The quickest, easiest icing or frosting for cookies, cakes, brownies, or cupcakes is a basic buttercream. Consisting of just butter, powdered sugar, milk, and flavoring, this sweet, creamy icing mixes up in minutes and spreads smoothly and perfectly every time. Try it for yourself with the super simple buttercream frosting recipe from Better Homes and Gardens that follows. Once you've mastered the basics, investigate ideas for more fabulous frostings in the recipes below:

Stir your way to icing success with these tips:

• To make your butter soften more quickly, cut it into 10 or 12 thin slices with a knife. It should be ready in about 10 minutes
• If your frosting is too thick to spread, just beat in a few drops of milk or hot water.
• If powdered sugar is lumpy, press it through a sieve or give the sugar a good twirl in a food processor or blender.
• Make sure that cake, cookies, cupcakes, or brownies are completely cooled before applying icing.

Basic Buttercream Frosting

Servings: Enough frosting for 24 cupcakes

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup margarine or butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 4 cups sifted powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup milk

Directions

1. In a large bowl beat margarine and vanilla until fluffy.
2. Gradually add sifted powdered sugar alternately with milk, beating well after each addition.
3. Beat in additional milk, if necessary, until frosting reaches a spreading consistency.
   
   
   

Here are 17 more of the Web's best icing recipes -- and, in some cases, the baked goods that go with them.

Decorator Icing

This versatile icing is ideal for piping, but it can also be thinned with water and painted over cookies.

Cream Cheese Icing

This simple cream cheese icing is delicious as is, or it can be flavored to suit any taste.

Strawberry Frosting

The taste of strawberries adds a special touch to cakes, cupcakes, or cookies.

Creamy Chocolate Frosting

Blend five everyday ingredients to create a finger-licking-good frosting in a flash!

Cream Cheese Frosting

Use this reduced-fat frosting recipe to top cookies, cupcakes, and other favorite desserts.

Citrus Frosting

Spread this frosting on a citrus-flavor cake or on a plain white cake for extra pizzazz.

Fluffy Cream Cheese Frosting

Love cream cheese frosting? To make it extra fluffy, add light whipped dessert topping. Yum!

Creamy White Frosting

This basic frosting recipe makes enough to top the sides and tops of two 8- or 9-inch cake layers.

Dreamy Orange Frosting

Orange juice adds a twist to this great cupcake topper.

Celebration Cake with Sour Cream Frosting

Whip up cream, sour cream, and brown sugar for wonderfully fluffy frosting to top this apple-and-carrot cake recipe.

Irish Cream Frosting

Try this delicious Irish Cream Frosting on our Cream Caramel Cake for a luscious dessert.

Butter-Rum Frosting

Tasty and versatile, this Butter-Rum Frosting partners well with our Banana Bars or a chocolate or spice cake.

Cocoa Tassies with Peppermint Frosting

Make this billowy peppermint cream frosting as a filling for tassies or use it to top a full-size cake. Either way, it's delicious!

Vanilla Bean Shortbread Sandwiches with Orange Buttercream

Make the vanilla-flavor shortbread cookies in advance and store them in the freezer. Then, when you're ready to present them, add the fresh orange frosting to make an elegant sandwich cookie.

Chocolate Butter Frosting for Fudge Brownie Tartlets

A swirl of easy-to-make chocolate frosting tops each of these dainty fudge-filled tarts. Embellish the tops with a small nut to make these desserts extra special.

Date and Spice Cake with Sour Cream Frosting

A combination of sour cream and whipping cream makes the frosting for this Date and Spice Cake especially luscious.

Malted Mocha Bars with Malted Milk Icing

Malted milk powder makes this icing the perfect complement to bars that combine chocolate, malted milk, and coffee flavors.