Well, I have died and gone to sugar cookie heaven, for I have found an icing/glaze for sugar cookies that is not only beautiful, it tastes amazing and it firms up almost immediately so that you can stack the cookies on top of one another.

Oh, and did I mention it is a million times faster than spreading icing on cookies with a spatula?

Bonus points because it perfectly and evenly goes around all of the edges with no lumps or bumps..

I have tried icing like this before with the corn syrup, and never blogged it because I was unhappy with the taste.  It tasted like… nothing.

This glaze is much like the glaze on a glazed donut.  It is absolutely perfect and you could flavor it with any extract.  I used almond. You could use vanilla, maple, lemon… The possibilities are endless.

It was easy enough for my 3 year old and my 5 year old to do with me.  Word of warning- if you’re going to sprinkle, you must sprinkle quickly.  The glaze hardens up within about 30 seconds after you dip.

Can’t wait to use this for my Christmas cookies! But for now, I give you Valentines Day ones. 🙂

Recipe adapted from Created by Diane

Ingredients:

Make your favorite sugar cookies and let them cool.  I used this recipe, minus the cinnamon

2 cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons corn syrup
1 tablespoon water (more may be needed)
2 teaspoons almond extract (or flavor of your choice)
food coloring *note* this adds liquid so you may have to adjust your water if you use a lot.

Directions:
Mix the powdered sugar, corn syrup, water, extract, and food coloring together with a small rubber spatula or spoon until smooth.  You may have to add a tiny bit of water at a time for the right consistency.  You don’t want it to be too runny, but it needs to be just runny enough that you can “dip” a cookie into it.

Dip the top of each cookie into the glaze and tap it lightly so that all edges are covered.  Lift it out and gently shake off the excess glaze.  It will look a bit messy.  Set it on a cooling rack with parchment paper underneath to catch any drips.  The icing will settle nice and smooth.

Enjoy!