This Royal Icing Without Meringue Powder is the easiest royal icing recipe and is perfect for those with egg allergies.
Plus, this icing recipe is dairy-free and gluten-free so you can use this to ice any cookies or cake recipes.
I love baking a batch of our 3-ingredient brown sugar cookies for the kids.
But kids love icing and I don’t like spending too much time making mine. So this easy royal icing recipe is our favorite.
You don’t need egg whites or meringue powder to make it, just simple basic ingredients.
How To Make Royal Icing Without Meringue Powder
This easy royal icing recipe is perfect for any sugar cookie.
Ingredients
Here’s the list of ingredients you need to make this easy cookie icing recipe.
- Powdered Sugar or confectioner’s sugar
- Milk of Choice – We used soy milk or almond milk.
- Light Corn Syrup – You can also use maple syrup or rice malt syrup.
- Vanilla Extract or almond extract
- Food Coloring preferably powdered or gel to avoid thinning out the icing.
Preparation
In a bowl, add powdered sugar, milk, corn syrup, and vanilla extract. Stir until all the ingredients come together into a thick white paste.
If too thick, thin out the icing by adding an extra teaspoon of milk.
Always add ingredients in small quantities, stirring after each addition to incorporate.
If too wet, add more powdered sugar to thickened up the royal icing
Icing Cookies
This royal icing is perfect for sugar cookies or any cookies. For example, we love to drizzle some of this on our 4-ingredient peanut butter oatmeal cookies.
You can also use the icing on top of a frosted cake.
To ice cookies, you can add this royal icing into a small piping bag or a plastic bag and cut a tiny hole in one of the corners of the bag.
Another option is to ice cookies with a spoon and use a toothpick to spread the icing on the difficult cookie corners.
After icing the cookies, set the cookies aside at room temperature for 1 hour to dry out and set the icing. The top firm up and crack if you press on it.
Storage Instructions
You can keep the icing in the fridge, in a sealed container for up to 3 days. After a few days, the top hardens and dries out.
However, you can bring the icing back to its runny state by adding water to the bowl. Stir well to combine and use as usual.
Allergy Swaps
This royal icing without meringue powder is naturally:
- Gluten-free
- Nut-free
- Egg-free
But if you have food allergies, you can pick some of the options below.
- Dairy-Free – Use plant-based milk, like oat milk, soy milk, or almond milk.
- Sugar-Free – Sugar-free powdered sweeteners, like powder allulose or powder erythritol, work well in combination with sugar-free monk fruit syrup.
Frequently Asked Questions
Find below my answers to your most common questions about making this easy royal icing recipe.
Can I Freeze Royal Icing?
Yes, you can freeze royal icing in airtight zip-lock bags and thaw them the day before using at room temperature.
How Can I Add Color To Royal Icing?
First, prepare a batch of white royal icing. Then, the best way to add color to royal icing recipes without changing its texture is to use gel food coloring or powder.
I don’t recommend using liquid food coloring. This thins out the icing. As a result, then you need to add more powdered sugar.
As a result, the added icing sugar fades the color, and it takes ages to achieve the right color.
Always add the gel food coloring 1-2 drops at a time and stir until fully incorporated before adding some more.
Cookie Recipes For Royal Icing
If you’re looking for the best way to use your Royal Icing, try some of the recipes below!
Have you made a batch of this royal icing without meringue powder? Share a comment or review below to let me know what kind of cookies you decorated with it.
Royal Icing Without Meringue Powder
Ingredients
- 2 cups Powdered Sugar
- 3 tablespoons Milk of Choice almond milk, soy milk
- 4 teaspoons Light Corn Syrup or maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- ¼ teaspoon Gel Food Coloring
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, add powdered sugar, milk of choice, light corn syrup, and vanilla extract.
- Stir with a spoon to bring the ingredients together. Add more milk, 1 teaspoon at a time, if too thick and difficult to stir. If too drippy, add more powdered sugar.
- For colorful royal icing, add drops of gel food coloring at the end and stir to incorporate.
- Spread on cookies with a small piping bag or a spoon.
Storage
- Store leftovers in airtight zip-lock bags in the fridge for up to 4 days.
This recipe worked great for my 11 year-old decorator in training. The instructions are clear and so was fixing the consistency if needed. She was so happy with it she wrote it on a recipe card for her box. (We did use water instead of milk)