Easy Vanilla Glaze for Piping

This glaze/icing dries hard so you can stack the cookies without damaging the embellishments. You can divide it into several cups and color each differently, then use wet-on-wet decorating techniques for stunning effects.

Recipe

Ingredients

Vanilla Glaze

2 cups (8 oz / 250g) confectioners’ sugar

1 tablespoon (24mL) light corn syrup

2 tablespoons (30mL) water, milk or coffee creamer substitute (see Recipe Notes)

1 teaspoon clear vanilla extract (or almond extract)

Gel food coloring (optional)

Lemon Glaze for Piping

2 cups (8 oz / 250g) confectioners’ sugar

1 tablespoon (24mL) light corn syrup

2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon (34mL) fresh lemon juice

1 or 2 drops yellow gel food coloring (optional, but it will make the icing look more lemon-y)

Yield: 1½-2 cups

Total Time: 5 min.

Type of Recipe:
Icing, Frosting, Glaze

Instructions

Combine confectioners’ sugar, corn syrup, water, vanilla or almond extract and stir gently until fully combined. Try not to add too much air into the glaze.
Add the optional food coloring a little at a time until you reach the desired color.
Cover the glaze with plastic wrap and let it sit for about 5 minutes to allow the air bubbles to rise to the surface. Use a toothpick or scribe to pop as many of the bubbles as possible.
Spoon the glaze into a piping bag equipped with a decorator tip. I use a Wilton #1 tip for delicate accents, a #2 for outlining, and a #3 for flooding.
The glaze will spread very little, but it will round out at the edges. The surface of it will dry fairly quickly so if you’re using the wet-on-wet technique, do one or two cookies at a time. The glaze will harden to a semi-shiny finish within about an hour but let it dry for about 4-6 hours before packaging or stacking the decorated cookies.

Recipe Notes

Coffee Creamer Substitute

For a smoother and more flavorful vanilla glaze, replace the water with an equal amount of milk or powdered coffee creamer dissolved in boiling water.

Here’s how to make the coffee creamer substitute: (This will make more than you’ll need for the glaze, but you can use this substitute in buttercream as well, so don’t throw it out! It will keep for 3-5 days in the refrigerator.)

Stir 2 tablespoons (20g) powdered coffee creamer into ⅓ cup (60mL) boiling water until it’s completely dissolved. Let the coffee creamer substitute cool completely. Replace the water in the glaze with 2 tablespoons (30mL) of the coffee creamer substitute. Store the remaining coffee creamer substitute in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Notes

I almost always use water in the glaze but you can also use an equal amount of milk or powdered coffee creamer dissolved in boiling water for a smoother glaze (see above).
For white-white glaze, add a drop or two of white food coloring to make it opaque. Adding white will cut down on the shine, though, so if you want a shinier finish, leave out the white food coloring. You can, of course, use gel food colors and these will not affect the shine.
Feel free to substitute any extract you want for the vanilla. I’ve used coconut, pineapple and peppermint...the possibilities are endless!
For the lemon version of the glaze, do not use artificial lemon juice. Fresh lemon juice makes all the difference in the world.
I don’t recommend doubling the recipe because the glaze hardens so quickly. If you need more glaze, make it separately.
If you want a thinner glaze for dipping instead of piping, cut the amount of the confectioners’ sugar in half. Dip cookies into the glaze and set them on a drying rack to dry completely.

Cookie Cutters

I love these snowflake cookie cutters because the cutouts are part of the cookie cutter. You have to use a fairly stiff dough, like shortbread dough, when using them, but the results are stunning:

Available from Amazon:
Snowflake Cookie Cutter 3-piece Set