Perfect Sugar Cookie Glaze Recipes

BASIC POWDERED SUGAR GLAZE

Steps:

• In medium bowl, combine all ingredients until smooth, adding enough milk for desired glaze consistency.
• Use to glaze cakes, coffee cakes or pastries.

GLOSSY SUGAR COOKIE ICING (THAT HARDENS)

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, sift confectioners sugar and then combine with light corn syrup, milk or water, and clear extract flavoring. Stir until smooth and the icing has reached your desired consistency.
• For flooding and dipping, use a consistency that sticks well to your spoon and icing 'drops' off slowly.
• For a light glaze that is somewhat transparent, use a consistency that runs off slowly from your spoon but also leaves a good clear coating on the spoon.
• Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 3 days.

PERFECT SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Sugar Cookies: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. In a large bowl, beat butter and granulated sugar on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add egg and vanilla; beat well to combine.
• Reduce speed to low and add half of flour mixture, followed by sour cream, then remaining flour mixture; beat just until smooth. (Dough will be stiff; you may need to finish mixing it with a wooden spoon.)
• Using a cookie scoop or a tablespoon, scoop dough (about 3 tablespoons at a time) and drop on parchment-lined baking sheets, spaced 3 to 4 inches apart.
• Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until edges of cookies are just firm and tops are barely beginning to brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire racks; let cool completely, then top with sanding sugar or lemon glaze and candied zest (below).
• Lemon Glaze: In a large bowl, whisk together egg white, sugar, and 1 teaspoon lemon juice until smooth. (If necessary, at up to 1 teaspoon more lemon juice to reach desired consistency. Glaze should be opaque but not so thin as to run down the edges of a cookie when dipped. If glaze runs, add more sugar; if too thick, add water, 1 teaspoon at a time. Use immediately. Makes: About 1/2 cup
• Candied Citrus: With a sharp paring knife, slice the ends off citrus. Following curve of fruit, cut away outermost peel, leaving most of white pith on. Slice peel lengthwise into 1/4-inch-wide strips.
• In a pot of boiling water, cook peel until tender, about 10 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer to a wire rack set over a rimmed baking sheet; spread in a single layer and let dry slightly, about 15 minutes.
• In a saucepan, bring sugar and 1 cup water to a boil over high heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Add peel and boil until translucent and syrup thickens, 8 to 10 minutes. With slotted spoon, transfer peel to rack, separating as needed. Let cool 1 hour. Toss with remaining 1/2 cup sugar to coat. Use immediately.

EASY CHRISTMAS SUGAR COOKIES WITH HOMEMADE GLAZE

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until light and airy.
• Add the egg and vanilla extract to the butter mixture and mix to combine.
• Into a separate bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, and salt.
• Add the sifted flour to the butter mixture mixing until a dough forms.
• Cover and refrigerate for at least 30-minutes to one week.
• Preheat the oven to 350°F and line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
• On a clean surface, sprinkle a light dusting of flour (1/4 cup) and place the dough on the surface.
• Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out to 1/4" thickness.
• Cut the dough into desired shapes and place onto the lined baking sheets at least 1" apart.
• Add sprinkles if not icing. Bake for 8-10 minutes for softer cookies and 10-12 for crisp cookies.
• Allow the cookies to cool for 15 minutes before icing.
• In a large bowl, mix together powdered sugar, corn syrup, water, and vanilla and mix until incorporated.
• If coloring your glaze, separate into individual bowls and add gel food coloring until desired shade is reached.
• Pipe or spread onto cooled cookies in desired design.

CONFECTIONERS' SUGAR GLAZE

Steps:

• In a bowl, combine the confectioners' sugar, water and vanilla; stir until combined and smooth (mixture will be thick). Tint with food coloring if desired. With a butter knife or small metal spatula, lightly spread glaze on cooled cookies. Let dry for 1 hour.

PERFECT SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°.
• Cream together the butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer for a full 3 minutes.
• Scrape sides and add in vanilla and egg. Mix until combined.
• Add flour and baking powder to the bowl. Mix slowly at first gradually getting faster until the dough comes together. The texture should be like Playdoh. Add a little flour or water if needed to get it to a soft, pliable consistency.
• Turn out onto a floured surface. Use a rolling pin and roll until about 1/4 inch thick. (The cookies will not rise while baking, they will not get thinner while baking. Roll out to your desired FINISHED thickness.)
• Use cookie cutters and cut out desired shapes. Transfer the cookies to a silicone lined cookie sheet.
• Bake at 350° for 6-8 minutes or until the centers are puffy and no longer glossy. Pull the cookies out of the oven BEFORE they start turning brown. If they turn brown, the cookie will be dry and 'crackery' instead of soft and chewy.
• Frost with Sugar Cookie Frosting and Enjoy!

