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This sugar cookie frosting is soft, sweet, and SO easy to whip up. It’s buttercream-style (not royal icing!), so it stays a little soft and is incredibly forgiving for decorating!
Why you’ll love this buttercream frosting!
We LOVE making homemade cutout cookies around any holiday but what I’m not a huge fan of is royal icing. It looks adorable but I find it so finicky. Especially when the kids want to help out. That’s why we love this easy frosting recipe.
If you’re looking for a simple frosting that comes together in no time, this is the recipe for you!
WHY YOU’LL LOVE THIS
- Just 4 ingredients and one bowl
- Ready in 5 minutes, no chilling or waiting required – such an easy recipe
- Easily made vegan with plant-based butter and milk
- Customizable with food coloring and extracts for any occasion
Basic ingredients needed
The simple ingredients for this easy sugar cookie icing recipe are listed fully down in the recipe card but let’s briefly go over the pantry staples needed including a few substitutions you can make as desired!
- Butter – softened, plus regular or vegan butter both work great here (I like Country Crock Plant Butter for the vegan version). Unsalted butter works best but you can also use salted.
- Powdered sugar – this is where all the sweetness and structure comes from. Aka confectioners’ sugar.
- Milk – any kind works, dairy or plant-based, oat milk is great here. I prefer whole milk in this recipe.
- Vanilla extract – the classic flavor base, swap in almond extract for a fun twist.
How to Make Homemade Sugar Cookie Frosting
Just a reminder that you can find the FULL written sugar cookie frosting recipe down in the recipe card, but I want to quickly go over how to make them with visuals for you :)
- Beat butter and sugar. In the large bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the softened butter and half of the powdered sugar. Some recipes have you use the paddle attachment but I prefer the whisk attachment for this.
You can also do this with a hand mixer and a large mixing bowl!
- Mix in the remaining ingredients. Add in the remaining ingredients (minus the food coloring) and whisk until fluffy, fully combined, and the right consistency for your liking. Add a small splash of additional milk as needed. Use it to decorate your favorite sugar cookies (I prefer to do this with a piping bag but you can also spread it in a thin layer on the top of the cookies using a butter knife)! Store any leftovers in an airtight container.
- Add optional food coloring. Drop in the optional food coloring and whisk once more until the color comes together and no streaks remain.
Recipe Tips
- This is a buttercream-style frosting, not royal icing – it stays soft and won’t harden into a shell, so it’s not ideal for stacking cookies or shipping them.
- Add milk slowly, one teaspoon at a time, to control the thickness – it’s easy to go too thin.
- For deeper color, gel food coloring works better than liquid food coloring since it won’t thin out the frosting.
- Add a little more powdered sugar if your frosting ends up too thin.
Frequently Asked Questions
No – this is a buttercream-style frosting, so it’s soft and creamy rather than hardening into a shiny shell. If you need frosting that sets firm for stacking or detailed piping, royal icing is the better choice.
Yes! It holds its shape well enough for simple piped designs, just keep it on the thicker side.
Yes, it keeps well in the fridge for up to a week – just give it a good re-whisk before using.
Sugar Cookie Frosting
Video
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons butter, softened (vegan as desired)
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons milk, any milk including plant milks will work!
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract*
- food coloring as desired, I used about 2 crops of red to get a pale pink frosting
Instructions
- Make the frosting by combining the butter and half of the powdered sugar in a stand mixer (or using a hand mixer) until just combined.
- Add the remaining powdered sugar as well as the milk, vanilla, almond extract, and food coloring. Continue to whisk until it reaches your desired consistency (about 1-2 minutes).
- Store leftovers in an air tight container in the fridge.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
