The EASIEST tutorial on how to make icing with icing sugar and water! With just 3 simple ingredients, this smooth & glossy icing is perfect for decorating cut out sugar cookies, brownies, bundt cakes, and quick breads in a pinch!
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If you're looking for a quick icing recipe with minimal ingredients, this is the one! Because of its simplicity, this sweet glaze icing is adaptable to use on a variety of baked goods. A quick & easy way to make homemade icing without milk or butter!
Why I Love This Icing Glaze:
- Dippable: If you add about 3 tablespoons of water, you get a nice icing glaze for dipping! This makes the cookie decorating process much quicker than piping buttercream.
- Dries Hard: While you do need to give it time to dry (6-8 hours depending on temperature & humidity), it is a great sugar cookie icing that hardens without being crunchy.
- Smooth Finish: While there's a time & place for traditional royal icing, I love that this quick glaze gives a similar look without all the hassle.
Ingredients to Make Easy Icing Sugar:
- Powdered Sugar: Powdered sugar is also known as icing sugar or confectioner's sugar. Both terms are interchangeable but known by different names around the world!
- Water: Just plain, luke-warm tap water works here! You can also substitute this for milk (2%, 1% or fat free milk works fine).
- Flavorings (optional): To flavor your icing, add vanilla extract, almond extract, lemon extract, or fresh citrus juice and zest! If you're looking for your cookies to dry quicker, use extracts that are oil-free.
- Food Coloring (optional): To color your sugar cookie glaze, use any food coloring. I like to use gel food coloring, as you get the most vibrant color without having to add a lot of coloring. For some holiday color formulas, check out my Christmas Cookie Frosting or guide to How To Make Dark Green Icing (5 Shades!) which is great for Christmas tree cookies or wreaths!
How to make icing with icing sugar and water (step-by-step instructions)
Step 1: Mix Ingredients
Pour confectioner's sugar into a small bowl. Add vanilla extract (or other desired flavorings) and 1-2 tablespoons of water at a time, stirring well after each addition. The icing should be smooth and slightly thicker than pancake batter. If it is too thick, add more water. If it is too thin, add more confectioners sugar.
- Consistency for Drizzling: If you are using it to drizzle over brownies, cookies, bundt cakes, or quick breads then you will want it a bit thinner (closer to 2 tablespoons of water)
- For Dipping Sugar Cookies: For dipping, you want it to have a thinner consistency (closer to 3 tablespoons of water)
- For Piping or Spreading on Sugar Cookies: For decorating sugar cookies, you will want it a bit thicker like pancake batter so that it doesn't run off the cookies (closer to 2 tablespoons of water).
Step 2: Color icing (optional)
To color your white icing, add in a few drops of food coloring. Stir well to incorporate color. Scroll to the next sections for decorating tips.
Decorating Tips
- Piping Cookies: Scoop icing into a small ziplock bag, snip a tiny bit off the end of the ziplock and drizzle over your baked goods! You can also create an outline around your cookie then fill it in. If adding a drizzle on top of another color, first allow the first color to dry for about 20 minutes.
- Dipping Glaze For Cookies: After dipping the top of your cookie, allow excess to drip off before flipping back over. Place on a wire rack and pop any air bubbles with a toothpick or fork. You want to do this right away or else the frosting will harden.
- Coloring Icing with Food Coloring: For a vibrant or dark color, add drops of food coloring directly into the icing. For a pastel or light-colored icing, dip the tip of the toothpick into the icing and then swipe over top of icing; repeat until desired shade. This will allow you to build the color slowly without overcoloring.
Icing Flavoring Ideas:
I love experimenting with different icing flavors! Because this powdered sugar & water icing is plain, it definitely helps to add some extra pizzazz. Some of my favorite flavoring extracts are:
- Lemon Icing: Add ½ teaspoon of lemon extract, 1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice, or 1 teaspoon of grated lemon zest. Add more to taste. Great for sugar cookies or quick bread glazes.
- Almond Icing: Add ½ teaspoon of almond extract, in addition or in exchange for the vanilla extract. Love this combination for sugar cookies!
- Coconut Icing: Add ½ teaspoon of coconut extract for sugar cookie icing!
- Peppermint Icing: Add ½ teaspoon of peppermint extract in addition or in exchange for the vanilla extract.
- Orange Icing: Add ½ teaspoon of orange extract or a tablespoon of fresh orange juice with a pinch of zest.
- Liquer: you can also use your favorites liqueurs by substituting them for the vanilla extract.
Note: if you're looking for your icing to dry quicker, use extracts that are oil-free.
Other Sugar Cookie Icing & Frosting Options:
If you're looking for a icing with more dynamic flavor, try my other sugar cookie frosting recipes!
- Buttercream frosting (my personal favorite): If you're wanting something more flavorful, try my buttercream frosting for sugar cookies that hardens.
- Easy Sugar Cookie Icing: if you want a shiny icing for sugar cookies but don't want to mess with traditional royal icing, try my easy sugar cookie icing. While this powdered sugar & water recipe does have a bit of a shine, it's not as shiny as using corn syrup.
