royal icing
noun
chiefly British
: a type of icing composed of sugar, egg whites, and sometimes flavoring or coloring that dries to a hard glaze and is used for decorating baked goods
Royal icing, made primarily of sifted confectioners' sugar and egg whites or meringue powder … dries hard with a glossy sheen, making it ideal for decorating cutout cookies.—
Martha Stewart Living
Martha Stewart LivingTo make cookies look like buttons, use frosting of choice (such as royal icing or icing in a tube) to pipe four small dots onto the peanut butter cups.—Judy Hevrdejs
Judy HevrdejsExamples of royal icing in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Add some extra love to your cookies by topping them with homemade royal icing.
—Cody Godwin, USA Today, 10 Feb. 2026
From crisp cutouts decorated in royal icing, to soft and cakey sugar cookies, or even sugar cookies bars, the simple vanilla dough is a blank canvas for all sorts of designs and flavors.
—Alana Al-Hatlani, Southern Living, 9 Feb. 2026
There's the more traditional cinnamon swirl ($24.95), glazed with royal icing and purple, green and gold sugars and the other adds praline crunch ($26.95) on top.
—Sonia Garcia, Houston Chronicle, 30 Jan. 2026
Build a Gingerbread House Create a gingerbread house using cookies, royal icing, and an assortment of colorful candy.
—Claire Hoppe Norgaard, Better Homes & Gardens, 18 Nov. 2025
Once all pieces have dried, spread a thin layer of royal icing on the backs of the skulls, and attach the second pieces to create the full shapes.
—Jason Mastrodonato, Mercury News, 22 Oct. 2025
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Cody Godwin, USA Today, 10 Feb. 2026
From crisp cutouts decorated in royal icing, to soft and cakey sugar cookies, or even sugar cookies bars, the simple vanilla dough is a blank canvas for all sorts of designs and flavors.
—Alana Al-Hatlani, Southern Living, 9 Feb. 2026
There's the more traditional cinnamon swirl ($24.95), glazed with royal icing and purple, green and gold sugars and the other adds praline crunch ($26.95) on top.
—Sonia Garcia, Houston Chronicle, 30 Jan. 2026
Build a Gingerbread House Create a gingerbread house using cookies, royal icing, and an assortment of colorful candy.
—Claire Hoppe Norgaard, Better Homes & Gardens, 18 Nov. 2025
Once all pieces have dried, spread a thin layer of royal icing on the backs of the skulls, and attach the second pieces to create the full shapes.
—Jason Mastrodonato, Mercury News, 22 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Royal icing.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/royal%20icing. Accessed 25 Feb. 2026.
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