Royal Icing

                              

This is the traditional recipe that glues gingerbread houses together or makes a hard candy-like surface on cookies or cakes.

Makes enough to ice 5-6 dozen sugar cookies.

16 oz powdered sugar (icing sugar)
3 egg whites
1/2 tsp cream of tartar

Beat until peaks firmly hold their shape, and the more you beat it, the firmer it gets. This hardens when exposed to air, but dissolves in water, so keep a moist towel over the bowl while working with it. Use a tight-fitting plastic container to store in the refrigerator for a couple weeks, but the egg whites begin to separate from the sugar any longer than that.