This Sugar Cookie Icing recipe is made with just a few simple ingredients and incredibly easy to make too. Perfect for decorating sugar cookies for any holiday!
Have you ever wondered how to make sugar cookie icing that dries solid, doesn’t break your teeth, and actually tastes good? A few years ago, I spent some time perfecting a simple homemade icing that checked all of those boxes and the end result ended up being so much better than I had expected!
This simple sugar cookie icing is made with just 4 ingredients plus a little food coloring. You don’t need a mixer or anything fancy to make it either, all you need is a whisk (or even just a spoon) and a bowl. This icing dries hard, but it’s still soft enough to bite into, unlike the rock-solid icing you find on some sugar cookies.
Every time I use this icing to decorate cookies, everyone goes crazy for it and asks for the recipe. I guarantee your friends and family will love it too!
Ingredients For This Recipe
To make this simple icing, you’ll need four ingredients: powdered sugar, milk, vanilla extract, and light corn syrup. Let’s break down each ingredient:
- Powdered Sugar: Also known as confectioners sugar or icing sugar, this is the main component of the icing. You’ll be starting with 2 cups of powdered sugar.
- Milk: Any kind of milk will work just fine in this recipe. I’ve used whole, 2%, 1%, skim, and even almond milk and they all work great. Don’t have any milk on hand? You can replace it with an equal amount of water.
- Vanilla Extract: If you want a pure white icing, I recommend using a clear vanilla extract. If you’re not concerned about it or are coloring the icing feel free to use pure vanilla extract instead.
- Light Corn Syrup: The corn syrup helps the icing set up a little faster and makes it shinier too. If you don’t have any you can leave it out and just use a little bit more milk.
How To Make This Sugar Cookie Icing
You’ll be creating two different thicknesses of icing, the outline icing and the flood icing. Here’s how I create both using the same mixture:
To make this icing, you’ll simply combine the powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons of milk, vanilla extract, and corn syrup in a large mixing bowl and whisk it together until it’s nice and smooth. The mixture will be very thick at this point.
For the outline icing: Start adding 1/2 teaspoon of milk to the bowl until it’s not too thick. I usually use an additional 1 teaspoon to 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of milk to get the right consistency. You can tell if the icing is the correct consistency by lifting up your whisk or spoon and drizzling the icing back in the bowl. For the outline icing, you want to see ribbons of icing in the bowl for about 3-4 seconds before they melt back into the bowl of icing.
Once it’s the correct consistency, you can add food coloring. I highly recommend using gel food coloring because it won’t thin the icing out. Once colored, I typically remove about 1/3 of the icing for outlining the cookies and leave the rest for the flood icing.
For the flood icing: The flood icing is what you’ll use to fill in the outline and fully ice the cookies. To make this, you’ll use the remaining 2/3 of the icing and simply add 1/2 teaspoon of milk at a time until it’s thinned out. The consistency of flood icing is much thinner, when you lift your whisk or spoon out of the bowl the icing will quickly dissolve back into the bowl.
Then, place the outline icing and fill icing in separate piping bags (or zip lock bags) and cut the tip off of each one. Outline each cookie with the outline icing, then use the fill icing to fill in the cookie. It helps to use a toothpick if needed to move the icing around and fill in any empty spots.
FAQ’s
How do I make several different colors of icing?
To make several different colors, I recommend doubling or tripling this recipe. Once it’s the correct consistency to outline cookies, simply divide the icing between a few different bowls and add your food coloring. Then, you can divide each color again to create the outline and fill icings.
Can I make this ahead of time and refrigerate it?
You can prepare this icing 1-2 days in advance and store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator. You will need to set it out ahead of time to come to room temperature before using it. If the mixture is a bit too thick, add 1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon of milk or water.
How much icing will this recipe make?
This recipe will make 3/4 cup of icing, which will frost about 8-10 cookies.
How long does this icing take to harden?
The top layer of the icing will start to set after a few hours, but it will take about 24 hours for the icing to fully set. I like to decorate the cookies the day before I plan to serve them and store them in a single layer in an airtight container overnight.
Baking Tips
- I suggest starting with 2 tablespoons (30 ml) of milk, then add 1/2 teaspoon of milk at a time until it’s reached the correct consistency.
- Gel food coloring is best in this recipe because it won’t thin out the icing. If you only have liquid food coloring on hand, you can add more powdered sugar as needed to thicken the icing.
- The icing will take about 20-24 hours to fully set. I prefer to decorate my cookies the day before I need them and let them sit in an airtight container overnight. You’ll want to avoid stacking the cookies until the icing is completely dry too.
- If you’re looking for a cut-out sugar cookie recipe, this is my favorite cut-out sugar cookie recipe!
Easy Sugar Cookie Icing
Ingredients
- 2 cups (240 grams) powdered sugar
- 2-3 tablespoons (30-45 ml) milk
- 2 teaspoons light corn syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Gel food coloring
Instructions
To make the outline icing:
- Combine the powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons (30 ml) of milk, light corn syrup, and vanilla extract in a large mixing bowl and whisk until well combined and no lumps remain. The mixture will be pretty thick at this point.
- Add 1/2 teaspoon of milk (5 ml) at a time until the icing has thinned out and reached an outline consistency. To test the icing, lift the whisk or spoon from the mixing bowl, you should still see the ribbons of icing that fall back into the bowl for 3-4 seconds. If needed, add more milk to thin out the icing or add more powdered sugar to make it thicker.
- Add the gel food coloring and mix until fully combined. Remove 1/3 of the mixture for the outline icing and set aside.
To make the fill icing:
- Add 1/2 teaspoon of milk (5 ml) at a time to the remaining 2/3 of the mixture until the icing reaches a filling consistency. When you lift your whisk or spoon from the bowl, the icing should quickly melt back into the bowl of icing.
