What's the recipe for frosting that you can decorate cookies with and it will harden and look smooth?

Question

You know, like the kind Martha Stewart would make.

Answer 1

"lin_e_my" is pretty much right. However there are a couple more tips for you.

When mixing the powdered sugar and eggs, stop when the consistency is that of spreadable frosting - thick but not stiff. Add coloring or flavoring by the drop carefully since these will most certainly dilute and thin the mixture.

Now; you said you wanted a smooth appearance. This is how. Take the frosting you just made and put it in a pastry bag ( a baggy with the very tip of a corner cut off works fine. On the cookie outline the design you want. The frosting needs to be thick enough that it does not run, but thin enough that it squeezes out of the bag. Do all of the cookies this way then set aside for an hour. The egg whites will harden the frosting outline which you will want for the next step.

While waiting go back to the mixer and re-beat the leftover frosting. Carefully add water by the drop to the mixture to thin it out. The consistency you want is that which, when you drip some from a spoon into the bowl of frosting, it will take ten second for it to disappear. It will be rather thin but don't be alarmed. Put this mixture in a bag and SLOWLY DRIZZLE inside the lines of your designs. This stuff is called color flow icing. It will settle out and completely fill in the design. The beauty of this stuff is that it dries overnight to a soft, candy like topping, and is absolutely as smooth as glass, with a satiny smooth sheen. There is no way to get this result by spreading frosting. The designs will be picture perfect. You can also make multi color designs. Just make all of the colors you need ahead of time and cover with a damp cloth when not using. Make sure the initial pipng design is DRY before adding one color adjacent to another or there will be bleeding. It's FUN.

Answer 2

Try Martha's own recipe

Martha Stewart's Grand Marnier Italian Buttercream Frosting
16-18 servings

30 min 15 min prep

2 cups sugar
2/3 cup water
6 egg whites
1 pinch salt
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 1/4 lbs butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 tablespoons Grand Marnier

Combine sugar and water in saucepan and bring to a boil. Cover and let boil 3-5 minute until sugar dissolves, uncover and continue boiling until syrup reaches 238° on a candy thermometer (soft-ball stage).

Meanwhile, place egg whites in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, and beat on low speed until foamy. Add cream of tartar and salt, and beat on medium-high speed until stiff but not dry; do not overbeat.

When syrup reaches 240 degrees pour 1/4 cup of syrup into egg white mixture. With mixer running, add syrup to whites in a stream, beating on high speed until no longer steaming, about 3 minutes. Add rest of syrup slowly and beat for 8-12 min., or till cool, so butter will not melt.

In seperate bowl cream butter. Add butter bit by bit, beating until spreadable, 3 to 5 minutes; beat in vanilla and Grand Marnier. If icing curdles, keep beating until smooth, may still be too warm. Use Immediately!

Answer 3

It's made from egg WHITES and powdered sugar+flavor...THAT'S it!
Beat 1 egg white until it is frothy/foamy.
Add enough powdered sugar to create a thick but spreadable mixture. KINDA like a thick ELMER'S glue.
Now add what ever flavoring you want. IF this mixture thins, just add a little more powdered sugar to thicken. If it's to thick add a little water.
Spred on your cookies and let it dry. This will take several minutes, sometimes hours. It all depends on the humidity in the air.

Answer 4

Try allrecipes.com. I looked up frosting a few weeks ago and they have a few to look at. Even better, they have users rate the recipe out of 5 stars, so if you see the recipe only has 2 stars, you know to stay away from it!

Answer 5

Powdered sugar plus a liquid of your choice... I like using lemon juice :P

Answer 6

you use powder sugar,vanilla extract,milk,butter, and food coloring of your choice