Royal Icing (for Gingerbread houses)

 Some royal icing recipes call for meringue powder, this recipe does not use it.  I would guess that this recipe is slightly runnier than one with meringue powder, but we have used this recipe for a few years and it gets the job done.

I got the recipe from the NYT Cooking link https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1017887-royal-icing  It has 5 stars from 938 reviewers.

Submitted on the website by Melissa Clark

I did a 6X batch for 5 gingerbread houses.  It was about double what we needed.  To be safe I think I would do a 4X batch for 5 houses.

This is a recipe for the classic icing used to decorate cut-out sugar cookies and gingerbread houses. It hardens quickly, so be sure to cover any you're not using with plastic wrap, gently pressing the wrap into the surface of the icing to prevent a crust from forming.

INGREDIENTS

• 3 ¾ cups/1 pound/454 grams confectioners’ sugar
• 3 large egg whites
• ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
•  Pinch kosher salt
•  Food coloring, as needed

PREPARATION

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the sugar, egg whites, cream of tartar and salt. Whisk until stiff and glossy.
2. To tint the frosting, divide into small bowls. Cover the ones you aren’t using with plastic wrap; the frosting dries out very quickly. Use a rubber spatula to stir in desired food coloring. Though not necessary, it makes life easier if you make two versions of each color — one that is thick to pipe the outline on the cookie, and one that is thinned out slightly with a little water to flood the outline.
3. Transfer frosting to piping bags fitted with very small round tips (sizes 1 to 2 work best). Pipe frosting onto cooled cookies and let set, at least 2 hours. Or use a pastry of paint brush to decorate cookies with the frosting.

Tips

• If you plan to heavily frost your cookies, consider doubling this recipe.
• Leftover icing can be refrigerated for a few days in an airtight container (for extra insurance against drying out, press plastic wrap on to the surface of the frosting before closing the lid). Before using, let icing come to room temperature, and mix to combine. If the icing is still lumpy, beat the icing in the bowl of a stand mixer for a few minutes.