If you need a cookie decorating alternative to traditional royal icing, this easy cookie icing is a great choice. It’s like a very thick opaque glaze and comes together with a fork, whisk, and mixing bowl. This cookie icing takes about 24 hours to completely dry and you can’t pipe intricate detail as you could with royal icing, but if you want EASY cookie icing, this is it! All of the pictured cookies in this post use this icing.
Yes, you can create gourmet-looking decorated cookies without royal icing!
Skip All the Fuss & Use This Easy Cookie Icing
If you’re looking for professional icing with a picture-perfect finish and the ability for lovely piped detail, use royal icing. I love this royal icing and use it often for decorating sugar cookies, but it can be finicky. You need a very precise consistency in order for the royal icing to pipe, set, and dry appropriately—it definitely requires practice and patience. Before I began working with royal icing, however, I used today’s easy cookie icing. It’s still one of my favorite ways to decorate sugar cookies because it’s low maintenance, but still delivers pretty (and delicious) results. Plus, it’s great for making ahead and manageable for kids and beginners.
You Will Love This Cookie Icing:
- Easy to make with a fork, whisk, and bowl
- No special equipment
- 5 basic ingredients
- Can use squeeze bottle or piping tips to decorate
- Manageable for young bakers and/or beginners
- Doesn’t dry into hard cement texture
- After it dries, you can stack, freeze, and transport cookies
You can use this icing on cookie cutter cookies such as these sugar cookies, gingerbread cookies, and chocolate sugar cookies. You could even use it on shortbread cookies or drizzled on spritz cookies. I even used it on some of these pictured Halloween cookies and these Christmas sugar cookies. You could use it to make Valentine’s Day cookies, Easter cookies, and fireworks cookies, too. (Note that the photos in those recipes show royal icing, but this cookie icing will work for less intricate designs.)
5 Simple Ingredients
For the icing, you need confectioners’ sugar, water, vanilla extract (replace with water to keep the icing stark white, or use clear vanilla extract), a touch of corn syrup, and a little salt. The icing dries firm with a very slight crisp, so you can easily stack your decorated sugar cookies and travel with them.
- Why corn syrup? You only need 2 teaspoons. Corn syrup gives the icing sticking power and creates a beautiful sheen on the dried icing. I don’t recommend skipping it, but you can if absolutely needed.
The Right Consistency
The ratio of confectioners’ sugar to water keeps the icing thick. If you drizzle a little icing off the whisk into the bowl, the ribbon of icing will hold for a few seconds before melting back into the icing. That’s when you know it’s the right consistency.
Use a Squeeze Bottle or Piping Bags/Tips
Here’s what I recommend for piping tips:
- Disposable Piping Bags or Reusable Piping Bags
- Use Wilton piping tip #4 for outlining and flooding the cookies with icing. This is the same tip I usually use for royal icing, too. (And great for piping spider webs on Halloween cupcakes!)
- Couplers: Couplers are needed if you’re switching around your piping tips and icing colors. For example, if you only have one piping tip #4 but want to use this tip for multiple colors of icing. A coupler makes it easy to switch tips between bags of icing.
- Optional: Bag clips, bag ties, or rubber bands to keep piping bags closed.
Or instead, use a squeeze bottle!
- To make decorating a breeze, use a squeeze bottle. They’re less intimidating than piping tips and very easy for young bakers to use. Or… just dip your cooled cookies into the icing. No tools needed.
For even more of my favorite tools, you can see this full list of my top recommended cookie decorating supplies.
Tinting the Icing Different Colors
You can keep the icing white or tint it your desired color. Use gel food coloring because liquid food coloring can change the consistency. I like the brand AmeriColor; you can find their gel colors in the baking aisle of craft stores or give it a quick search online. I use and recommend (affiliate links) this set of 6 colors or this set of 12 colors.
