Sugar Cookie Icing

"Absolutely fabulous sugar cookie icing! This icing recipe is the "Holy Grail" of icing. I have been searching for an icing recipe that allows me to bake cookies that look like they were purchased fr..." See moreom a designer cookie shop. Thanks to this recipe, my search is over! I've made this icing several times and it has never let me down! The icing sets up shiny and beautiful and the colors are so bright and glossy. I use the paste food colorings--that you can purchase at any craft store. The icing appears "wet", but it sets up nicely and you are able to stack the cookies. However, the icing isn't too hard. It's perfect. I've used this icing to make decorated butterfly cookies that most people thought I purchased at a bakery. I also made heart cookies for Valentine's day. I packaged them in individual cellophane bags and tied with a ribbon--a cute, inexpensive treat for friends and my children's friends. This icing's consistency is wonderful, too. I spoon it on cookies and work it around the shape. I use a paintbrush to add details, and the end of the paintbrush to add dots. And yes, I do add additional milk--a 1/2 tsp at a time. It's not a problem though. I add small amounts of milk until I get the right constistency. I can't say enough about this icing and how it has helped me to make gorgeous, professional-looking cookies for all occassions!"

"If light corn syrup is not available, you can substitute a sugar syrup made with 1-1/4 cups sugar and 1/3 cup water, boiled together until syrupy...." See more"

"This worked great for me! I put the 1 cup of confectioner's sugar in the bowl, added 4 tsp of milk all at once and stirred it until evenly mixed. Then I added 1 tsp of vanilla extract (I know it only ..." See morecalls for 1/4 tsp, but you can never use too much vanilla extract) and stirred again until all mixed. Then I added a tablespoon of corn syrup and stirred until evenly mixed. At that point it was the perfect consistency for spreading and drizzling, and perfectly smooth. I tried using gel color to color it and that worked really well, but with another batch I just used regular food coloring and that worked just fine too. It dried very quickly, within 20 minutes I was able to add a second drizzle coat (of another color) without it sinking into the first coat. It took about 90 minutes to dry hard. I had no problem, using a single batch of this icing recipe, covering a 40-cookie batch of sugar cookies (average size 2" by 1.5") with a solid coat and a drizzle coat, and there was still some icing left over. Will be using this one again and again! :)"