The secret to beautiful royal icing cookies is all in the consistency. This is said a lot, but what does it mean? Well, like I tell my students, consistency is something you have to do wrong, so you can understand why and how it needs to be done right. And by "right" I don't mean my definition of right, I mean what's right for you. In this post I will tell you what consistencies I use, and also my best secrets for coloring icing to perfection.
So to begin, if you've never made royal icing, you can find my recipe here
I mix my icing in the mixer so that it is still fairly thick. Using a smaller bowl, I mix each color I want, then break that down into the consistencies I want, and then bag them. I use one bowl to do this, each color one after another.
How this works, for instance, is like this:
I grab a scoop of icing and place it in my small bowl. I mix it to the color I want, and mix it to outline consistency. I take a small amount (about a tbsp. ) of this icing and add it to a piping bag - this is my outline/ detail icing I will use on my cookies. Then I carefully add more water until I reach my preferred flood consistency, and I bag what's left - this is the icing I will flood my cookies with. I now have outline and flood consistency in a single color without a ton of extra work. This way I can always get all the consistencies in any one color that I want. I do this color after color in the same bowl, typically lightest to darkest.
So what do I mean by outline, flood etc? Here is a breakdown of the consistencies I use.
Stiff, Petal Consistency: This icing has firm peaks, and is typically the icing that comes straight out of the mixer (depending on how you make your icing). If your base icing is not firm, you will need to add some powdered sugar when you mix this consistency. The icing for flowers should have a stiff peak that doesn't fall over when scooped with a spatula.
Outline/ detail Consistency: This icing is similar to toothpaste. It has a soft peak when scooped, but does not settle back into itself.
All-in-one Consistency: This icing is different for everyone. I use this sparingly. It needs to be firm enough to make an outline, but soft enough to flood a cookie and settle flat. I use about a 15-20 second consistency for this.
Side Note: When icing is described in seconds, this means that when you drag a butter knife through your bowl of icing it will take that many seconds to settle and flatten out.
All-in-one detail Consistency: Sometimes I use a 20-25 second icing if I'm doing a design with small flooding areas (such as leaves or making transfers). I would not use this thick of icing to flood a whole cookie though.
Flood Consistency: A true flood for me is about 10-15 second icing. Do not make this too thin. It should not settle immediately. It should settle after gentle scribing, or giving the cookie a mild shake.
As I said, you have to experiment and find what is right for you. Lots of cookiers make gorgeous cookies using only all-in-one icing, I'm just not one of them. I like the control I get with multiple consistencies.
Coloring Tips
Do you struggle to achieve the perfect color for your projects? Do you dream of dusty roses, true blacks, and earthy greens? Well, here are my top tips to achieve those and all the colors in between.
Top Tip #1: Add Brown, and never use ANY color alone straight from the bottle.
I add brown to just about every color I mix. This addition tones down anything too bright, and gives an earthy tone to your colors. Red not dark enough? Try adding a little brown. Want a dusty pink? Add brown. Yellow not warm enough? Add brown. See where I'm going here?
There are two specific ways that I add brown to my icing. The first is by adding a teensy pinch of brown gel color with a toothpick. This works, but it can be messy, and you run the risk of adding too much brown. My preferred way of adding brown is to simply mix some brown icing, then stick that blob of brown icing back into my big main container of icing. Yes, right back into it. I usually plop it to one side. This way, when I'm mixing my colors, I can just scoop a little of that brown icing to tone down my bright colors. This is my favorite tip to share with other cookiers, and I hope you give it a try.
Top Tip #2: Want that perfect black? Add yellow.
Have you ever tried to mix black icing and end up stuck with purple/ grey? Remember that any icing with black gel color in it will darken considerably over time - in the bowl or on the cookie. To make black, I add a few drops of black until I achieve a dark grey, then I add a small drop of yellow. This yellow counteracts the purple undertones, making the dark grey look more true black without oversaturating the icing with gel color.
Top Tip #3: For florals/ nature cookies, make more than one shade of green.
If you're doing any florals, the best way to make them look more natural is to have two shades of green. My rule is to have a warm green, and a cool green. For a warm green I add green, a touch of golden yellow and brown. For a cooler green, I add green, a bit of blue, and a bit of brown.
Have you used any of these tips/ tricks? Do you have anything different that you want to share? Let me know in the comments, and as always, thanks for talking cookies with me!
-Savannah
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