Shiny Cookie Glaze

• Prep15 min
• Cook0 min
• Total15 min
• Serves24

Ingredients

Glaze

• 300 g sugar (1 1/2 cups), or 300 g store-bought powdered sugar (2 1/2 cups)
• 1 tsp cornstarch, only if you mill your own sugar
• 30 g whole milk (2 tbsp), plus 1 to 3 tsp more as needed
• 40 g light corn syrup (2 tbsp)
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract (clear vanilla keeps a white glaze whiter)
• 1 pinch salt
• Gel food coloring (optional)

To decorate

• Cooled sugar cookies
• Sprinkles

Instructions

1. Place the sugar and cornstarch in the clean, dry mixing bowl and mill 15 sec/speed 10. Wait 1 minute for the dust to settle before opening the lid. With store-bought powdered sugar, skip this step.
2. Add the 30 g milk, corn syrup, vanilla and salt and mix 20 sec/speed 3. Scrape down the sides with the spatula and mix 10 sec/speed 3 more, until smooth and shiny. Keep the speed low: a high speed whips in air bubbles that dry as pinholes and dull spots.
3. Check the texture: lifted with the spatula, the glaze should fall in a thick ribbon, like warm honey, that melts back into the surface in about 8 to 10 seconds. If it is too thick, add milk 1/2 tsp at a time and mix 5 sec/speed 3. If it is too thin, add 1 tbsp powdered sugar. Too thin lets the cookie show through; too thick leaves ridges.
4. For colors, divide the glaze among small, shallow bowls and stir in gel color with a toothpick, by hand. Cover each bowl with plastic wrap when you are not using it, so a skin does not form.
5. Set a wire rack over a baking sheet lined with parchment to catch the drips. Hold a cooled cookie by its edges, dip the top straight down into the glaze, lift it and let the extra drip off for a few seconds. Turn it face up with a little twist, wipe the edge with your finger and pop any bubbles with a toothpick.
6. Add the sprinkles right away, while the glaze is wet, and set the cookie on the rack.
7. Let the cookies set uncovered at room temperature: they are dry to the touch in about 1 hour and firm enough to stack in about 4 hours, a little longer on humid days.

Tips

• For pastels, use just a tiny dot of gel color. For a two-tone look, dip in one color, then right away drizzle a thin line of another color across it and drag a toothpick through for a marbled effect.
• Flavors: use lemon juice instead of milk for a bright, slightly see-through lemon glaze, or replace the vanilla with 1/4 tsp almond extract for a classic bakery taste.
• Glaze or royal icing? This glaze is quicker, shinier and softer to bite, and perfect for dipping. Royal icing, made with meringue powder, dries hard and matte, holds fine piped details and is better for cookies you will ship or keep stacked for days.
• Glazed cookies keep up to 1 week in an airtight container at room temperature, with parchment between the layers. Leftover glaze keeps 1 week in the fridge; stir in a few drops of milk to loosen it.