Easy Sugar Cookie Icing
This truly is the best ever sugar cookie icing! It hardens without becoming too crunchy, is full of vanilla flavor, and can be colored to suit any holiday.
Ingredients
- 4 cups powdered sugar (480 grams)
- 5 to 6 tablespoons milk divided, plus more if needed (75 to 90 ml)
- 4 teaspoons light corn syrup
- 1 teaspoon pure or clear vanilla extract
- Optional: Gel or liquid food coloring
Instructions
- To make the outline icing: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, 5 tablespoons of milk, light corn syrup, and vanilla extract until well combined and no lumps remain. The mixture will be pretty thick at this point.
- Mix in 1 additional teaspoon of milk at a time until the icing has thinned out and reached an outline consistency. To test the icing, lift the whisk or spoon from the mixing bowl; you should see ribbons of icing that fall back into the bowl for 3 to 4 seconds. If needed, add more milk to thin out the icing or more powdered sugar to make it thicker.
- Mix in the food coloring (if using) until fully combined. Remove ⅓ of the mixture for the outline icing and set aside.
- To make the flood icing: Add ½ to 1 teaspoon of milk at a time to the remaining two-thirds of the mixture until the icing reaches a flood consistency. When you lift your whisk or spoon from the bowl, the icing should quickly melt back into the bowl of icing.
- To decorate your cookies: Place the outline icing and flood icing in separate piping bags, and cut a small piece of the tip off each one. Outline each cookie with the outline icing, then use the flood icing to fill in the cookie. Use a toothpick if needed to move the icing around and fill in any empty spots.
- Place the cookies in a single layer in an airtight container, and allow the icing to harden fully for about 20 to 24 hours before stacking the cookies.
Video
Notes
This recipe will make about 1 and 3/4 cups of icing, which is enough to decorate 2 dozen sugar cookies.
I recommend decorating your cookies the day before you plan to serve them. I prefer to store my cookies in a single layer in an airtight container once they're decorated.
To make several different colors: Once it's the correct consistency to outline cookies, simply divide the icing between a few different bowls and add the food coloring. Then, divide each color to create the outline and flood icings.
To make ahead of time: You can prep the icing ahead of time and store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Allow to come to room temperature and mix well before using it. If needed, add a little more milk to get it to the correct consistency before icing your cookies.
Milk: Whole, 2%, 1%, skim, or even almond milk work just fine. I highly recommend using milk, but you can also use an equal amount of water in place of the milk.
Corn Syrup: This will help make the icing shinier and set faster too. If desired, you may omit the corn syrup and use a little more milk instead.
Vanilla Extract: For a pure white icing, I recommend using clear vanilla extract.