Spoiler: we’re not bakers. We are bartenders. But how can you say no to some festive cookie baking? We put a little cocktail flair on the traditional icing found on everyone’s favorite holiday goodie.
Instead of trying to master the delicate sugar cookie, we put our efforts into perfecting three glazes inspired by popular cocktails. In this blog post, learn how to make a Negroni glaze with Orange Blossom Tonic and Campari, a Manhattan glaze with Cranberry Thyme and Sweet Vermouth, and a Spiked Latte with Spiced Honey and Kahlua.
So here’s what we did. We bought pre-made sugar cookies from the grocery store with zero shame. After you taste these glazes, you’d forgive us. We might just adopt this hack for the holidays! It's so easy to elevate the store bought cookie with a little homemade decoration. What a time saver. But if you have a cookie recipe that you love, you can certainly sub that in.
These glazes came together so easily. Use Iconic mixers instead of vanilla extract and liqueurs instead of milk or water. The ratios took a couple of tries to get perfect but you can trust these recipes below! They still harden just like any other traditional glaze.
Since we’re using liqueurs, the alcohol content is subtle and won’t knock you on your feet. Make a more unique cookie experience that everyone would love. Overall, we couldn’t be more happy with how they turned out! We hope you give them a try!
Tips on Decorating:
- Dip the cookie directly into the icing and let excess run off before flipping
- Or drizzle the icing for a more abstract application
- If using Luxardo cherries, try to drain them as much as you can before garnishing
- If the icing gets hard during use, refreshen it with a tiny splash of mixer or liqueur
Bitter Orange Negroni Cookie Glaze
The Negroni is quite possibly my favorite cocktail. Our new Orange Blossom Tonic couldn’t be a better compliment for this classic recipe. Put it on a cookie and you’ll have my heart forever.
Negroni Cookie Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon Iconic Orange Blossom Tonic
- 1 tablespoon Campari
- Orange Channels
-Combine all in a bowl and stir until sugar is fully dissolved
-Garnish with orange channels before icing hardens
Spiked Latte Cookie Glaze
A little booze in coffee never hurts. We love Spiced Honey in coffee on any day. We used Kahlua with Spiced Honey to make this Spiked Latte cookie glaze.
Spiked Latte Cookie Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons Iconic Spiced Honey
- 1 tablespoon Kuhula
- Coffee beans
-Combine all in a bowl and stir until sugar is fully dissolved
-Garnish with coffee beans before the icing hardens
Cranberry Manhattan Cookie Glaze
If you haven’t had a Cranhattan, you’re missing out. Made with our seasonal Iconic Cranberry Thyme, this cocktail is perfect for the season. Turning it into a cookie glaze was a no brainer.
Manhattan Cookie Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons Iconic Cranberry Thyme
- 2 teaspoons Sweet Vermouth
- Luxardo Cherries
-Combine all in a bowl and stir until sugar is fully dissolved
-Garnish with luxardo cherry half before icing hardens
We truly enjoy putting these recipes together and we hope you give them a try! It was surprisingly easy to do and resulted in some delicious cookies. Shout out to all our of our home bartenders and home bakers who are adding something Iconic to their recipes!