How To. Make Icing That You Can Decorate And Won't Smudge

Leap to Recipe

Looking for the all-time tasting buttercream frosting for carbohydrate cookies, but ane that actually hardens, also? This is your recipe! This AMAZING buttercream icing recipe, made without corn syrup, is PERFECT for decorating carbohydrate cookies and cutout cookies, and it tastes Delicious!

UPDATED FOR 2021: Because this recipe has become so popular over the last couple of years, I've made sure to update the mail service with even more than details & FAQs to hopefully respond any and all of your questions! This recipe gets tens of thousands of readers each year, peculiarly during the holidays, so I want to make sure that this frosting turns out exactly how you hope it will, hence all the details walking yous through the recipe in the mail service! 🙂

Friend, it is an HONOR to know that I can assist you bring joy to your gatherings with these deliciously busy cookies – thank yous for letting me be function of your table! 🙂

If you're on the hunt for the absolute best sugar cookie frosting out at that place that tastes expert, is piece of cake to use, and really hardens after yous frost your cookies, I accept some good news for you!

This. is. it.

>> The full recipe is at the bottom of the post before the comments brainstorm, but y'all may want to read through the notes in this post before making it, just to ensure it turns out exactly the manner you lot want it to! 🙂 <<

After years of decorating sugar cookies with buttercream that, yep, tasted yummy, simply that required *super* delicate handling because of how easily the beautifully decorated cookies would smudge, I decided it was high fourth dimension to figure out if it was possible to get that same delicious buttercream flavor & texture, but with a little more than practicality for storing and transporting cookies.

A lot of us do not dearest the flavor of purple icing and really want to figure out if nosotros can get majestic icing to gustation like buttercream since buttercream has that lovely velvety texture and rich flavour.

And for me, I really actually adopt to decorate cookies with buttercream vs. royal icing, and so I was actually bound and determined to try to figure out a recipe that might piece of work for both hardening & decorating!

And so, I put on my lab coat & started experimenting to find that perfect recipe.

Just kidding. I'thou certain I was wearing my typical Mauri's-busy-messing-around-with-ingredients-in-the-kitchen attire: an Aggie or a Texas t-shirt, athletic shorts, and worn-out tennis shoes.

This was a very serious chore!

After A LOT of experimentation, I finally landed on this recipe, and I amso excited to finally share it with you!

I think you're going to love information technology – the flavor of the buttercream is And then skilful, and it's and so easy to work with compared to imperial icing – you lot really don't need any fancy equipment to decorate gorgeous cookies with it.

I'1000 going to walk you through the elementary steps for how to brand this icing, but earlier I do that, permit's talk through some things you'll want to know almost this recipe, and then nosotros'll conversation about some "best practice" tips for how to get that perfect frosting, just so you tin can get it perfect the first time you make it!

What you need to know before making this recipe:

