I have made it a dozen times, and just tried Antonia's RI today and still it dries every matte, not shiney and pretty like everyone else's- what am I doing wrong?

what i know about royal icing is it is going to dry matt. maybe the shine comes from them not being completely dry when the pic is taken or the flash adds to the look of it being shiney.
maybe you can dust it with some pearl dust to help.

what i know about royal icing is it is going to dry matt. maybe the shine comes from them not being completely dry when the pic is taken or the flash adds to the look of it being shiney.
maybe you can dust it with some pearl dust to help.

You need to try ColorFlow if you want shine. Wilton makes it. works the same way. Colorflow can also be used for decorating cookies and making icing plaques.

I dream of the shiney cookie (but of course I do!)
But all of mine dry matt. My pics of shiney cookies is because they are still wet. The only one I have heard claim dry shiney is a tara's sugar cookie icing, but it looks like same ingredients as toba's, so I don't know.

oh good, I am glad it is supposed to be like that- I always thought I was doing something wrong! thanks!!

You can also add corn syrup to the royal after you have beaten to stiff peaks. I think 2 TBS for a batch... It will add a little shine but not as much as Glace' Icing..

I have heard of people adding glycerin to try to make their RI shiny, but you need to be careful as it slows down the drying time. I have not tried that idea. At least you know now why yours dried matte - alas, such is the nature of RI. As mentioned, luster dust can give you a shimmer. I brush mine on with vodka, but heard you can use lemon extract instead.

I add a bit of corn syrup to my icing and it makes it a bit shinier.

Tracy, if I am painting like a boarder, I use lemon extract. I don't keep vodka on hand (probably a good thing ) I also simply brush luster dust and other sparkly dusts on dry and it gives them a shimmer. Works especially well with RBC. I always get streaks when I try it with extract.

Thanks, Shiney! I hadn't thought to try it dry! Much appreciated!

Tracy, your COOKIES are so shiney! Do you use plain ol' Antonia's icing? Do you take the photos when it hasn't dried yet?...

Add a little bit of glycerin (found in the Wilton section of your local craft/hobby store) to the royal icing. It'll give it a bit of shine. I do this all the time.