Instructions

1. Mix liquids together and add salt. Stir to dissolve salt.
2. Add shortening to mixer bowl and beat on low speed for 15 seconds. Add half of the sugar and half of the liquid ingredients and mix on medium speed until combined, about 1 minute. Repeat with the remaining sugar liquids; mix until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape bowl thoroughly, and mix again briefly. Don’t overbeat your icing, as you do not want air bubbles in the icing. Store covered at room temperature. Total mixing time should be under 5 minutes, and never at higher than speed 3 or 4 on your stand mixer.
3. For thin consistency icing, add 1 tsp. piping gel per cup of icing (this is for writing, outlining, stems, leaves, and techniques using tiny tips).
4. For stiff consistency icing, add 2 Tbsp cornstarch and 2 tsp piping gel to 2 cups of icing (for roses and other flowers requiring upright petals). The addition of piping gel will smooth ragged petal edges.
5. For chocolate buttercream icing (or to make brown icing without needing to use icing color), add 1/2 cup of sifted baking cocoa and an additional 2 Tbsp milk per single batch. You can add more or less baking cocoa to achieve desired color and flavor. To make black icing, start with a dark chocolate buttercream. You will use far less icing color and the chocolate will mask the bitter black icing color.
6. It is highly recommended that you weigh your powdered sugar on a kitchen scale while you are learning to achieve the proper consistency of this icing. Bags of powdered sugar rarely exactly weigh 16 or 32 ounces, and a few ounces more or less of sugar in this recipe will alter its consistency.
7. This icing keeps at room temperature. Refrigeration is not recommended. You can freeze it for long-term storage.
8. Crisco Sticks are perfect to use in this recipe! They are pre-measured at 1 cup per stick, so there is no messy scooping of Crisco from a tub.
9. Y0u may use regular vanilla extract in this recipe, but the icing will be slightly off-white. If you are going to color your icing, using regular vanilla extract will not alter your colors.
10. Be sure to dissolve the salt in the liquid ingredients. Undissolved salt will result in little bleached spots in your colored icing, due to the salt dissolving very slowly in the shortening. Its a really neat trick to use if youre looking for polka-dotted icing, though!
    
11. If you find that the recipe separates or if you live in a climate with high humidity, you may add 1/8 to 1/4 cup of cornstarch to this recipe.
12. Questions or comments? [email protected]