg and we will not be baking or cooking it). Therefore, it is recommended to use Pasteurized Egg Whites, available in supermarkets and 100% safe. The equivalent of the 2 egg whites in the recipe is 1/4 cup of egg if you use cup measures, or 2 egg whites weigh 60 gr (30 gr per white).

Preparing royal icing for cookies

1. In a large bowl with the powdered sugar, add the salt and vanilla extract (place them on one side of the bowl, not in the middle). Also add the egg whites (on the same side), which is where you will start mixing.
2. From the side of the bowl where you added the ingredients, begin mixing slowly using a whisk. Stir little by little, integrating the egg whites with the sugar and covering more and more area of the sugar. Continue this way until all the sugar is incorporated. This way, you will obtain a very smooth, lump-free icing and you won't spread the powder outside the bowl. Mix until you get a smooth mixture with the right consistency.

You now have the icing ready to start decorating your cookies!

About piping bags

If you seek practicality, you can use a disposable piping bag (the Set of 20 pcs by De Buyer results in a really practical and affordable product); if you care about the environment and don't want to keep buying replacements, the best is a reusable piping bag, like the De Buyer nylon piping bag. In any case, the Set of piping tips for piping bags will be useful to you.

Types of icing

1. Thicker consistency icing, ideal for outlining cookies or making small decorations and details. It is also the most suitable to get you started in this art.
2. Thin or light icing, perfect for filling larger areas -the only thing we have to do for this is add a few tablespoons of water (adding them one at a time) to the obtained mixture to achieve a lighter consistency.

Things to keep in mind

• If you want to make only white icing, as you have obtained, you can already fill your piping bag and start decorating. If you intend to make royal icing in different colors, divide the obtained icing into separate bowls, and add the gel food coloring you want to each one.
• A virtue of cookie icing is that it hardens quickly (so when you apply it you'll have your decoration set and intact in very little time). But at the same time it's an inconvenience when you're trying to work with it. If you see the icing has hardened, you just need to add a tablespoon of water and mix well — you'll see it returns to a more liquid state, and you can do the same again if it hardens once more.
• If you see you're going to take too long, or want to ensure a more solid film doesn't form on the surface, simply cover the surface with cling film (in contact with it).

How to apply icing to cookies

It's time to decorate your cookies!

Outline and decorate your cookies

To highlight the design or shape of your cookies, or to decorate them with details, put the icing into the piping bag and, using a narrow tip or by cutting a small end off the bag, apply the icing to the cookie outlining its shape or making the details you want.

Fill your cookies with icing

If what you want is to fill your cookies, I'll tell you about two methods to do it:

1. Dipping: It's easy, quick and effective! If you want to apply icing to the entire top of the cookie, hold it by the edges and dip the top surface into the icing. Move it around in the icing for a moment, remove it, wait a moment for the excess to drip off and place it face up so the icing can dry. You'll see the icing turns out perfect, smooth and uniform across the surface when you let it settle (it's a very quick process: dip the top, move it, remove it and place it on a tray).
2. Flooding: once you've applied icing to the cookie outline, wait for it to harden and, using a spoon or a piping bag, apply icing that you've thinned with one or two tablespoons of water so it spreads better. You'll see the outline icing holds back the interior icing. You can use a toothpick to move the interior icing to places that need more.

On the left, example of decoration with royal icing, with a simple but pretty decoration and cookie outlining; on the right, photo with cookies that were flooded, and after the icing hardened an additional final decoration was applied (letters and details with icing on top of the flooded icing).

Other things to keep in mind

• If you want to add decorations like chocolate chips, candy-coated chocolates, sprinkles... do it when the icing is still wet or slightly liquid (that way they'll stick; however you'll notice they don't sink into the icing and the decorations remain perfectly placed).
• If you want to decorate with more icing on top of already applied icing (for more details or colors), wait until the first layer is completely dry.

It's time to start decorating cookies!