This icing recipe uses coconut butter and coconut milk to make spreadable dairy-free icing.

Coconut butter and coconut oil are two different ingredients. Coconut oil is the oil that’s been extracted from the coconut solids, and coconut butter is the coconut solids that has been ground into a paste. In general, coconut butter is a bit firmer as a solid at room temperature, while coconut oil is a softer solid at room temperature. I use this brand of coconut butter. Just make sure that the coconut butter you buy has only one ingredient, coconut.

I also separated out some of the frosting to create red and green (blue + yellow) icing. I use this set of plant-based food colors made from concentrated vegetable colorants. You can also just use the actual food juices to color the icing. For red, use beet juice or beet powder. For green, use Matcha tea powder, and for yellow, use turmeric.

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Royal Icing {coconut butter}

You can vary the thickness of this icing by adding more or less coconut milk to it. You can also add more coconut butter to it and warm it again to thicken it further if you find it's too thin.

Servings: servings

Calories: 23kcal

Ingredients

1/4 cup coconut butter also known as coconut manna (not coconut oil)
1/4 cup coconut milk
2 tablespoons maple syrup or honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract optional

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Set up a bain-marie, or double boiler so you can heat the coconut butter slowly without burning it. I do this by filling a small saucepan about halfway with water and then placing a pyrex bowl on top of it.
Simmer the water and then add all the ingredients to the top bowl and warm up slowly. Use a whisk to blend the mixture.
Whisk for a few minutes, or until the mixture is getting a bit thick. It will thicken a bit more when it cools so it's OK if it's a bit fluid when warm.
Take the bowl off the heat and cool at room temperature. You can also cool it faster if you place it the refrigerator for a few minutes.
Use the icing to frost cookies, muffins, and cupcakes. Store covered in the refrigerator for a week or so.