- As Icing Dries, It Darkens: As icing sits in a piping bag/squeeze bottle before using AND as it dries on a cookie, the color darkens. This is the case with most colors, particularly red and black. When I make black icing, it’s usually blue-ish gray in the bowl and piping bag and then as it dries, it darkens into a black shade. Don’t go overboard on food coloring because the color will deepen as the icing dries.
- Can I Use Natural Food Coloring For Cookie Icing? Yes, absolutely! I’ve used the brand Supernatural and they have a line of natural powdered food coloring that’s available in a few colors. You need to dissolve the coloring in a little water before using, so make sure that you very slightly reduce the amount of water needed in the icing recipe. (Note: If you ever need to thicken the icing back up after adding the coloring, you can whisk in a little more confectioners’ sugar.)
This Cookie Icing Requires Planning Ahead
The icing needs at least 24 hours to dry, but you can certainly eat them prior to the icing drying. This is much longer than royal icing, which usually dries in 2 hours.
PS: If you want to decorate cookies with buttercream frosting instead, use this vanilla buttercream. Feel free to keep it on the thicker side by reducing 1 Tablespoon of milk/cream.
Looking for more holiday baking inspiration? Here are 75+ Christmas cookies with all my best success guides & tips.
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Easy Cookie Icing
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: about 1.5 cups icing
- Category: Baking
- Method: Whisking
- Cuisine: American
Description
If you need a cookie decorating alternative to traditional royal icing, this sugar cookie icing is a great choice. It’s like a very thick glaze. This icing takes awhile to dry, about 24 hours, and you can’t pipe detail very well, but if you want simple decoration and a simple icing, this is it!
Ingredients
- 3 cups (360g) confectioners’ sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (omit and replace with water for stark white icing)
- 2 teaspoons light corn syrup*
- 4.5–5 Tablespoons (67-75ml) room temperature water
- pinch salt*
Instructions
- Using a fork, stir the confectioners’ sugar, vanilla, corn syrup, and 4.5 Tablespoons (67ml) of water together in a medium bowl. It will be very thick and almost impossible to stir. Switch to a whisk and whisk in 1/2 Tablespoon (8ml) of water. If you lift the whisk and let the icing drizzle back into the bowl, the ribbon of icing will hold shape for a few seconds before melting back into the icing. That is when you know it’s the right consistency and is ready to use. If it’s too thick (sometimes it is), whisk in another 1/2 Tablespoon (8ml) of water or a little more until you reach the consistency.
- If desired, stir in gel food coloring. You can pour some icing into different bowls if using multiple colors. When tinting icing, only use 1-2 drops at first, stir it in, then add more as needed to reach your desired color. Remember, color darkens as icing dries.
- Decorate:Â Spoon icing into squeeze bottles or piping bags (reusable or disposable) fitted with Wilton Piping Tip #4. Decorate your cookies as desired. I usually outline cookies with icing first, then fill in the middle. If adding sprinkles on top of the icing, add them right after applying icing on your cookie.
- Let icing dry/set: Feel free to enjoy cookies before icing completely dries. Icing dries in 24 hours. No need to cover the decorated cookies as you wait for the icing to set. If it’s helpful, decorate the cookies directly on a baking sheet so you can stick the entire baking sheet in the refrigerator to help slightly speed up the icing setting. Once the icing has dried, these cookies are great for gifting or for sending.
- The shelf life of your decorated cookies depends on the cookie recipe you are using. If using my sugar cookies, cover and store decorated cookies for up to 5 days at room temperature or up to 10 days in the refrigerator.
