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Royal Icing for Sugar Cookies

If you're decorating cookies for children, pregnant women, or anyone with compromised immune systems, use meringue powder, found in the baking aisle of most markets, instead of raw egg whites.

Source: The Martha Stewart Show, Episode 1128

Makes 2 1/3 cups

Yield

Ingredients

1 box confectioners' sugar (1 pound)
5 tablespoons meringue powder, or 2 large egg whites

Directions

1.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine sugar and meringue powder. Mixing on low speed, add a scant 1/2 cup water. For a thinner consistency, usually used for flooding, add more water. A thicker consistency is generally used for outlining and adding details. Mix until icing holds a ribbonlike trail on the surface of the mixture for 5 seconds when you raise the paddle.

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Reviews

2046

How would you rate this recipe?

2046

ALR6988256DW

21 DEC, 2018

I followed recipe but doubled it. I only added just under a 1/2 cup water, but still too thin. I added another egg white but that didn't fix it, so I added the last one pound confectionary sugar I had. It will pour over the colokies but no way can I outline or do detail work. Very disappointed 😦
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- n2zastick
  
  16 APR, 2019
  
  I think the 1/2 c water is only if you use the powdered egg white (to reconstitute them); if using real egg white then I bet no water is required. I'm about to try it to see!
quiksurf20

28 SEP, 2017

This recipe worked great with the meringue powder. I doubled it and was able to frost about 7 dozen small/medium sugar cookies with some left over. I just feel like the meringue powder gives the frosting a slightly funny taste. I also added a little vanilla.
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MS12153438

5 APR, 2014

Live in Canada and wanting to know what 1 pound is compared to grams, everything I but is in a bag with grams, not a box with pounds, can you be more specific to how many cups of icing sugar we should use. Would really like to try this recipe. Thanks
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- sarahmiller113
  
  28 DEC, 2016
  
  I live in Canada as well, and I use packaging as a guide. Butter is sold in 450g packs or around that, and it's referred to as a pound of butter. Two cups, the cups guide is inside the wrapper on the brands I buy. Just got some meringue powder from my mom, excited to try it out with this recipe.
jeankkenny

13 JUN, 2015

This recipe has an error. It tells you to use meringue powder or egg whites but the recipe is worded for meringue powder. If you follow the recipe using meringue powder, I'm guessing it will come out fine. If you use the recommended amount of egg whites and the "scant" 1/2 cup of water, you will have added too much water. I've been beating my mixture for over half an hour and it is still not forming the ribbon-like trail. Disappointed to have wasted a lb of organic confectioners sugar.
Reply
jenniyogi

24 APR, 2014

A google search will offer you plenty of conversion charts and calculators for ounces/pounds to grams. Since Martha is in the US it makes sense that she offers US measurements as does a lll the other US bloggers and recipe developers in her realm.
Reply
Kim S

20 APR, 2014

Janet M... 1 pound equals 453.592 grams, or 1.9 cups (I would use two cups). You can find out other measurements by searching online for a metric conversion tool. I typed "Pound to gram conversion" and "Pound to cup conversion" into Google and came up with the results. I hope this helps! :)
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