The Best Cookie Icing!

Cookie (and cake) decorating is a fine art. I’ve seen some beautifully decorated and detailed cookies, and I think “Wow. I do not have the patience for that.” And really, if I put so much time into decorating a cookie, I certainly wouldn’t want anyone to just eat it. Therefore, I am not a cookie decorator. However, I am partial to slapping a glaze and some sprinkles on a cookie and calling it a day.

Sprinkles are fun. My kids love them, and let’s face it, icing is extra sugar so it makes cookies even better. Mo’betta if you will.
I love a good homemade cookie, but I don’t stick my nose up at a box mix either. When I saw this new Meyer Lemon cookie mix, I just had to give them a try. Did you catch my “all things Meyer Lemon” post? Love them. I thought adding some icing and sprinkles (and the mix came with the colored sugar) would make a pretty and Spring-y cookie. Since it was 20 degrees but felt like OMGthisisridiculous degrees, I needed something to get me through!
Sometimes you just have to bake your own sunshine.
In the past, I have made icing for cookies, but it usually stayed wet and sticky or got dry and flaky. This past Christmas, when making Gingerbread Men with the kids (that I forgot to post!), I stumbled upon the perfect icing. It hardens enough that you can stack a cookie or two on top of each other, but not rock hard so it’s crunchy. It’s like edible puff paint! It is now my go-to cookie icing, whether it’s gingerbread men or sugar cookies.
You can use different extracts to change the flavors, or add food coloring to make different colors and it always sets up nicely. My kids got very creative at Christmas!
Cookie Icing (Glaze)
1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
1 tablespoon milk
1 tablespoon corn syrup (light)
1 drop of lemon juice (we added several drops to give it a lemon flavor for lemon cookies above)
  • Add all ingredients to a small bowl and stir to combine. Add food coloring if desired. Top cookies with glaze and add sprinkles before the icing sets.
*For cookie decorating tips, such as flooding, outlining, etc. see the recipe source at *
I may be linking up at any of the following – (Monday)  (Tuesday) , , (Wednesday)  (Thursday)  (Friday) ,

Delicious 5-Minute Chocolate Frosting

Over the years I’ve tried several different variations of frosting. Most are the same basic ingredients with slightly different sugar to cocoa ratios and varying amounts of added liquid (some call for milk, some cream, etc.). Finally, I think I’ve found THE one. This will be my quick and easy go-to recipe from now on because of its great chocolate flavor and super creamy, easy, spreadable consistency.

I love that it whips up in just a few minutes, with just a few ingredients.
And it’s creamy and spreadable..but not so soft that it slides right off!
You can take 5 minutes to whip this up with butter, sugar, vanilla, cocoa and milk or you can buy the canned version with palm oil, high maltose corn syrup, distilled monoglycerides, polysorbate 60, and the list goes on.
The key to a great frosting is not only the texture/consistency, but even more important…the flavor! The amount of desired chocolate flavor is going to vary from person to person. I love dark chocolate, but some of my family prefers milk chocolate.  For us, I found the perfect compromise by combining regular and dark cocoa powder.

5 Minute Chocolate Frosting

1 cup butter, softened
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup cocoa (I used 3/4 cup regular Hershey’s cocoa and 1/4 cup Hershey’s Dark)
4 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup half and half (mine was fat free, can also use milk of choice)
  • In a large mixing bowl, add softened butter and vanilla. Mix until creamy.
  • Add cocoa. Mix until blended.
  • Add 2 cups powdered sugar and half of the creamer (or milk). Slowly mix together (to prevent having sugar all over your entire kitchen!) Mixture is going to get thick.
  • Add remaining 2 cups powdered sugar and remaining milk. Stir until well blended and creamy.
If frosting is not at desired consistency: 
-too thick? add small amounts of milk until desired consistency is reached
-too thin? add small amounts of powdered sugar or cocoa until desired consistency is reached
Recipe adapted from
NOTE: I made a double batch to frost this 4 layer cake, however, I had a lot leftover. It freezes great! Place leftover frosting in a sealed container in the freezer, when ready to use again allow to thaw and then mix well to “fluff” it up again!
My son was very specific on what kind of birthday cake he wanted for his 6th birthday. He wanted four layers, chocolate cake, chocolate icing, with M&M’s and Kit Kats on top! He also picked out his Lego candles. Nothing fickle about this kid…he knows exactly what he wants! What can I say…my boy has his mama’s heart and generally gets what he wants!
I may be linking up at any of the following – (Monday)  (Tuesday) , ,,, (Wednesday) , (Thursday) , (Friday) ,,(Saturday)