Royal icing & I…we have had a long, funny, slightly dramatic relationship. It’s the one icing that looks so simple in every video & yet somehow managed to challenge me for year every single time. But when iI finally got it to work for me… oh, it worked. Smooth, glossy, crisp, & perfect for Christmas cookies. Especially now, as Advent begins & my kitchen turns into a little holiday workshop.

For the Royal Icing:

• 2 cups (240 g) powdered sugar, sifted
• 1 large egg white
• ½ teaspoon lemon juice or ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
• Food coloring (optional)

To make the royal icing, whisk the egg white with the lemon juice (or cream of tartar) until it turns foamy. Add the powdered sugar gradually, mixing until everything transforms from a runny glaze into a thick, glossy, snow-white icing. Once it holds soft peaks, you can add food coloring if you want to decorate in Christmas shades: reds, greens, golds, pastels, anything you like! The trick is to adjust the consistency: a drop of water will loosen it, more powdered sugar will tighten it. Work quickly, because royal icing sets faster than Santa slides down a chimney. Once it dries, it becomes beautifully firm, making your cookies stackable, giftable, & ready for all your December decorating dreams.

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I’ve been trying really hard to level up my baking skills lately. I keep repeating “practice makes perfect,” but sometimes it feels like I’m crawling through a long tunnel made of cakes, pies, cookies, & especially… frostings. Icings, buttercreams, royal icing – I’ve attempted them all, & while everything eventually tastes delicious, making them look pretty is a whole different story. My colors never match, my textures misbehave, and my workspace always looks like a small cyclone passed through. No matter how much I read, learn, or study, my results only go as far as my wobbly amateur hands allow.

Beautiful pastries & intricate decorations simply do not come naturally to me, even though I would love to master them. Nothing makes me happier than sharing homemade treats, but let’s just say most of my creations are better suited for cozy home plates than see-through gift bags. Thankfully, flavor has always been my saving grace…my family and friends can happily confirm that even if the photos say otherwise.

This royal icing journey in particular took a couple of tries. The first attempt was a clear, sad, lemony slime that dried into what looked like candle wax. The second attempt was supposed to be a deep, romantic red for heart-shaped cookies… and instead turned into a runny pastel pink that I ultimately poured straight down the drain. After adding all the powdered sugar in the house and still failing, I just gave up.

And then it finally hit. Hopeful, patient, & armed with a lot more research, I finally found a game-changing YouTube tutorial by Julia M. Usher…bless this woman. Following her tips, everything finally clicked. The consistency was perfect, the shine was beautiful, and even though my cookies weren’t works of art, the icing itself tasted wonderful.

The best part? Three weeks later, the cookies were still going strong in our family’s 2017 Advent calendar. By Day 20 they were as delicious as ever, and the icing had held beautifully. With a steady hand and a bit of patience, I knew decorating can only get better from here. Royal icing may test your patience, but once you get the hang of it, it opens up an entirely new world of cookie decorating, especially during the Christmas season.