Gingerbread Icing

Gingerbread icing is the edible cement that holds your holiday gingerbread house together and lets you pipe sharp, glossy details that actually set. This is a classic royal icing built on meringue powder instead of raw egg whites, which means no salmonella worry and a far more reliable result straight from the pantry.

The technique is what makes or breaks it. Beat the powdered sugar, meringue powder, and warm water on low first, just long enough to wet everything down and avoid a sugar cloud across your kitchen. Then crank it to high and walk away for eight to ten minutes. You want stiff, glossy peaks that hold their shape when you lift the beater, similar to a meringue for a pavlova. If the icing looks grainy or slumps, beat longer.

Add water one tablespoon at a time, no more, because this icing turns from stiff-piping texture to runny flood-icing in a heartbeat.

Pro Tips

• Keep the bowl covered with a damp paper towel and plastic wrap while you work. Royal icing crusts over in minutes once exposed to air, and a crusted bag will clog your piping tip.
• For stiff-peak piping (outlines, snowflakes, house seams) use the icing as-is. For flood icing that self-levels, thin with water one teaspoon at a time until a ribbon drawn on the surface disappears in about ten seconds.
• Tint with gel food color, never liquid. Liquid color thins the icing and throws off the consistency you just worked so hard to build.
• Store leftover icing in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. Rewhip briefly before using.

Variations

• Swap in a ½ teaspoon of almond or lemon extract for a subtle flavor that plays well with spiced gingerbread cookies.
• For pure-white icing on decorated cookies, add a tiny drop of violet gel color to cancel out the faint yellow tint of the sugar.