- Making Ahead & Storing Icing: If not decorating right away, cover the icing tightly and keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. You can store in piping bags (with clips or rubber bands to seal ends), in squeeze bottles, or covered in bowl or container. Bring to room temperature before using. If icing has thickened up, add a few drops of water and mix in to thin out. Depending how you stored the icing (squeeze bottle/piping bag/container or bowl) shake squeeze bottle to mix/massage piping bag to mix/whisk in bowl or container to mix.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: I do not recommend making and freezing this icing before using to decorate your cookies. It’s not as smooth and easy to use after thawing. However, decorated sugar cookies freeze well up to 3 months. Wait for the icing to set completely before layering between sheets of parchment paper in a freezer-friendly container. To thaw, thaw in the refrigerator or at room temperature.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Glass Mixing Bowl | Whisk | Gel Food Coloring (I like this set of 6 colors or this set of 12 colors from Americolor) | Squeeze Bottles | Piping Bags (Reusable or Disposable) | Wilton Piping Tip #4 | Couplers |  Bag Clips, Bag Ties, or Rubber Bands
- Cookies & Sprinkles in Photos (affiliate links): Pictured cookies are sugar cookies and gingerbread cookies made with Christmas cookie cutters (the exact set is no longer available, but here is a set with similar shapes)Â and the ball ornament from this set. Sprinkles used on pictured decorated cookies are plain white sprinkles, these white balls on the Christmas trees, Wilton Pearlized Silver Sugar Food Decorative, this white sparkling sugar, and red balls from a sprinkle mix like this on reindeer.
- Corn Syrup: Corn syrup gives the icing sticking power and creates a beautiful sheen on the dried icing. I don’t recommend skipping it, but you can if absolutely needed.
- Salt: I know salt isn’t a typical ingredient in cookie icing, but it helps offset its sweetness. You just need a small pinch.
- Yield: This amount of icing is enough for icing 2 dozen cookies. You’ll have plenty if you want to divide it and tint the batch multiple colors, too. Icing can easily be halved by halving all of the ingredients. (Still add a tiny pinch of salt.)
Can I paint on the cookies with a food coloring and vodka micture when the icing dries?
How many cookies does this recipe make?
Hi Sharon, this recipe yields about 1.5 cups icing, which is enough for about 2 dozen sugar cookies.
I loved this recipe because the icing was very subtle. Everyone who tasted it loved it. Simple and easy
It was a hit, with grandbabys showing them how to ice cookies for Christmas. Held the Sprinkles with no problem and gave a nice glory look.
Great recipe that was exactly what I was hoping for. Taste great and was very easy to decorate with. Thank you!
I enjoyed working with the easy cookie icing recipe. But the only problem was that the color bled on the cookie even after I let it dry for 24 hrs. I used Wilton gel colors. What can I do to prevent this from happening?
Hi Karel, was it particularly warm/humid? That can sometimes cause the colors to bleed a bit. Otherwise, for next time, you can try reducing the amount of liquid so that the icing is a bit thicker, or reducing the amount of added food coloring (if you used more than a few drops). Hope this helps!
It’s good, but be really careful about the amount of liquid, especially if you’re not using gel food coloring. I used water based (it’s what we had on hand), left out the last 1/2 Tbsp of water entirely, and still ended up slightly runny.
I think you’d be better off
1) mixing with 4 Tbsp of water
2) dividing and coloring your batches
3) diluting individually about 1/2 tsp at a time.
The recipe is solid, but order of operations has potential to cause issues.
I used a sourdough cookie recipe but would like to try this icing as Royal icing is well, a royal pill and I can’t find powdered egg whites locally. Could the drying time be accelerated in a low oven, i.e., just the pilot? I imagine the cookies would dry out and get crunchier so this route might have limitations, or maybe the cookies could be slightly under-baked to compensate – ?
Hi Terry, we haven’t tested that method, but we do fear that may dry out the cookies as you mention. Let us know if you decide to try it!
This is my 2nd time making this recipe and I love these cookies so much. I appreciate all the detail in the directions.
I don’t have corn syrup and since sticking power is necessary, can I substitute it with something else? Maple syrup perhaps? If so, would I use the same amount? Thank you in advance!
Hi Alkie, you can simply leave it out or even try the same amount of honey in its place.
I am just about to use corn syrup based maple flavored syrup in it’s place so i’ll tell you how it turns out tomorrow, but i can almost garuntee real maple syrup will not work, hope this helps!