1. This hardens up REALLY well for cookies you simply want to spread with frosting & and so decorate with sprinkles – it'south the PERFECT frosting for that type of decorating, and those cookies are then super piece of cake to stack & transport without the stress of smudging the frosting and the cookies all sticking to each other.
2. For cookies that you want to decorate with fine detail & pipage, the frosting will harden up improve than any other buttercream frosting yous'll try, and it'll make those easier to stack and to transport, but it will not harden up the same way every bit royal icing (where you could basically throw rocks at the decorated cookie and information technology wouldn't mess up). Typically, when you pipe & decorate cookies with buttercream, you're going to need to exist very careful with them in transport, and definitely cannot stack them without ruining the fine detail in them. THIS RECIPE CHANGES THAT! You lot can definitely stack the cookies and send them MUCH more easily (I do it all the time!!), simply they're not 100% smudge-proof. There is no 100% smudge-proof buttercream frosting for carbohydrate cookies (believe me, I've tried), but this gets pretty darn close, and definitely as close as yous possibly tin can without it actually existence the consistency of hard-as-nails imperial icing. This is my go-to frosting EVERY time I want to decorate saccharide cookies, whether it's with a simple frosting & sprinkles or if I'1000 piping with detail.
3. Along those aforementioned lines, if you're looking for the exact equivalent of royal icing in buttercream class, you're not going to observe it (again, believe me, I've tried!), but this actually is a fantastic pick. Unlike regal icing, it'southward not going to get shiny, it's non going to flood, and information technology's not going to harden up like a rock in the same fashion. Even so, the gustatory modality and texture are out of this world, it'southward really fun to decorate with, and it hardens upwards better than whatsoever buttercream frosting I've e'er tried. Because this recipe has become then pop, I've continued to exam information technology & other recipes only to brand sure it really is the best choice out at that place for what you're wanting to accomplish with sugar cookies. (The force per unit area is on, and I really want to brand sure I alive up to the expectations!) Inevitably, I keep coming back to this same exact recipe. I've made it dozens and dozens of times, compared it to several other recipes, and it's all the same my absolute favorite, and I get compliments out the wazoo every time I make these cookies + frosting and share them with people.
4. Yous can use this on any carbohydrate cookie, but my personal favorite are soft and chewy sugar cookies (vs. harder or "puffier" sugar cookies). If soft & chewy is your preference, too, you lot volition LOVE that recipe. Piece of cake to make, and no need to chill the dough earlier you make them!
5. I answer several FAQs at the bottom of the mail, so if you're wondering annihilation else about this recipe before you lot become started, get check those out!

Tips for the Best buttercream frosting for sugar cookies (that actually hardens!)

Just so y'all know: this isn't a fussy recipe. You don't have to work magic and *pray* this recipe turns out.

However, there are some things about this recipe that are a piddling…item. But, as long every bit you follow the particular tips (I'yard outlining them for you lot here), you'll get the exact amazing results for the icing as I know you lot can go!

Fellow I-don't-like-to-follow-rules-in-my-kitchen friends (we are a stubborn agglomeration, aren't we?): that's why I'one thousand giving you all these tips upward front end.

Just trust me on these, okie dokes?

1. Contrary to how wrong this feels, you're going to start out by using common cold butter. Non room temp. Not slightly cooler than room temp. Straight-outta-the-fridge-cold-butter. This seems *crazy,* I know, Simply, as long as you accept a stand mixer (or a hand mixer with some patience on your terminate), you can do this. The common cold butter helps to achieve that perfect consistency. For several years, when I'd brand buttercream frosting for my sugar cookies, it was hit or miss on whether or not my frosting was likewise runny or too grainy. I call up a lot of that had to do with the varying temperature of the butter, which then called for a variance in the other ingredients: how much milk/foam (or not) I'd use and how much powdered saccharide I'd use to attain the perfect consistency. After doing some enquiry, I realized cold butter might only be the magic ingredient, and spoiler alarm: it was!
2. If yous're coloring the frosting, Apply THE GEL food coloring. Do not use liquid nutrient coloring. I promise: the gel food coloring isn't any more expensive, and it makes a *huge* departure in the texture of the frosting. This is the kind I use, particularly considering I can get a adept scarlet out of it – I feel like other gels I've bought in the past have a way-as well-pink blood-red.
3. Utilise heavy cream, Not milk. The heavy whipping foam helps to 1) Add creaminess to the icing (which is what we want!), and ii) Assist it harden. It's worth it to utilise the heavy cream!
4. Use a stand mixer with the paddle attachment. This will relieve you a TON of work that I probably wouldn't be willing to do with my arms. Role of the "chemistry" of this icing goes beyond the ingredients – it's also in how you mix 'em together.

As well, I answer a bunch of questions yous might have at the end of this postal service, so be sure to cheque out the Q&A section if you're wanting fifty-fifty more info on this recipe!

Ok, ready to make this amazing buttercream icing?! Let's walk through the steps to make this cookie icing recipe that hardens!

How to make Buttercream for Sugar Cookies

Here are the stars of the evidence:

Bones ingredients are all you demand! Nothing fancy around here, folks! (And believe me, when I share with yous how to decorate these cookies, you're going to find out how actually un-fancy it is to decorate such gorgeous cookies!)

