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This Sugar Cookie Frosting is light, airy and complements the subtle sweetness of sugar cookies without overpowering their flavor. Perfect way to indulge your sweet tooth for any occasion.
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You’ll love topping your favorite sugar cookie recipes with this fluffy Sugar Cookie Frosting. It’s a lighter, more airy consistency and doesn’t weigh down the flavor or texture of your cookies. If you’re looking for a classic frosting recipe that pairs perfectly with sugar cookies, this is it! Different than royal icing, this sugar cookie icing is what you could use on our delicious Soft Sugar Cookies recipe, or on your favorite sugar cookie recipe.
Ingredients in Sugar Cookie Frosting
This is a lighter, more airy buttercream frosting that quite literally melts in your mouth. If you want a thicker frosting that sets more hard, you can add more confectioners’ sugar to taste. But here’s what you need for this decadent, delicious icing:
- Butter – half a cup, or one stick of butter, softened to room temperature.
- Shortening – half a cup. It’s important to use high quality shortening because they don’t all taste the same. love using Crisco brand. The butter/shortening blend in this recipe helps hold the frosting together and gives it that light texture.
- Powdered sugar – two and a half cups – more or less depending if you like thinner or thicker frosting.
- Heavy cream – three tablespoons, adding a bit more if you like a thinner texture. You can substitute half and half or a couple tablespoons milk for the heavy cream.
- Vanilla extract – one teaspoon. You can use clear vanilla extract so it doesn’t affect the color of the frosting.
- Pinch salt – this is optional, especially if you’re using salted butter. I recommend a pinch of salt if you’re opting for unsalted butter.
- Pink food coloring – optional
Coloring Sugar Cookie Frosting
Let’s talk about coloring a sugar cookie icing recipe. Not all food colorings are made equal. I’ve tried liquid food coloring, paste and gels of all brands and what I’ve found is that gel food coloring is far superb. You can find all the colors of the rainbow for different colors of icing at Hobby Lobby or Amazon, where you can find Americolor or Sunny Side Up brand coloring. Wilton brand also has decent icing coloring. The color stays vibrant, it won’t separate from the butter that is used in most buttercream recipes, and each bottle lasts a long time. For this easy cookie icing recipe, I used the Sunny Side Up soft pink color from Hobby Lobby.
Method to Light and Airy Frosting
This easy sugar cookie icing recipe is different than the frosting that uses meringue powder and is decorating with floods of icing in a piping bag on a cookie. If you are looking for that recipe, we have a very easy to follow post on How to Make Royal Icing. However, this one is more fluffy and airy and spreads on easily with a butter knife. Here’s how to get it that perfect fluffy texture:
- First, use an electric hand mixer or a stand mixer to cream the butter, shortening and powdered sugar together in a bowl.
- Next, add the heavy cream, vanilla and salt. Blend on high speed for 3 minutes.
- Finally, add gel coloring and mix completely.
- Line a cookie sheet with a piece of parchment paper or wax paper and arrange your sugar cookies in a single layer. Spread the icing onto each cookie, adding sprinkles if desired.
- Give the icing time to set before stacking or serving.
This makes about 3 cups of frosting and will frost about 24-36 standard cookies.
For A More Sturdy Frosting
This frosting recipe is supposed to be a light, whipped frosting. It looks beautiful and tastes incredible but it is also delicate. Packing cookies with this frosting in a lunch box may smash the frosting and make the cookies difficult to eat. In the case that you want a more sturdy frosting that is more dense and easier to pack, just add more powdered sugar, to taste. The frosting will stiffen up so when it dries it can be more easily packed or transported.
Flavor Variations
This icing is easy to add different flavorings to for a variety of cookie choices. Consider these flavor options:
- Lemon extract and a dab of yellow food coloring for a bright, citrus cookie.
- Almond extract gives the icing a deeper flavor that complements almost any sugar cookie recipe.
- Add a touch of peppermint and red gel coloring, for delicious Christmas cookies. Decorate with crushed candy canes.
- Use this sugar cookie frosting to top chocolate brownies or chocolate drop cookies. Top with mini chocolate chips.
More Frosting Recipes
READ MORE: 33+ Easy Dessert Ideas
Recipes to Use this Sugar Cookie Frosting Recipe
This is such a versatile and basic delicious sugar cookie frosting that you can use it for all sorts of cookies, brownies, etc. Try it some of our favorite cookie recipes:
How to Make Sugar Cookie Frosting
Sugar Cookie Frosting
Equipment
- Electric Mixer
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/2 cup shortening (Crisco)
- 2 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoons heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- pinch salt (optional if using with unsalted butter)
- pink food coloring optional
Instructions
- Using an electric mixer, cream the butter, shortening and sugar together.
- Add the heavy cream, vanilla and salt. Blend on high speed for 3 minutes. The frosting should be light and airy.Note: For a more sturdy frosting, add more powdered sugar a little at a time until the frosting thickens. This will make it more dense and easier to pack and transport if needed.
- Add gel coloring (optional) and mix completely.
- Spread onto cookies that have been cooled to room temp.Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Notes
- This makes about 3 cups of frosting.
- Frosts about 24-36 standard cookies.
- Can be kept in the fridge for up to five days.
- For a more sturdy frosting, add more powdered sugar, to taste, until you reach the consistency you are looking for.
Do not like shortening. Even too much butter. I made 1/2 of this recipe and put smaller amount on each cookie.