Sugar Cookies.......

For quite a while I have been decorating cookies for both competitions and to give out as favors for various events.  I came to realize after the last batch I did, I don't like the icing that I've been putting on them.  It dries too hard and is too crunchy (it's Royal Icing made with Meringue Powder).
 
So yesterday, instead of working on decorating the cookies I need for this weekend for my cake meeting, I searched for new cookie icing recipes online.  I found one that sounded good, so I decided to go ahead and make it.

Here's the recipe I used:  (it's from allrecipes.com)

5 cups Confectioner's Sugar

3 Tablespoons and 1 teaspoon milk

3 Tablespoons and 1 teaspoon light corn syrup

1¼ teaspoons almond extract (or flavoring of choice)

assorted food coloring

In a small bowl, stir together confectioners' sugar and milk until smooth. Beat in corn syrup and almond extract until icing is smooth and glossy. If icing is too thick, add more corn syrup. Should be a consistency good for piping onto cookies. Recipe yields enough icing to ice approx 5 dozen cookies.

So, I weighed out the sugar into the Kitchen Aid bowl, added the milk and turned the mixer on.  Did I get a smooth result??  Far from it.  I got sugar that was a wet sandy consistency.  I thought, ok....I'll mix in the corn syrup and see what happens.  Go to measure out the corn syrup, and have 1/2 of what the recipe calls for.  So, I figure maybe I did something wrong, and proceed to measure out half the sugar and milk and put it in the KA again.  Same result.  Add in the corn syrup and it doesn't improve the situation at all.

Then I decide to sit down and read through the comments on the recipe.  One said 'don't use a stand mixer'.  Others said they had to add more liquid (milk or corn syrup).  I decided to add more liquid to the mess I had in the mixer.  I ended up adding double the amount of milk, and it actually turned out like I think it was supposed too.  I was shocked!  and VERY happy!

Went out for more corn syrup and finished making the rest of the icing that I had started.

So, today I decorated the cookies (all but 11 of them).  Have to make more icing and finish them tomorrow.

Here is what they look like:

There are 30 of each color combo.

Have you found a new recipe today?