Pretty (Easy) Cookies for When You Want Festive but Haven't Got All Day!
Author: Nancy Baggett
This recipe is adapted from Simply Sensational Cookies, which I’m pleased to say was just nominated for an IACP baking book award–woohoo!) The icing is completely dye-free and the recipe makes a small batch–enough to generously accent about 15 2½-to-3-inch cookies. It’s designed so you can make and use several batches of different colors at once. For example, the cookies here were accented with a combination of yellow icing (tinted with thawed orange juice concentrate); light and bright pink icings (tinted with cranberry juice concentrate); a peach colored icing (tinted with orange juice concentrate and cranberry juice concentrate; and a brown icing (tinted with cocoa powder). You just choose whichever coloring ingredient from the list you need to produce the particular hue desired.
Ingredients
  • 1 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted after measuring, if lumpy, plus more if needed
  • 1½ teaspoons commercial meringue powder or pure dried egg white powder
  • 1 to 4 teaspoons unsweetened natural cocoa powder or Dutch process cocoa powder, sifted after measuring, if lumpy (optional)
  • ½ teaspoon light corn syrup
  • 2 tablespoons frozen (defrosted) cranberry, orange, Concord grape, raspberry-white grape or cherry-grape juice concentrate (or a combination), plus more as needed
Instructions
  1. For each color of icing you want to make, vigorously stir together the confectioners’ sugar and the meringue powder, if using, in a small, deep bowl.
  2. Stir in the corn syrup.
  3. Add the juice concentrate (or a blend of concentrates) and stir until completely smooth.
  4. If a brown color or tint is desired, stir in cocoa powder as needed. You want a uniformly colored icing that’s thin enough to pipe but thick enough not to run. Adjust the consistency as needed by adding confectioners’ sugar or juice or water, stirring to combine thoroughly.
  5. To pipe on the accents, spoon each icing into a small cone of parchment paper with just the tip of the pointed end snipped off, or piping bag with a medium writing tip; or into a plastic food storage bag with the tip of one corner snipped off. (Don’t fill a bag or cone more than half full.) Mix and match the colors and pipe whatever accents are desired.
Notes
The green accents shown here were made using the green tea icing recipe posted here.

Tip: The icings can be refrigerated airtight in nonreactive containers for up to 1 week; let return to room temperature before using. If they have thickened, thin with water, stirred in very thoroughly.
Recipe by KitchenLane at http://kitchenlane.com/2013/03/pretty-easy-cookies-for-when-you-want.html