I absolutely love the shiny appearance of my cut out cookies using this Glossy Sugar Cookie Icing (that hardens)!
This icing is perfect for either dipping your sugar cookies or flooding Christmas cookies, as well as using for a semi-transparent thin glaze on cookies, cakes, and other desserts. It's so quick and easy and made with only 4 ingredients!
Glossy Sugar Cookie Icing (that hardens) Recipe
The trick to a perfect icing is to sift your confectioners sugar before adding any liquids (and I'm guilty of having skipped this step many times), as it will save the hassle of having to stir until all lumps are removed. Or worse, applying your icing and finding a lump on your beautiful cut out sugar cookies!
Looking for the best rolled sugar cookies recipe? Try out my most used and well loved classic rolled sugar cookies, or save time and skip the chilling period with my no chill rolled sugar cookies - either one will have you set for Christmas cookie decorating!!
I've covered alot of my tips and tricks for making icing and glazes for your holiday cookies and treats below!
How To Make Glossy Sugar Cookie Icing (that hardens):
- Sift confectioners sugar into a medium bowl.
- Add liquid: light corn syrup, extract and milk (or water).
- Stir until smooth and the desired consistency has been reached.
- Divide into separate bowls and add desired food coloring.
- Spread onto cut out sugar cookies, or flood into piped outlines.
Tips For Icing and Glazes:
- Use about half the liquid called for in an icing recipe, adding more liquid as needed to thin to your desired consistency.
- Alternatively, if your icing or glaze is too runny simply add more sifted confectioners sugar (powdered sugar) until thickened.
- We are using milk and cold water interchangeably in this recipe, either one will give you a high shine, glossy slash glassy appearance and both will harden once set. The water based icing will give a very clear appearance, and the milk based version is well, somewhat milky.
- Your best icing colors are attained using gel based food coloring, rather than your usual food coloring drops. Gel food coloring also retains your desired consistency.
- I recommend sifting your confectioners sugar before making your icings and/or glazes. I'm totally the worst at doing this, but it does save from having to fix lumps in your icing.
- For your best color results, use a clear extract flavoring. Clear vanilla, almond extract, and lemon extract are my most commonly used flavors. Additional flavors such as orange, maple, peppermint, coconut, chocolate, banana, raspberry, strawberry, and rum also work beautifully.
- For flooding and dipping, use a consistency that sticks well to your spoon and icing 'drops' off slowly.
- For a light glaze that is somewhat transparent, use a consistency that runs off slowly from your spoon but also leaves a good clear coating on the spoon.
- To flood your cut out sugar cookies, pipe an outline of icing on your sugar cookies and fill with glossy sugar cookie icing (that hardens). Spread to the edges using the back of your spoon, a small knife, or a cookie decorating edging tool.
- To spread without flooding (using an icing outline), drop icing into center of cookie and spread toward the edges without getting close enough to run over.
- Gently tamping the cookie down onto a surface removes any air bubbles.
- A film will develop quickly over the icing, so apply any desired sprinkles directly after spreading the icing.
- Do not stack until icing is completely set, about 12 hours (depending on the thickness of your icing coating).
📖 Recipe Card
Glossy Sugar Cookie Icing (that hardens)
Glossy Sugar Cookie Icing (that hardens) is an easy icing for holiday sugar cookie decorating!
Servings: 24 iced cookies
Calories: 43kcal
Prep 5 minutes
Cooking 0 minutes
Total Time 5 minutes
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Ingredients
- 2 c confectioners sugar
- 1 ½ tablespoon light corn syrup
- 1 ½ tablespoon milk or cold water (more or less, as needed to reach desired consistency)
- ½ teaspoon almond extract (or your desired clear extract flavoring)
- gel food coloring (optional, desired colors)
(Note: 2x or 3x only changes the ingredient list)
Help Us Out!If you love a recipe, be sure to come back and share your ratings. This helps future users, and allows me to continue sharing free recipes! Angela
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, sift confectioners sugar and then combine with light corn syrup, milk or water, and clear extract flavoring. Stir until smooth and the icing has reached your desired consistency.
