does antonias icing recipe have a sort of a very mild bitter taste to it? i just made it for the first time and it is not nearly as sweet as i thought it would of been. i did all my measurment right...

ok, i am bumping myself, b/c i am still curious to know if i did it right... anyone?

I have not looked at the recipe so I don't know if it calls for Crisco but if it does a bunch of us were having problems with our icing because of the Crisco shortening. There must have been some bad batches going around because it made the icing taste bitter and smelled rancid. If it did not call for Crisco then I'm sorry I have no idea.

Some people taste the slight bitterness that comes from the meringue powder in icing. Blended with the cookie, it often goes away.

If I don't need white/white, I almost always add vanilla to icing.

no crisco in the recipe, but thanks dolphin.
joanne- OK, maybe that is what i am tasting then i thought abotu adding vanilla, but i wasnt sure if it would mess up the recipe. i think i might add it now though

You can add any kind of extract to any royal icing recipe to enhance the flavor -- but not any flavored oils. Oil of any kind breaks it down. I have my own flavor combos I like on certain cookies and they all taste great. People eat them and wonder why they taste so good (because I made them, DUH! )

LOL Bob, you DUh comment tripped me out!

Bob, I had to laugh at that comment! My MIL sampled my banana bread and almost pooped her pants. She said it was way better than hers. I had to almost clamp my hand over my mouth to keep from telling her "That's because I'm a waaaaayyy better cook than you!" Then when she said, "I mean, I make banana bread, but it doesn't taste this 'banana-y' what do you do?" "Um...ever heard of FLAVORING?" No disrespect intended to her by saying that!! Some people just don't understand that you can add these things to your cooking to make them... TA-DA *taste good*!!

I can testify that it tastes fine on the cookies. I posted about this long ago because I couldn't stand the smell of the icing while I was making it, must be the meringue powder. It will be fine on the cookies. I tried adding flavoring, a ton of it, and it did not change the flavor one bit, to my disappointment. I guess trying to add flavoring to RI is not the same as BC.

Thank goodness for a thread like this because I've been wanting to shout - I HATE MERINGUE POWDER!!!!

I made Antonia's icing and absolutely LOVE the consistency of it, but could not stand the bitter taste left by the meringue powder (I dipped a spoon into it before I took it off the KA). I added more and more vanilla and couldn't get that bitterness out of it.

I am so glad to know it will taste fine on the cookies - I was hoping, paired with MMF, that it would.

THANK YOU ALL!

ps. to Bob & Melvira, the same thing happened with DM and my brownies... I'm ashamed to say my chest puffed up a bit when she said they were the BEST she'd ever tasted, better than hers... she's my toughest critic and the hardest EVER to get a compliment out of!

Hi,
I know Antonia74 uses flavored meringue powder. Try PM'ing her for the brand..I looked for it around here, and can't find it. I always add lemon extract, and it tastes great!!
JoAnn

Antonia74 is in Canada, so we are going to have to start importing her yummy meringue powder!!!

Are meringue powders not all created equal??
I use wilton's and with extra flavoring(almond or vanilla) I don't find it bitter.

Maybe I had a bad batch then. I bought mine from a cake supply shop that had rebagged the powder into smaller bags. Maybe it went bad or something. I added a ton of vanilla flavoring to mine and all it did was give an alcohol taste to the icing. LOL! Maybe that's why everyone like my cookies that time, they were all drunk!

Hey mitsel8, how much extract do you add to your recipe?

MichelleM77-
I use Antonia74's recipe which takes 5T meringue powder.
I've only used Wilton's, I would love to know about the other brands.

No, the flavoring silly. How much of the almond or vanilla extract do you add? My fault, should have been more specific.

I know this is a dumb question: But can you all please tell me what the meringue powder actually does????

Royal icing tastes totally different when hardened on cookies. It tastes like and smells like crap from the bowl. Once it hardens on the cookies it is good.

Silly me, I put in 1t of vanilla and 1t of almond. I've also substituted 1/4 cup of the powdered sugar with 1/4 cup of french vanilla flavored coffee creamer (powdered.)

Oh, Yum!! I will have to try the powdered creamer trick. That sounds sooooo good! You guys know all the tricks.

Isn't the meringue powder the reason the icing dries so hard?

Meringue powder is dried egg white mostly. So yes, it helps it crust, and harden. That's why alot of people use it in b/c for the crusting effect. If you make R.I with egg whites instead of meringue powder it is still super sweet but not bitter. But it is kinda blah, so I add lots of extract as long as it is not an oil!

I'm so glad to hear I wasn't the only one with Crisco problems! I didn't know that was what was causing the bad smell. I thought maybe it was the new plastic containers I had bought to store my icing in or maybe the vanilla I was using. I don't know why I never thought it could be the shortening! I'm glad I got a new container of it and I hope I won't have the same problem b/c it did make the icing smell nasty!

MP made by different companies do taste different. I dont know why. But Wiltons brand it the one I stay with for consistent taste.

me too...wilton MP, and add 2t of almond...no complaints yet!

haven't tried vanilla, but have read that many like it.

That's why I also do not like the bitterness in the taste even with the flavorings, but I have found that once the icing hardens it's not near as bitter as it once was. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm pre flavored powder I have to say I have not seen that here in Ohio. I'll be hunting harder.

kinda late on this... but when i first made her recipe the same thing happened. I asked her about the MP. she said she doesn't use wilton's.
i was searching for another brand and found CK MP. you can even smell the difference when you open the can. I was able to find it at a cake deco store in ny. HTH

I too use C/K brand meringue and it has a vanilla type sent in it when you open the bag. I buy the 1 lb. bags.

I'm confused about the Crisco comments. RI doesn't have Crisco in it, right?

i think that was a mistake.
there's no crisco in it.