Make the Best Great American Cookie Icing Recipe at Home (2024)

Last Updated on March 1, 2023

The Great American Cookie Company is the official creator of the cookie cake. It is a cake that instead of a sponge, uses cookies. It sounds amazing, right? They have been making Great American cookie icing recipes for over thirty years now, which is enough time to perfect every aspect of their recipe, thus making them absolutely scrumptious.

Maybe you have had one of them made for your birthday before, and you have noticed the icing that they use. Yes, it has a great texture, but if you are trying to replicate it, you may find yourself in a stump. So, what then is the secret to the Great American Cookie frosting recipe?

The truth is, the frosting they use is often fluffy and rich, which also helps hold its shape so that you can pipe messages on top of the cake.

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What You Need for This Great American Cookie Icing Recipe

Ingredients

Not only have we found the best recipe that replicates this frosting, but it is also very simple to do! And it will make a very stiff icing perfect for what we need. The recipe comes from Me and My Soldier Man.

You will need:

• 2 lbs of powdered sugar
• 4 tablespoons of meringue powder
• 1/2 cup of shortening
• 1/4 cup of butter
• 1/4 cup of milk (approximately)
• 2 tbsp of hot water
• 1/4 tsp of salt
• 1/2 tsp of vanilla
• 1/2 tsp of almond extract

Great American Cookie Icing Recipe: Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1

First, you need to mix the wet ingredients (shortening, butter, milk, vanilla, and almond extracts). Depending on the weather, you can decide whether to add water or not. And if you are in a very humid or hot atmosphere, you may not have any need for it. Remember, we are trying to create a very hard buttercream.

Step 2

In another bowl, mix the salt, powdered sugar, and meringue powder.

Step 3

Incorporate the dry ingredients one after the other. And while doing that, shift and stir them, to avoid any lumps.

Step 4

Beat it with an intense force until it is stiff, and keep it under a damp cloth until you are ready to use it.

This will make enough to cover an 11 by 14 inches cake with a thick layer in the center. If you feel it is too much, you can always divide it or store the remainder in the fridge in an airtight container for up to two weeks. Before you use it, whip it again to regain a pipable texture.

Remember, you can always change up the extracts to get a different flavor. Another way is by adding food coloring to change the design you make on top. And this should be done in the final stage, once you are whipping it all together. We recommend gel food coloring.

What Kind of Icing Goes on a Cookie Cake?

The best kind of icing for a cookie cake is American buttercream. It’s not as thick as cake buttercream and is smooth, creamy, and easy to work with. For this kind of icing, you’ll need around 1 stick of softened butter, 2 1/2 cups of powdered sugar, 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract, 1/8 teaspoon of salt, and 2-3 tablespoons of milk (or heavy cream).

Now all you need to do is beat the sugar in a bowl until it becomes creamy and smooth. Now gradually add the powdered sugar; continually stirring as you go. Now add the salt and vanilla extract. Add one tablespoon of milk (or heavy cream) at a time and keep mixing until you reach the consistency you need. Add more milk or powdered sugar if too thick, or too thin.

Is Cake Icing and Cookie Icing the Same?

Cookie icing is typically thinner than cake icing, but they are essentially the same thing and made with the same ingredients; just varying amounts. As cookie icing is thinner, it usually tastes quite sugary (and sometimes even grainy) and doesn’t have the creamy texture that cake icing does. Often, icing is known better as frosting; but they taste the same and function very similarly.

Will Cake Frosting Harden on Cookies?

Yes. And it’s very easy to do so. All you need to do is give the cookies time and be sure to use a thinner layer of frosting than you would on a cake. Leave to set in an airtight container overnight for best results. It’s important to note that if you want to add any additional decorations or sprinkles, do this before the frosting sets. This way, they will set with the frosting too.

How Much is a Slice of Cookie Cake?

As of December 2022, if you’re buying a regular chocolate chip cookie cake slice from Great American Cookies, it will cost you $3.69. They also offer a variety of brownies which start at $2.89 and a huge selection of cookies from $1.80 each.

How Do You Make a Cookie Dough Cake?

To make a delicious chocolate chip cookie dough cake, you’ll first need a chocolate chip cake, edible cookie dough, chocolate ganache, and vanilla buttercream. Once you have all of those components ready, you can begin assembling. Add around 1/3 of your buttercream to your first cake layer and spread evenly.

Shape your cookie dough into balls and place them on top of the buttercream, followed by your second layer of cake. Add more buttercream, cookie dough balls, and your final cake layer. Cover the top cake layer with buttercream and finish with the chocolate ganache and cookie dough balls to decorate. Slice, serve, and enjoy!

What is the Difference Between Cookie Icing and Decorating Icing?

Decorating icing is better known as royal icing and is different from cookie icing. Basic cookie icing is usually used by mixing water and powdered sugar together. However, royal icing is usually made from powdered sugar, water, and egg whites. Both work really well when it comes to decorating purposes.

What to do With Leftover Cookie Icing?

The easiest way to use up any leftover cookie icing is to decorate more cookies! However, that may not always be feasible. A fun way to use up cookie icing is to pipe tiny dots onto parchment paper to make your own royal icing sprinkles. You could also try covering any snacks in cookie icings, such as other cookies, pretzels, dried fruit, and baked goods such as cinnamon rolls and Bundt cakes.

Great American Cookie Icing Recipe: Why Meringue Powder?

We need a frosting that will hold its shape, thus making it stable. If not, no one will be able to read the sweet message you piped for your loved one easily. This is why we need meringue powder.

Even though they are other options available, meringue is the best one in this case. As explained by Our Everyday Life, it will ensure a more durable and harder icing.

Try making a cookie cake for your next event with this icing and share it with us! We would love to see how creative you can get with your piping and decorations.

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