This is my first attempt at royal icing cookies. Please don't laugh at my Grinch, I realize I need a much finer tip to do the details. How do you get your icing to be shiny and vibrant? Also how to give it more dimension. Like I wanted the white part to be more fluffy. Should I have done a 2nd coat?
by Noodles8295
4 Comments
These are really great for a first attempt. Your flood consistency looks great! I’ve never done it myself, but I’ve seen people add corn syrup to their royal icing to get a glossy look.
As for dimension, do you mean with values (like shadows)? You could hand paint your cookies with food coloring to achieve that effect.
You say you want your white icing to look fluffy. If I’m understanding what you mean, you should be working with a thicker consistency icing so it holds its shape to create that kind of texture.
On the back icing you either need a smaller tip or cut a smaller hole in the bag.
Corn syrup is an option, egg whites or egg white powder is another one for glossy look. A second coat can give it extra height/dimension, I would also think about doing larger loops with a bigger tip that kind of settle into each other for a fluffy look, the icing has to be thick enough to sit up on the cookie but not so thick that it doesn’t settle and blend into itself if that makes sense. Practice on a surface or cookie that you don’t intend to present to get the look you are going for!
For a shiny finish I use corn syrup in my icing. As well as a dehydrator to help the top crust over quicker. But you can get a similar effect using a fan on low hitting them.
As for the white. Yes you can pipe another layer of white for a 3D effect. Or using your stiff consistency icing you can use a bigger hole like a #6-10 tip and pipe little puffs like a could effect to make it look like cotton? Another idea I thought you might find neat. And this is a little experimental. After letting your icing crust over for about 15-20 mins you can take a ball tool or the back of a paintbrush (anything rounded and small) and you can push down to crackle it and it gives a cool look for a different texture! Hope I was clear enough! Feel free to reach out if you have any questions 🙂
ETA: I thought of another texture idea 😆 when your white is dried down completely you can take a brush with med/stiff white icing and stipple it on top and the brush will give it texture