- For flooding and dipping, use a consistency that sticks well to your spoon and icing 'drops' off slowly.
- For a light glaze that is somewhat transparent, use a consistency that runs off slowly from your spoon but also leaves a good clear coating on the spoon.
- Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
Notes
*Typically ices 24-36 cookies.
**Cover and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Tips For Icing and Glazes:
Tips For Icing and Glazes:
- Use about half the liquid called for in an icing recipe, adding more liquid as needed to thin to your desired consistency.
- Alternatively, if your icing or glaze is too runny simply add more sifted confectioners sugar (powdered sugar) until thickened.
- We are using milk and cold water interchangeably in this recipe, either one will give you a high shine, glossy slash glassy appearance and both will harden once set. The water based icing will give a very clear appearance, and the milk based version is well, somewhat milky.
- Your best icing colors are attained using gel based food coloring, rather than your usual food coloring drops. Gel food coloring also retains your desired consistency.
- I recommend sifting your confectioners sugar before making your icings and/or glazes. I'm totally the worst at doing this, but it does save from having to fix lumps in your icing.
- For your best color results, use a clear extract flavoring. Clear vanilla, almond extract, and lemon extract are my most commonly used flavors. Additional flavors such as orange, maple, peppermint, coconut, chocolate, banana, raspberry, strawberry, and rum also work beautifully.
- For flooding and dipping, use a consistency that sticks well to your spoon and icing 'drops' off slowly.
- For a light glaze that is somewhat transparent, use a consistency that runs off slowly from your spoon but also leaves a good clear coating on the spoon.
- To flood your cut out sugar cookies, pipe an outline of icing on your sugar cookies and fill with glossy sugar cookie icing (that hardens). Spread to the edges using the back of your spoon, a small knife, or a cookie decorating edging tool.
- To spread without flooding (using an icing outline), drop icing into center of cookie and spread toward the edges without getting close enough to run over.
- Gently tamping the cookie down onto a surface removes any air bubbles.
- A film will develop quickly over the icing, so apply any desired sprinkles directly after spreading the icing.
- Do not stack until icing is completely set, about 12 hours (depending on the thickness of your icing coating).
Nutrition
Calories: 43kcal (2%) | Carbohydrates: 11g (4%) | Fat: 1g (2%) | Sodium: 1mg | Sugar: 11g (12%)
Did you try this recipe? Rate it below!I can’t wait to see your results! Mention @bake_it_with_love or tag #bake_it_with_love!
Barbara Slater says
Can I use edible markers and write on the icing or is it too sticky?
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
The icing will dry quite nicely and work wonderfully with edible markers. Thanks for asking!
Barb says
I'm making Lebkuchenherzen gingerbread heart cookies for a wedding and will be flying across the country with them in hand. They require a piped outline at a minimum. Can I freeze them decorated and layer them in containers without smearing the icing? I will keep them frozen until we begin our flight.
Barry Frank says
Can cookies iced with this recipe be frozen without damage for 2 weeks?
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
I know that my Great Grandma froze her Santa cookies (they were available year round) and if I remember correctly, the shine was still very nice after thawing. It's a great, versatile icing, so I hope you go ahead and give freezing your cookies a try with it. I'll double check as soon as I bake up a fresh batch of cookies. Thanks for asking!
B.Frank says
Thank you so much! I made my daughter some “30” number cookies to take with her when she and a few friends take a road trip in celebration of her milestone 30th birthday in 2 weeks. I need to ice the cookies ahead while time permits and want to freeze them so they’ll stay fresh; I just wasn’t. sure if the icing would weep or get tacky after being frozen. Think I’ll give it a try since it worked for your family!
paula says
Can you add cocoa powder to this to make it chocolate? I am wanting to make donut shaped cookies and would like a chocolate flavored icing.
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
Yes, I usually sift the cocoa powder into the powdered sugar to mix them well before adding the liquids. Use 4 tablespoons cocoa powder (1/4 cup) then 1 3/4 cups confectioners' sugar to come to the 2 cups called for in the recipe. It is more iffy as to how glossy the chocolate version turns out, but still tasty!
