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!
See below info box for concerns about raw egg.
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).
Addressing the raw egg concern!
One of the most asked questions about royal icing is the concern about the use of raw egg whites in royal icing.
Well actually, the egg whites do not remain raw! The sugar in the icing essentially “cooks” the egg. The more appropriate terms is “curing” because the effect of the sugar on the egg is the same as using salt + sugar to cure things like salmon to make cured salmon (like this Beetroot Cured Salmon and Gravlax).
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.
How to store leftover royal icing
Keep leftovers sealed in a piping bag in fridge for one week or freezer for 3 months. I fold the snipped end of the piping bag and secure with sticky tape.
Note on royal icing batch size
This recipe for royal icing makes more than you need for one batch of the Sugar Cookies/Vanilla biscuits pictured in post. But you want to err on the side of caution if using multiple colours because you will lose some through handling, especially if using multiple colours.
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, including gingerbread men and gingerbread house!
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)
Ingredients
Icing:
- 500g / 1 lb icing sugar / powdered sugar , sifted (plus extra for adjusting) (Note 1)
- 1/4 cup 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:
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:
Life of Dozer
This is called a Sugar Coma.
Awesome!! Fun, easy and beautiful! Thank you!!!
Easy to use and beautiful! My go to from now on!
This note, I am a bit confused. I thought we are making royal icing? X
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
Hi Nagi, can you sub egg white powder?
Hi there! Could you please let me know if I can use molasses in place of corn syrup? Xx
This looks amazing.
I was wondering whether it is safe to eat the icing since it has uncooked eggs and the cookies are kept outside of the fridge. Any information about this?
Can you clarify that the icing is royal icing but uses icing sugar mixture not pure icing sugar ?
Absolutely love this recipe. I do have a question though. Can I make extra batch and store it in the fridge or deep freeze?
We used this recipe for Christmas Cookies and it was the most wonderfully delicious! Everyone liked it! Thank you very much!
Perfect icing! My 3 year old and I made this and used it for our gingerbread biscuits and Christmas biscuits.
so the icing didn’t come out like it should, the consistency is too thin even after i added corn starch.
HI Pieter – You can just keep adding icing sugar 1 Tbsp at a time until you get the figure 8 consistency as it says in the recipe. N x
We made this Christmas cookie, and it turned out amazing! Tastes great! I really like how Nagi put so much effort into this masterpiece recipe! Please make this, even if it’s not Christmas! TRUST ME!
About how many cookies can you make with this recipe?
Hi, I’m going to make these for Christmas. Could someone tell me what the equivalent of corn syrup is in the UK please?
I’ve just finished making a batch of the Christmas cookies and icing with the kids. I’m not a great baker, so you can imagine my surprise when they turned out perfectly! The kids had so much fun decorating them. Thanks for the great recipe!
Just made a batch of these cookies and icing and they are so good! I’ve tried and failed at frosted sugar cookies for years and finally found a winner. 30 min after frosting and decorating they were so shiny I thought they were not drying at all, but they are touchable without a mess. Thanks so much for sharing your recipes!
Hi Nagi,
Amazing recipe as always!
I made a whole batch of cookies and icing for the kids to decorate.
I have a lot of icing left over and wondering if I could freeze them for next time? Do you think that will be ok?
Thanks again,
Wendy
Hi Wendy – sorry I haven’t tested this yet. According to various reputable baking sources, you can freeze it for 30-60 days if you remove all of the air and store in a plastic bag but it can change the texture and it might split so you might need to re-beat before using and adjust the sugar again. N x
Everything looks yummy, Hope i can make this as good as it looks
Could I make this ahead and store in the fridge? A few days?
How long does icing take to set
It depends on how humid the weather is but usually about 30 minutes to crust then overnight to completely dry. N x