Just like classic vanilla buttercream frosting you love on cakes and cupcakes, this 5-ingredient cookie decorating buttercream is deliciously creamy and sweet. It’s perfect for cookie decorating beginners, and soft-sets after a few hours..
While royal icing is my first choice when it comes to decorating sugar cookies, I know it’s not everyone’s favorite cookie icing to work with. Which is why I developed this easy cookie icing, a wonderful glaze-like alternative. But sometimes you just don’t want to mess with either!
It’s good to have options.
If you want a creamy buttercream frosting, that holds its piped shape and can be tinted any color you wish, then this cookie decorating buttercream is for you. And it tastes SO delicious on top of a cookie!
This Cookie Decorating Buttercream:
- Is quick and easy to make
- Can be tinted any color with gel food coloring (here is my favorite brand)
- Is sweet and creamy and flavored with real vanilla
- Can be piped into designs with different piping tips or simply spread onto cookies
- Is wonderful on top of so many types/flavors of cookies
- Soft-sets after a few hours
The cookies you see here are my classicsugar cookies. They have an irresistible buttery vanilla flavor and soft, thick centers. Plus, they hold their shape when baking and have a flat surface that’s perfect for decorating.
But feel free to use this cookie decorating buttercream on another flavor of cut-out cookies, like:
- Gingerbread Cookies
- Brown Sugar Cut-Out Cookies
- Chocolate Sugar Cookies
- Raspberry Sugar Sookies
- Pecan Sugar Cookies
- Cream Cheese Cut-Out Cookies
Or simply spread it on top of another kind of cookie, like we do on these soft and cakey sugar cookies.
Grab These 5 Ingredients:
How to Make It
American-style buttercream is quick and easy.
Make sure your butter is softened to room temperature before beginning. Use a hand or stand mixer to beat it until smooth and creamy. Beat in the remaining ingredients. At this point, you can add more confectioners’ sugar to thicken, a splash of heavy cream to thin out, or a bit more salt if desired. That’s it!
I have the full written-out, printable recipe below.
How to Rid Buttercream of Air Bubbles
Over-whipping buttercream creates air bubbles. The taste is no different, but the buttercream is no longer smooth and velvet-y. Here’s how to get rid of air bubbles in your frosting:
Turn off the mixer and grab a wooden or metal spoon or silicone spatula and begin stirring the buttercream by hand. Mash the frosting up against the sides of the bowl to “pop” the bubbles. Do this until most of the air bubbles deflate, about 1–2 minutes. This trick requires a lot of arm muscle!
Tint the Frosting and Fill Piping Bags
You can keep the buttercream white or tint it with gel food coloring. To color it, divide it into small bowls. Add gel food coloring to each bowl and mix well. For lighter tints, I recommend using the tip of a toothpick to add color, rather than squeezing a whole drop into the bowl of frosting.
Grab a piping bag for each color of icing. Fit each with a coupler and piping tip. When I’m using multiple colors with the same piping tip, I always use couplers.
What are couplers? Couplers are 2-piece devices that attach to small piping tips, and keep them OUTSIDE of the piping bag. This makes it easy to swap piping tips among the different colored bags of icing.
Fill the piping bag: Spoon the buttercream into the piping bag, making sure to leave a few inches of space at the top of the bag. A tall cup makes this easier! Place the piping bag inside, with the tip near the bottom of the cup, and fold the end of the bag over the sides of the cup, then fill with frosting..
While not absolutely necessary, I use these clips to secure the end of the piping bag, so the frosting doesn’t leak out the end of the bag.
If you want to skip piping bags and tips, use a knife or icing spatula to frost the cookies.
Cookie Decorating Buttercream Recipe
Ingredients You’ll Need
Instructions
- Have your cookies baked and cooled completely. You can use this recipe, or your favorite recipe for cookies.
- With a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the confectioners’ sugar, heavy cream, vanilla extract, and salt. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds, then increase to medium-high speed and beat for 2 full minutes. Taste. To thicken the buttercream, beat in more confectioners’ sugar. To thin out the buttercream, beat in more heavy cream. To help offset more sweetness, beat in an extra pinch of salt.
- Color the icing: If you’d like to tint the frosting, divide it into separate bowls for each color, or tint the entire batch one color. A little gel food coloring goes a long way, so use a toothpick to dot the gel into the icing. Stir it in, and then add more to deepen the color if desired.
- Use piping tips or knife/icing spatula: You can use a knife or icing spatula to frost the cookies. Or, if using piping tips, fit a piping/pastry bag with a piping tip (and use a coupler if you plan to switch frosting colors and/or piping tips). Spoon the buttercream into the bag, making sure to leave a few inches of space at the top of the bag. Twist the end of the bag or use a clip to seal it shut..
- Cover and store decorated cookies at room temperature for 1 day, or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Frosting “soft-sets” on the cookies after a few hours, meaning it will slightly dry on top.
Frequently Asked Questions
It doesn't fully crust, but it does "soft set," which means it sets enough to be dry on top. You'll still have to be a bit careful stacking the decorated cookies. To make a crusting buttercream, replace half of the butter (1/2 cup) with shortening.
Yes, absolutely! Reduce the vanilla extract to just 1/2 teaspoon, and then you can use another extract such as peppermint, coconut, lemon, maple, or almond. I would start with only 1/2 teaspoon of any of these, taste, and then beat in more if desired.
Depending how much frosting you put on each cookie, this buttercream is enough for at least 24 to 30 cookies.
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