Icing for Biscuits (Royal Icing)

This is an icing for biscuits that sets hard with a glossy sheen that gives it a classy polished look! Demonstrated here with Christmas Cookies and also seen in Gingerbread Men, but this is an icing recipe you can use for any cookies, any colour, any occasion!

Bonus: I’m also sharing my fast biscuit icing method to cover the entire surface of a cookie quickly and easily, without piping!

Icing for biscuits

This is the icing recipe for the Christmas Cookies I just shared. The recipe got too lengthy so I decided to split it into two – and also, this is an all purpose icing recipe that is ideal to use for any cookies and biscuits, not just for the Christmas Cookies!

This is an icing for biscuits that:

• sets hard;
• doesn’t soften your cookie ie won’t affect the shelf life of the biscuits;
• has a light, glossy sheen that gives it an extra special look;
• has the perfect consistency to spread smoothly to cover the surface AND to pipe details;
• can be used to DIP biscuits in to cover surfaces quickly (my cheeky quick method -see below!); and
• can be made any colour you want.

Here’s what you need

• Corn syrup is what gives this icing a lovely sheen. Corn syrup isn’t widely available in Australia (yet) BUT you can substitute with glucose syrup. This recipe works perfectly well without corn syrup too, but the finish will be matte instead;
• Egg whites – the secret ingredient that makes the icing set hard! KEY TIP is to MEASURE the egg whites rather than relying on just using “2 egg whites”. This is because the size of eggs differs every time but the amount of egg white used in the icing will materially affect the thickness of the icing – and the key to icing is getting the thickness perfect!
• Icing sugar / powdered sugar – fellow Aussies, be sure to use SOFT icing sugar, not pure icing sugar.
• Colouring – gel is better if you can get your hands on it because it has a more intense colour so you need less, but recipe works perfectly fine with liquid too (in fact, I use liquid in the video).

How to make icing for biscuits

The making part is a cinch (the icing part is the painful part!!):

• beat the icing sugar, egg whites and water until smooth and glossy;
• divide between bowls, then mix in colouring. Go by eye until you achieve the colour you want – different brands, gels vs liquid all require different amounts;
• make sure the icing is the right thickness – use the “figure 8” test ie draw the number “8” across the surface, it should hold for 2 seconds before it disappears. The icing needs to be thick enough so decorations you pipe hold their shape, but thin enough so you can spread the icing across the surface of the biscuit;
• transfer into piping bags OR ziplock bags. See below re: piping nozzle (I don’t use one!)

Icing with piping bag

Here’s how to ice with a piping bag.

I do not use a nozzle because I don’t have a nozzle fine enough to give me the detail I want when icing Christmas Cookies. You literally want the nozzle to be 1 – 2 mm wide – well, “thin”, I should say! When the hole is that small, you have enough control to pipe it without a piping nozzle so just snipping the end of a piping bag or ziplock bag works a treat.

ONE NOZZLE TIP: If you DO have a thin nozzle, but you only have one, then use the double bagging method to use the same nozzle for multiple icing colours:

• place nozzle into a clean piping bag “Nozzle Piping Bag”;
• place the different coloured icing into separate piping bags WITHOUT a nozzle, snip end;
• place one colour into the Piping Nozzle Bag and pipe away (ie using a double bag);
• once done with that colour, remove the icing from the Piping Nozzle Bag; and
• remove and clean nozzle, then put it back in the Piping Nozzle Bag. Insert next colour and repeat.

Shortcut icing method

Here’s a quick way to frost the biscuits without fussing with piping bags!

• Place skewer on edge of bowl;
• Dip surface of biscuit into frosting;
• Scrape off excess frosting along the skewer; and
• Voila! Frosting, done! Add some sprinkle, some silver balls while it’s wet so they stick.

Use for any biscuit or cookie!

The photos depicted in today’s recipe are a vanilla biscuit that I shared for Christmas – see below (aka Sugar Cookies!). That particular recipe is made for cut out cookies because it holds its shape when baked, rather than spreading or puffing up, and cut out cookies are usually the ones that are decorated with icing.

But the frosting can be used for any cookies at all.

