Frosted Sugar Cookies
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Frosted Sugar Cookies are so incredibly light and fluffy that they melt in your mouth. We’re topping our sugar cookies with a thick layer of classic buttercream frosting for the ultimate sweet finish. You can easily customize these cookies for any holiday or special occasion by changing the frosting color and the sprinkles.
Table of contents
I have a great recipe for cut-out sugar cookies, but these Frosted Sugar Cookies really take sugar cookies to the next level.
You will love how tender these cookies are yet they are plenty sturdy to hold up to a thick layer of yummy frosting.
Color the frosting any color you’d like and you’re all set for your next special occasion.
🔑 Key to Success #1 – Soften Butter and Cream Cheese
These easy sugar cookies start with a base of butter, cream cheese, and sugar for the ultimate light and fluffy sugar cookies.
Both the butter and cream cheese need to be softened to room temperature before you cream them together.
For best results, allow both ingredients to sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes.
You may be asking why we’re adding cream cheese to our cookies.
The answer is that the cream cheese adds extra flavor, fat, and moisture so that our cookies stay soft.
Cream the butter, sugar, and cream cheese together until the mixture is light and fluffy.
🔑 Key to Success #2 – Chill the Dough for Best Results
After the cookie dough is mixed up, pop it in the refrigerator for at least an hour so that it can chill before you roll it out.
Place a piece of plastic wrap on the counter then add your cookie dough on top.
As you wrap the plastic around the dough, press it into a large disc shape.
Forming the dough into a disc shape while it is still at room temperature will help you when it’s time to roll out the dough.
After the dough has chilled for at least an hour, take it out of the fridge and place the disc of dough on a surface that has been sprinkled lightly with flour.
Use a rolling pin to roll the dough until it is 1/2-inch thick.
Make sure the dough is 1/2-inch thick all the way across, even at the edges.
Rolling the dough out to a consistent size will help your cookies bake evenly.
Press the scraps back together and roll them out again to cut more cookies.
You should be able to get about 24 cookies that are each 3 inches in diameter.
🔑 Key to Success #3 – Add a Bit of Heavy Cream to the Frosting
The classic buttercream frosting starts off with softened butter and powdered sugar.
Beat the softened butter until it is light and fluffy. This will take about 2 minutes if you use a stand mixer but could take longer if using a hand mixer.
Next, add in the powdered sugar and beat until fully combined.
Keep beating until the frosting is light and fluffy.
Finally, add in the heavy cream, salt and vanilla and mix until it is just combined.
The heavy cream will give the frosting a nice richness and makes it smooth and fluffy.
The salt cuts the sweetness a bit. I won’t make buttercream without it, even when using salted butter.
And vanilla adds more flavor that is vital to a good frosting.
If you want to color the frosting, I recommend using a high-quality gel food coloring like Americolor.
You don’t need a lot of gel food color to get a rich and vibrant color and it won’t affect the quality of the frosting.
Decorate the tops of your cookies with sprinkles or other decorations of your choice.
📌 Get the Printable Recipe for Frosted Sugar Cookies
Save this Frosted Sugar Cookie recipe to your favorite Cookie Recipes board or your Holiday Cookies board.
Frosted Sugar Cookies with Buttercream Frosting
Ingredients
For the Cookies
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ cup butter, softened
- 4 oz cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp almond extract
For the Buttercream
- ¾ cup butter, softened
- 2 ¾ cups powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp heavy cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Pinch salt
- Food coloring
- Sprinkles, optional
Directions
- In a large bowl using a hand mixer, beat together the butter, sugar, and cream cheese until light and fluffy. Add eggs, vanilla, and almond extract. Beat until fully combined.
- Add dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Transfer dough to a piece of plastic wrap and form into a large disc. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Lightly flour the surface then roll out the dough until it is 1/2-inch thick. Use a 3-inch round cookie cutter to cut cookies. Place on baking sheet. Collect the scraps and reroll the dough until all cookies are cut out.
- Bake cookies until edges are just set, about 10-12 minutes. Cool completely before removing cookies from the baking sheet.
- Prepare the frosting: In a large bowl, beat the butter until it is light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the powdered sugar and beat an additional 3 minutes until the frosting is light and fluffy. Add heavy cream, vanilla, and salt. Beat just to combine. Add food coloring and beat to combine, making sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl for uniform color.
- Use an offset spatula or knife to spread a thick layer of frosting on each cookie. Add sprinkles while frosting is still wet so that they will stick.
Equipment
Nutrition Facts
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