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Upgrade your sugar cookies with this easy sugar cookie icing recipe for a glossy and beautiful finish. So much easier than royal icing, this frosting dries hard for stacking and makes decorating a cinch.
Table of Contents
Sugar Cookie Icing that Hardens
While royal icing decorated cookies are beautiful, making the icing isn’t easy. Plus you need special ingredients to make it – but not this sugar cookie frosting! It’s simple to make, easy to double the batch, and dries hard for stacking!
Why you’ll love this recipe
Such a simple royal icing recipe that has only 3 ingredients! I will share my best tips to help you get the most professional cookie icing possible.
Ingredients Needed
- Powdered Sugar – Make sure there aren’t tons of lumps
- Milk – regular milk or 2%, I don’t suggest nonfat.
- Corn syrup- light corn syrup is what helps the icing harden.
How to make Sugar Cookie Icing
- Add few cups powdered sugar to a large mixing bowl. Add milk and corn syrup. Whisk until combined, adding more milk 1 teaspoon at a time until you reach the right consistency.
- Divide the cookie icing into bowls and tint with food coloring. I used gel but you can also use liquid food coloring.
- Place in piping bags fitted with #2 or #4 tips or use squeeze bottles.
- Decorate sugar cookies as desired.
- Let sit at room temperature for several hours for the cookie frosting to set before stacking.
Expert Tip
- For an enhanced flavor, add vanilla extract to your cookie frosting mix. Or use any extract for new flavors!
- The right consistency should be thin enough that it drizzles, but thick enough that it takes a few seconds to disappear back into the mixture.
- For best results, use gel food coloring and don’t add too much. The more you add (especially if using water-based food coloring) the more your icing will thin.
- If the icing is too thick for piping, add a bit more milk.
- Store icing covered so it doesn’t dry out.
FAQs
That depends on the recipe. Sugar Cookie Icing like this one is not royal icing. Royal icing has meringue powder or egg whites, whereas cookie icing uses corn syrup to help it dry.
If the icing is too thin for piping, add more powdered sugar.
Takes several hours for the cookie icing to harden. You can leave then to dry overnight.
Yes the cookies are stackable once the icing sets.
You can freeze the iced sugar cookies in an airtight container for up to one month.
Sugar Cookie Icing Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups (226g) powdered sugar
- 2-4 Tablespoons milk
- 2 teaspoons corn syrup
- Food coloring if desired
Instructions
- Add powdered sugar to a large mixing bowl. Add 2 tablespoons milk and corn syrup.
- Whisk until combined, adding more milk 1 TEASPOON at a time until you reach the right consistency.
- It should be thin enough that it drizzles but thick enough that it takes a few seconds to disappear back into the mixture.
- Divide icing into bowls and tint with food coloring. Place in piping bags fitted with #2 or #4 tips or use squeeze bottles.
- Decorate cookies as desired. Let sit at room temperature for several hours for the frosting to set before stacking.
Recipe Notes
- For an enhanced flavor, add vanilla extract to your cookie frosting mix. Or use any extract for new flavors!
- The right consistency should be thin enough that it drizzles, but thick enough that it takes a few seconds to disappear back into the mixture.
- For best results, use gel food coloring and don’t add too much. The more you add (especially if using water-based food coloring) the more your icing will thin.
- If the icing is too thick for piping, add a bit more milk.
- Store icing covered so it doesn’t dry out.
