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Cookie Decorating Buttercream Recipe

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★★★★★

4.9 from 111 reviews

This creamy, classic buttercream frosting recipe is perfect for decorating sugar cookies with smooth, spreadable, and pipeable icing that soft-sets beautifully. Made with unsalted butter, confectioners’ sugar, and a touch of cream and vanilla, this buttercream is easily tinted with gel food coloring for vibrant, fun designs.

Ingredients

Scale

Cookies

  • 1 batch sugar cookies, baked & cooled completely

Buttercream Frosting

  • 1 cup (16 Tbsp; 226g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
  • 4 cups (480g) confectioners’ sugar
  • 2 Tablespoons (30ml) heavy cream, half-and-half, or whole milk, at room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • optional: gel food coloring, for tinting

Instructions

  1. Prepare Cookies: Ensure your sugar cookies are fully baked and cooled completely before applying the buttercream. Use your preferred sugar cookie recipe or the one provided.
  2. Make the Buttercream: In a bowl fitted with a paddle attachment mixer (handheld or stand), beat the softened butter on medium speed for about 2 minutes until creamy and smooth.
  3. Add Remaining Ingredients: Gradually add the confectioners’ sugar, heavy cream, vanilla extract, and salt. Start mixing on low speed for 30 seconds to combine, then increase to medium-high speed and beat for 2 full minutes until light and fluffy.
  4. Adjust Consistency: Taste the buttercream. To thicken it, mix in more confectioners’ sugar. To thin it out, add more heavy cream. To balance sweetness, add an extra pinch of salt if desired.
  5. Color the Icing: If using gel food coloring, divide the buttercream into separate bowls for different colors or tint the entire batch at once. Use a toothpick to add small dots of gel coloring, stir thoroughly, and add more until you reach the desired hue.
  6. Decorate the Cookies: Use a knife or icing spatula to spread buttercream on the cookies, or fill a piping bag fitted with a piping tip (and coupler if switching colors or tips). Fill the bag leaving space at the top, twist or clip the end, and pipe decorations such as zig-zags, swirls, lines, or dots.
  7. Store the Decorated Cookies: Allow the decorated cookies to rest at room temperature for 1 day where the frosting slightly soft-sets on the surface. Store them covered at room temperature for 1 day or refrigerate up to 5 days.

Notes

  • Make sure the butter is softened but not melted for best texture and easy mixing.
  • Use gel food coloring to avoid thinning the buttercream like liquid colors would.
  • If the buttercream is too soft, refrigerate briefly and then re-whip before decorating.
  • For sharper piped edges, chill the frosted cookies briefly after piping.
  • Keep decorated cookies in an airtight container to maintain freshness.

Keywords: buttercream, sugar cookies, cookie decorating, frosting, icing, vanilla buttercream, piped frosting

Find it online: https://flavorsbymaya.com/cookie-decorating-buttercream-recipe/