My Favorite Frosting for Sugar Cookies

My Favorite Frosting for Sugar Cookiesis buttery, creamy, and fluffy to top your favorite cookies or any other dessert that calls for simple icing.

You couldn’t ask for a simpler icing, both in its ingredients and preparation, and it is oh-so delicious.I’ve kept things pretty basic here—all you need is butter, heavy cream, vanilla, and powdered sugar.For how easy it is, the flavor is surprisingly rich and luxurious. I mean, it doesn’t get much better than a fluffy frosting that’s equally buttery and creamy, with just a touch of vanilla notes. I salivate just thinking about it!

Sugar cookiesare a favorite around our home because of the many ways to make them personalized between all the shapes and decorating options…And because they taste so good!So, of course, I had to come up with what I believe is the best frosting for these favorite cookies of ours, and I think I just may have done it.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Kid-Friendly: I’m pretty sure every kid loves decorating sugar cookies and this recipe is simple enough that they can help make the frosting, too.
• Easy to Make:You can whip up the frosting quickly and get right to the fun part: decorating.
• Homemade Goodness: Sure, you can buy a can off the grocery store shelf but homemade frosting is so much tastier. The simple prep and ingredients of this recipe make choosing homemade a no-brainer.

Ingredients

• Butter
• Heavy Cream
• Vanilla Extract
• Powdered Sugar

See the recipe card below for full information on ingredients and quantities

Popular Substitutions and Variations

• You can substitute different extracts for the vanilla. For example, if your cookie recipe has almond extract in it, use a few drops of almond extract in your icing. Just keep in mind that extracts vary in strength so taste as you go.

How to Make My Favorite Frosting for Sugar Cookies

Step #1.Add the butter and cream to your stand mixer’s bowl. Beat with the whisk attachment at medium speed until combined, then turn speed to high and mix til light and fluffy.

Step #2.Turn off the mixer and add the powdered sugar and vanilla. Mix it in slowly until combined then turn the speed up and whip again. It should be a good spreading consistency. If it is too thick, add a bit more cream. If it is too thin, add a bit more powdered sugar.

Recipe FAQs

Expert Tips

• This one’s a great contender to customize with food coloring.I like to make a batch of it, section it out into small bowls, and dye each bowl a different colorso the kids and I can create artistic cookies with ease! It’s also a great consistency to be able to add it to a piping bag for more intricate designs.
• If you’re applying sprinkles or other decorative items, like candy, add them to the cookies immediately after icing.If you wait too long, the icing dries a bit and gets somewhat of a crust, so things won’t stick as well.
• If you want to layer colors of frosting, especially when using a piping bag, let the first color sit for a bit so that it “crusts” (dries out a bit) so that they won’t blend into each other.
• Gel food coloring is a great optionbecause it won’t change your icing’s consistency like liquid food coloring can.