How To Make Icing For Decorating Cookies

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If you need a cookie decorating culling to traditional royal icing, this easy cookie icing is a great choice. It's like a very thick opaque glaze and comes together with a fork, whisk, and mixing bowl. This cookie icing takes nearly 24 hours to completely dry out and you lot tin't pipe intricate particular equally you could with royal icing but if yous want Like shooting fish in a barrel cookie icing, this is it! All of the pictured cookies in this post apply this icing.

Yeah, you can create gourmet-looking decorated cookies without royal icing!

Skip All The Fuss & Use This Easy Cookie Icing

If you're looking for professional icing with a picture-perfect finish and the ability for lovely piped particular, use regal icing. I love this royal icing and use it often for decorating sugar cookies, but it can exist finicky. You demand a very precise consistency in order for the majestic icing to pipe, set, and dry appropriately– it definitely requires practice and patience. Before I began working with royal icing, however, I used today'due south easy cookie icing. Information technology's withal one of my favorite means to decorate sugar cookies because information technology's low maintenance, but however delivers pretty (and delicious) results. Plus, information technology's great for making ahead and manageable for kids and beginners.

Y'all Will Dearest This Cookie Icing:

Piece of cake to make with a fork, whisk, and basin
No special equipment
v bones ingredients
Tin use squeeze bottle or piping tips to decorate
Manageable for young bakers and/or beginners
Doesn't dry into difficult cement texture
After it dries, yous can stack, freeze, and transport cookies

Y'all can utilize this icing on cookie cutter cookies such as these sugar cookies, gingerbread cookies, and chocolate sugar cookies. You could even use information technology on shortbread wedge cookies or drizzled on spritz cookies. I even used it on some of these pictured Halloween cookies and almost halved the icing recipe for these Christmas sugar cookies. *Annotation: So you lot have plenty of icing, I recommend the full recipe as written below.

v Simple Ingredients

For the icing, you demand confectioners' sugar, water, vanilla extract (supercede with water to keep the icing stark white), a touch of corn syrup, and a little salt. The icing dries business firm with a very slight crisp, then you can easily stack your busy carbohydrate cookies and travel with them.

Why corn syrup? You lot but need 2 teaspoons. Corn syrup gives the icing sticking power and creates a beautiful sheen on the dried icing. I don't recommend skipping information technology, only you tin if admittedly needed.

The Right Consistency

The ratio of confectioners' sugar to water keeps the icing thick. If you drizzle a petty icing off the whisk into the bowl, the ribbon of icing will hold for a few seconds before melting back into the icing. That's when yous know it's the right consistency.

Use A Squeeze Bottle or Piping Numberless/Tips

Here's what I recommend for piping tips:

Disposable Pipe Numberless or Reusable Piping Numberless
Use Wilton pipage tip #4 for outlining and flooding the cookies with icing. This is the same tip I usually use for royal icing, too.
Couplers: Couplers are needed if you're switching effectually your piping tips and icing colors. For example, if you just have ane piping tip #iv just desire to use this tip for multiple colors of icing. A coupler makes it easy to switch tips between bags of icing.
Optional: Pocketbook clips, bag ties, or rubber bands to keep pipe bags closed.

Or instead, use a squeeze canteen!

To make decorating a cakewalk, use a clasp bottle. They're less intimidating than piping tips and very like shooting fish in a barrel for young bakers to employ.

Or… only dip your cooled cookies into the icing. No tools needed.

Tinting The Icing Different Colors

You can keep the icing white or tint it your desired color. Apply gel food coloring because liquid food coloring can modify the consistency. I similar the brand AmeriColor– you tin can find their gel colors in the baking alley of craft stores or requite it a quick search online. I use and recommend (affiliate links) this fix of six colors or this set of 12 colors.

As Icing Dries, It Darkens: Equally icing sits in a pipage bag/clasp bottle before using AND every bit information technology dries on a cookie, the color darkens. This is the case with nigh colors, peculiarly red and black. When I make blackness icing, it'south usually blue-ish grayness in the bowl and piping bag and then as information technology dries, information technology darkens into a blackness shade. Don't go overboard on food coloring because the color will deepen as the icing dries.
Can I Use Natural Food Coloring For Cookie Icing? Yes, absolutely! I've used the brand Supernatural and they have a line of natural powdered food coloring that's available in a few colors. You need to dissolve the coloring in a petty water earlier using, so make sure that you lot very slightly reduce the amount of water needed in the icing recipe. (Notation: If yous ever need to thicken the icing support later on adding the coloring, yous tin can whisk in a little more confectioners' carbohydrate.)

This Cookie Icing Requires Planning Ahead

The icing needs at least 24 hours to dry out, just y'all can certainly eat them prior to the icing drying. This is much longer than imperial icing, which usually dries in 2 hours.

