Today I’m sharing my favorite royal icing recipe with a kiss of citrus. Made with meringue powder and without egg whites, it’s perfect for decorating sugar cookies, making gingerbread houses, and making three-dimensional cake decorations. This creates decorated sugar cookies with a gorgeous matte finish and perfect texture. This royal icing recipe is essentially foolproof, can be made in advance, and includes a how-to video!

Now royal Icing isn’t exactly known for it’s flavor. Personally I think it’s because with only three real ingredients, most people forget to add any flavor to it! Many don’t even know that you can jazz up royal icing to taste amazing. By adding a dash of vanilla extract and bit of citrus juice, you can transform royal icing from dull to delicious.

And for you cookie decorators: This recipe can be easily thickened or thinned out to suit any type of cookie decorations you have planned. So you can use it to outline, flood and make details for your cookies. I’ve included tons of princess tips to help you make the perfect royal icing.

Meringue Powder in Royal Icing

There are many ways to make royal icing and my favorite method is with meringue powder. Meringue powder is a mix of cornstarch and dried egg whites combines with a stabilizer and takes the place of raw egg whites, which is found in traditional royal icing recipes. Both create a very sturdy and stable icing that hardens quickly on top of cookies. Meringue powder, while containing eggs, eliminates the need for raw fresh eggs, but still provides the EXACT same consistency. Now you may hear raw eggs and wonder if royal icing is safe to eat. Yes it is! By using meringue powder there is no worry about salmonella here!

Can I make citrus royal icing in advance? How do I store it?

My royal icing recipe can be made up to a week in advance. Place the icing in an airtight container and, before placing the lid on your container, place a piece of plastic wrap directly in contact with the surface of the icing. Because this recipe is made with meringue powder and not eggs it may be stored at room temperature for up to two weeks. Because of the citrus juice, the icing may need to be stirred again before using after sitting for a few days.

Can I Freeze Royal Icing?

Yes, royal icing can be frozen. Many royal icing recipes, including this one, yield a lot of icing. Any leftover royal icing can be frozen for up to 6 months. Place leftover royal icing into zipped-top freezer bags. If you have more than 1 color, each color should have its own bag. Before sealing, squeeze as much air out of the bag as possible. Freeze on a flat shelf surface in your freezer. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before using again. I always keep all of my leftover icing and often combine colors to make black icing.

Can I Freeze sugar cookies already topped with royal icing?

Yes you can! Sugar cookies decorated with royal icing freeze well up to 3 months. Wait for the icing to set completely before layering between sheets of parchment paper in a freezer-friendly container. To thaw, thaw in the refrigerator or at room temperature.

How do I color this royal icing recipe?

Gel food colorings are recommended for their ability to get rich colors without affecting the texture of the icing. If you are doing highly decorative white designs, you may want to try white gel food coloring to ensure an opaque and bright white design. Natural food colorings are typically powder or water-based. They are fine to use, just be aware you made have to add extra water or sugar to your icing to adjust the consistency. Royal icing dries darker so be sure to color your frostings just slightly lighter than you want them to end up.

How do I change this royal icing consistency?

After mixing this recipe, the icing should be fairly thick. When making colors, place a small amount in a bowl and add your gel color. You will never be able to get the exact same shade so thin some out for your piping consistency, transfer to a piping bag, and then continue thinning for your flood consistency. The trick is to get 20, 15, and 10 second consistencies. By this, I mean run a knife through the icing and count the seconds for it to come back together. That’s how you judge your consistency.

How long does it take for royal icing to dry?

The dry time honestly depends on how thick your layer of icing is. You should allow your cookies to sit for at least several hours for them to dry completely, but to be safe I like to let mine sit overnight. And no, the cookies don’t get stale sitting out overnight! You can try to speed up the process by turning on a fan over the cookies.

Royal Icing Ingredients
Here’s what you need:
* Powdered Sugar. Often referred to as “confectioners sugar” or “icing sugar”, this will be the base of your icing (and the reason it’s nice and sweet!).
* Meringue Powder. This ingredient is non-negotiable, it’s critical for the firm finish of your royal icing.
* Cream of Tartar. This helps to stabilize the meringue and keep the sugar from crystallizing.
* Lemon. Amp up the flavor of your royal icing by adding a kiss of citrus to it. You can also add orange juice, grapefruit juice or pineapple juice to give it a hint of something fruity and sweet.
* Water. This is necessary to thin the icing to the proper consistency.
* Vanilla Extract. If you want your royal icing to remain pure white in color, use a clear vanilla extract. You can make the icing a different flavor by substituting or adding different extracts as well, just ensure that they do not contain oil, which can break down the meringue (just check the label).

Royal Icing Directions

1. First sift your powdered sugar.
2. Combine your sifted powdered sugar with meringue powder and cream of tartar. Then whisk together until combined.
3. Add in lemon juice and vanilla extract. Then add water.
4. With all of your dry ingredients in the bowl, place on the stand mixer. Then beat until you achieve stiff peaks. You can add more water to thin out to a smoother consistency or add gel food coloring to tint the entire batch.
5. This stiff icing will be your outlining icing. If you need to color your frosting into multiple colors, divide your frosting into bowls now and color as desired.
6. Once you have colored your icings, divide into two bowls. One will be your outlining icing, the second will be your flooding icing. Add water to this icing one teaspoon at a time until you achieve a consistency where the icing that drizzles off of your spoon holds its shape briefly (several seconds) before melting back into the rest of the icing in the bowl.

Now you know how to make my delicious citrus kiss royal icing frosting. Here’s a video on how to make my classic vanilla sugar cookies!