Frosted sugar cookies recipe (2024)

Buttery, melt-in-your-mouth amazingness, these frosted sugar cookies are the made-from-scratch version of the store bought ones. Love at first bite!
Frosted sugar cookies recipe (1)

Since I started this blog, little over 3 years ago (how times flies!!!) I have made thousands hundreds of cookies but what makes my husband’s heart skip a beat are the soft, cakey sugar cookies found at the grocery store. You know which cookies I’m talking about, don’t you? The soft sugar cookies that come in different colors and flavorings depending on the season.

I never understood what’s all the fuss about these cookies. Although I have tried them on various occasions I still can’t say they are one of my favorite cookies. Maybe because I’m a chocolate kind of girl. Or maybe because I haven’t had the right soft sugar cookie!

Few days ago I was thumbing my friend Sally’s cookbook(you might remember her from these peanut butter chocolate cupcakes) and stopped at page 118 where Sally promises buttery, soft and sweet cookies without along list of ingredients. 3 batches of cookies later and I finally got it why these soft sugar cookies are so irresistible.

Frosted sugar cookies recipe (2)

I’ve seen quite a few copycatrecipes for the store bought version but most of them called fora boxed cake mix. This recipe doesn’t call for a box mix and uses just the basic ingredients you are likely to find in sugar cookies – butter, sugar, egg, all purpose flour, vanilla and leaveners.

Start by creaming the butter with the sugar, beat in the egg and last fold in the dry ingredients.

Sally’s advice is to scoop the cookie dough and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. This will prevent the cookies from spreading while baking. I have to say, I had a little problems at this point. I don’t know for sure how little or how much the cookies were supposed to spread, but mine did spread.

For thefirst batch I used a small OXO scoop and refrigerated the cookie dough for about 2 hours. The cookies turned out buttery, melt-in-your-mouth amazingness but not as thick as I hoped.

For the second batch I used an OXO medium size scoop and refrigerated the cookies overnight. Just like the first batch, the cookies turned out amazing, but spread.

For thethird batch I used the medium size scoop and froze the cookie dough for 1 hour. No difference in taste or texture.

No matter what size cookie dough you chooseandno matter how long you refrigerate the cookie dough – you must try these cookies!

Top them with a generous amount of buttercream and lots and lots of sprinkles!

Frosted sugar cookies recipe (3)

Speaking of sprinkles, today a few of my friends and I are throwing a surprise bridal show for Sally! Congratulations Sally!!! Thanks to Anna and Jaclyn for organizing it!

So, grab your sprinkles and join the fun!

Chocolate Swiss Roll Cake from Lauren’s Latest

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Confetti Cookie Milkshake from Bake Your Day

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Frosted Sugar Cookies from Roxana’s Home Baking

Peanut Butter Filled Doughnuts from Crazy For Crust

Funfetti Sugar Cookie Cups from Crunchy Creamy Sweet

Shirley Temple from Damn Delicious

Funfetti Pudding Mix Cookies from Cooking Classy

Cherry Chocolate Chip Cupcakes from The Messy Baker

Chocolate Frosted Sugar Cookie Bars from Handle the Heat

Vanilla Banana Muffins from Love From the Oven

Homemade Funfetti Yellow Birthday Cake from Ambitious Kitchen

Frosting Filled Deep Dish Cake Batter Cookies from The Domestic Rebel

Frosted sugar cookies recipe

Yields 16 cookies

10 minPrep Time

10 minCook Time

1 hrTotal Time

Frosted sugar cookies recipe (4)Save Recipe

Print Recipe

Ingredients

    Cookies

  • 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • Frosting

  • 6 tablespoons butter, room temperature
  • 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2-3 tablespoons heavy cream

Instructions

  1. In a mixing bowl add the butter and sugar. With the paddle attachment on, beat on low speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
  2. Beat in the egg and vanilla extract and scrape the sides of the bowl with a spatula.
  3. Gently fold in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt.
  4. Scoop out the dough with a medium size scoop and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
  5. When ready to bake, heat the oven to 350F and bake the cookies for 10 minutes.
  6. Remove from the oven and cool completely on the baking sheets before removing.
  7. To make the frosting, add the butter to a mixing bowl.
  8. With the paddle attachment on, beat on low speed until light and fluffy.
  9. Gently, mix in the powdered sugar and vanilla extract.
  10. To reach your desired frosting consistency, pour a couple of drops of heavy cream at a time beating continuously until it turns out the way you like it.
  11. Spread a generous tablespoon of frosting over each cooled cookie and decorate with colorful sprinkles.