Ingredients:

• Common cold, straight-out-of-the-fridge unsalted butter, cubed
• Heavy whipping cream
• Powdered sugar, whisked a fleck just to get rid of any clumps
• Vanilla extract
• Pinch of salt
• Gel food coloring

Stride 1: Foam the butter in your stand up mixer with the paddle attachment

Fridge cold unsalted butter. I'd say "water ice cold butter," only I don't want you to apply it from your freezer. Refrigerator is common cold enough. 🙂

I know, it really does seem a lilliputian counter intuitive to not soften the butter, even but a little bit. Simply just close your eyes to intuition and just get with this, ok?!

I've made icing well-nigh a thousand times, but because I was and then particular on this frosting existence the perfect consistency for both flavor AND part (hardening upward), I did quite a bit of reading about icing, trying to figure out why my buttercream frosting sometimes comes out a bit grainy, especially when I want to color it for decorating.

I came beyond this blogger's super helpful tips on buttercream frosting for cakes, and I was pretty intrigued about using cold butter. She talks about how using common cold butter really helps with the consistency of the frosting, and specifically addressed my annoyance with grainy buttercream. And then, I decided to utilize this office of her method for the sugar cookie frosting, and it worked!

In this footstep, your COLD butter Will get creamy, you just need to let your mixer exercise some of the legwork (armwork?) for ya. Yous'll chop the butter up into chunks – about eight cubes or so – and then whip information technology on a medium-high speed in your mixer with the paddle zipper for about 4 minutes. Basically, until information technology's actually creamy. Scrape the bowl/paddle attachment with a spatula if you lot need to.

Step 2: Gradually mix in powdered sugar on LOW speed

You lot're going to slowly mix in your powdered saccharide while your mixer is running on low speed. Occasionally scrape the bowl/zipper with a spatula, and just keep mixing together until the sugar looks like information technology's completely mixed with the butter – probably about 2-iii minutes.

At this point, the frosting will exist quite clumpy, just don't worry! We're going to address that in just a sec! This is what mine looks like after whipping them together for a few minutes:

Pace iii: Add together in the cream 1 tablespoon at a fourth dimension while standing to run the mixer + add together vanilla

This is where the icing actually starts to get, well, creamy! While you're running the mixer on low speed, add in ane tablespoon at a time of cream to the basin. You really should only need 5 tablespoons of cream (if you're making this exact recipe – this recipe makes plenty frosting for virtually 24-xxx cookies + you'll probable have a little leftover), so don't go carried abroad with adding besides much!

Add the vanilla & pinch of salt afterwards you add in the cream and continue to mix.

Some will suggest using a clear vanilla extract if you want well-baked white frosting. I used my regular nighttime chocolate-brown Mexican vanilla extract that I use for everything when I bake, and I really didn't think it made that large of a dent in the white tint of the frosting. You can see in all of the photos of these cookies how the white turned out.

See, look how creamy it gets!

Step 4: Add food coloring if desired!

If you're not coloring the frosting, your job is basically done at this bespeak other than adding the icing to the sugar cookies!

If y'all are coloring information technology, though, similar I mentioned at the beginning, you'll definitely desire to use the gel food coloring – information technology'll help maintain the creamy-and-non-grainy consistency of the buttercream, and it'll assist make sure it hardens upward ameliorate than if you were to use liquid food coloring.

(I talk in detail about how to actually decorate these sugar cookies like a pro in this mail!)

Important tips about the frosting:

1. Make certain you ice the cookies fairly soon after making the frosting. You lot don't have to race the clock, but y'all as well don't want to make this, let it sit out on the counter or in the fridge for a few hours, and and so frost the cookies. The icing really does start to harden! Non like a stone, merely, it'll harden upward enough over a couple of hours that makes information technology really difficult to spread evenly over the cookies.
2. You tin can kind of make it ahead of time as long as you shop it in an airtight container. I know, I'm contradicting myself here. I did find that, I could make the few "base of operations colors" of frosting I wanted to utilise (basically, the 2-iii colors of frosting I wanted to spread onto the cookies before doing the detailed decorating), practice the "base" layer of frosting on the cookies within about an hour of making the icing, color the rest of the frosting with a bunch of different colors for the "pipe," shop those colors in airtight Ziplock baggies, and that frosting stayed soft much longer and gave me a lot more jerk room with fourth dimension for decorating. So, that's definitely an selection.

