Rose Water Glaze

The Recipe:

Rose Water Glaze

A variation on America's Test Kitchen's all purpose glaze, I like their use of cream cheese, it helps mellow the glaze's flavour. This variation is just right to go on a cookie without overpowering it. If the cookie is more of a neutral flavour, there's room to intensify the glaze with more rosewater.

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Course Dessert

Cuisine Dessert

Ingredients

  

• 113 g (1 cup) sugar
• 2½ tsp rose water the weak stuff – if you can't sip it from the bottle, see notes. TLDR: use much less.
• 2½ tsp milk
• 14 g cream cheese softened
• food colourings of choice I like gel

Instructions

 

• Whisk all ingredients together, split into bowls for the number of colours you want and add food colouring – aim for a shade or two darker than you want the glaze to be.
• Drizzle over whatever needs/wants gussied up. Allow to set fully before storing.

Notes

If your rose water is so strong that a small taste is over powering, start with about half as much rose water.

For rose essence, start with 1 tsp rose essence and 4 tsp milk.

This is a half of the basic glaze recipe – it was more than enough for about 20 cookies, probably more than enough for 40, and it comes together so fast, that if you need more, mix up more. 

To add more rose water, either balance it by using less milk, or add more sugar to soak up the extra liquid. 

Keyword cookies, decorating, glaze, sugar, sweets

The Waffle:

I made this glaze to go on some cardamom sugar cookies for Easter. I got the idea while looking for spring flavours, I found these cookies decorated with dried flowers, there’s lots of good looking recipes on that blog. Rose water seemed like a good compliment for the cookie flavour. I aimed for the point where the rose was there, but not bold, so you could go stronger if your cookies or baked goods are vanilla flavoured.

I used KTC rose water, a brand I see in all the supermarkets here in the UK. I don’t think it’s as strong as the rose water I used to get back in the states because I was surprised at how much I needed, and finally gave up and tried some straight. I would never do that with the rose water stateside, well, I did once and instantly regretted it. All I could taste was pepper and roses, with KTC brand, it was not unpleasant, so, if a taste of your rose water straight is something you’d never do, maybe start with half as much as I used here. For the record, I think I’d prefer a stronger rose water.