Over Labor Day weekend I made my sugar cookies again (the recipe I posted in May from Mrs. Fields) This time instead of just adding colored sugar decoration, I added royal icing and they were deeee-licious!! You can use royal icing on cookies, cakes, donuts, just about anything you want and it works wonders if you are trying to make flowers or other intricate confections. Here's the recipe- it's soooo easy!Whisk together 2 teaspoons of fresh lemon juice with 2 egg whites. Add in 3 cups confectioners sugar and a dabble of gel food coloring. The proper consistency is when the ribbon of icing that falls back into the bowl remains on the surface for about 5 seconds before disappearing. To cover the cookie neatly, take the cookie and place a small amount of icing in the middle of the cookie. Using a small knife or spatula, push the icing to the edge of the cookie. If the icing runs off the edge, thicken the icing by adding a little more confectioners sugar. The icing will harden quickly when exposed to air so you must work fast or else cover the icing in an airtight container if you need to take a break. If you are using the icing to pipe flowers or write letters, add a little more confectioners sugar so the consistency is a bit thicker and optimal for piping. Pipe with a fine metal frosting tip and plastic pastry bag that you can throw away in case the icing hardens inside the bag.
If you really want to wow your crowd, sprinkle colored sugar decoration on the surface of the cookies while the royal icing is still drying. Whoa baby, look out!