I have more tips at the bottom of the post. Good grief, how much tin can one say almost frosting?! Apparently a lot. 🙂

Here's what it looks similar to add some coloring to the frosting:

Just start out with a couple drops of the gel, then you can always add more.

Mix and match colors – you can accept a lot of fun with this! 🙂

But, make certain yous don't color ALL of the frosting if you desire to have some white to decorate with, too. Only fix some white icing bated so you don't forget. 🙂

Then frost your cookies!

To decorate gorgeously-piped cookies like these, cheque out this mail service to see how to decorate carbohydrate cookies like a pro!

Buttercream Frosting Q&A:

1. How long does it take for the buttercream to harden?
   Afterwards spreading the buttercream on the cookie, you'll notice it harden up quite a fleck within a couple of hours. Earlier stacking them, though, I would give them overnight to harden, and and so stack them on top of each other.
2. How strong does the frosting get?
   This frosting isn't like royal icing – it won't completely harden upwards similar a rock – so you won't want these to tumble around a bunch in a container if you lot're transporting them somewhere. Even so, you tin can stack them (and for the cookies that you're non necessarily decorating with a lot of detail, y'all tin really stack those & not worry about them getting super smudged), but don't be also rough with 'em. This batch yous see in the photos took a 3-hour automobile ride with us to visit family, and they were completely fine stacked on tiptop of each other in a covered Pyrex drinking glass dish. (Note: I take not tested this myself, but I had a reader reach out to me and tell me that she packaged these upward and mailed them, and the decorated cookies were just fine when they arrived at their destination, and so that was exciting to hear!)
3. Tin can I brand this frosting ahead of fourth dimension?
   This is exactly what I did: I made the basic frosting recipe, and so used the food coloring to dye the 3 different colors I wanted to use for the "base" of the cookies (those different shades of green, plus you see I used white for the base of ane design), spread the frosting on the cookies to give all of them that initial coat of frosting. Then, I dyed the residual of the frosting to make the other colors, put it all in the Ziplock baggies (which are great for storage and for piping as you'll run across in tomorrow's post) did some decorating, and and then saved the residual of the frosting for the post-obit day to finish upwards decorating them. I did all of that within nigh 2 hours later on making the frosting. The dyed frosting in the baggies stayed completely soft overnight, merely the baggies were all sealed with the air pressed out of them. And, I kept them all out on the kitchen counter so they stayed at room temp – working with fridge-cold icing is hard…literally! It's non soft!Merely, to sum it all upwardly: I wouldn't necessarily recommend making the unabridged batch of frosting ahead of time and waiting until the following day to exercise the base glaze. I would do all of the base of operations coats soon after you make the frosting – within an hr or so. And then, you tin do what I did and store the smaller amounts with the colors in the baggies.
4. Exercise I accept to refrigerate the icing?
   Nope!
5. Tin I use milk instead of foam?
   The heavy whipping cream really helps with that creaminess of the icing, and I think it helps tremendously with helping it to harden. Unless y'all're in a pinch, I'd stick with heavy cream!
6. How long will the icing taste good on the cookie?
   I made these to share on here & then saved them for a family weekend a few days later. Even on days 5 & vi afterward making them, the cookies + the icing yet tasted great!
7. Tin y'all flood this icing?
   Nope, you'll need to spread the bottom layer with a butter knife or spreader, and then for the finer decorating, y'all'll need to pipage it using my easy carbohydrate cookie decorating method. (Honestly, this is a actually fun way to decorate cookies!)
8. How many cookies will this frost?
   About 24-thirty cookies. If you're just spreading the frosting & not piping, y'all can probably go it to stretch to all 30 cookies. If yous're piping, since you'll need to divvy up the frosting to make different colors, I'd count on about 24 cookies.
9. Does the frosting harden up enough to bundle upwardly frosted sugar cookies and send them in the postal service? Short answer: YES! Longer answer: y'all would probably desire to stick with mailing ones that aren't finely decorated, simply rather the ones that are simply frosted with a layer of icing + sprinkles. I wrote a whole postal service on how to mail frosted sugar cookies – go cheque it out for a lot more than details on how to exercise this and ensure your cookies get in fresh & in-tact!
10. Tin you freeze the frosted sugar cookies? Because I get this question every and then often, I tried it the other day to see what would happen. I tried it with ones that had just a layer of frosting & sprinkles (not highly decorated ones with lots of piping and lots of unlike colors) – I froze some that had white frosting, some that had green frosting, and some that had red frosting, all with sprinkles. After freezing, the cherry ones were slightly discolored – they didn't wait terrible, merely they didn't wait every bit fresh. The green and white ones looked fine, and the frosting itself tasted fine subsequently having been frozen, but the carbohydrate cookie also didn't sense of taste equally fresh. I personally much prefer a chewy sugar cookie to a crisp/firm 1, but the chewy cookies were more than crumbly after having been frozen. And so, I'thou thinking that, if you actually want to brand and freeze them, yous could potentially use this frosting recipe, only then choose a different saccharide cookie recipe – ane that produces firmer, less-chewy cookies – and yous might have better results than I did.
11. Can you add the buttercream frosting to squeeze bottles? I had a reader ask me this question (you can see my response in the comments, but I'll as well talk almost it hither) – I oasis't washed this before, but yous probably can do it as long as y'all either 1) utilize small squeeze bottles (so that the frosting fills the bottle), or 2) at least double the icing recipe. Because this is pretty thick icing and really isn't runny at all, if you lot add it to squeeze bottles vs. using plastic baggies to pipe frosting (y'all tin can get bank check out my VERY detailed tutorial for decorating cookies with this frosting), you'll want to make sure there's enough pressure level in the bottle for the icing to actually clasp out. It's actually piece of cake to practise this with sandwich baggies, but I'm not certain if it'll be that easy with clasp bottles. (That being said, if you lot exercise this with squeeze bottles, allow me know how it goes! I oftentimes have readers report dorsum to me to let me know unlike tips and tricks they used when working with this icing, so I love getting feedback and then I can include even more helpful information in this post!)

