Make the most delicious sugar cooking icing with only two ingredients! This super simple recipe is made without corn syrup. You can make it as thick (think multi-colored decorating) or thin (think glaze) as you like!
If you like this recipe for your cookies, you’ll also love this lemon cream cheese frosting or chocolate icing recipe for your cakes.
Table of Contents
The Easiest Icing Ever!
Many holidays call for sugar cookies in a variety of shapes and sizes. When you get that itch to roll out the dough, first start with this sugar cookie recipe. (It’s the best.) Once you have your cookies cooled, all you need is two – yes, two – ingredients to make delicious icing for your cookies.
You start with the simple ingredients of powdered sugar and milk. And, of course, make sure you have your sugar cookies baked and cooled.
Want to save this recipe?
Enter your email & I'll send it to your inbox. Plus, get great new recipes from me every week!
How to Make Sugar Cookie Icing without Corn Syrup
- Mix: Combine the powdered sugar and milk by mixing with a fork until smooth. The powdered sugar will dissolve as you stir.
- Color: Add your favorite food coloring (optional) to create unique colors for your cookies.
- Pipe: Using an icing bag or even a sandwich bag, pipe the icing onto your cooled cookies. Use a knife to spread.
Icing Tips and Tricks
Make your icing thicker. If you want your icing to be thicker, add more powdered sugar and stir.
Make your icing more thin (like a glaze). Add more milk. Just a little bit goes a long way!
Make your icing right before you use it. This icing does start to dry out and harden, which is what makes it so great for cookies! That being said, if you make it too far ahead of time, it will start to harden and make it much harder to add to the cookies.
How to pipe without a piping bag. I use sandwich bags! Fill a sandwich bag with icing after adding the food coloring. Seal the sandwich bag. Snip the corner and pipe onto cookies.
Icing FAQs
Yes! If you use the exact recipe, the milk will evaporate and harden. It’s not super hard but creates a thick outer crust to allow you to stack your dried cookies.
Once the icing has hardened, I store them in a large rectangular food storage container with a layer of wax paper between each layer of cookies.
Yes, you can. However, the darker colors added to the icing will discolor after freezing. That’s why I recommend freezing your cookies without icing. Then add icing to the cookies once defrosted and ready to serve.
No. The cookies with icing are fine at room temperature stored in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Yes. Start with 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla and add more to taste.
I use 2% of whole milk with success. I would avoid using skim.
Watch How Easy It Is To Make This Icing
Easy Sugar Cookie Icing (2 Ingredients)
Ingredients
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 4 teaspoons milk
Instructions
- Mix: Combine the powdered sugar and milk in a bowl by mixing with a fork until smooth. The powdered sugar will dissolve as you stir.
- Color: Add your favorite food coloring (optional) to create unique colors for your cookies.
- Pipe: Using an icing bag or even a sandwich bag, pipe the icing onto your cooled cookies. Use a knife to spread.
Notes
Nutrition
More Cookies Recipes to Try
- Gluten Free Sugar Cookies
- The Microwave Easy Way to Make Chocolate Covered Pretzels
- Grandma’s Brickle Cookies
- The Best Gingerbread Cookies Recipe
This post was updated with more details and pictures. The recipe remains the same.
Comments & Reviews
Ken says
Hi, Thank you for the simple elegance of this. I need to make a drizzle for on top of cookies, but I need it to harden enough so the cookies can be put into cellophane bags without smearing, and even stacked. Ideally I’d like to have the hardening take place as quickly as possible as I have a lot of cookies to make. If I use this recipe as a starting point, do you have any suggestions on what I need to do to adapt it? Thanks soooo much.
Lynette says
Hi Ken, The icing will harden but the time depends on your humidity and patience. 🙂 If you add more powdered sugar it will harden faster but it will also be less of a glaze and more of a thicker icing. The choice is yours.
Diana says
Will it still harden If I make it thicker? After I get the “Base coat” on and dried, friends and I will actually use this recipe for additional decorating, to make swags and add icing accents. Can I do that? Will it harden if I put more on a dried base of previously applied icing? I don’t want to use Royal frosting it’s just too hard and doesn’t taste good.
Lisa says
Not a glaze. Glazes have corn syrup to make them shiny and firm. Acceptable frosting, but doesn’t dry quickly, flakes and isn’t shiny..
Denise says
I love your recipe for icing but my red no paste Wilton went pink. Do I need to use water with the red paste and icing sugar? For all the other colors I used milk.
Lynette says
Hi Denise, I use this Wilton icing and have had no problems. http://amzn.to/2gCT6Cw I’m wondering if you should add more to make a deeper red icing?
Denise says
Thank you for sharing this recipe. We tried it tonight and it worked great. We are going to try to again next month with food colouring.
Lynette says
Hi Denise, here’s the food coloring that I recommend. It gives the best and brightest colors to the icing. http://amzn.to/2gCT6Cw
nata says
love this rcipie
maximous.net says
Excellent read, I just passed this onto a colleague who was dong
ome research on that. And he actually bought me lunch befause I found it for him smile So let mme rephrase that:
Thank you for lunch!
Theresa says
Your recipe sounds easy and wonderful. I am going to try it out soon! Thanks again.
Tori says
I LOVe this recipe! so easy to make and they taste awesome! I put mine in the frezzer for about 20 minutes for it to set and they were amazing! Thanks!!
Lynette says
Thanks for letting me know Tori! I love this recipe, too!
sam says
How long will it take for the icing to dry completely???
Lynette says
Hi Sam, it depends on how thick you put it onto the cookie and how much humidity is in the air. Mine usually dry within 30 minutes but when I do double colors the icing can take up to an hour to fully dry.
Wendy says
This is wonderful!!