Powdered Sugar Icing for Cookies
Serves 20
5 mins total
Need a quick glaze to decorate sugar cookies? This powdered sugar icing for cookies is made with basic ingredients you likely already have on hand. Forget the meringue powder or corn syrup, this icing can be made with powdered sugar, milk, vanilla & almond extract, and a dash of salt. Great for icing cut out sugar cookies.
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In a large bowl, combine 1 ¾ cups powdered sugar, 3 tablespoons milk, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, ½ teaspoon almond extract, and ¼ teaspoon salt.
Use a rubber spatula to stir mixture until smooth.
The consistency should be thick enough that it won't run off cookies, but thin enough that the icing "melts" back in on itself when you drizzle a spoonful over the bowl.
Tip: If your icing looks too dry, add 1 teaspoon of milk until it looks like the consistency in the video. If it is too thin, add 1 tablespoon of powdered sugar until it looks like the consistency in the video.
Once you reach the correct consistency, add food coloring. I recommend squeezing a dot of food coloring on a paper plate, dipping the tip of a toothpick through it, then swiping it through the icing. This will allow you to control the amount of color you add.
Once colored, spoon the icing into a piping bag (or plastic bag with the corner snipped off). To ice the cookies, pipe an outline around the edge of the cookie then working your way from the outside in, fill in the center.
Immediately after piping on the icing, use a toothpick to spread out the icing and fill in any holes. Top with sprinkles, if desired.
Allow icing to dry on the cooling rack for 2-3 hours until the icing starts to firm up. Note that this powdered sugar icing will not completely harden, meaning that you don't want to stack these cookies after they are iced. If you want an icing that completely hardens, you will instead want to make a traditional royal icing for sugar cookies.