This time of year is always so hectic and full of a flurry of activities: baking, shopping, and getting homes ready to welcome guests.
Yesterday I was in a flurry of baking — making our traditional iced cut-out cookies. But this time, I tried something for the very first time — flooding the icing.
How is it that during my 47 years of life I have never flooded icing before?
In case you’re like me and haven’t tried this method before, flooding icing is a technique for creating smooth and consistent icing on plain cut-out cookies.
Very often flooded icing goes all the way to the edges of the cookie.
I didn’t do it that way since I wasn’t sure what to expect on my first try. Still, I’m happy with the results and will definitely use this technique again. And, I think it’s the perfect time to share it with you!
I learned the technique from this video tutorial on Southern Living’s website so
I would recommend taking a look at the video if this process is new to you.
Icing recipe:
2 pounds of powdered sugar
3/4 cup of water
4 tsp. meringue powder
food coloring (optional)
Directions:
Scoop the icing in to a pastry bag with a small round tip.
Outline the shape of the cookie and continue filling in the shape until you get to the middle.
Using a tooth pick, blend the icing using small circular strokes until there are no gaps and the icing appears level.
It is so simple and I thought it was kind of fun! Of course, it would have been easier to try it on a round cookie for the first time, but this is pretty typical of me to just jump right in on something more complicated like a snowflake.
I did it while my kids were at school but I think it would be fun for kids who are able to hold and squeeze an icing bag. My philosophy is that there are no disasters when icing holiday cookies…just fun and edible results!
So, am I the oldest person to have never tried flooding cookies before?
Happy Holidays to you!
Nope, not the oldest… I’m 48 and have never tried it. thanks for sharing, pinned! 🙂
I, too, am 47 and I just started flooding cookies a couple of years ago. And…I agree…WHY didn’t I do it sooner. I have tried the recipe you listed and though the cookies were pretty, it didn’t taste that great to me. So, I experimented with several recipes until I found the perfect one. (for my tastes anyway)
Best EVER Cookie Icing
1lb powdered sugar (about 3 3/4 C)
6T whole milk
6T light Corn Syrup
1 t extract (I use 1/2 clear vanilla and 1/2 butter and they tastes like buttercream. You can use anything you want)
Pour milk into a mixing bowl. With a wire whisk, stir in the sugar until completely dissolved and smooth. Then all in the other ingredients. This is perfect for flooding a cookie. For piping designs, add a little more sugar until it is desired consistency.
I then separate into small bowls and color with paste food coloring.
To flood the cookie with color, I like to use a baby spoon or an ice tea spoon. Another way is to use a pastry bag. Don’t worry, the icing will smooth out and dry so that they can be stacked. If you need to thin the icing, use a tiny bit of milk. Just a drop at a time.
You can halve the recipe if you are doing just piping or a small amount of cookies. This icing is delicious and drys beautifully!
Thanks for the recipe, Kim…I am definitely going to try it! So happy you commented and shared your recipe and experience. Here’s to baking! 🙂
Julie
Morning Julie,
Nope, not the oldest by far (as I am 65 years young) and I have never even heard of ‘flooding icing” before. Your photos are wonderful and I can see you have surely mastered using a cookie cutter too. Mmm, and they smell delicious 🙂 Blessings and smiles, Emilou 🙂
Thanks for the recipe for the icing to flood the cookies….love the snowflake cookie
Iced sugar cookies are my favorite holiday treat so this post is seriously making me hungry! Your cookies look not only yummy, but also soooo pretty. Thanks for sharing this technique, have never tried it. Now I am off to the kitchen to find something sweet! ; )