Sugar Cookie Icing Recipe is a sweet homemade frosting that is made with just four ingredients and can be adapted to your favorite flavor and color. I love sugar cookies year-round, but they are especially popular around the holidays. It’s such a fun cookie to play around with. They are the perfect cookie for making into your favorite shapes and, of course, decorating! This icing recipe is an easy recipe to make and be as colorful and flavorful as you want it to be. Be sure to check out my Sugar Cookie Decorating 101 for tips on decorating sugar cookies.
Icing Ingredients
Confectioners’ sugar: Be sure to sift the confectioners’ sugar (also known as icing sugar) before adding the other ingredients. This will remove any lumps that may be in the sugar.
Milk: Whole milk will give you the best consistency in the frosting. Amounts of milk may vary depending on seasonality.
Corn syrup: Light corn syrup is in the frosting recipe gives the frosting a glossy finish and adds a little more moisture to it.
Lemon juice: As with the milk, the amount of lemon juice added to the recipe will be determined by the temperature of your kitchen and the overall climate. Lemon juice is an acid and will counter the “sweetness” of the confectioner’s sugar and corn syrup. No, the icing will not taste lemony.
What is the 10-Second Rule?
If you have already outlined your cookies and need to fill in or ‘spill’ your cookies, you can add more milk (as much as you would need) to make your frosting very runny. A great way to check the consistency of your frosting if you need to fill a cookie is to use the ‘ten-second rule’.
For this ten-second rule, run your spoon along the bottom of the bowl of frosting. You will want to be able to see the bottom of the bowl for at least a few seconds. If ten seconds pass and you can still see the bottom of the bowl you will need to add a little more milk.
Can You Stack Cookies with Glaze Icing?
Yes! Absolutely. After the icing dries it will stack beautifully, about 3 cookies high. It takes about 24 hours for the icing to dry depending on how thick your icing is.
Variations to Sugar Cookie Icing
- If you are using food coloring, be sure to use LESS milk. Most food colorings are liquid and can make your frosting runnier. If you are using gel food coloring, your milk quantity can remain the same.
- To add different flavors, you can add drops of vanilla extract, almond extract, lemon, etc. to flavor your frosting.
- If you want more shine, use more corn syrup and less milk.
How to Store Sugar Cookie Icing
I will often times store it in piping bags that have been sealed with a rubber band or twist tie. You can also store it in airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to a week. If you are using food coloring, I will often color the icing before storing, as you will see the “true” color after the icing settles.
I used this icing to make my Original Ugly Sweater Cookies. You can see how beautifully it sets and is firm enough to gently stack!
More Sugar Cookies
Sugar Cookie Icing Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup (125 g) confectioners' sugar
- 1-2 tablespoons whole milk, as needed depending on seasonality and desired consistency
- 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
- 1 -3 drops lemon juice, as needed depending on seasonality and desired consistency
Instructions
- Sift the confectioners' sugar to remove lumps.
- To a medium bowl, add all the ingredients and mix until combined.
- Add more milk and/or lemon juice as needed to achieve desired consistency.
Video
Did you make this recipe?
Thank you for making my recipe! You took pictures, right? Well go ahead and post them on Instagram! Be sure to mention me @iambaker and use the hashtag #YouAreBaker.
Hey Amanda!
I used your “fabulous” recipe last weekend and when i went to write, the icing seemed so slimy. When I piped out the word “love” you couldn’t even tell it said it. I even made it thicker with adding less milk. This is a baking emergency…help!
Would you do a video showing how you ice the base of your cookies. It doesn’t look like you outline first and then flood, but your icing follows the cookie perfectly…very impressed!
Hi Amanda,
You really are an artist. I admire your work and my aim is to one day hopefully be able to create pretty sweet cookies like yours. Does this frosting dry as hard as royal icing. Can you package the cookies using this frosting?
Hi, is it possible that i can use this recipe like buttercream transfers? Do you think, i would be able to peel them off wax papers or acetate? thank you.
hi, i just discovered your website and im seriously considering setting up permanent camp next to my computer. Is it possible to use this icing for detailed desings, or will it run? Thanks!
It looks so peaceful… You could call it your “Peace of Cake.”
Wait!! wrong spot!
Hey,
I’ve been following your blog and your posts to LJ’s bakebakebake community, but I have never made anything so far because it always seemed too daunting.
I really want to do some Halloween cookies for my students though but we don’t have corn syrup here (I’m from Austria).
I found a suggestion that you could substitute by making your own syrup with 1 cup sugar and 1/3 cup water.
Since I have never even seen real corn syrup – do you think the consistency would come close to the real thing? Would this work with your recipe?
This is a sure thing. Nice easy methods you have here.
I am going to try this and hope to have it next Thanksgiving since this year all dishes are in the works already. It is so beautiful! I think the cake and candied pumpkin seeds will be quite tasty. It is sure to be the star of the dinner!