PERFECT SUGAR COOKIE GLAZE

Steps:

• Stir sugar, corn syrup, vanilla and the milk together.
• Stir in food coloring a few drops at a time until you reach the color desired.
• This glaze must be stirred each time you use it or dries with a mottled look.
• Yield: 1/2 c glaze.

COOKIE GLAZE

Steps:

• Mix the confectioners sugar with 2 tablespoons of water until it forms a thin smooth glaze. Spoon the glaze onto each cookie then decorate with the sprinkles.

SUGAR COOKIE GLAZE

Steps:

• Stir confectioners' sugar, corn syrup, and water together. Stir in food coloring if desired. This glaze must be stirred each time you use it. If it is not stirred before each use it will dry with a mottled look instead of a solid color.

SOFT CUT-OUT SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
• In a large bowl using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar together on high speed until completely smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the egg, vanilla, and almond extract (if using) and beat on high speed until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl and beat again as needed to combine.
• Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on low until combined. Dough will be relatively soft. If the dough seems too soft and sticky for rolling, add 1 more Tablespoon of flour.
• Divide the dough into 2 equal parts. Place each portion onto a piece of lightly floured parchment paper or a lightly floured silicone baking mat. With a lightly floured rolling pin, roll the dough out to about 1/4-inch thickness. Use more flour if the dough seems too sticky. The rolled-out dough can be any shape, as long as it is evenly 1/4-inch thick.
• Lightly dust one of the rolled-out doughs with flour. Place a piece of parchment on top. (This prevents sticking.) Place the 2nd rolled-out dough on top. Cover with plastic wrap or aluminum foil, then refrigerate for at least 1-2 hours and up to 2 days.
• Once chilled, preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line 2-3 large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Carefully remove the top dough piece from the refrigerator. If it's sticking to the bottom, run your hand under it to help remove it- see me do this in the video above. Using a cookie cutter, cut the dough into shapes. Re-roll the remaining dough and continue cutting until all is used. Repeat with 2nd piece of dough. (Note: It doesn't seem like a lot of dough, but you get a lot of cookies from the dough scraps you re-roll.)
• Arrange cookies on baking sheets 3 inches apart. Bake for 11-12 minutes or until lightly browned around the edges. If your oven has hot spots, rotate the baking sheet halfway through bake time. Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before decorating.
• Decorate the cooled cookies with royal icing or easy glaze icing. Feel free to tint either icing with gel food coloring. See post above for recommended decorating tools. No need to cover the decorated cookies as you wait for the icing to set. If it's helpful, decorate the cookies directly on a baking sheet so you can stick the entire baking sheet in the refrigerator to help speed up the icing setting.
• Enjoy cookies right away or wait until the icing sets to serve them. Once the icing has set, these cookies are great for gifting or for sending. Plain or decorated cookies stay soft for about 5 days when covered tightly at room temperature. For longer storage, cover and refrigerate for up to 10 days.

SUGAR COOKIE ICING

Steps:

• Stir together the sugar, 3 tablespoons milk, corn syrup, and vanilla in a medium-sized bowl until combined.(If icing is too thick, add the remaining tablespoon of milk, until the icing is thick but pipeable. If it's too thin, add a little more powdered sugar until desired texture is reached. If you drizzle a little of the icing with a whisk, the ribbon of icing will hold for a few seconds before melting back into the icing. That is when you know it's the right consistency and is ready to use.)
• If coloring the icing with different colors, divide into bowls and color as desired at this point.
• Transfer icing to a piping bag with a piping tip (I use Wilton 5.)
• Pipe icing onto cookies and decorate, as desired. (If using sanding sugar or sprinkles, they need to be added before the icing starts to set.)
• Allow icing to completely harden at room temperature before enjoying (this can take anywhere from 3 hours to overnight depending on the consistency and thickness of your icing.)
• NOTE: Don't miss all the coloring and decorating tips in the full article!
• NOTE: This recipe makes enough to decorate 40, 3-inch cookies. Calories calculated are for the icing only and do not include cookies.