As the mixture begins to come together, add in orange juice. Whip on medium speed until the icing holds stiff peaks.**
Divide the icing into separate bowls and tint with gel food coloring (if you only want to use white royal icing, you can omit this step). This is the piping consistency for royal icing.
For flooding, thin the royal icing with water, beginning with a teaspoon at a time until it’s at the desired consistency (it should be thick enough to hold its shape, yet thin enough it drizzles off of a spoon).
*You can substitute water for fresh orange juice, if you prefer.
**The best thing about royal icing is that if the icing is too stiff, you just add a little more water until it’s at your desired consistency. If it’s too thin, add in a bit more powdered sugar.
***Recipe for the cutout chocolate sugar cookies.