Susan says
Hi there. These look great! I'm going to try these for Easter. Can I make the icing 3 days ahead and put the different colors in separate pastry bags and just keep it in the fridge until Easter morning and then bring it to room temperature before using it? What are your recommendations?
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
Yes, that should be no problem whatsoever as long as you keep the surface from being exposed (and drying out). Have fun with your Easter cookies!
Maria says
Can I make my own confectioner’s sugar from white sugar?
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
Yes, you can. Use 1 tablespoon cornstarch for each 1 cup of white sugar. Mix then process until the sugar reaches a fine consistency using a food processor or blender. This usually takes about 5 minutes. Hope that helps!
Launa says
Great Recipe..I Used The Frosting On Sugar Cookies..I Divided Into 4 Colors , 1 Clear..Love, Love The Shine..Sets Nicely And I Used A Toothpick For Drawing.. Thank You.
Rebekah says
Looks great! Do you think I could I leave out the extract and replace the light corn syrup with molasses? Trying to make a molasses icing that hardens for gingerbread men.
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
Thanks Rebekah, since I have not tested using molasses in the icing I cannot speak to how well it will setup. It would certainly change the flavor and coloring! It's a great idea though, and I'll test it as soon as I can get to it 🙂
Jamie says
This was my first time making cut outs with this type of glossy frosting. Your "tips" were very helpful. I've been buying a lot of cutouts to celebrate birthdays, but it's quite costly. This recipe and those tips took out the confusion and made it fun and easy. It's still time-consuming but if you know the results will be good, it's worth the time. Getting all the proper supplies cost a bit, but now I'm set up. There certainly is a trick to making these look professional and your tips are a great guide. Thanks!
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
That's wonderful to hear! Thank you very much for stopping in to let us know that the recipe and tips were helpful!
Pat says
Is there any way to freeze the frosted cookies yet still have them glossy?
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
My great-grandma used to freeze her cookies with this icing and (it's been a long time) but I could swear that the thawed cookies were still shiny. I'll be double-checking on this soon with a couple different batches, and will update the post as soon as I do. Hope you check back in! 🙂
Barb says
Hi There
I'm looking for an icing that I can both pipe the outline and flood the cookie with.
If I leave the icing a bit thicker, will this pipe around the edges? And then thin it out to flood the center.
Will it harden enough for me to be able to stencil on top of, either with same icing or a Crisco 'Butter'cream'?
Thanks, I look forward to decorating my Sugar Cookies!
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
You can indeed make a thicker version for borders! It works wonderfully for that as well as adding designs on top once the base layer is dried. Have fun!
PS, you can see where someone else was creative here on the pin (the image of flower cookies) https://www.pinterest.com/pin/442408363403880832/
Barb says
Hi there. Made the glaze for my sugar cookies.
Was easy to make up.
Started it thick enough to pipe an outline.
Easy to thin with water (I used water instead of milk) to flood the cookie.
Turned out so nice and glossy.
Left to dry overnight and was hard enough to stencil on top of with my CriscoCream frosting.
Only ‘problem’, is that the next day after making the glaze, the cookies lost their gloss. The taste is good but there is no longer any gloss.
I left some ‘white’ and colored some blue. Both are now matt looking. The cookies haven’t been in the fridge or the freezer, but on the counter.
I put in the amount of Corn Syrup called for, but maybe more? Or would more corn syrup make it too ‘soft’?
Thanks
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
Hello Barb! The first thing that comes to mind (and I'll add this in the post) is that the icing was possibly over-mixed. To avoid this portion out your ingredients to use portion A for outlining and portion B for flooding rather than thinning out the same batch for multiple purposes. This will help to retain that glossy, high shine appearance. Humidity can sometimes affect the icing appearance, but I'm in a high humidity area and have never run into any issues from it. Hope that helps! PS, yes too much corn syrup could make the icing turn out softer than desired and interfere with the setting. It would look good, but would be impossible to stack and ship!
Barb says
Thanks Angela, I will take your advice and portion out the glaze for the next batch and see if that helps.
As for humidity, it’s only 32% in the kitchen. We have one of those things that reads the pressure and humidity and the name of it just absolutely escapes me at this moment!
