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So many of you have loved my Royal Icing Recipe, and it’s honestly the one I swear by. 👏🏽✨
But getting the recipe is only part of the magic—the real key is the consistency.
In this tutorial, I’m breaking down exactly how to make royal icing with the perfect consistency for whatever you’re using it for. Whether you’re flooding cookies, adding decorative details, or writing clean, smooth lettering, this guide will walk you through it step by step.
If you’ve ever struggled with royal icing being too runny, too thick, or just not cooperating, this tutorial is for you. Let’s get your royal icing just right 🎨🍪✨
First, lets gather all the ingredients. This is the exact recipe I use in this tutorial.
228g Powdered Sugar
16g Meringue Powder
42g Water (Warm)
a splash of Pure Vanilla Extract
If you want the version that uses cup/spoon measurements, click here!
or purchase a Kitchen Scale to get the most accurate consistency every time!
This recipe will cover & decorate about 12-18 cookies depending on size.
Add Powdered Sugar and Meringue Powder to the bowl and mix together.
Then add Water & a splash of Vanilla Extract
Mix using your Stand Mixer on Medium/High Speed until Very stiff peaks form.
Now this consistency is perfect for stiff decorating such as piping roses.
But let me show you how to thin it out!
Add water a little at a time.
I made a double batch recipe so I knew I would need a good amount of water to start. But I recommend using a spray bottle to add water as it is VERY easy to add too much. Add one spray at at time!
You then want to ribbon or agitate the royal icing and count how many seconds it takes to completely smooth flat.
The perfect consistency for outlining and flooding is about 15-20 seconds.
This is what you call 15 second consistency!
20 second consistency is perfect for adding decorations afterwards.
If you need to thicken up the royal icing, add more powdered sugar.
To thin out, spray water.
You can now outline and flood the cookie with the same consistency icing!
You can also dip the cookie face down into the icing for faster application.
