Marbled Icing for Sugar Cookies
Learn how to decorate marble sugar cookies with an easy three-ingredient marble icing that looks beautiful, sets up nicely, and tastes better than royal icing.
I recently made a batch of marbled heart sugar cookies for Valentine’s Day, and once I saw how pretty they turned out, I decided to take it a step further and try marbled icing to match. I’ll be honest — this buttercream-style marble icing took a little trial and error to get just right, but I’m so glad I stuck with it. The cookies turned out beautiful, and even better, they taste amazing.
This three-ingredient icing acts a lot like royal icing once it sets, but it has a much softer bite and a better flavor, in my opinion. And the best part? You can use this marbled icing technique on any sugar cookies at all — homemade, store-bought, rolled, or marbled dough. (Here is my tried and true rolled sugar cookie recipe if you want it!)
Marbled Icing for Sugar Cookies
This easy marble icing technique is a beautiful way to decorate marbled sugar cookies using just three ingredients and any sugar cookie you love.
Ingredients
- 3 1/4 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon almond, vanilla, or lemon extract. (If you use vanilla, try to use white vanilla so the icing stays nice and white.)
- 4-5 tablespoons milk
- Wilton paste food coloring in red and pink (or colors of your choice)
Instructions
- Measure out the powdered sugar in a large bowl. Add in the almond extract and 3 tablespoons milk. Stir well. Slowly add in additional milk until the mixture becomes easy to stir, and yet still coats the back of the spoon. Consistency is key to this recipe. One way to measure if it is the right consistency is if you run a knife through the middle of the icing, it should take 6-8 minutes for the frosting to fill up the line and make it disappear. If it is too thin, add in a bit more powdered sugar.
- Portion out a small amount of the icing into small bowls and stir in food coloring paste until you get the colors you desire.
- Transfer the white icing into a shallow bowl and drizzle the colors in the top in a random pattern.
- Dip the cookies straight down into the puddle of icing and lift it up gently, swirling it from side to side. Pop any air bubbles immediately with a toothpick or wire cake tester.
- Set on a cooling rack to let dry completey before trying to stack them at all.
Notes
This type of icing does harden, so if you are working with small batches of the marble icing mix, cover the extra bowls of the frosting mixture with plastic wrap to prevent it from hardening up. I found that the icing wanted to get too thick and I needed to add more milk to keep it thin enough.
Ingredients for this marble frosting recipe
For exact measurements, see the recipe card above.
- Powdered sugar (icing sugar) – Creates a smooth, sweet icing base that sets nicely.
- Milk – Thins the icing to the right consistency for dipping and marbling.
- Extract – Vanilla, almond, vanilla-almond blend, or lemon all work well. If using vanilla, white vanilla helps keep the icing bright.
- Gel food coloring – Wilton paste food coloring works best for bold color without thinning the icing. Use pink and red, or any colors you like.
Step by step instructions for 3 ingredient marble icing
Refer to the printable recipe card above for more detailed tips and tricks.
1.Mix the icing base & make 2 small bowls of coordinating colors. 2.drizzle the colored icing over the top in a loose, random pattern. 3.Dip a cookie straight down gently into the icing.
4.Gently rock the cookie back and forth to swirl the icing. 5.Use a toothpick or cake tester to pop the bubles and swilr the colors. 6.Set cookie on a wire rack until the icing is dry.
Helpful Tips for Marbled Icing
- This icing does set, so cover any extra bowls with plastic wrap while you work.
- If the icing thickens as you go, stir in a few drops of milk to loosen it.
- Gel food coloring works best — liquid coloring can thin the icing too much.
- Let cookies dry fully before stacking or packaging.
Other Frosting Recipes and Tips
- How to frost cupcakes the easy way
- Super easy frosting for sugar cookies
- Easy gingerbread cookies recipe (with royal icing)
Pin this to remember it later!
I used the marble frosting recipe on vegan sugar cookies and had extras after a party so I put them in an air tight container and froze them. The frosting now looks dull. Any ideas on how to get them glossy again?