This easy sugar cookie icing recipe that hardens stirs together in a few minutes with simple ingredients and dries to a firm, glossy finish. Perfect homemade icing for decorating Christmas cookies.
Try this sugar cookie frosting on No Spread Cut Out Cookies or your favorite gingerbread cookies.
I love baking and decorating iced cookies at Christmastime. And if I line it up right, I'm also watching White Christmas and wrapping presents while the cookies bake. It's a perfect day.
I used to buy tubes of that colored store-bought cookie frosting until I realized how easy it is to make with basic ingredients. And it tastes better and is way less expensive.
It's a really easy cookie icing to spread or pipe, and it dries to a pretty, shiny finish that's firm enough to stack.
❤️You're Going to Love These
- Pretty, glossy sugar cookie icing
- Easy to make with basic ingredients
- Hardens enough to stack without sticking together
🥛Ingredients
See recipe card at the bottom of the post for the full list of ingredients and exact amounts.
- Powdered sugar. No need to pre-sift the powdered sugar. The lumps dissolve as you stir the frosting together.
- Light corn syrup. A small amount of corn syrup helps make the icing nice and smooth and easy to spread on your cookies.
- Milk. Start small with the milk and add more until it reaches the right consistency.
- Almond extract. Almond extract adds a little flavor without coloring the white icing. You can also use clear vanilla extract or any other flavor you love like orange, maple, or lemon extract.
- Gel food coloring. Gel food coloring colors powdered sugar icing well without adding extra liquid.
🥣How to Make Cookie Icing That Hardens
Step 1: Stir powdered sugar, corn syrup, almond extract, and milk in a medium mixing bowl. Add more milk, as needed, until the icing drizzles into thick ribbons that hold their shape for a second, then dissipate back into the icing.
Step 2: The frosting is the perfect consistency when it's thick enough to spread onto a cookie with a knife without dripping down the sides. Also, it will spread or pipe on with a bit of texture and then quickly settle into a smooth layer.
Step 3: If making different colors of icing, set aside a small amount of frosting to keep white. Divide the rest into separate bowls and stir in gel food coloring.
Step 4: Spread icing onto cookies with a knife or offset spatula, or pipe it on with a squeeze bottle, piping bag, or ziploc bag with the corner snipped off.
I like to pipe the outline up to the edge of the cookie, flood icing inside the outline, then use a toothpick to fill it in and correct the edges.
Step 5: Add sugars and sprinkles while the icing is still wet.
You can also create swirls by placing small drops of a different color of icing onto still-wet icing and dragging a toothpick through it.
Step 6: Enjoy frosted cookies immediately or set them aside in a single layer to dry, uncovered, for several hours or overnight until the frosting is firm.
☑️Tips
- If the icing is too thin, add more powdered sugar, one tablespoon at a time, until it reaches the correct consistency.
- To thin icing that is too thick, add more milk, a tiny, tiny bit at a time.
- Do not adjust the corn syrup amount to make the icing thicker or thinner. More corn syrup will just make it stickier and will take longer to dry.
🎁Storage
- Once the frosting is completely firm, store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 5 days or in the refrigerator for 10 days.
- Freeze iced cookies in between sheets of parchment paper in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator or at room temperature. Once thawed, the cookies won't be as glossy but will still taste delicious.
📅Make Ahead
Store frosting in a bowl covered with plastic wrap or sealed in piping bags or ziploc bags in the refrigerator for a couple of days. Bring to room temperature. Add a little more milk if the icing has thickened.
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📖 Recipe
Cookie Icing That Hardens
Ingredients
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons corn syrup
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract
- 2-3 tablespoons milk
- gel food coloring
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, stir powdered sugar, corn syrup, almond extract, and two tablespoons milk. Add more milk, a little at a time, until it drizzles into thick ribbons that hold their shape for a few seconds, then dissipate back into the icing. Another trick to tell if it's ready is if the icing is thick enough to spread onto a cookie without dripping. It should spread on with a little texture, then settle into a smooth layer.
- To tint the frosting, divide the frosting into separate bowls and stir in gel food coloring, a little at a time.
- Spread icing onto cookies with a knife or offset spatula, or pipe it on using squeeze bottles, piping bags, or ziptop bags with the corner snipped off. I like to pipe on the outline, flood inside the lines, then use a toothpick to fill it in -- and fix any unstraight edges. Add sugars and sprinkles while the icing is still wet. You can also add swirls by placing small drops of a different icing color onto still-wet icing and dragging a toothpick through it.
- Enjoy frosted cookies right away or let the icing dry on uncovered cookies for several hours or overnight. When the frosting has hardened, store the cookies in airtight containers at room temperature for 5 days or in the refrigerator for 10 days.
Notes
- If the icing is too thin, add more powdered sugar, one tablespoon at a time, until it reaches the correct consistency.
- To thin icing that is too thick, add more milk, a tiny, tiny bit at a time.
- Do not adjust the corn syrup amount to make the icing thicker or thinner. More corn syrup will just make it stickier and will take longer to dry.
Barbara Hume says
Hello! What is the difference in the END product (the cookie/frosting) in THIS recipe and your Royal Icing? Why would you use one over the other? Thanks!
Cara says
Hi, Barbara, is it possible you're referring to my stackable buttercream? I don't have a royal icing recipe on my site - yet, anyway ;). BUT, the difference between this type of icing and royal icing is that this icing dries to a softer finish (but still firms enough to stack), where royal icing might be a little better for more intricate designs and dries a little firmer. Hope that helps! Cara
Barbara Hume says
Thanks! And somehow I wound up on multiple cookie sites - hence the Royal Icing question. But I understand now. I will experiment with your cookie frostings before I gear up for Christmas. Thanks again!!
Cara says
Great, have fun! Reach out with any question :). Cara
Melanie says
The recipe is easy. And as I read after using it, it doesn't work for intricate work. It tastes yummy 😋
It was easy enough for my 3 y/o granddaughter to use...with help!
Cara says
Aw, love that! I'm so glad you and your granddaughter enjoyed it 🙂 Cara
Ann Tannenbaum says
Does this buttercream freeze?
Cara says
I don't recommend freezing the icing itself before using it on cookies, however, you can freeze the frosted cookies. I found that the finish isn't quite as shiny after they have been frozen and thawed, but the flavor and texture was still great.