Notes

7.6.8

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Roxana Yawgel http://atreatsaffair.com/ All images and content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to republish this recipe, please re-write the recipe in your own words, or simply link back to this post for the recipe. Thank you.

Frosted sugar cookies recipe (2024)

FAQs

How to frost sugar cookies like a pro? ›

Start by outlining the cookie with piping-consistency icing in any color you choose. Then, use flooding-consistency icing to fill the outlined area, starting by flooding around the edges and working your way towards the center. If the flooding is inconsistent in thickness, redistribute the wet icing with a toothpick.

How long do you let sugar cookies cool before icing? ›

Bake your cookies on an ungreased cookie sheet for 8-12 minutes depending on the thickness of your cookie. Cool on cookie sheet for 2 minutes before removing to a cooling rack. Cool completely before icing. *If your meringue powder does not have any vanilla flavor in it, you can add a teaspoon of CLEAR vanilla.

How do you stack frosted sugar cookies? ›

Once decorated, pre-freeze the frosted cookies on a cookie sheet for 15-30 minutes, until hardened. Afterward, transfer the frozen cookies to an airtight container. As long as the frosting is firm, these can be stacked with a layer of parchment paper in between.

What is the easiest way to frost cookies? ›

Use Squeeze Bottles to Decorate Cookies with Icing

Plus, they're easy to clean! My favorites are little eight-ounce squeeze bottles that you can find at Michael's and other craft stores. A small funnel makes it easy to fill them.

What kind of frosting is on a sugar cookie? ›

Sugar cookies are often decorated with royal icing (a hard icing made from egg whites, powdered sugar, and citrus juice) or fondant (a sugary confection that can be used as a filling, decoration, or icing).

Do frosted sugar cookies need to be refrigerated? ›

Refrigerating is an option, but not always the best one. If you refrigerate undecorated sugar cookies, they might last longer, but they can also get dry and crumbly. If you refrigerate decorated cookies, the frosting will likely soften.

Why do people like frosted sugar cookies? ›

With white sugar bases, thick but not rich colored frosting and sprinkles on top, frosted sugar cookies are amazing all the way around. For starters, the cookies are never chewy. They are soft, fluffy and very easy to eat which adds to the lovely taste.

What happens if you don't chill sugar cookies? ›

Chilling the dough is a key step in making sugar cookies, especially when you're making cut-outs. Even if you're tight on time, make sure to get the dough in the fridge, or even the freezer, even if it's only for a little while. Skip this step, and the dough will be sticky, and much harder to work with.

How far in advance can I make decorated sugar cookies? ›

Decorated Sugar Cookies

If you decide to leave them in the fridge, they will last about a week, but keep in mind that it's best to eat them within the first three days. When it comes to the freezer, decorated sugar cookies can be kept there as long as undecorated ones, so about three months.

Should I freeze sugar cookies before frosting? ›

Sugar cookies, like most cookies, can be frozen, but if you are planning to decorate your sugar cookies with frosting, freeze before decorating. As with most cookies, you can freeze sugar cookie dough or freeze baked sugar cookies.

How to make store bought frosting better for sugar cookies? ›

How to Upgrade Store-Bought Frosting
  1. Cream cheese. Beat in 8 ounces of room temperature plain or flavored cream cheese. ...
  2. Whipped cream. Mix equal parts freshly whipped cream and frosting. ...
  3. Butter. ...
  4. Peanut butter or other nut butter. ...
  5. Nutella. ...
  6. Cookie butter. ...
  7. Jam, preserves, or marmalade. ...
  8. Lemon curd.
Feb 14, 2024

Can you over mix sugar cookies? ›

You really can overmix sugar cookie dough, which then leads to a tougher, chewier cookie. To ensure a light, fluffy cookie every time, mix until your ingredients are just incorporated and then put the mixing spoon down for good.

What is the best way to ice sugar cookies? ›

Decorate your sugar cookies by first outlining the border, then filling in the middle with flood icing which should settle into itself. Use a toothpick or scribe tool to fill in any gaps by spreading the icing around, then tap the cookie on the counter a few times to help the icing settle into a smooth, even layer.

Is it better to freeze sugar cookies with or without frosting? ›

Sugar cookies, like most cookies, can be frozen, but if you are planning to decorate your sugar cookies with frosting, freeze before decorating. As with most cookies, you can freeze sugar cookie dough or freeze baked sugar cookies.

How do you keep sugar cookies soft when decorated? ›

Once the icing has set, these cookies are great for gifting or for sending. Plain or decorated cookies stay soft for about 5 days when covered tightly at room temperature.

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