- Royal icing: If you're wanting to pipe intricate details, you will want to use my Royal Icing for Sugar Cookies recipe instead. It will give you much more control, as this quick glaze recipe does not hold it's shape.
Frequently Asked Questions
It does but you need to give it time! While it starts to develop a thin crust immediately after dipping/frosting your cookie, drying time will vary depending on the temperature and humidity of your house. For a thin glaze (dipped), I typically find that it takes 6-8 hours on the counter (uncovered) to fully harden. After about 3 hours, the outside is "set" but the inside will still be soft. To help speed up the drying time, you can place a fan nearby.
Using a fan, as well as using oil-free extract can help speed up the drying process. If you plan to stack or package them, I'd suggest allowing them to dry overnight on the counter just to be safe!
No, the high ratio of sugar in this recipe allows the icing to stay safe at room temperature for up to 3 days. Even if you use milk, it is still safe to keep at room temperature.
Yes, you can make this icing up to 3 days ahead of time. Place in an airtight container or Ziplock bag and store in the refrigerator. When ready to use, place on counter to soften back to room temperature and stir in water in ¼ teaspoon increments until smooth.
While this quick icing does freeze, it does get a bit sticky upon thawing. If you plan to freeze the iced cookies, wait until they are hardened and then layer between pieces of parchment. When it's time to serve, remove from the freezer and immediately lay the cookies in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Again, note that the icing will likely have moisture and be a bit sticky. If you plan to freeze your cookies, I'd recommend using my buttercream Christmas Cookie Frosting instead (any icing with water or milk isn't great for keeping a pretty cookie after freezing).
This will stay fresh in a sealed container, out on the counter for about 5 days or in the fridge for up to 3 weeks.
I have another recipe Easy Sugar Cookie Icing Recipe that uses corn syrup and I don't find that the drying time is much different. But using extracts that are oil-free can help the drying time. To make it dry quicker, you can place cookies 4-5 feet from a fan on low/medium speed.
Icing sugar is also known as confectioner's sugar or powdered sugar (note that this is not regular granulated sugar!). Both terms are interchangeable but known by different names around the world for making glaze icing (also known as glace icing).
Yes, you can. While this recipe shows how to make icing with icing sugar and water, milk is a great substitute if you're looking for something with a tad bit more flavor.
But what's great about this recipe is that it's an easy way to make homemade icing without milk or butter!
Icing with powdered sugar and water is naturally going to be very sweet. That's why it's best to use this icing on top of baked goods that aren't overly sweet themselves. To help cut the sweetness, you can add ⅛ teaspoon of salt into the icing.
It will depend on the size of your cookies, but one batch of this icing will frost about (12) 2-3" sized cookies.
How to Make Icing with Icing Sugar and Water
Ingredients
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Instructions
- Combine 2 cups powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons water (luke-warm), ⅛ teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (oil-free for quicker drying time) in a medium-sized bowl. Mix until smooth.
- Add more water or powdered sugar until it reaches your desired consistency. If using a piping bag, about 2 tablespoons of water is best (you want the icing to be about the consistency of pancake batter). If dipping or drizzling the icing, 3 tablespoons of water will likely be needed. See notes below for storing and freezing notes.
- Drying time: Depending on the temperature and humidity of your house, drying time will vary. For a thin glaze (dipped), I typically find that it takes 6-8 hours on the counter (uncovered) to fully harden. After about 3 hours, the outside is "set" but the inside will still be soft. You can place a fan nearby to help speed up the drying time.
Notes from Melissa
- Work Quickly: If you're using the powdered sugar icing in the recipe below, you need to work fast and press the candy M&M's into the icing right after icing the cookie. Because the icing hardens fast, waiting too long will create cracks in the icing when you press on the candy.
- Storage: Store in an airtight container for 2-3 days.
- Freezing: While this quick icing does freeze, it does get a bit sticky upon thawing. If you plan to freeze the iced cookies, wait until they are hardened and then layer between pieces of parchment. When it's time to serve, remove from freezer and immediately lay the cookies in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Again, note that the icing will likely have moisture and be a bit sticky. If you plan to freeze your cookies, I'd recommend using my buttercream Christmas Cookie Frosting instead.
- Flavorings: Scroll up in post to read flavoring tips.
- Salt: while this is naturally a sweet icing, you can mix in ⅛ teaspoon salt to cut the sweetness.
Decorating Tips:
- Consistency for Drizzling: If you are using it to drizzle over brownies, cookies, bundt cakes, or quick breads then you will want it a bit thinner (closer to 2 tablespoons of water)
- For Dipping Sugar Cookies: For dipping, you want it to have a thinner consistency (closer to 3 tablespoons of water)
- For Piping or Spreading on Sugar Cookies: For decorating sugar cookies, you will want it a bit thicker like pancake batter so that it doesn't run off the cookies (closer to 2 tablespoons of water).
Came out great, thanks so much!
Thank you so much for leaving a review, Stephanie!
It turned out great. I made half the recipe. Thanks
Thank you so much for leaving a review, Esther!