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Royal icing eyes for Halloween

by Lorena

Halloween is almost here and if there’s a fun way to make any recipe a bit scary is to add royal icing eyes. They’re really simple to make and look very funny if you make them in different shapes and sizes.

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Royal icing eyes

To make these eyes I used royal icing, which is the most stable and hard icing that you can use. We make it by mixing egg white with icing sugar and the result is always amazing. It’s the same icing I use to decorate Christmas cookies. It’s extremely versatile and easy to use.

Choices in royal icing

Many people prefer not to use raw egg whites when making royal icing. If you prefer, you can use pasteurized egg whites or meringue powder instead for these royal icing eyes. Meringue powder is found many times at supermarkets. Also, both meringue powder and pasteurized egg whites you can find at specialized pastry stores. Whatever option you go for, you will achieve excellent results. In the recipe below you will find the amounts needed for all of these options.


The pupil

To make the pupil in these royal icing eyes you (also) have several options. I use black gel food colouring directly using a toothpick or a chopstick. You can also buy edible markers which are probably smarter, I just didn’t have one at hand, lol. If you prefer, you can also use black gel food colouring to dye a bit f the royal icing (I don’t recommend liquid food colouring for this) and pipe it over the white.

royal icing eyes

Uses

For the photos of this recipe, I made my fudgy brownie cookies. I don’t recommend that you bake these royal icing eyes in the oven but rather add them at the end. Also, it helps to have something to stick them to like chocolate, marshmallow, dulce de leche or cream. You can use them in cookies, cakes, brownies and more.


royal icing eyes

Royal icing eyes for Halloween

5 from 1 vote
Print Pin Rate
Course: Dessert
Keyword: eyes, halloween, royal icing
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes
Servings: 50 pairs of eyes
Author: Lorena Salinas from Cravings Journal

Ingredients

Option 1: royal icing using egg whites

  • 1 Egg white or 30g pasteurized egg white
  • 200 g icing sugar
  • water

Option 2: royal icing using meringue powder

  • 150 g icing sugar
  • 1 tbsp meringue powder
  • Water

For the pupil

  • Black gel food colouring

Instructions

Option 1: royal icing using egg whites

  • Place the egg whites in a bowl and add the icing sugar through a sieve or colander.
  • Whisk until everything comes together. You need the texture to be just right. Try making a line with the icing over a dish or piece of paper. It should stay in that shape rather than spread out and fade. At the same time, it needs to be easy to pipe. If it's too hard, add a tiny (TINY!) bit of water at a time and whisk it in. If it's too liquidy, add more sugar, always through a sieve or colander.

Option 2: royal icing using meringue powder

  • Whisk together the sugar and meringue powder and add a small amount of water at a time until you have a thick consistency. It should stay in that shape rather than spread out and fade. At the same time, it needs to be easy to pipe. If it's too hard, add a tiny (TINY!) bit of water at a time and whisk it in. If it's too liquidy, add more sugar, always through a sieve or colander.

For piping

  • Pour the icing into a piping bag fitted with a very small round tip.
  • Pipe the eyes of different shapes and sizes on baking paper or a silicone mat. I have to say that even though I used a silicone mat in the video, they dry faster on paper.
  • Let dry for 24h.
  • Place a drop of black gel food colouring on a dish and use a skewer or a chopstick (for a larger pupil) to mark the pupil. Don't go too heavy with the food colouring, make sure you remove the excess.
  • Let them dry for 30min and then use. Always add it to food after baking and make sure to use something like chocolate or melted marshmallows to stick them in place.
Tried this recipe?Mention @CravingsJournal or tag #RecipeCJ!
royal icing eyes

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