How to Make Simple yet Tasty Frosting

Bowl of Frosting

Frosting for a homemade dessert doesn’t need to be hard to make. You can make a simple and tasty vanilla-flavored frosting quickly to give that extra touch to your baked goods. This recipe goes well with homemade cookies or cakes.

Things You'll Need

• 1/2 cup shortening
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon imitation vanilla
• 1/4 cup milk (more or less to desired consistency)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Medium to large mixing bowl
• Electric mixer
• Knife
• Food coloring (optional)
• Sprinkles, nuts or coconut (optional)

Instructions

1. Mix 1/2 cup shortening, 1/4 cup milk, 1 teaspoon imitation vanilla, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in mixing bowl and beat thoroughly.

2. Add the 2 cups powdered sugar gradually. If it is too thin, add more powdered sugar. If it is too thick, add milk a little at a time until you reach the desired consistency. Make sure there are no shortening lumps, even little ones because it ruins the consistency of good flavor.

3. Taste test the frosting to see if it is flavored correctly, and add more vanilla if desired.

4. Add food coloring if desired to make the frosting more festive and then use a knife to spread the frosting on the dessert. Top the frosting with sprinkles, nuts or coconuts if desired.

Tips & Warnings

• You may substitute the shortening for 1/2 cup of a butter-flavored spread to make a buttery flavored frosting similar to buttercream frosting.

• This can be altered to make icing if you remove the shortening and use more milk.

• You may have to make more or less frosting depending on the dessert the frosting is used for.

• Supervise children using knives to frost desserts as the knives can cause harm.

References

• Martha Stewart: Basic Vanilla Buttercream