Sugar Cookie Frosting (the BEST flavor)

May 2024 · 6 minute read
Home » Cookies » Sugar Cookie Frosting

This Sugar Cookie Frosting is smooth and creamy and has a special ingredient that gives it a bakery-style flavor. So quick and easy you’ll never use store bought frosting again.

Spread the frosting or melt it and dip your cookies right into it. Whichever method you choose you’ll have beautiful and delicious frosted sugar cookies!

Jump to:

Why you’ll love this recipe

Taste: This frosting tastes incredible! A combination of vanilla extract and almond extract impart a bakery-style flavor to this creamy frosting. 

Ease: This frosting comes together in under 10 minutes. No fancy techniques; it’s quick and easy!

Basic ingredients: You only need a handful of ingredients to assemble this frosting: butter, powdered sugar, milk, vanilla extract, and almond extract. 

Variety: You can top cookies by spreading the frosting with a small knife, piping it on, or melting it and dipping cookies into it. You can easily change the color of the frosting by adding food coloring.

The BEST thing about this frosting: It tastes fantastic.

I’ve had way too many sugar cookies that are beautifully decorated but don’t actually taste good. I am ALL about flavor (we are actually eating these), so flavor should never be secondary.

This frosting won’t give you quite the precision that you get from decorating with something like royal icing, BUT, you will be blown away by the flavor difference.

This a buttercream-style frosting recipe that has a smooth and creamy texture with a sweet and buttery vanilla flavor. 

Ingredients needed

Butter: Unsalted butter works best here. Butter should be softened but still slightly cool to the touch.

Powdered sugar: This sweetens and thickens the frosting.

Milk: A little splash of milk or half and half helps to make the frosting creamy.

Vanilla extract: This gives the classic frosting flavor. Be sure sure to use pure vanilla extract, not imitation

Almond extract: Just a tiny bit of almond extract is my secret ingredient! This adds a little something extra to the frosting and gives it a bakery-style flavor.

Spread or pipe: Use a small knife or a piping bag with different tips to transfer the frosting onto your cookies. 

Melt and dip: After assembling the frosting, melt it in the microwave (adding a little more milk to thin it out). Once the frosting is thin and melted, dip the sugar cookies face down into the melted frosting. This will create an even coating of frosting on the top of the cookies. 

Recipe tips

FAQ: Does this frosting harden?

This frosting will firm up when chilled but it will not be as hard as a royal icing. When chilled, the consistency will be a bit softer than cold butter. At room temperature the frosting will soften.

Stacking and storing frosted cookies

Chill the frosted cookies in a single layer until the frosting firms up. If you add sprinkles and/or sparkling sugar to your frosted cookies I find that this creates a nice barrier for stacking.

Stack and store the chilled cookies, tightly sealed, in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Frosting can be stored in the refrigerator (in an airtight container) for up to one week. Bring frosting to room temperature before using it. Note: frosting can absorb odors from the fridge so make sure it is well sealed.

Recipe

This creamy and delicious frosting is the perfect topping for sugar cookies.

5 from 123 votes

Print Pin SaveSaved!

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 0 minutes

Total Time: 10 minutes

Servings: 20 – 40 (makes approximately 2-½ cups of frosting)

Calories: 153kcal

Author: Allison – Celebrating Sweets

Ingredients

Instructions

Sugar cookie frosting:

Frosting to spread or pipe:

Melted dippable frosting:

Notes

*For melted dippable buttercream: add an additional cup of powdered sugar and increase the milk to 3 tablespoons (plus more, as needed). Storage Frosting can be stored in the refrigerator (in an airtight container) for up to one week. Bring frosting to room temperature before using it. Note: frosting can absorb odors from the fridge so make sure it is well sealed. Chill frosted cookies in a single layer until the frosting firms up. If you add sprinkles and/or sparkling sugar to your frosted cookies I find that this creates a nice barrier for stacking. Stack and store chilled cookies, tightly sealed, in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Bring to room temperature before serving. FAQ: Does this frosting harden? This frosting will harden when chilled (a bit softer than cold butter), but it will soften when it is at room temperature.  Melted buttercream technique inspired by Jenny Cookies

Nutrition

Calories: 153kcal | Carbohydrates: 18g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 24mg | Sodium: 2mg | Potassium: 3mg | Sugar: 18g | Vitamin A: 284IU | Calcium: 4mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutritional Information is an estimate based on third-party calculations and may vary based on products used and serving sizes.

Tried this recipe?Leave a comment and rating below!

Reader Interactions

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

ncG1vNJzZmiblaGyo77AraCnn6OssqbA0meaqKVfqMKordFmmqinm56ybrLRqKqtoZ6cfA%3D%3D