Best Royal Icing For Nutcracker Cookies Recipes

NUTCRACKER COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, sift flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and brown sugar on medium speed until fluffy. Add ginger, cinnamon, cloves, salt, and pepper; beat to combine. Add eggs and molasses; beat to combine. Reduce speed to low; add flour mixture; beat until incorporated. Divide dough into thirds; shape into flat disks. Wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. On a floured work surface, roll out dough to an 1/8-inch thickness. Cut out shapes using nutcracker cutter; transfer to baking sheets lined with Silpat baking mats. Refrigerate until firm, at least 15 minutes. Bake until crisp but not darkened, 8 to 10 minutes. Cool on racks. Tint each batch of icing as described in royal icing recipe. Decorate cookies with icing, sanding sugar, and dragees.

SUGAR COOKIES WITH ROYAL ICING

Steps:

• Sift the cake flour, baking powder and salt onto a piece of parchment paper or into a medium bowl; set aside. Beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until incorporated. Reduce the mixer speed to low and beat in the flour mixture in 2 batches until just incorporated. Divide between 2 pieces of plastic wrap; shape into disks. Wrap and refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour. (The dough can be frozen for up to 1 month; thaw overnight in the refrigerator before rolling.)
• Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Working with 1 disk at a time, roll out the dough on a floured surface, dusting with flour as needed, until about 1/8 inch thick. Cut out shapes with 2-to-4-inch cookie cutters; arrange 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. (If the dough becomes too soft as you work, return to the refrigerator until firm.) Gather the scraps and refrigerate until firm; reroll once to cut out more cookies. Chill the cutouts 30 minutes.
• Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Bake, switching the pans halfway through, until the cookies are slightly puffed and just golden, 13 to 15 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer to racks to cool completely before icing.
• Whisk one 1-pound box confectioners' sugar and 2 tablespoons meringue powder in a large bowl. Add 5 tablespoons water and beat with a mixer on medium-high speed until soft glossy peaks form, adding up to 1 more tablespoon water if necessary. Cover the bowl with a damp paper towel and plastic wrap until ready to use to prevent the icing from drying out.

ROYAL ICING

Steps:

• In large bowl, beat powdered sugar, 1/3 cup warm water, the meringue powder, vanilla and cream of tartar with electric mixer on low speed until mixed. Beat on high speed 7 to 10 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally, until very stiff. Tint with food color(s).
• Spoon 1/2 cup icing into small decorating bag fitted with small round writing tip; twist bag to keep closed. Keep remaining icing covered with plastic wrap to prevent drying out; set aside.
• To pipe outlines or borders: Squeeze decorating bag firmly and steadily working counterclockwise to create an icing border. Release pressure on decorating bag to cut off flow of icing and complete border. Allow borders to set completely, 30 to 60 minutes, before filling in outlines.
• Uncover remaining icing, and add any icing from piping outlines into bowl; mix well. Stir in warm water, 1 teaspoon at a time, until icing is consistency of heavy cream. (Make sure icing is mixed well before adding next teaspoon of water so as not to add too much.) Pour thinned icing into squeeze bottle; screw on top. Keep squeeze bottle tip and any remaining icing covered with plastic wrap to prevent drying out while decorating.
• To flood or glaze: Using squeeze bottle, fill inside with thinned icing. Use nozzle of squeeze bottle or small metal icing spatula to fill in all areas until completely covered. If decorating with sprinkles, let stand 1 to 2 minutes before adding, so the sprinkles adhere. Let stand about 3 hours or until completely dry. Outlines and floods 30 (3-inch) sugar cookie shapes. Cover and store any remaining icing.

EASY ROYAL ICING

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine all ingredients. Beat on high speed with a portable mixer for 10-12 minutes or on low speed with a stand mixer for 7-10 minutes or until peaks form.

PERFECT AND DELICIOUS ROYAL ICING

Steps:

• Whip water and meringue powder on high speed in a large bowl using an electric mixer until fluffy and soft peaks form, 7 to 10 minutes. Gradually add confectioners' sugar, corn syrup, shortening, and vanilla extract while mixing on low speed. Increase speed back to high and beat until well-combined and smooth, about 3 minutes.

MY FAVORITE ROYAL ICING

Steps:

• Watch the video of the icing above so you get an idea of what the final consistency should be.
• Pour confectioners' sugar, meringue powder, and 9 Tablespoons of water into a large bowl. Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat icing ingredients together on high speed for 1.5 - 2 minutes. When lifting the whisk up off the icing, the icing should drizzle down and smooth out within 5-10 seconds. If it's too thick, beat in more water 1 Tablespoon at a time. I usually need 10 Tablespoons but on particularly dry days, I use up to 12-14 Tablespoons. Keep in mind that the longer you beat the royal icing, the thicker it becomes. If your royal icing is too thin, just keep beating it to introduce more air OR you can add more confectioners' sugar.
• When applied to cookies or confections in a thin layer, icing completely dries in about 2 hours at room temperature. If icing consistency is too thin and runny, it will take longer to dry. If the icing is applied very thick on cookies, it will also take longer to dry. If you're layering royal icing onto cookies for specific designs and need it to set quickly, place cookies in the refrigerator to help speed it up. See blog post above for make-ahead and freezing instructions.

ROYAL ICING FOR NUTCRACKER COOKIES

Steps:

• Combine meringue powder, sugar, and water in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low until the icing is smooth and thick, 10 to 12 minutes. The consistency may be adjusted by adding water, one tablespoon at a time, if desired. Using a toothpick, mix in very small drops of the gel-paste food color; stir by hand with a spatula until combined.

ROYAL ICING I

Steps:

• Beat egg whites in a clean, large bowl with mixer at high speed until foamy (use only grade A clean, uncracked eggs). Gradually add sugar and lemon extract. Beat at high speed until thickened.

ROYAL ICING

Steps:

• In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the sugar, egg whites, cream of tartar and salt. Whisk until stiff and glossy.
• To tint the frosting, divide into small bowls. Cover the ones you aren't using with plastic wrap; the frosting dries out very quickly. Use a rubber spatula to stir in desired food coloring. Though not necessary, it makes life easier if you make two versions of each color - one that is thick to pipe the outline on the cookie, and one that is thinned out slightly with a little water to flood the outline.
• Transfer frosting to piping bags fitted with very small round tips (sizes 1 to 2 work best). Pipe frosting onto cooled cookies and let set, at least 2 hours. Or use a pastry of paint brush to decorate cookies with the frosting.