Looking for an icing recipe

[juliejulez]

I'm looking for an icing recipe for decorating cookies with. I do not want royal icing as it gets too hard for my tastes. The kind I'm looking for ends up being a bit shiny and slightly hard when you lightly touch it, but will "smoosh" if you push hard on it. I used to have a recipe for it but now I have no idea where it is and internet searches yield way too many results.

[cookie monster]

this thread may be helpful:

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/749504

For my decorated cookies this year, I experimented with adding about 4 tablespoons of butter to my standard royal icing recipe and was pretty pleased with the results. The icing held the color when it dried, and stayed soft under a slight crust.

[juliejulez]

Thanks, what you describe sounds like the end result I'm looking for.

[biondanonima]

I make a buttercream that matches that description, which is just melted butter and powdered sugar (plus a little vanilla and salt). I'm not sure of the proportions, but I'd say maybe a stick of butter to a pound of powdered sugar. It will be kind of drippy at first, but it hardens up slightly and takes on a bit of a sheen as it dries. You might give that a try...

[juliejulez]

Cool thanks. I do recall the one I used before has powdered sugar and butter in it.