This classic and simple royal icing recipe is a cookie decorating staple with a smooth consistency that sets quickly without hardening too much. Made with meringue powder it has a delicious taste and a smooth texture that's perfect for flooding and piping cookies.
Sift the powdered sugar first by measuring it out and pouring it through a sifter or by pouring it into a fine-mesh sieve and shaking it through.
Using an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or a handheld mixer beat all of the icing ingredients together on a high speed for about 2 minutes. Check the icing by lifting the whisk to see if the icing drips back down and smooths easily back into the icing in the bowl. If it does the icing is ready. If the icing is too thick add more water 1 tablespoon at a time. If it's too thin add more powdered sugar 1 tablespoon at a time.
Notes
This royal icing sets or hardens on the iced cookies in about 2 hours' time when sitting on the counter. To speed this up place the iced cookies in the refrigerator.To keep the icing from hardening while you're decorating a bunch of cookies lay a damp paper towel over the top of the bowl until you're ready to use the remainder.