Whew. Any other questions I can answer for ya?!

Now that you've fabricated your frosting, are you ready to decorate?! Learn how to decorate these gorgeous sugar cookies without any special culinary experience or fancy-schmancy tools.

As impressive equally these cookies turn out, I might even "united nations-impress" you with how un-fancy and easy this process is!

Also, if y'all're still in demand of a keen sugar cookie recipe, check out my favorite soft & chewy sugar cookie recipe.

And, if you want access to this recipe + another Christmas favorites AND some great holiday blistering tips, make sure y'all snag your costless Holiday Baking Cheat Sheets! Just make full out the form beneath and they'll get sent directly to your inbox! 🙂

Ingredients

• 12 tbsp COLD unsalted butter, chopped into almost viii pieces
• five c powered sugar
• 5 tbsp heavy foam
• 3 tsp vanilla extract
• i/four tsp salt
• Gel food coloring

Instructions

1. In a stand up mixer using the paddle attachment, whip the butter on medium-loftier speed for nearly iv minutes until really flossy.
2. While mixing on low, gradually mix in powdered sugar, occasionally scraping the bowl. Mix together for nearly 2-3 minutes. The frosting volition be quite clumpy – don't worry! We'll make it flossy in just a sec!
3. While continuing to mix, add in the cream one tbsp at a time. Y'all really should only need 5 tbsp of cream – just continue to mix together and the frosting WILL go creamy! Mix in the vanilla & salt - proceed to beat for another few seconds to ensure the vanilla and salt are fully mixed in.
4. Color frosting as desired with gel food coloring. Spread frosting on sugar cookies shortly after making the frosting – it volition showtime to harden after an hour or two.
   

Notes

See the mail service for more details and footstep-by-step visuals & explanations!

Source: https://theamericanpatriette.com/the-best-buttercream-frosting-for-sugar-cookies-that-hardens/

Posted by: perrylonaim.blogspot.com

Share this post