Here is the recipe I used from Joyofbaking.com:

4 c powdered sugar
3 tbs meringue powder
1/2 tsp vanilla
3/4 c warm water

The consistancy was great but the taste....ugh....really bad. Am I missing something, or is RI generally a love it or hate it thing?

RI is not great tasting but 1/2 tsp of flavoring doesn't seem like very much. I would have tripled that, at least.

It doesn't taste very good!
I like to add vanilla to mine, but you can add any flavoring you like to it.
Once it is on a cookie it tastes alot better.

I did add more vanilla after I tasted it the first time, I'm not sure how much though. I was trying to make cookies for my son's school, but after i tasted it I decided to go with the rbc instead, so I never actually tried it on the cookie. I thought about adding some lemon flavoring thinking that the stronger flavor might help a little, but I was up until after midnight finishing the cookies, so I didn't get a chance. Think that would help?

I use Antonia74's RI recipe and I get rave reviews. Her MP has vanilla built in, but here in the U.S. ours does not. For flavoring, I use Spices Etc. all-natural flavorings. When I need white, I use their Clear Vanilla so as to not tint my RI as one would with normal RI (and I can avoid using the fake clear vanilla). I love other flavors of theirs that I have tried: Almond. Lemon, Lime, Orange, Raspberry, Cherry, Tangerine, Pumpkin Pie Spice and Coconut. Oh, the Coconut!! Wonderful! This flavoring is the reason I found the company after Cook's Illustrated rated their all-natural Coconut flavoring the best out of those they tested. I put the flavorings in my RI and sometimes in my dough as well.

If you are want to give them a whirl, they have a first time order discount as follows:

CC9 flat rate shipping of $4.95 for orders within the US only
AKT9 15% for US or international orders (discount taken before shipping costs)

Choose the one code that applies to you or what you want and enter it at the beginning of checkout and then continue on.

The Flat Rate shipping will be the first option for shipping under the billing information and the 15% off will show up when looking at the summary.
If you need it, here is a link to the page on their all-natural flavorings and extracts:
  
http://www.spicesetc.com/category/Natural-Flavorings/a
  
All of my cookie friends who have tried them have been very happy with the flavorings. So don't give up on that RI!

Happy baking!
Tracy

yes, you should definitely take Tracy's advice and give Antonia74's RI a go - with the flavorings from Spices Etc, I get rave reviews from everyone who eats them too!

can you add to your cake batter as well? or just the frostings and icing?
what about adding to fondant?

It says it can be used in cake batter too.
I haven't used those flavorings before.
I did flavor fondant with raspberry before, I put it on an orange cake and it tasted pretty good.

Hi again! I forgot to say that I am a cookier, but my daughter is a baker and we have used Lemon, Lime, Orange and Coconut in cupcakes and cakes with great success and have used the Clear Vanilla and Coconut in fondant and buttercream and it was to die for! Seriously, yum!!! In my book, that Coconut is gold with how good it is. Again, I love the Clear Vanilla as it does not discolor your RI/fondant/buttercream and it tastes good to boot. Spices Etc. has been one of my favorite discoveries and it has vastly increased my flavor options.

I know that they are working on developing new flavors and White Chocolate is one of the,. I am counting down the days for that one!

Some RI tidbits from a RI beginner:

Just because I have NO patience, I have been opting for rbc/mmf mixed recipe from this site. It tastes pretty good & is easy to use.

However, I have been practicing more and more with RI. I used the Wilton recipe included on the can of MP. But, I wanted to try Antonia74's recipe as well as glace. Since glace characteristically does not "let you" achieve sharp details, I didn't want to set myself up for a hair ripping fest. So, I opted to try Antonia74's recipe. It seems easier to mix & the texture seems lighter and fluffier. I won't go back to the Wilton recipe & I doubt I'll try glace. I'm going to try to "get to know" this recipe and work on my piping. I'm really happy with the taste.

As far as flavor, I use 50/50 vanilla and almond. Same as in my cookie dough. Buttttttt, I so want to try lemon & a pina colada version and maybe raspberry on a chocolate cut out. I will definitely try the coconut from spicesetc. I actually have some pineapple & strawberry from spicebarn. Not bad, but I have not shopped around extensively for flavorings.

Thanks for the coupon code TracyLH! Will give it a whirl next time I'm purchasing flavorings!

Thanks so much everyone for the great suggestions. I'm going to try Antonia74's royal this weekend and I am so excited about the coconut flavoring, it is one of my favorites!

Glad to help! It has just made such a difference for me. I have had rave reviews and it is great to have a variety of different cookie flavor options to choose from.

oh, yay! I can't wait for the white chocolate!!

I swear, I use this stuff in all my baked goods. My current favorite is the amaretto... yum! And the maple is great in spice cake!

Oh boy - amaretto...that sound's great.

Does anybody here use the glace for flooding and then the RI for the detail work on top? I have been thinking about trying that. The glace is just so difficult sometimes to get thick enough to do a lot of tiny detail work with...

My customers love the glace taste and softness when they bite the cookie but they don't like the hard texture of the whole cookie decorated with RI. I thought maybe using both would be a nice compromise, but am not sure it would work O.K.

Has anybody tried this and had good, reliable results?

Thank you, TracyLH, for the information on natural coconut flavouring from Spices etc. Also the first time order discount codes.

I have been looking for a supplier of "pure coconut extract" for a cake recipe, and this looked like the best fit. I have just ordered it on-line, and am happy to see that the company also ships to Canada.

Thanks again,
Karen