America's Test Kitchen LogoCook's Country LogoCook's Illustrated LogoAmerica's Test Kitchen LogoCook's Country LogoCook's Illustrated Logo

Decorative Icing

By America's Test Kitchen

Published on August 22, 2007

Time

10 minutes

Yield

Coats about 2 dozen 2-inch cookies

Decorative Icing

Ingredients

1 - 2 tablespoons milk 1 cup confectioners' sugar food coloring (optional)2 - 3 drops flavored extracts (vanilla, peppermint, cherry, banana, almond, etc.) to taste (optional)

Instructions

  1. Stir minimum amount of milk into confectioners' sugar with a small wire whisk or a fork to make a soft smooth icing. (Stir in optional food coloring and flavor extracts.) If mixture is too stiff, add milk in very tiny increments until correct consistency is reached.
  2. Pipe icing from a pastry bag to outline cookies or make simple motifs, or simply drizzle on designs. If coating the cookie, use a small metal spatula to spread icing over entire top surface, or dip cookie into icing, using the metal spatula to trim away excess. (If mixture hardens, remix with a bit of water, whisking well to make icing smooth.) Allow cookies to dry to a dull shine before storing.
Decorative Icing
Styling by Marie Piraino.

Decorative Icing

Headshot of America's Test Kitchen
By America's Test Kitchen
Save

Time

10 minutes

Yield

Coats about 2 dozen 2-inch cookies

Ingredients

1 - 2 tablespoons milk
1 cup confectioners' sugar
food coloring (optional)
2 - 3 drops flavored extracts (vanilla, peppermint, cherry, banana, almond, etc.) to taste (optional)

Test Kitchen Techniques

Ingredients

1 - 2 tablespoons milk
1 cup confectioners' sugar
food coloring (optional)
2 - 3 drops flavored extracts (vanilla, peppermint, cherry, banana, almond, etc.) to taste (optional)

Test Kitchen Techniques

Ingredients

1 - 2 tablespoons milk
1 cup confectioners' sugar
food coloring (optional)
2 - 3 drops flavored extracts (vanilla, peppermint, cherry, banana, almond, etc.) to taste (optional)

Test Kitchen Techniques

Why This Recipe Works

We wanted a holiday cookie dough recipe that could be shaped into a variety of rich and tender cookies. When we added some cornstarch, which tenderized the dough, we had our perfect butter cookie recipe.

Instructions

  1. Stir minimum amount of milk into confectioners' sugar with a small wire whisk or a fork to make a soft smooth icing. (Stir in optional food coloring and flavor extracts.) If mixture is too stiff, add milk in very tiny increments until correct consistency is reached.
  2. Pipe icing from a pastry bag to outline cookies or make simple motifs, or simply drizzle on designs. If coating the cookie, use a small metal spatula to spread icing over entire top surface, or dip cookie into icing, using the metal spatula to trim away excess. (If mixture hardens, remix with a bit of water, whisking well to make icing smooth.) Allow cookies to dry to a dull shine before storing.

Gift This Recipe

Enjoyed this dish? Let others know by sharing it as a gift recipe.

This is a members' feature.