Easy Cinnamon Roll Icing Recipe

What cinnamon roll is complete without sweet, warm, decadent icing? The only correct answer here is no cinnamon roll. They simply aren't complete without that gooey white icing. There are endless recipes out there that focus on making the cinnamon rolls themselves, but not quite as many that focus on the icing; luckily, that's where Jaime Shelbert's easy cinnamon roll icing recipe comes into play. "This recipe is super quick and easy and can be added to an array of baked goods for a simple, tasty topping," she describes.

Of course, if you thought that you were limited to just cinnamon rolls with this icing, you'd be mistaken. "This icing works well atop not only cinnamon rolls but also cookies, scones, muffins, pound cake, and sweet breads," Shelbert suggests. "You can also add a dash of your favorite flavoring extract such as coconut or almond." So, yes, this icing is made for cinnamon rolls, but it's also generally made to complement an assortment of baked goods. Get creative with it, and if you ever bake something and think, "Hm, this would be even better with some icing on top," don't hesitate to reference this easy recipe. 

To make this icing, you'll only need a few ingredients: confectioner's sugar (aka powdered sugar), milk, vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt — but that last one hardly counts. "This is as easy as it gets," Shelbert says.

Into a small bowl or measuring cup, add in the confectioner's sugar, 1 tablespoon of milk, vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt. Whisk the mixture together with a fork until it's smooth and glossy, then add up to 1 tablespoon more milk as needed to reach that perfect consistency. "Any type of milk will work in this recipe, from cream to reduced fat milk or your favorite dairy-free milk," Shelbert says. So yes, this recipe can easily become vegan-friendly. Because everyone deserves icing.

Once the icing is at the right consistency, go ahead and drizzle it right onto a fresh batch of cinnamon rolls. Of course, keep in mind that you can use this icing for other baked goods, so don't let those scones or cookies go un-drizzled. 

As a final note of advice, Shelbert explains that "this icing recipe is more of a glaze — not to be confused with frosting, which is thicker and more spreadable." So, you definitely don't want to attempt to frost a cake with this icing. But as for cinnamon rolls, it's a perfect combo every time.