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Royal Icing I

Read Reviews (151)

"Perfect icing for your gingerbread houses!" — Diane

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All about Eggs

Original recipe makes 2 cups Change Servings

4 egg whites
4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar

1 teaspoon lemon extract

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Directions

Beat egg whites in clean, large bowl with mixer at high speed until foamy (use only grade A clean, uncracked eggs). Gradually add sugar and lemon extract. Beat at high speed until thickened. NOTE: When dry, Royal Icing is very hard and resistant to damage that can occur during shipping/handling.

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This recipe is great! I dries hard like it should. But i actually added another cup of powdered sugar to get the consistency i wanted. (as is it comes out runny) I also added a tsp of vanilla instead of the lemon, and it still came out good. I will definately use this recipe again and often!

—jamc100

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Most Helpful Critical Review

Dec 28, 2010

Recipe is quite misleading - I ended up using over a pound of confectioner's sugar to make it stiff enough to pipe onto gingerbread people to adhere decors on. Maybe if I were to ever use this recipe again, I'd use just one egg white and take it from there. I had a LOT of waste after adding all that sugar to stiffen it up.

—CHEF MARY

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195 Ratings

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Jan 10, 2004

I used this icing to put together a gingerbread house (made with real, heavy gingerbread) and it worked wonderfully! It hardens quickly so your house will stay together, but you need to keep it in an icing bag or covered so it doesn't dry out in the bowl. Oh, I also left out the extract, which doesn't change the icing at all except for the taste.

—COOK_4_3

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Jan 13, 2007

I used this icing on rolled sugar cookies with great results. Yes, it was a little runny, but rather than adding more powdered sugar, I just used my pastry bag with a small round tip to pipe the icing over the top of each cookie, creating a beautifully finished look when dry. The icing took a few hours to dry completely, but was indestructable after that. Stored/froze well and tastes yummy; the lemon adds a nice flavor!

—Lisa C.

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Oct 31, 2006

This was a great icing recipe...I was looking for a keeper to use with my sugar cookies (The Best Rolled Sugar Cookies from this site by the way are the BEST...) This recipe worked GREAT with the pasteurized egg whites that come in a carton from the egg section, I was making cookies for my daughters pre-school class so regular raw egg whites were out of the question. I did add a 5th cup of powdered sugar as I wanted a stiffer icing. Worked and dried beautifully...thanks!

—SydnJoes_Mom

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Dec 11, 2004

As others have mentioned, it's a bit runny. If you're using it as gingerbread house glue, don't put it on too thickly, or else it takes very long to dry (just like real glue)! I'm thinking that it would be best to use this icing mostly as glue and then maybe a fluffier icing for decorative iced accents. As far as decorating gingerbread cookies, though, it worked quite nicely! You can dip them in it (like someone mentioned for biscotti) or decorate them with it, or both. I posted a photo of my cookies and the initial stages of our very-sloppy gingerbread houses in my Cook's Photos.

—evdw

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Nov 12, 2007

I was just shy of 4 cups of icing sugar, but I had already cracked the 4 eggs needed to make a whole batch. I didn't want to waste them, so I added them all anyways. At first the icing was really runny, but it started to harden fairly quickly after I applied it to my gingerbread cookies (Eileen's Spicy Gingerbread cookies from this site). Even using your standard ziplock sandwich bag to apply the icing it went on smoothly. I was quite impressed with this recipe overall! I used rum extract (artificial) instead of lemon, but I think next time I may try the lemon or maybe almond or vanilla. Two thumbs up!

—WAFFELZ

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Oct 30, 2006

This was my first time using Royal Icing. I found this icing very easy to use for spreading as well as piping. Used vanilla extract and it tasted great. Took several hours to dry completely so they could be packed away. Used to decorate pumpkin cut-out sugar cookies that were then mailed to my husband Saudi Arabia. Cookies held up very well in shipping. Definitely recommend.

—StephanieSuz

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Nutrition

Calories
63 kcal
3%

Carbohydrates
15.6 g
5%

Cholesterol
0 mg
0%

Fat
0 g
< 1%

Fiber
0 g
0%

Protein
0.5 g
< 1%

Sodium
7 mg
< 1%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

Nutritional Information

Royal Icing I

Serving Size: 1/32 of a recipe
Servings Per Recipe: 32
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 63
Calories from Fat: < 1

% Daily Value *
Total Fat 0g < 1 %
Saturated Fat 0g < 1 %
Cholesterol 0mg 0 %
Sodium 7mg < 1 %
Potassium 7mg < 1 %
Total Carbohydrates 15.6g 5 %
Dietary Fiber 0g 0 %
Protein 0.5g < 1 %
** Sugars 15.4g
Vitamin A 0 %
Vitamin C 0 %
Calcium < 1 %
Iron < 1 %
** Thiamin < 1 %
Niacin < 1 %
Vitamin B6 < 1 %
Magnesium < 1 %
Folate < 1 %

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
** Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available nutrient data.
(-) Information is not currently available for this nutrient. If you are following a medically restrictive diet, please consult your doctor or registered dietitian before preparing this recipe for personal consumption.