After adding 4 Tablespoons of water, it wasn’t thick or hard to stir at all. Should this be teaspoons? I had to add another cup of sugar to get a decent consistency.
I had the same issue, and I even used a food scale to weigh my sugar rather than measure it. I added more sugar and it was still a bit runny. It got the job done though.
Can you use this recipe to add multiple layers of decorations onto one cookie? For example, the base of a Christmas tree is green, but we want to add garland and ornaments in other icing colors.
Yes, you can, though the icing takes a full 24 hours to set before you could add more layers.
I found this recipe to be exactly what it claimed. Love the ease of making it compared to royal icing. My only complaint is I couldn’t make dots with it (they kept coming out with peaks or points; maybe it was an issue with my consistency.) When I tried to swirl two different colors with a toothpick, it did work but you have to work really quickly or it starts to form a crust that makes the swirl look less clean. I would make again for sure, especially if these are just for fun and not for gifting.
They only last a week? We are doing a family cookie decorating night on Sat the 16th! How long will they last? In an air tight container!
Hi Gail, we recommend storing them for up to a week, or freezing for longer storage. You can, of course, store them for longer if you are comfortable with that.
How do you keep the cookies from drying out and getting hard while the frosting sets for 24 hours?
Hi Sheryl, we haven’t run into any issues with the cookies drying out during this time—they stay plenty soft. You could place them in a single layer in a storage container if you wish. Hope you enjoy the cookies!
Can I use glucose syrup or rice syrup in place of the corn syrup? I can not get corn syrup here in Ireland.
Hi Mary, we haven’t tested those substitutions, but you can simply omit the corn syrup if needed.
How long do you recommend I let the icing sit on the cookies before freezing them? I decorated my sugar cookies with this icing and it was hard enough on the cookies before I froze the decorated cookies. Unfortunately, the icing looked frosted when I took the cookies out of the freezer and didn’t look good anymore. Thank you for all your recipes <3
Hi Chris! We recommend letting this icing dry for 24 hours.
Is there a replacement for the light corn syrup? I live in Korea and I am having trouble finding it (where it’s not like 40 bucks)
Hi Sierra, you can use honey in place of the corn syrup here.
I reeeeally look forward to these recipes! Everyone I have tried has worked beautifully!! Thank you so much.
We’re so happy to hear that, Jill!
My grandma always used milk with the confectioners’ sugar to make icing. Is there a reason I need to use water or can I still use milk?
Hi Liz, you can use milk in place of the water. The glaze will be a bit thicker that way.
So useful
I need to know when to ice the cookies and put on sprinkles. What consistency does the icing need to be and how to put on sprinkles?
Hi Ann, the icing is like a thick, opaque glaze. The consistency as written is fine for adding sprinkles, although you can certainly make it thinner or thicker to your liking. You can put sprinkles on right after you have iced the cookies. See our post on how to decorate Christmas cookies for more tips and tricks on decorating with this icing.
My daughter has found your Gingerbread men cookie and icing recipe here on my laptop and I
have found it ! We live “down under” in Australia and corn syrup is hard to come” buy ” so I have used Gluscose Syrup for recipes requiring it i.e. pecan pie . I like your recipes and explanations /photos.
Nope didn’t work. Should’ve listened to my gut. Way too much liquid, came out like soup. I used a scale too so not sure what went wrong but total fail.
Hi Kelly, thank you so much for giving this cookie icing a try. For future batches, you can always add more confectioners’ sugar, or use less water, for a thicker consistency.
I love this recipe but, why is my icing runny!
Hi Christina, for your next batch, you can try slightly reducing the water OR slightly increasing the confectioners’ sugar to reach the desired consistency. This is thinner than royal icing and will take a bit longer to dry. Glad you enjoy it!
I live in Hawaii and its humid year around. I have watched frosted cupcakes look like a waterfall Can you put the iced cookies in the refrigerator overnight?
Hi Marsha, yes, you can keep these cookies in the refrigerator, and it sounds like that’s probably a good idea where you are!
I LOVED this recipe.
thanks.