This is the perfect Royal Icing recipe for decorating and holding gingerbread houses together!
My daughter loves to make gingerbread houses and we have made a lot.
We have had some silly looking gingerbread houses over the years but the one thing that we have managed to perfect is the royal icing recipe.
If you have made a few gingerbread houses in your day then you know a good "glue" to make the sides stick is a must.
If you don't start out with a good base then the whole house will come crashing down and I mean that in more ways than one. The kiddos will probably be in meltdown mode too.
Ingredients you will need:
- 2 Egg Whites
- 3 Cups Powdered Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract (optional for taste)
How do you make royal icing from scratch?
Make sure the egg whites are at room temperature for better volume.
In a bowl beat the egg whites until frothy.
Add half of a cup of powdered sugar at a time until the icing becomes thick.
Add in 1 teaspoon extract at this point if you choose and beat until peaks form, be careful not to over-whip your royal icing or it will crack as it dries.
Place into a frosting bag or ziplock bag for easy gingerbread frosting. The piping bag makes it much easier to get into corners when assembling the gingerbread house and allows for more exact placement of candy decorations and making those fun icicles.
The only royal icing recipe you'll ever need!
This royal icing recipe dries hard but not too hard that you can't eat it. It's delicious too!
A great way to make use of leftover royal icing is to make googly eyes. They are fun to use on cookies or other character treats. To make the edible eyes just thin the icing to a thin consistency. Then you can pipe the dots onto parchment paper and allow to dry.
Don't want to make your own gingerbread and icing. Then check out these really fun preassembled kits.
If you love this royal icing recipe, then be sure to check out these other posts as well.
Yeng says
Can this icing be made a day ahead?
Melissa says
I wouldn't recommend it. It comes together super quick as it is just egg whites, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract so I would highly recommend just making it prior to using.
Terra says
I'm making a gingerbread village with my kids. How long can this be left out and safe to eat?
Melissa says
If you plan to eat it then it really shouldn't be left out of the fridge at all. It would be good for a good 3 days or possibly a bit more in the fridge. If you are planning to leave it out as a decor piece I wouldn't recommend eating it past the initial day.
You could substitute the egg whites with meringue powder and it would be good for about 2 weeks at room temp. Two tablespoons of meringue powder equal about 1 egg white, so this recipe would need 4 tablespoons of meringue powder.