Royal Icing
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Serves: one house
 
Royal icing is too hard for eating, but perfect for holding together gingerbread houses. This a a slight modification of the classic Williams Sonoma recipe.
Ingredients
  • 6 egg whites at room temperature
  • 9 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
  • ⅛ teaspoon salt
  • ⅛ teaspoon peppermint or orange oil (peppermint is traditional but I prefer orange)
Instructions
  1. Place all ingredients in the bowl of an electric mixer with the whisk attachment.
  2. Start on low speed to blend then move to high speed and beat about 6 minutes until there are glossy stiff peaks that hold their shape, and the icing has almost tripled in volume.
  3. Immediately put the icing into a gallon sized zip lock bag and seal.
  4. When you are ready to build the house, snip off a corner of the bag and proceed with construction.
  5. Icing can be made several hours ahead of time and kept at room temperature in the sealed bag. Leftover icing is useable (though not as glossy and pretty) for a day or two as long as it is kept sealed and airtight. If you are transporting houses, it's a good idea to save a bit of icing for repairs when they reach their destination!
Recipe by at https://www.littleflour.com/holding-it-all-together/