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Sugar cookies with smooth flooded royal icing in pink, yellow and white, piped with flowers and lemons, on a plate

Flooding Icing

Royal icing thinned to flood consistency for outlining and filling sugar cookies with a smooth, hard-drying finish.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 0 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes
Servings: 2 cups
Cuisine: American
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 4 cups powdered sugar, sifted (480 g)
  • 3 tablespoons meringue powder
  • 6 to 7 tablespoons lukewarm water plus more as needed
  • 1 teaspoon clear vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon almond extract optional
  • 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
  • Gel food coloring as desired
  • Baked sugar cookies completely cooled, for decorating

Method
 

  1. Sift the powdered sugar into a stand mixer bowl. Add the meringue powder, salt, vanilla, almond extract if using, and 6 tablespoons of lukewarm water.
  2. Beat on low 1 minute, then medium-high 4 to 5 minutes until thick, bright white and holding a stiff peak.
  3. Scoop about 1/3 of the icing into a small bowl for outlining; cover the rest with a damp towel or plastic wrap on the surface.
  4. Tint the outline portion with gel food coloring, stopping one shade lighter than the target, since the color darkens as it dries.
  5. Thin the remaining icing with water 1 teaspoon at a time until it passes the 15-second test: a knife line through the surface disappears in about 15 seconds.
  6. Tint the flood icing to match the outline.
  7. Bag the outline icing with a small round tip and the flood icing in a squeeze bottle or a bag with a wider snip.
  8. Pipe an outline around each cooled cookie, flood the inside, push the icing into the corners with a scribe or toothpick, pop the bubbles, tap gently to level, and dry 8 to 12 hours.

Notes

The 15-second test: under 10 seconds is too thin (beat in stiff icing); over 20 seconds is too thick (add water 1/2 teaspoon at a time). Keep the bowl covered with a damp towel so the icing does not crust. Use gel food coloring, never liquid, so the icing does not thin out. Royal icing darkens as it dries, so tint one shade lighter than you want. Let cookies dry 8 to 12 hours, or a full 24 hours on humid days, before stacking.