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Royal Icing

Name: Royal Icing
Yield: Makes about 2 1/2 cups
Ingredients: 2 large egg whites, or more to thin icing; 4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar, or more to thicken icing; Juice of 1 lemon; 3 drops glycerin

Recipe photo courtesy of Johnny Miller

For an especially glossy icing, mix in a few drops of glycerin (available at drugstores).

Source: Martha Stewart Living, March 1997

Makes about 2 1/2 cups

Yield

Ingredients

2 large egg whites, or more to thin icing
4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar, or more to thicken icing
Juice of 1 lemon
3 drops glycerin

Directions

1. Beat the whites until stiff but not dry. Add sugar, lemon juice and glycerin (if using); beat for 1 minute more. If icing is too thick, add more egg whites; if it is too thin, add more sugar. The icing may be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Cook's Notes

You can substitute 5 tablespoons meringue powder and 1/3 cup water for raw eggs. Raw eggs should not be used in food prepared for pregnant women, babies, young children, or anyone whose health is compromised.

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Reviews

429

How would you rate this recipe?

429

zartzoom

12 DEC, 2018

the glycerine makes the world of difference.. this is the simplest and most delicious of all royal icing.. use fresh lemon juice!!
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Noel Becker

23 DEC, 2012

This was very easy (except for grinding sugar in the coffee grinder because I didn't have powdered sugar), and it came out perfectly for my gingerbread house.
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Christopher Patti

22 DEC, 2012

Loved it! Have to say I love farm fresh eggs moreso over the bleached store brands. I don't think once in the past few years have I gotten a actual white egg haha. Usually they are red, blue, green, dirty ecru etc, and the yolks are so dark and rich. One reason I hate being back in NJ miss my eggs. But over all this recipe is a winner came out perfect!
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cakemakingkat

2 JUL, 2012

this recipe was really good it had the perfect consistency but it was really sugary and griddy overall it was ok
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cakemakingkat

2 JUL, 2012

this recipe was really good it had the perfect consistency but it was really sugary and griddy overall it was ok
Reply
guitar4me86398

12 DEC, 2011

I'm so glad Martha offers this recipe as an option; meringue powder is not easily found in my small town, but I always have eggs on hand. It's a great base to start with stiff icing for piping -- add water in small amount to get smoother icing for flooding. I enjoyed the hint of lemon flavor on the gingerbread as well. Happy decorating!
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wkshank62

8 DEC, 2011

sorry - posted my gingerbread snowflakes review on this page by accident - but I did use this icing for them as directed, and it piped very well.
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wkshank62

8 DEC, 2011

I made this recipe for smaller star-shaped cookies, following the recipe exactly. I had my doubts about the pepper too, but the taste is really good & spicy. To decorate as shown is VERY time consuming (3-4 mins. per cookie?) but this recipe is worth doing if you need some "wow" factor for a gift-box of cookies: you can just put a few on top of the stack and they will class up the gift. I wish I had made a half batch, which would have been plenty for several dozen normal-size cookies.
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EricaMarieL

26 JUL, 2011

can you subsuite the lemon juice for almond or vanilla extract?
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flower_rosey

23 FEB, 2009

I wouldn't bleach your eggs, eggs have a semi permeable membrane and bleaching them could be harmful to you and your family. If you wouldn't normally consume it-don't use it on your eggs. If you buy unpasteurized eggs, wash them thoroughly to remove any potential lingering salmonella.
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