I hope you enjoy – and have fun with this icing! Think of the possibilities! – Nagi x

Watch how to make it

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Icing for Biscuits (Royal Icing)

Author: Nagi

Prep: 15 mins

Baking, Sweet

Western

5 from 2 votes

Servings60

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Recipe video above. Known as Royal Icing, this is an icing that's made for decorating any biscuits and cookies, like the Christmas Cookies shown in the photos. It sets hard, has a lovely glossy sheen that's like the cookies you get from gourmet stores and the best patisseries about town.

Bonus: I'm also sharing my cheeky SHORTCUT method to ice the entire surface of the cookie without using a piping bag!

Ingredients

Icing:

• ▢ 500g / 1 lb icing sugar / powdered sugar , sifted (plus extra for adjusting) (Note 1)
• ▢ 1/4 cup (60ml) egg white (2 small eggs or 1.5 large eggs) (Note 2)
• ▢ 2 tbsp corn syrup (or 1.5 tbsp glucose syrup, Note 3)
• ▢ 1.5 tbsp water , plus more as needed

Colouring:

• ▢ Food Dye – liquid or gel , go by eye for quantity (Note 4)

Instructions

• Place Icing ingredients in a large bowl and beat for 1 minute on speed 5 until smooth and glossy (start on low then speed up).
• Divide icing into different bowls for colouring. Add food dye and mix – keep adding colouring until you achieve the colour you are after. If icing gets too thin, add more icing sugar.
• Icing consistency test: Should be able to draw a figure 8 on the surface and you can see if for 2 seconds before sinking in and disappearing. Should be thick enough to pipe details but thin enough to spread smoothly on surface of cookie. ADJUST icing – thinner with water (1/2 tsp at a time), thicker with more icing sugar.

PIPING:

• Transfer icing into disposable piping bags or ziplock bags.
• Snip the TINIEST bit off the corner. Smaller hole = better detail in icing. Remember: You can cut hole bigger, but not smaller! OR using very thin piping nozzle.
• Pipe decorations on cookies as desired.
• Decorate with sprinkles etc while wet (so they stick). Or dry completely before piping on details.
• To fill a large surface, use toothpick to spread.

QUICK METHOD to ice biscuits (see video demo):

• Place skewer on edge of frosting bowl.
• Hold edge of cookie with two fingers, then carefully dip face of cookie into frosting.
• Pull out of frosting then lightly scrape surface across skewer to remove excess.
• Decorate with sprinkles etc while wet (so they stick). Or dry completely before piping on details.

Recipe Notes:

1. Icing sugar – if you’re in Australia, use SOFT icing sugar not PURE icing sugar. Soft icing sugar is the everyday icing sugar used in frostings. Pure icing sugar is used for specific types of icing like royal icing which is not we are making here.

You may need extra icing sugar to adjust the thickness of the icing sugar. If you only have exactly 500g, then reduce water to 1 tbsp.

2. Egg whites – important to measure rather than use “2 egg whites” because even a small difference in liquid in this icing can drastically affect the thickness. The icing needs to be perfect thickness – pipable but holds it shape but spreadable (to easily and smoothly cover cookie surface).

3. Corn syrup is a sweet, clear, thick syrup that is a staple in US and Canadian recipes. It’s used in candy making and pies (like Pecan Pie). For this icing, it gives the frosting a lovely sheen, rather than being matte. Substitute with glucose syrup for a very similar end result (sold in baking aisle in Australian’s grocery stores).

4. Food colouring comes in 2 forms – liquid (shown in video) and gels. Gels are stronger so you need less.
Tip: Red icing requires a LOT of colouring, about 3/4 tsp (for 1/3 of the icing mixture).

5. Yield – makes more than enough for one batch of these Sugar Cookies/Vanilla biscuits. But you want to err on the side of caution if using multiple colours because you will lose some through handling.

Nutrition Information:

Calories: 35cal (2%)Carbohydrates: 9g (3%)Protein: 1g (2%)Fat: 1g (2%)Sodium: 2mgPotassium: 2mgSugar: 9g (10%)Iron: 1mg (6%)

Keywords: cookie frosting, hard icing, icing for biscuits, royal icing

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