Sugar Cookie Icing
This easy Sugar Cookie Icing is made with just a few simple ingredients and dries completely, for glossy, smooth, stackable cookies. Delicious, easy, customizable recipe for the most beautiful Christmas cookies ever.
Servings 1 batch
Ingredients
For the border icing:
- 1 cup (125 grams) powdered sugar, (see Recipe Notes1), sifted
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1-2 tablespoons milk2
- Gel food coloring, if desired
For the flood icing:
- 1 cup (125 grams) powdered sugar, or more, sifted
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2-3 tablespoons milk2
- Gel food coloring, if desired
Instructions
For the border icing:
- In a small bowl, use a fork to beat together the sugar, vanilla, and 1 tablespoon of the liquid. If it’s too thick, add more liquid until you achieve your desired consistency. Mix in the food coloring, a few drops at a time, until colored to your liking. The mixture should be very thick but still pourable. Add more sifted powdered sugar as needed to thicken, or more liquid to thin.
- Transfer the border icing to a squeeze bottle using a funnel. You can also scoop into a pastry bag fitted with a small plain tip. Before you begin icing any cookies, take a few moments to practice on a piece of parchment paper to get the feel of the icing.
- Holding the bottle or bag tip directly over one corner of a cookie, begin tracing an outline of the cookie, squeezing gently and using both hands if needed to maintain consistent pressure. I prefer to allow a little slack in my icing line as I go. If you mess up, simply wipe the icing off and start again. Allow the icing to dry slightly before continuing with the flood icing.
For the flood icing:
- In a small bowl, use a fork to beat together all the ingredients, starting with 2 tablespoons of liquid. If too thick, add more liquid. Mix in the food coloring, a few drops at a time, until colored to your liking. The mixture should still be pretty thick but will drizzle more freely than the border icing. Add more sifted powdered sugar as needed to thicken, or more liquid to thin. Pour the flood icing into a squeeze bottle or a pastry bag fitted with a small plain tip.
- Prepare as many batches and colors of flood icing as you need to decorate your cookies.
- Begin filling the interior of the border drawn on each cookie with the flood icing, being careful not to add too much that it overflows the border icing. Use either the nose of the bottle or a small toothpick to push the icing evenly over the cookie and up against the corners.
- Cookies may be served after drying for 30 to 60 minutes. If you plan to package, stack, or transport the cookies, allow the iced cookies to dry for at least eight hours, with 24 hours recommended for best results. The cookies are fully dry when the surface is smooth and doesn’t smudge when touched. Once dried, store the cookies between sheets of parchment paper in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 10 days.
Notes
1. Powdered Sugar: The amount of powdered sugar needed for the icing will depend on whether you use milk or water, the sugar brand used, and the humidity of your kitchen. Adjust until you get the desired consistency.
2. Water works as an alternative to milk, with adjustments:
Border: 1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon water
Flood: 1 ½ Tablespoons water 3. Border vs. Flood icing: Use the Border icing for any cookies with any doming, such as drop cookies, as it stays put and covers the top better. For layered detailed decorations like lights on Christmas trees or vines on pumpkins, wait at least 20 minutes (or longer in humid conditions) before adding them to prevent sinking into the flood icing. Use the border icing for these details to ensure they stay defined. Yield: This recipe will ice approximately 18 medium-sized cookies, but this number will depend on the size of the cookies and the thickness of the icing piped on each cookie. Feel free to double or triple this recipe as needed to ice more cookies.
Border: 1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon water
Flood: 1 ½ Tablespoons water 3. Border vs. Flood icing: Use the Border icing for any cookies with any doming, such as drop cookies, as it stays put and covers the top better. For layered detailed decorations like lights on Christmas trees or vines on pumpkins, wait at least 20 minutes (or longer in humid conditions) before adding them to prevent sinking into the flood icing. Use the border icing for these details to ensure they stay defined. Yield: This recipe will ice approximately 18 medium-sized cookies, but this number will depend on the size of the cookies and the thickness of the icing piped on each cookie. Feel free to double or triple this recipe as needed to ice more cookies.