How to Make Icing for Cookies: Recipe and Tips

It's cookie time, and we can all agree that cookies look gorgeous with a cookie glaze to decorate them. The glaze is pure consistency , and it's as easy to make as mixing sugar and egg white. If you haven't done it yet, with all the explanations you have in this post on how to make cookie glaze , the time has come to start.

You can make many and varied cookies with icing, but I encourage you to start with what I personally find most delicate, beautiful and elegant: making white royal icing and decorating your cookies without great complications, but giving the cookie a beautiful decoration and finish that brings tender smiles to whoever sees your beautiful decorated cookies.

You may have the impression that decorating cookies with icing is not easy, but making icing is very simple and after some practice with the pastry bag you will see that you quickly get the hang of it and make beautiful cookies.

In this post you will find the recipe and tips for making cookie icing , and soon I will bring you decoration ideas. of Christmas cookies , so that this Christmas the table, the tree and the gift boxes are full of beautiful Christmas cookies.

How to make royal icing for cookies

Ingredients

• 480 gr of icing sugar (extra fine sugar)
• 2 egg whites from a large egg, at room temperature and ideally pasteurized**
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or the essence of your choice if you prefer another, such as lemon, orange, anise...)
• water, as needed (to soften icing if it hardens)
• gel food coloring (only necessary if you want to make colored icing)

*The icing is all about consistency! The ratio for making icing is 1 egg white for every 250 g of icing sugar.

**There are many people who use fresh egg whites. You can certainly make icing with them, but there is a risk that they may be contaminated by bacteria (since we are talking about using raw egg and we will not be baking or cooking). Therefore, it is advisable to use Pasteurized Egg Whites, available in supermarkets and 100% safe. The equivalent of the 2 egg whites in the recipe is 1/4 cup of egg if you use the cup measurers, or 2 egg whites are in grams 60 gr (30 gr per egg white).

Preparing icing for cookies

1. In a large bowl with the icing sugar, add the salt and vanilla extract (put them on one side of the bowl, not in the middle). Also add the egg whites (on the same side), which is where you will start mixing.
2. From the side of the bowl where you added the ingredients, start mixing slowly with the help of a whisk. Stir little by little, integrating the egg whites with the sugar and covering more and more of the sugar surface. Continue doing this until all of the sugar is incorporated. This way, you will obtain a very smooth frosting, without lumps and without the powder spreading outside the bowl. Mix until you obtain a smooth mixture with the right consistency.

You now have the icing ready to start decorating your cookies!

About pastry bags

If you're looking for practicality, you can use a disposable pastry bag (the De Buyer set of 20 is a really practical and affordable product); if you're considering the environment and don't want to keep buying replacements, the best option is a reusable pastry bag, such as the De Buyer nylon bag . In all cases, the set of nozzles for pastry bags will come in handy.

Types of glazes

1. Thicker consistency icing, ideal for outlining cookies or making small decorations and details. It is also the most suitable for introducing you to this art.
2. Liquid or light icing , perfect for filling larger areas - all we have to do is add a few tablespoons of water (which we would add one by one) to the mixture obtained to achieve a lighter consistency.

Things to keep in mind

• If you want to make just white icing, like the one you have obtained, you can now fill your piping bag and start decorating. If you intend to make icing in different colors, separate the icing obtained in different bowls, and apply the gel coloring of your choice to each one.
• One advantage of cookie icing is that it hardens quickly (so when you apply it you will have your decoration intact in no time). But it is also a drawback when you are trying to work with it. If you see that the icing has hardened, just add a tablespoon of water and mix well, you will see that it returns to a more liquid state, and do it again in the same way if it hardens again.
• If you see that it is going to take too long, or you want to ensure that a more solid film does not form on the surface, you should simply put plastic wrap covering the surface (in contact with it).

How to apply frosting on cookies

It's time to decorate your cookies!

Outlining and decorating your cookies

To highlight the design or shape of your cookies, or to decorate them with details, put the icing in the pastry bag and, using a narrow nozzle or removing a small end of the bag, apply the icing to the cookie outlining its shape or adding any details you want.

Fill your cookies with the frosting

If you want to fill your cookies, I'm going to tell you about two methods to do it:

1. Dipping: It's quick, easy and effective! If you want to apply the glaze to the entire top of the cookie, hold it by the edges and dip the top side into the glaze. Move it around in the glaze for a moment, remove, wait a moment for the excess to drip off and place it face up to let the glaze dry. You'll see that the glaze is perfect, smooth and even across the entire surface when you let it set (it's a very quick process, dip it on the top side, move it around, remove and place it on a tray).
2. Filling: Once you have applied the icing to the edge of the cookie, wait for it to harden and, using a spoon or a pastry bag, apply the icing, which you will have diluted with one or two tablespoons of water so that it spreads better. You will see that the icing on the edge slows down the icing inside. You can use a toothpick to move the icing inside to the areas that need icing.

On the left, an example of royal icing decoration, with a simple but beautiful decoration and outline of cookies; on the right, a photo with filled cookies, which after the icing has hardened, have had an additional final decoration applied (letters and details with icing, on top of the filling icing).

Other things to keep in mind

• If you want to apply decorations such as chocolate chips, jelly beans, shavings... do it when the icing is still wet or a little liquid (this way they will stick, however you will notice that they do not sink into the icing and the decorations will be perfectly placed).
• If you want to decorate with more icing on top of the icing already applied (for more details or colors), wait until the first icing is completely dry.

It's time to start decorating cookies!