Royal Icing

Abby was feeling particularly inspired to try out Royal Icing. If you know me, you know I'm not a huge cookie making fan...cookie bars, yes. Whip up the batter, spread it into the cookie pan, throw them in the oven...you're done. Sugar cookies?! They take too long. I will admit, since knowing Abby and having children, I have enjoyed making them a bit more. So, I prepped all the stuff and we made sugar cookies.

It all sounds simple but I deviated from Abby's standard recipe. Instead of straight up, eggs, I used up my leftover egg whites from the other morning's breakfast. My dough ended up being SUPER sticky despite having refrigerated it. Don't be like me. Stick to the plan. Anyway, I managed to roll balls and pat them into rounds and cylinders with the hopes of making summer cookies - beach balls and flip flops.

But, there's a catch. The thing about royal icing is that it takes much longer to frost. First you have to outline and let it sit, then fill in and let it sit before eating it or adding any other details. Well, we opted for marbling after we wrapped up the outlining process and our required hour wait. All in all, I'd say they turned out pretty. One thing we did determine is that we don't care for the flavor. It's almost a waste of a good cookie if they weren't so darn beautiful. I much prefer butter cream. BUT...if you want something fancy...like these or these, royal icing is the way to go. In the meantime, my new quest is to make a better tasting royal icing...right after I make a quilt and finish that knitting project.

Here is a pic so you can get an idea of what we did. Feel free to head on over to Abby's blog if you want to see pictures taken with a real camera. She'll post soon, I'm sure. Just give her some time. She does have a real job, you know.