Create colorful homemade sprinkles using a basic royal icing recipe
Sprinkles are tiny hardened candies that can be used to decorate baked goods, and they come in a wide variety of colors and shapes in most food stores. But making your own sprinkles at home will make the product fresher and also give you more control over the colors of the decorations and their taste. Substitute the vanilla extract in this recipe for any other flavoring extract of your choice, and you can also shop for paste food coloring at a health food store for more natural colorings made with ingredients such as beets. Add this to my Recipe Box.
Instructions
1. Pour 2 cups sifted confectioner's sugar into a medium bowl. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 egg white, 1 tablespoon warm water and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract. Add 1 tablespoon warm water more, adding slowly and stopping when the mixture has the consistency of a thick liquid. Stir out any large clumps that may have formed.
2. Open the container of paste food coloring. Coat the tip of a toothpick in the coloring, then dot it onto the surface of the icing mixture. Stir thoroughly and add more food coloring to intensify the color, if desired.
3. Fill a piping bag fitted with a No. 2 small round tip with the icing mixture. Lay a large piece of wax paper on the counter, then pipe out the icing in long strips that run in a line from one end of the wax paper to the other. Place the paper in a cool, dry location and allow the icing to dry overnight.
4. Use a sharp knife to cut the strips of solidified icing into small sprinkles. You can use the sprinkles immediately or store in an airtight container until ready to use.
Tags: food coloring, icing mixture, paste food, paste food coloring, tablespoon warm, tablespoon warm water, vanilla extract