So I’ll try the portioning!
Sandra says
Hi.. made this icing, froze cookies after icing them to store. When I pulled them from the freezer, I found the cookies were no longer shiny upon thawing.. any rememdies or suggestions to keep them shiny post freezing?
thanks in advance
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
Hello there! This is exactly what will happen. If you want to freeze cookies (and I know this doesn't help if you like to freeze before shipping) it is best to freeze the cookies before decorating. Then apply the icing when ready to enjoy your cookies. Thanks for asking!
Carolyn says
Hi Angela,
Can honey be substituted for the corn syrup? If so, will it still have a nice glossy finish (but dry to the touch)?
Thanks,
Carolyn
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
Hi Carolyn! I haven't tried that yet, but my next batch of sugar cookies will be used for a test run for you! I'm pretty iffy on whether or not it would set up the same. I have a sneaking suspicion that the appearance and texture won't be the same.
Kamie says
Will it keep longer if I don’t use milk? And does it have to be refrigerated? I have kept store bought for over a year? Also what gives the shine milk or syrup?
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
Hello Kamie, of course, you can store it longer when you don't include milk in the icing (use water instead). Yes, it should be refrigerated, and even though I have used the icing many times right after mixing it is actually best to cover with cling film on the surface and refrigerate for an hour before using.
It is the corn syrup that adds a shiny appearance to the icing. Rather than trying to store this glossy icing long term, I would make it in smaller batches on demand. Hope that helps!
Michelle says
Please help! I must not be doing something correctly because my icing instantly hardens and when I mixed everything it’s like Play-Doh. I added a tad more water but that didn’t seem to help much. And then I put in the microwave for 10 seconds to get it a little bit runnier, which helped but the icing dries before it even spreads so it won’t stick to the cookies well. What am I doing wrong?
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
Hi Michelle, I'm sorry to hear that you are having issues with this icing! This recipe is usually not finicky at all.
My first thought is that the powdered sugar is what dries out the icing, and not all powdered sugars are created equally. I use generic sugars all the time, but occasionally I need one that is free of cornstarch. You can usually find C&H or Domino confectioners sugar that is labeled as 'pure cane sugar' which is made without cornstarch.
Also, note the age of your cornstarch. If it is older, or has been open for a longer time, it may have taken on a more firm consistency that is not cooperating.
Let me know what you're using and I can help more! Thanks for reaching out ~ Angela
Michelle says
Thank you so much for the prompt reply. I never knew that about powdered sugar. It is brand new and doesn’t expire until 2022 but yes it is generic and looking at the ingredients it does have cornstarch in it. So if I switch to a pure cane confectioner sugar that should likely fix it?
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
I've used both pure cane and generic in this icing, I would suggest checking the corn syrup too. Did it pour freely? You should be able to add enough water to your icing to reach the correct consistency to try to salvage the icing you're working with. Please let me know how it works out, thank you!
Theresa A McEvoy says
Using almond milk is good. I have an icing like this (but it calls for vanilla and almond) and I use less almond flavoring and it works well. I have been making this for a bit and mailing to Chicago and it arrives there perfectly (of course I ship UPS-gets there in 3 days or less) .
Missy says
I am late but doing this today, I am excited. Thank you for all the tips
Tracy says
Will this be hard like a Royal Icing or hard on top-creamy in the middle?
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
Kind of an in-between as the corn syrup will keep it creamy, yet firm enough to stack without crushing the icing. Thanks for asking!
Liz says
Second year in a row making Christmas cookies with my son using this fabulous icing recipe!
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
That's wonderful! Thank you so much for stopping in to let us know you enjoy the icing!
Tatiana says
Do I microwave it if I put it in the fridge since it hardens?
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
The icing hardens in thin layers, if refrigerated as a larger amount the icing will form a top 'skin' but not harden completely. It will thicken when cold though, and a short re-heating in only 15-second increments would work if you are in a hurry. Otherwise, set the icing out and let it come to room temperature. This takes about an hour. Thanks for asking!!
Deborah says
Works like a charm 5 stars!
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
I love hearing that, thank you Deborah!