You make one color thats-on the back of the box then you make another and mix them Show Whether you’re decorating sugar cookies for Valentine’s Day, a baby shower, wedding or any other event, this recipe will show you how to make pink royal icing in the exact color you want – whether that’s light pink, dark pink, hot pink or mauve pink. This year I’ve been on a bit of a mission. To learn how to decorate sugar cookies. Which means learning how to make royal icing in different colors. When I started, I assumed that would be pretty easy. How hard can it be to add a little food coloring to the icing? Then I realized, adding the food coloring isn’t the problem. Getting the right color and right amount of food coloring is the issue! So when I started to decorate Valentine’s Day cookies, I decided to test out the easiest way to make pale pink and dark pink royal icing. And ended up learning how to do hot pink and mauve pink in the process 🙂 If you don’t need the basic royal icing recipe, don’t care to read about my testing process and just want to skip directly to the results, here are the links: IngredientsThis post may contain affiliate links. We make a small commission if you buy the products from these links (at no extra cost to you). As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. But we only recommend products we would use ourselves. For more information, click here to see our disclosures. Here’s your shopping list for pink royal icing:
How To Make Pink Royal IcingThis is the process that you’ll use to make all shades of pink icing. The only difference is the amount of food coloring to add. First you’ll need to start with a batch of regular white royal icing. You can use your favorite recipe, buy it already made, or make ours:
For more details on how to make royal icing that will harden, read the full recipe HERE. Now we’ll be adding the food coloring. If you don’t want all of your icing to be the same color pink, move some of it into a separate bowl. Then the general process for adding the color is:
Now that we’ve got the basics out of the way, let’s get on to the results of my test. How To Make Dark Pink Royal IcingIn case you’re in a hurry and just want the answer, here are the best ways to make dark pink icing. Note that the measurements are approximate. You should still use the “add a little bit of food coloring at a time” approach I mentioned above to get the exact color you want.
Keep reading if you want to see all of the colors I tested and what they looked like. The Testing ProcessI started out making different shades of dark pink royal icing using a few different food colors. Some are from AmeriColor and a couple are Betty Crocker grocery-store food colorings:
Note: I did not try to use AmeriColor red because it’s difficult to get the right amount (you only need a tiny bit!). If you do want to try it, I’ve heard that dipping a toothpick into the bottle and then putting it in the icing will turn it pink rather than red. Here’s how much food coloring I used:
Then I waited about 6 hours to see the results. As you can see, most of them did get noticeably darker, especially the darker pink colors. The ResultsHere’s how the colors turned out:
How To Make Mauve Pink Royal IcingOne surprise from my testing was that AmeriColor Fuchsia actually turned out to be more of a mauve color. So if that’s what you’re looking for, mix about 1/16 teaspoon of AmeriColor Fuchsia per 1/2 cup white royal icing to create a beautiful purple-pink color. How To Make Light Pink Royal IcingThe process for making light pink royal icing is exactly the same as for dark pink except using less food coloring. You can use any of the colors I tested, but I think Betty Crocker Neon Pink and AmeriColor Dark Pink result in the best pale pink color. If you want a really light pink, the Betty Crocker food coloring is easier to use since it isn’t as strong. To add the food coloring, put 1 or 2 drops on the end of a knife and stir them into the icing. Then you’re ready to frost your cookies! In case it helps, these are the colors I used for my Valentine’s Day hearts. Other Recipes You Might Like
Have comments or questions on how to make pink royal icing? Tell us in the section below.This post was originally published on February 13, 2021 but was updated with new content on July 20, 2021. |