Frosting Fridays

I thought I would start something new on the blog - at least for the next few weeks - where every Friday will be all about frosting :) And that is also pretty much how I came up with the oh so clever name "Frosting Fridays".

Since Wednesday's post was all about cookie cutter cookies (and since I promised you a frosting that would go nicely with said cookies) the first official Frosting Friday Frosting will be... Royal Icing.

Royal Icing is pretty darn awesome for a number of reasons. It is super simple to make, it does not take much time to prepare, it hardens as it dries (making it ideal for decorating cookies) and since it is pure white you can color it with coloring gel. You can find icing coloring gels at craft stores and cooking specialty shops or online here.

So here is what you need:

5 cups of confectioners sugar
3 egg whites
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Icing colors
Decorating bags and tips (or multiple ziplock sandwich bags)
Toothpicks

In a mixer, whip egg whites until they are white and foamy.
Slowly add the sugar.
Once all of the sugar has been added add the vanilla extract.
Allow mixer to run for 7-8 minutes.
And that is it :)

I told you it was easy.

The hard part is actually working with the icing. Royal icing dries super quickly so it is best to have a game plan in place before you begin to even make your cookies. When you are not using the icing it is best to cover the top of your bowls with a clean, damp cloth.

You will need two types of icing per each cookie. A thick icing to outline the cookie and a slightly thinned icing to fill it (this is called flooding the cookie). For the cookie below I needed four different types of icing: A thick white icing to outline the entire cookie and tooutline the logo in the middle, a thin white icing to fill the cookie outside of the logo outline, a thin purple icing the fill the inside of the logo and a thick dark purple icing to write the letters. You will also need a frosting bag with a tip or a zip lock bag for each color and thickness.

The directions below are for how to outline and fill a cookie with white icing:

No matter what colors you choose to play around with in the end you will always want to keep the majority of your icing white and thick. So start by taking a few spoonfuls and putting it into either your frosting bag or into one corner of your ziplock bag. If you are using a ziplock bag squeeze all of your icing into one corner and carefully cut off a tiny part of the corner allowing the icing to be piped out. Carefully outline your cookie.

To thin out your icing, spoon  about 1/4 of a cup into a bowl and slowly add water and mix. You want the icing just thin enough so that it will have a ribbon effect when coming off of the spoon. Follow the same instructions for filling a ziplock bag (or, just fill your next decorating bag) and fill in the middle section of your cookie. Be careful not to over flow the edges!! You can use a toothpick to help guide the icing around the cookie and to pop and air bubbles you see.

Always let your cookies dry over night on a baking sheet or cooling rack! If you do not let them fully dry you will end up with fingerprints and smudges all over.

Once you have the hang of outlining and flooding your cookies try adding some coloring. The directions for how to pipe the outline and how to flood the cookie are the same no matter what color icing you are using and no matter how big (or how small) your cookie is.

Enjoy!!