Decorating Sugar Cookies

[pattycake]

I need a recipe for decorator icing for sugar cookies. I want something more substantial than the glaze of water, p. sugar and flavoring...I need this cookies to be left out at room temperature or above, and I am worried about the butter based icings-(should I be??). I want a thinker consistency, that can sit at room temp without spoiling. I am thinking of vegetable shortening--like Crisco, but it is wicked expensive and hard to find here in Greece. I need something real pro looking because these will be for sale. Thanks

 

[Michael in FtW]

Here are a couple of ideas to get you started. Obviously, they are basically identical ... one is just a variation on the same theme - just a matter of adding flavoring and food colouring. Since neither one contains butter or eggs, they should be safe and stable at room temperature.

(1) This icing dries to a shiny, hard finish. Great to use for icing or to outline and fill in.

• 1 cup sifted confectioners' sugar
  2 teaspoons milk
  2 teaspoons light corn syrup

Place sugar and milk in bowl. Stir until mixed thoroughly. Add corn syrup and mix well. For filling in areas, use thinned icing (add small amounts or light corn syrup until desired consistency is reached).


(2) This icing dries hard and shiny and the colors stay bright. Choose as many different food colorings as you desire." Original recipe yield: 1 dozen cookies' worth

• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 2 teaspoons milk
• 2 teaspoons light corn syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
• assorted food coloring

In a small bowl, stir together confectioners' sugar and milk until smooth. Beat in corn syrup and almond extract until icing is smooth and glossy. If icing is too thick, add more corn syrup.

Divide into separate bowls, and add food colorings to each to desired intensity. Dip cookies, or paint them with a brush.

 

[Zameera]

for coloured sugar cookies,mix beaten egg yolk with food colouring.Using clean paintbrush,peint the mixture over sugar cookies before you bake them.

 

[XeniA]

Hi Pattycake --

I think a regular royal icing (confectioner's sugar & egg white) thinned to make it "floodable" would be what you'd want. It couldn't be easier, and it's perfectly safe at room temperature because of the proportion of sugar to egg. This is the icing that pro's like Toba Garrett use for sugar cookies.

If you're going to pipe fine designs with the icing, you'll need to sift your confectioner's sugar first (a good idea in any event, even though it's a pain -- it tends to get all over everything I've found!).

Either way, let's say that you want to to a heart-shaped cookie really neatly. You make up some royal icing to a pipeable consistency and pipe an outline. Presuming you're using the same color for the inside, you then thin the same icing to a "floodwork" consistency -- that means with a bit of water or lemon juice, you thin it until it is such that the line you make dragging a knife through it closes over again by itself within a couple of seconds. Does that make sense?

When the icing is that consistency, you can easily pipe it into the center of your design fairly loosely and quickly, and it will even itself out beautifully, drying to a smooth, glossy finish.

If you want any other info, please let me know!

Edited to add: once this icing is dry, the cookies are stackable which is hugely helpful!

 

[HuskY]

I was also looking for more substantial icing. Thanks for sharing

 

[The Dessert Diva]

I have discovered that a thin piece of fondant is just lovely as a decorators base for the good ol' decorated sugar cookies of the holidays (Easter, Christmas, etc)

 

[CherryRed]

I'm subscribing to this thread. It seems I'm ALWAYS looking for new icing ideas!