PS: If you want to decorate cookies with buttercream frosting instead, utilize this vanilla buttercream. Feel complimentary to keep it on the thicker side by reducing 1 Tablespoon of milk/cream.

Description

If you lot need a cookie decorating alternative to traditional majestic icing, this sugar cookie icing is a great choice. It'due south like a very thick glaze. This icing takes awhile to dry out, about 24 hours, and y'all can't pipe detail very well but if y'all want uncomplicated decoration and a elementary icing, this is it!

three cups (360g) confectioners' sugar
ane/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (omit and replace with water for stark white icing)
2 teaspoons low-cal corn syrup*
iv.5–5 Tablespoons (67-75ml) room temperature h2o
pinchcommon salt*

Using a fork, stir the confectioners' sugar, vanilla, corn syrup, and 4.five Tablespoons (67ml) of water together in a medium bowl. It will be very thick and nearly impossible to stir. Switch to a whisk and whisk in i/2 Tablespoon (8ml) of water. If yous lift the whisk and allow the icing drizzle back into the bowl, the ribbon of icing will concord shape for a few seconds before melting dorsum into the icing. That is when you lot know it's the right consistency and is prepare to use. If information technology's also thick (sometimes it is), whisk in another 1/2 Tablespoon (8ml) of water or a little more than until you reach the consistency.
If desired, stir in gel nutrient coloring. You can pour some icing into different bowls if using multiple colors. When tinting icing, only use 1-2 drops at first, stir information technology in, and then add more as needed to achieve your desired color. Remember, colour darkens every bit icing dries.
Decorate:Spoon icing into squeeze bottles or piping bags fitted with Wilton Pipe Tip #iv. Decorate your cookies as desired. I unremarkably outline cookies with icing first, then fill up in the middle. If adding sprinkles on top of the icing, add them right later on applying icing on your cookie.
Let icing dry/set: Experience complimentary to enjoy cookies before icing completely dries. Icing dries in 24 hours. No need to cover the decorated cookies as you look for the icing to ready. If it's helpful, decorate the cookies directly on a baking sheet so you can stick the entire baking canvas in the fridge to help slightly speed up the icing setting. In one case the icing has stale, these cookies are great for gifting or for sending.
The shelf life of your decorated cookies depends on the cookie recipe you are using. If using my sugar cookies, encompass and store decorated cookies for upwardly to 5 days at room temperature or upwardly to ten days in the fridge.
Making Alee & Storing Icing: If not decorating right away, cover the icing tightly and keep in the fridge for up to ii days. You can shop in pipage bags (with clips or safe bands to seal ends), in squeeze bottles, or covered in basin or container. Bring to room temperature before using. If icing has thickened upwards, add a few drops of water and mix in to thin out. Depending how you stored the icing (squeeze canteen/piping bag/container or bowl) shake squeeze canteen to mix/massage pipe bag to mix/whisk in basin or container to mix.

Notes

Freezing Instructions: I do non recommend making and freezing this icing before using to decorate your cookies. It's not every bit smooth and like shooting fish in a barrel to use after thawing. However, decorated carbohydrate cookies freeze well up to 3 months. Look for the icing to set completely before layering between sheets of parchment paper in a freezer-friendly container. To thaw, thaw in the refrigerator or at room temperature.
Corn Syrup: Corn syrup gives the icing sticking power and creates a beautiful sheen on the dried icing. I don't recommend skipping information technology, but you can if absolutely needed.
Salt: I know salt isn't a typical ingredient in cookie icing, simply it helps showtime its sweetness. You simply need a modest pinch.
Yield: This amount of icing is enough for icing 2 dozen cookies. You'll have enough if y'all desire to separate information technology and tint the batch multiple colors, also. Icing can easily be halved by halving all of the ingredients. (Still add a tiny pinch of salt.)
Decorating Supplies (affiliate links): You can employ squeeze bottles or piping bags/tips to pipage this icing. If using pipage bags/tips, you demand Disposable Pipage Numberless or Reusable Piping Numberless, Piping Tips such as Wilton Piping Tip #iv (my favorite), Couplers if you're switching tips/icing colors, and something to seal the cease of the purse such equally bag clips, purse ties, or rubber bands.
Cookies & Sprinkles in Photos (affiliate links): Pictured cookies are carbohydrate cookies and gingerbread cookies made with these cookie cutters and the ball ornament from this prepare. Sprinkles used on pictured decorated cookies are manifestly white sprinkles, these white balls on the Christmas trees, Wilton Pearlized Silver Saccharide Nutrient Decorative, this white sparkling carbohydrate, and reddish balls from a sprinkle mix like this on reindeer.