We in Slovakia use white icing mostly to decorate our honey cookies at Christmas and Easter time, but white icing can be applied to practically all cookies, so if you want to experiment with this versatile material, here is a simple recipe and a few useful tips to help you achieve the best result.

To make white icing the Slovak style, you will only need two ingredients – an egg white and powdered sugar. The exact amount of sugar will depend on the size and weight of the egg, as well as on how thick you want your icing to be: thinner icing is good for coating or filling in patterns, you’ll have to make your icing thicker if you want to ‘draw’, ‘write’ or ’embroider’.

You will need the icing of thinner consistency to cover or fill in larger spaces.

• 1 egg white
• 100 – 150 g powdered (confectionery) sugar

Method:

1. Break the egg and carefully separate the white and the yolk to two different cups or glasses.
2. Transfer the white to a large bowl and whisk until frothy.
   

   
3. Sift the sugar through a fine-mesh sieve. Add it to the egg white, spoon by spoon, while whisking to either ‘slow running’ or ‘slow dripping’ consistency.
   

   

Remember! 
The more sugar, the thicker icing you get. If your icing is too thick, whisk in a few drops of lemon juice.

Transfer the icing to a plastic bag placed in a mug. Shake gently to get rid of air bubbles. Take the bag out and close it by twisting it at the end. Press the icing down towards the tip of the bag, and use sharp scissors to cut a hole in it. A small hole is good for ‘drawing’, writing’ and embroidery’, you’ll want a slightly bigger hole for coating or filling in patterns.Now, it’s time to get creative and make personalized gift cookies for your family and friends. Surely they will be pleased, don’t you think?