Simple recipe for creamy royal icing using meringue powder!
When I first started making decorated cookies, I was just as reckless as I am right now. I "researched" for a few days and then declared myself an expert and went to work. The thing is though...that was a a veritable lifetime ago. You guys. That was BEFORE PINTEREST. And "researching" was actually researching. Like... at a LIBRARY. I found exactly ONE recipe for royal icing. And it used egg whites separated from actual eggs. And I ran with that.
Except then I started worrying about that nagging risk of salmonella from raw eggs. (Not that it has EVER EVER stopped me from eating raw cookie dough.) I looked online and found exactly one brand of powdered egg whites. And luckily for me, it made the MOST AMAZING creamy royal icing that could ever exist. So I used it for years and years and years and years and...I could keep going really. Let's just say - a real super long time.
And then there was a weird powdered egg white shortage. And I could only buy my very favorite brand by the 50 pound bag. (Seriously - A BAG?!) I spent some months considering where I would put it all...and if I really saw myself decorating cookies for the next seven decades of my life. (YES. The answer was always yes.)
During those months, I finally tried out meringue powder for the very first time. And it turns out -- there are some AMAZING meringue powders!!
Since meringue powders all have powdered egg whites as an ingredient, there are a lot of similarities between this recipe and my Powdered Egg White Royal Icing recipe. But there are enough changes that it deserves it's own recipe.
ROYAL ICING WITH MERINGUE POWDER
prep time: cook time: total time:
Thick, creamy royal icing for making decorated sugar cookies or gingerbread houses!
ingredients:
- 1/3 cup meringue powder (43 grams)
- 2/3 cup warm water (160 grams)
- 7 1/2 cups powdered sugar (2 pounds or 907 grams)
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract (13 grams)
instructions:
How to cook ROYAL ICING WITH MERINGUE POWDER
- Place meringue powder and water in the bowl of a standing mixer. Grab the whisk attachment and swirl them around together for a few seconds by hand.
- Let sit for 5-10 minutes.
- Attach the whisk to the stand mixer and mix on high for 3 minutes. It should be frothy. Scrape the sides with a rubber scraper.
- Add powdered sugar and mix on high for 2 minutes. Don't turn it to high all at once or you're just going to get powdered sugar everywhere.
- Add the vanilla (or other flavoring of your choice) and mix on medium speed for about 30 seconds.
- Transfer to an airtight container. Use immediately or store covered in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
NOTE: Dissolving the meringue powder in the water and then whipping it to a soft peak DOES change the outcome of the royal icing. Basically, it allows the royal icing to be it's strongest...which means puffy icing with less craters. It's also weirdly shinier and has a softer bite. I go into allllll the details about that in THIS ROYAL ICING POST.
NEED MORE??
Try switching the vanilla extract for coconut extract and pairing it with my CHOCOLATE ROLL OUT COOKIES!
If you want to stick with powdered egg whites, you can find my recipe for ROYAL ICING WITH POWDERED EGG WHITES here.
Grab my favorite meringue powder HERE. (It's Kosher AND nut-free.)