How to Make Frosting with Powdered Sugar

Last Updated: June 30, 2021 References

If you're looking for a sweet, tasty topping for your goodies—but don't want to spend a lot of time on fancy ingredients—whip up a powdered sugar frosting. It's fast, it's easy, and with a couple drops of food coloring, can take on all the colors of the rainbow! This article will show you how to make this delicious confection!

Ingredients

2 cups (8oz/226 grams) powdered sugar
3 tbsp (44ml) milk
Food coloring (optional)
Lemon juice (optional)
1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)

Steps

1
Get a medium-sized bowl. This recipe is great when you need a frosting fix, and you need it fast^{[1]
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2
Pour in the sugar. Put 2 cups (226g) powdered sugar into a medium bowl. Whisk out any lumps.

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3
Add milk. Add 3 tablespoons of cold milk to the sugar, and whisk until well-blended.^{[2]
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- Add more milk if desired, for a thinner texture.^{[3]
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- If it's too runny, cream in a bit more butter and sugar.
4
Be creative. This recipe is so simple, it lends itself to creative experimentation.
- Add lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon (2 or 3 ml) at a time, to taste, for a tangy sweet topping.
- Add vanilla extract or other flavor extracts. Add 1/4 tsp almond extract for a perfect topping for bran muffins, or try the same amount of banana extract for banana bread.
5
Add food coloring. This optional step makes for festive frosting to match any season:^{[4]
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- 3 or 4 drops of red for Valentine's Day.
- 3 or 4 drops of green for St. Patrick's Day.
- Spring is all about fresh, light colors. Water down red, blue, green, and purple food coloring, then add in small amounts to to the frosting and create spreadable pastel-colored goodness for Easter cookies.
- Make separate batches of red, white, and blue frosting for Independence Day celebrations.
- For fall frostings, orange, yellow, and brown (orange with just a dab or two of green food coloring) will give your autumn cookies a seasonal glow. Add a bit of nutmeg or nutmeg extract to the frosting, for a delightful flavor!
- Winter holidays are always better with white (no coloring) or pastel blue frostings. It may be cold outside, but on top of a butter cookie, these will bring a warm smile to almost anybody. Of course, separate batches of red and green frostings (and some sprinkles) will make Christmas cookie frosting fun for kids of all ages!
6
Finished.

Community Q&A

Question

Do I have to put coloring in it?

Community Answer

No, not if you don't want to. Food coloring is described as optional in the method.
Question

If there's no powdered sugar, can I use white sugar?

Community Answer

No, powdered sugar has the correct consistency and using white sugar would just make sugary butter. White sugar is grainier than powdered sugar.
Question

What color frosting should I use for Mother's Day?

Community Answer

Try pink or purple, or whatever your mother's favorite color is.