Mock Royal Icing

This is an icing recipe that is similar to royal icing, but much quicker and easier to make. Royal icing is a thick, stiff icing that hardens quickly, making it ideal for piping, decorating, and constructing, especially when cookies are involved. Royal icing can vary in stiffness, and can even be rock solid once dried. It is the icing that comes in those gingerbread house kits, because it is ideal in holding the walls of the house up. However, royal icing can be a bit tricky and time consuming to make. There is a lot of beating involved, and it requires either meringue powder or egg whites. If using egg whites, this would cause the icing to contain raw eggs, which can be a food safety hazard. Meringue power won't pose a hazard, however it isn't as readily available as eggs.

That is why I choose to use a mock royal icing. It has the same consistency and dries the same, but doesn't use any egg product and only takes a minute to whip up. More or less can easily be made, and it can be tinted any color you wish. It only uses a few ingredients and if you would like a bit thinner royal icing, you can easily add a little extra water.

Mock Royal Icing
1 1/2 cups icing sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 Tablespoon water

Mix all together, and adjust the consistency as needed by adding a little extra sugar or water. If you tint it using liquid food coloring, keep in mind this will thin it out a bit.

I used this icing recipe for my cookies from yesterday. It hardens in seconds, and the cookies were even able to be stacked without fear of messing up the lettering. 

TIP (thanks dad): If the icing becomes difficult to pipe or your wrist is really sore, warm the decorating tip under warm water for a few seconds, then continue piping to help loosen the icing. This will not affect the consistency of the final icing. Just be careful, as the first bit that comes out may be very liquidy.