Easy Sugar Cookie Icing Without Corn Syrup Recipe

Making sugar cookie icing is incredibly quick and easy and can have you decorating cookies in no time! If, for whatever reason, you don’t want to use corn syrup in the icing for your cookies, you’ll be pleased to find out you don’t need to!

Making a classic royal icing is, arguably, the best kind of icing for decorating sugar cookies anyway. And it only calls for three ingredients, can be made entirely by hand (if you have strong arms!) and is incredibly simple.

This sugar cookie icing recipe also sets up to be completely hard, much like an icing made with corn syrup, though it will have more of a matte finish rather than a glossy one. It’s also a great way to use up leftover egg whites — for instance if you’ve been making aioli or caesar dressing!

So if you’re looking to make an icing for sugar cookies that doesn’t have any corn syrup, you’ll find this royal icing does just the trick!

How to Make Sugar Cookie Icing Without Using Corn Syrup

You can make this icing in a stand mixer, using a hand mixer or entirely by hand so long as you have a whisk and a bit of upper body strength.

Obviously, the easiest and quickest way to make this is using a stand mixer, but the process is the same either way you choose to make the icing.

What you need to do first is froth up your egg whites. In general, whites separate from the yolks much easier if they’re warm, however, they do whip up a bit more quickly if they’re at room temperature.

You don’t need to whip the egg whites too much for this recipe, however, this is something to keep in mind if you’re making something meringue based, like my marshmallow recipe.

Add your egg whites to a large mixing bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer) and whip until they’re frothy, about a minute or two. If you’re using a stand mixer, fit it with the whisk attachment and whip on medium-high.

If using a hand mixer, then whip them on medium-high speed, as well. If you’re making these by hand, you’re going to have to whisk vigorously for a bit longer until you reach the desired results.

Once your egg whites are nice and frothy, it’s time to add some icing sugar and vanilla extract. Continue to mix this together until the sugar is completely incorporated into the egg whites and the icing is cohesive and glossy. At this point, the icing is done!

You can then transfer it to a piping bag and begin decorating or, if you’d like, divide it into smaller bowls and colour the icing as you see fit.

Keep in mind that the icing will set up if left exposed to air for too long, however, it will keep in the fridge (in an airtight container) for a couple of weeks. Just make sure to let it come to room temperature before attempting to pipe it.

This icing is great for sugar cookies, but it can also work exceptionally well with gingerbread men and houses too!

This sugar cookie icing recipe without corn syrup is so easy to make and incredibly versatile when it comes to all of the different colour and decorating possibilities!

Are you looking to make icing for sugar cookies? Have any questions about this recipe? Let me know in the comments!