Fabulous Icing Recipes

SUGAR COOKIE ICING

Steps:

• 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.

FABULOUS CASHEW SCOTCHIES WITH BROWN BUTTER ICING

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. Grease 13x9-inch pan. In medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt; mix well.
• Melt 1/2 cup butter in large saucepan over low heat. Remove from heat. Add flour mixture, brown sugar, cashews, 1 teaspoon vanilla and eggs; mix well. Spread batter in greased pan.
• Bake at 350°F. for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown and bars begin to pull away from sides of pan. Cool 30 minutes or until completely cooled.
• Melt 2/3 cup butter in medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook 13 to 15 minutes or until butter is light golden brown, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Stir in powdered sugar, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla and enough milk for desired spreading consistency. Immediately spread icing over cooled bars. Cut into bars.

VANILLA BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

Steps:

• In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, using the paddle or whisk attachment whip butter on medium-high speed (if using whisk attachment whip on high speed) until nearly white and very fluffy, about 7 - 8 minutes, frequently scrapping down the sides of the bowl.
• Add in powdered sugar, heavy cream and vanilla extract and mix on low speed until blended, then increase speed to medium and beat until very light and fluffy, about 5 - 6 minutes, frequently scraping down the sides of the bowl.
• Immediately spread over cooled cake or cupcakes.

EASY ROYAL ICING RECIPE FOR SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together the meringue powder and powdered sugar, then slowly mix in the water and vanilla while the mixer is running on medium-low speed. Increase speed to medium and beat until stiff peaks form, around 5 minutes. This can be done with a hand mixer, but will take a couple minutes longer.
• Divide the thick white icing into individual bowls for how ever many colors you want and add gel food coloring, a few drops at a time, mixing well until you achieve the shades you like. From there, you can reserve half of each color at piping consistency for piping borders as described in the post, or thin all the icing to flood consistency.
• To thin each color to flood consistency, add 1 teaspoon of water at a time and stir well, continuing to add water by 1/2 teaspoon increments until you reach your desired consistency.
• Once your icing is colored and the right consistency, scoop it into a piping bag fitted with a size 2 or 3 tip. Decorate your sugar cookies by first outlining the border, then filling in the middle with flood icing which should settle into itself. Use a toothpick or scribe tool to fill in any gaps by spreading the icing around, then tap the cookie on the counter a few times to help the icing settle into a smooth, even layer.
• Dry cookies at room temperature for 6-8 hours until the royal icing is completely firm before adding additional layers or design or stacking for transport.

BANANA MUFFINS WITH CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425°F and prepare a muffin pan with paper liners or non-stick spray. Melt the butter in a microwave-safe bowl and set aside.
• Place the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a medium mixing bowl and mix together using a whisk or fork and set aside.
• Peel and place the ripe bananas In a large mixing bowl (or in the bowl of your stand mixer or mix by hand) and beat on low until mashed and smooth.
• Beat in the brown sugar, egg, vanilla extract, milk, and melted butter on medium speed until everything has combined. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, then beat or stir until just combined. Give the mixture a turn or two with your spatula/spoon and mix in the nuts by hand if you are adding them.
• Place the batter in the muffin pan evenly across 12 sections. The cups should be almost full. Bake for 5 minutes at 425°F and then reduce the temperature to 350°F. Don't open the door, just reduce the heat. This step will help the muffins rise in the pan and bake evenly. Continue baking for 15-18 more minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove the muffins from the oven and let them cool in the pan for 5 minutes before placing them on a cooling rack to cool completely.
• Put the cream cheese in a medium mixing bowl and beat on medium speed until smooth. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla extract and beat until everything is combined. The frosting will be thick and creamy so it doesn't pipe into shapes well.
• If you want, you can pipe some of the frosting into the middle of the muffin before adding frosting to the top. I used my long piping tip to get some frosting in the middle and the same tip to make a pile of frosting on top. Dust the top with freshly grated cinnamon if desired and enjoy!