Royal Icing

Recipe courtesy Alton Brown

Show: Good EatsEpisode: The Cookie Clause

Rated: 5 stars out of 5Rate itRead users' reviews (67)

RECIPE
COMMENTS & REVIEWS(67)

Prep Time:
7 min
Level:
Easy
Yield:
3 1/2 cups

Times:

Prep: 7 min
Inactive Prep: --
Cook: --
Total:: 7 min

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Ingredients

3 ounces pasteurized egg whites
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups confectioners' sugar

Directions

In large bowl of stand mixer combine the egg whites and vanilla and beat until frothy. Add confectioners' sugar gradually and mix on low speed until sugar is incorporated and mixture is shiny. Turn speed up to high and beat until mixture forms stiff, glossy peaks. This should take approximately 5 to 7 minutes. Add food coloring, if desired. For immediate use, transfer icing to pastry bag or heavy duty storage bag and pipe as desired. If using storage bag, clip corner. Store in airtight container in refrigerator for up to 3 days.

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Comments & Reviews

recipe Royal Icing
Lisa Sanford, FL 12-26-2009
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Perfect!
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

I used pasturized eggs and separated them. I used 4 egg whites to make 3 oz. ( simply guessing) Worked just fine. Couldn't... find powdered food coloring so I used the liquid. It honestly wasn't that bad... Icing got slightly thinner but still very workable. Will absolutely use this recipe again.Read more
recipe Royal Icing
Ana USA, TX 12-24-2009
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PERFECT!!
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

i bought some powder which just neededto add water and it was pretty good but then i run out of powder and used this recepie.... The icing was exactly the same! Read more
recipe Royal Icing
Dawn Louisville, KY 12-23-2009
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Storage?
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

can you freeze unused icing?
recipe Royal Icing
Shelley Garland, TX 12-21-2009
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Even a non-baker can do it!
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

My daughter is in college in Manhattan and wanted to make cookies for the people at her internship. Afer previous attempts,... she had been asked to not bake again, but she forged ahead. I sent her Alton's recipe for royal icing to use on her sugar cookies. she had never made any kind of icing before. She didn't have an electric mixer, so she had to whip the eggs by hand. I didn't get a single phone call asking for help. And her co-worker reviews were fantastic!! They kept asking for her recipe. The recipe was easy, perfect and the instructions were very clear. My daughter was thrilled and has a renewed confidence in her ability to bake. Thanks Alton!Read more
recipe Royal Icing
null null, null 12-21-2009
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Royal Icing.... HELP?!
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

What did I do wrong? =( With all the great reviews on this I feel like I have a royal icing handicap. It's too... runny!! Can someone tell me what I may have done wrong? Thanks in advance for all your help!!Read more
recipe Royal Icing
JOHN Raleigh, NC 12-15-2009
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Simple and tasty....
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

Wow... AB does it again. Easy recipe followed by great product. 4 tips... 1) This recipe makes a lot of icing for... cookies. Next time I will reduce the egg and sugar by 1/3. 2) Separate the icing into small bowls with tight lids. My frosting is not hard even after three days in the bowls. But the stuff exposed to the the air hardens within 30 minutes. Separating also makes adding the food coloring easier. 3) I find when using dry food coloring you need roughly 3/8 of a tsp to get the colors to be really bright. 1/8 and 1/4 seem to just give pastel colors. 4) Don't forget to leave one batch of icing uncolored for "white". I ended up having to make green snow men this year. :-) Read more