Gingerbread houses, cookies, cupcakes, yep, it’s definitely that time of year. Time to slather on the frosting! It’s tempting to just throw a can of frosting into your cart at the store but before you do take a look at the list of ingredients. Michael Pollan, author of Omnivore’s Dilemma, has coined the phrase “food-like substance” and that is exactly what canned frosting amounts to.
After “sugar” there is nothing on the ingredient list that remotely resembles food. It is solely pesticide ridden trans fats (to read more about cottonseed oil please see the list of resources below), chemicals, additives and genetically modified corn in one form or another (high fructose corn syrup, artificial flavorings and sweeteners, and food dye to name a few). It’s cheap, easy, and every kid likes it. However, none of those reasons make it worthy of ingesting!
Make your own. It’s easier than you think!
Making your own frosting is a cinch. It’s inexpensive, easy and actually made out of food! Cream cheese, buttercream, 7 minute, ganache, fudge frosting; there are so many options it’s sometimes hard to decide. Seven minute frosting makes a lovely frosting for that special cake, while cream cheese and butter are fabulous for cookies and cupcakes. My favorite is a mixture of cream cheese and butter that freezes well. I make a batch of plain white at Halloween and freeze the rest in 8 or 16oz. canning jars. When the sugar cookie mood hits I thaw and add food coloring if desired.
Alison’s Cream Cheese Frosting
* 1 pkg. (8oz.) reduced fat/Neufchatel cream cheese (full fat is fine)
* 1/2 stick (4 Tbs.) butter
* 2 tsp. vanilla (almond extract is good too!)
* 2.5-3 cups powdered sugar
Bring cream cheese and butter to room temperature (very important. Cream cheese will never become smooth if it’s not brought to room temp and beaten, by itself, until creamy and fluffy), beat until fluffy. Add vanilla. Add powdered sugar one half cup at a time until desired consistency/taste is achieved (this may require more or less than 3 cups of powdered sugar- you decide).
Happy Frosting!
Resources:
The Truth About Cottonseed Oil
Cottonseed Oil
General Mills frosting ingredient list
A Zillion Uses for Corn