To decorate your cookies:
- Place the outline icing and fill icing in separate piping bags (or zip lock bags) and cut the tip off of each one. Outline each cookie with the outline icing, then use the fill icing to fill in the cookie. Use a toothpick if needed to move the icing around and fill in any empty spots.
- Place the cookies in a single layer in an airtight container and allow the icing to fully harden for about 24 hours.
As always, your recipes are the best. This frosting is very good and very easy to work with. I just used a knife instead of a piping bag.
Thank you, Terri! So glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Made with cashew-almond milk so it would be kosher-parve (neither meat nor dairy), and it worked fine. Used cane sugar syrup, because I had it on hand from candy-making, and that worked find as well, although kosher corn syrups exist. If anyone ever asks you if it can be made kosher, it absolutely can.
This icing was easy to make and tasted great, however, once my cookies were fully dry it appeared the sugar “bloomed ” in the icing and discolored and turned blotchy. Tastes great but didn’t look very appetizing. Did I do something wrong?
Hi, Cathy! Did you make sure to mix everything together until there were no lumps? I haven’t had that issue before, so I’m wondering if there may have been some lumps of powdered sugar in your icing. You could try sifting it next time and see if that helps.
I use this icing all the time! Recently letting the cookie dry overnight results in the icing being dull and blotchy. This keeps happening, I sift the confectioners sugar. Any ideas??
Hi, Jill! Are you using the corn syrup? That’s what helps to keep the icing shiny. If you are you can try using a bit more and see if that helps. You can also add a bit more food coloring and see if that helps too.
I am ready to make this icing but was wondering from your photo if those were 4 cookies on a dinner plate or on a cup plate…it makes a huge difference as to how much I need to multiply the recipe for 2 dozen sugar cookies.
They’re on a smaller plate, not a dinner plate. I used 2.5-3 inch cookie cutters for those cookies.
First, you have amazing recipes. I love getting your emails. Have you ever tried 1/2 and 1/2 instead of just milk? I find the icing I make with 1/2 and 1/2 has a richer flavor.
Thank you, Kathy! I haven’t tried half and half in this icing, but I do think it would be fine to use it!
Can you decorate your cookies with this icing and then freeze them? Good results when they defrost? Ty!
Yes, it freezes well! Once the icing has fully hardened you can freeze the cookies, just thaw to room temperature before serving.
Oops, sorry, I saw you just replied! Thank you. Your icing came out awesome! Will def be my go to from now on!
I love love love this recipe but instead of using vanilla I use almond flavoring it is amazing!
I just made my cookies and then about an hour later started to frost them. After a while I noticed that my coolies started to soak up my icing. Could this be because I frosted them before the cookies were fully dry from baking? I typically wait to frost the next day.
It depends on the cookie recipe that you used. If you used a regular sugar cookie recipe and they were cooled it shouldn’t have soaked into the cookies.
Is there a way to “dilute” the sweetness of the icing, if that makes sense. I like decorating the cookies but find the icing too sweet. How can I make it milder?
There’s really not a way to do that with this recipe. You do need a high ratio of powdered sugar compared to the other ingredients so that it sets up. You could always use a very light layer of icing or try a sugar cookie recipe that’s not as sweet.
Perfect and easy! I used this recipe to decorate sugar cookies with my 3 year old. I separated it into small containers to color it multiple colors, and then let my daughter use a paintbrush to decorate the cookies. It was so fun and easy! Thanks for creating and sharing this wonderful recipe!
hi Danielle, I was going to use this recipe later today and I was wondering if I could simply boil sugar and water to make a syrup and use that as a substitute for the corns syrup, or would it be best to just leave it out? 🙂
You can just leave it out and add a little extra milk!
Can the cookies be left at room temperature after the icing is hardened or do they need to be kept in the refrigerator?
It’s fine to leave them at room temperature.
Hi, you mentioned that after 20-24 hrs of chilling the iced cookies it will then set, does this mean even when the iced cookies are to be exposed to room temp the icing will not melt again? Because I noticed mine starts to look glossy and lose its set state once I get them out from the fridge 🙁 🙁
Hi, Melody! You actually want to leave the cookies at room temperature after you ice them. Did you refrigerate all of the cookies? If so, I would leave them at room temperature overnight and hopefully they will set properly.
Can I use almond extract in place of the vanilla?
That would be fine. You may want to only start with 1/4 teaspoon and add more as needed.
Hi! Do these set like royal icing? Can you write with them and make pretty details that won’t smudge once hardened?
Hi, Zoe! I haven’t ever tried writing on the icing, but it will set and harden like royal icing.
I am going to purchase 6 dozen bunny sugar cookies from a grocery store and make my own
frosting using your recipe. Will have light green, light blue and pink colors They will then be taken to our child development center for 1.5 to 3 year olds to decorate.
Any suggestions you have to make this go more smoothly? How do you think it would work to use tongue depressors as the tool of application? Young fingers and hands don’t have good coordination.
Hi, Faye! When I’m decorating cookies with my niece and nephews we used piping bags (ziplock bags would work too) to pipe and outline the cookies and then I put some icing in small containers and let them use a small spoon to spoon the fill icing inside the outline. It makes it a little easier and isn’t quite as messy! You could skip letting them outline the cookies though and just use a spoon to decorate the cookies with icing.
This icing initially looked perfect, but after it hardened overnight it looked rippled. After icing the cookies I put them into an air tight container to harden. Should I leave them uncovered instead? Was my consistency wrong for the flood icing?
It’s possible, but I’ve covered mine before and haven’t had that happen. I’m wondering if maybe there was too much moisture in the fill/flood icing and it caused that to happen? You could try using less milk next time and see if that helps.