I keep trying different icings in hope that one day I will find the one for me. Tonight I tried Antonia 74 icing for the first time. I followed the recipe to the letter and loved the consistency. What I did notice when I tasted the icing is the taste of meringue powder and then also there was a slight tart after taste which might be from the cream of tartar.

Is this what the rest of you experience also? Are there any suggestions for additives (vanilla/butter flavor, ect) that can be added to improve the taste?

Thanks so much in advance for responding.

Were you using Wilton-brand meringue powder? I've heard over and over again that it has that weird kind of taste to it.

When I created the recipe, my local supplier for meringue powder sold me a brand that has vanillin powder built right in....so the icing has a strong, yummy vanilla flavour to it. ( www.mccalls.ca )

I didn't realize that all brands on the market don't have that already added.

If you want to add flavour to your icing with my recipe, just add a few drops at a time of flavouring (maybe 1/2 - 2tsp?) of non oil-based extract or vanilla.

I use Antonia 74 also and I love it. In a previous forum topic someone mentioned (sorry I don't remember who) said they put lemon juice in the last couple of minutes of mixing. I tried it but with lemon emulsion and it made a big difference. Unfortunately now I love to eat the cookies with the icing where before I preferred them plain. I also put lemon emulsion in the NFSC recipe along with the vanilla and it gives the cookie a nice fresh taste. I bought some coconut emulsion to try next in the cookie batter.