I’ve shared the recipe for the cookies in a previous post. My same source, Whisky Ginger, shared her “frankenfrosting” recipe with me.

**To make the frosting you may need to place an online order, go to Michaels or a baking shop. I ordered it all online.

WHISKY GINGER’S ICING RECIPE

(Inspired in large part by Sweet Hope Bakery. bakingsweethope.com)

This royal icing recipe is actually a “Frankenfrosting,” a mixture of royal icing and a glaze.

First, make the royal icing:

With paddle attachment, mix (1) 2-pound bag of confectioners sugar with 2 tbsp meringue powder and ½ cup water. Continue mixing until you have the consistency of toothpaste. If too stiff, slowly add water, a tsp at a time.

Scrape your royal icing into another bowl and set aside, covered with a wet paper towel.  Now go back to your original mixing bowl. 

Then, make the glaze:

Combine (1) 2-pound bag of confectioners sugar, ½ cup water, ½ cup Light Karo Syrup, 1-2 tsp extract of your choice and 1 tsp glycerine, ½ tsp popcorn salt. (Glycerine makes is shine when dry – you can omit ) Add white gel coloring to lighten. Mix until it is the consistency of honey. It should have a nice flow.

  Then, combine the two:

Now, scrape the royal icing you had set aside back into your glaze and mix it for about 1 minute. It should be beautiful, white and fluffy when done. 

THIS IS YOUR BASE ICING. You will use this icing in different consistencies by adding water to thin or adding confectioner’s sugar to thicken. Keep this icing in an airtight container on your counter for up to a week. (Probably more, but I don’t trust it.)

Meringue powder was not in my baking stash. I ordered it and it lasts a long time. I’m still using the same bag all these batches later! Here is my affiliate link for meringue powder Judee’s Complete Meringue Powder… https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MUZPEHR?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

To color icing you take a few spoonfuls of the base icing and mix food coloring in a small bowl. I was told gel food coloring works best. These are pretty concentrated and I’m still working from the original pack. Here is my link for gel food coloring https://amzn.to/3PAlB0q

You will need icing bags to fill with each color. I bought them online but again you could go to Michaels, Walmart or a baking supplier. Here’s my link for 100 bags and a scribe tool https://amzn.to/3PwUGT2

I open the bag and fold the top over a drinking glass to keep it steady. Next spoon the icing into the bag.

Remove it from the glass, try to squeeze out air bubbles and knot the bag. Cut off excess if needed.

You will cut the tip minimally for fine lines and larger for flooding.

If you want to try making textured cookies you will need icing tips.

I bought a pack online with 48 tips. That seems to be every tip I could ever need. I’ve only used 2 so far! Here is my link for the tips https://amzn.to/3V6sbwT

Outline the cookie shape then flood it or fill in the whole cookie. Let dry for 8 hours if you want the next detail to stand on top. If you want to design to sink in you can at details right away. Allow 12 hours to fully dry before stacking or bagging.

Decorating “pretty” sugar cookies is much harder than I expected and am still a novice for sure. Practice makes perfect and family members love taste testing.

Experiment and have fun-

Kristen