This Sugar Cookie Frosting is perfect for decorating! It’s smooth and creamy and has an incredible flavor. Only 5 basic ingredients and a couple minutes of hands on time, no decorating skills needed!

Frosted sugar cookies topped with rainbow sprinkles on a white plate.

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What sets this recipe apart
FAQ: Does this frosting harden?
This sugar cookie frosting vs royal icing
Decorating sugar cookies: 3 ways
My recipe testing tips
Recipe
More sugar cookie recipes

What sets this recipe apart

TASTE: This frosting tastes incredible! It is sweet and buttery with vanilla and a touch of almond extract.

NO CORN SYRUP: This is a buttercream-style sugar cookie frosting so you don’t need corn syrup or egg whites.

GREAT FOR BEGINNERS: No decorating skills needed!

SPREAD, PIPE, OR DIP: Choose from three ways to use this frosting on your sugar cookies. Spread it with a knife, pipe it with a pastry bag, or melt it and dip your cookies into it. This is the perfect topping for cut out sugar cookies.

Frosted snowflake sugar cookies on a wood board.

FAQ: Does this frosting harden?

This frosting will firm up when chilled but it will not be as hard as royal icing. When chilled, the consistency will be similar to cold butter. At room temperature the frosting will soften a bit.

How to stack and store frosted sugar cookies

Chill the frosted cookies in a single layer in the refrigerator until the frosting firms up. Once chilled, you can stack and store the cookies, tightly sealed, in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or the freezer for up to 3 months. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Sugar cookie frosting in a glass bowl with a marble and gold knife in it.

PROS: This is a buttercream-style recipe that tastes way better than royal icing. It is super easy to work with and it allows home bakers to decorate cookies with ease!

CONS: This frosting will not dry rock-hard at room temperature. If you’re looking to ship frosted sugar cookies for the holidays this is not the frosting for that. See more above on stacking and storing.

Sugar cookies topped with pink frosting and colored sprinkles.

Decorating sugar cookies: 3 ways

Spread

Use a small butter knife to spread the frosting onto your cookies. This works best with round cookies and it’s an easy technique for kids.

Round sugar cookie with white frosting and red and green sprinkles.

Pipe

Place the frosting in a piping bag with your desired tips(s) and pipe the frosting right on to your cookies. This is a great technique if you have cutout cookies with intricate edges (like trees or snowflakes).

Sugar cookie topped with green frosting and red sprinkles to look like a holiday wreath.

Melt and dip

Melt the frosting in the microwave (adding a little more milk to thin it out). Once the frosting is thin and melted, dip the sugar cookies face down into the melted frosting. This will create a smooth and even coating of frosting on the top of the cookies. This is a great technique if you have cutout cookies with intricate edges (like trees or snowflakes).

White frosted Christmas tree cutout cookie topped with red and green sprinkles.

Two photo collage of melted sugar cookie frosting in a bowl and with a snowflake cookie in it.

My recipe testing tips

Butter temp: Use butter that is softened but still cool to the touch. The butter should be soft enough that it blends easily, but not so soft that it is losing its shape and starting to melt.

Consistency: This frosting can easily be adjusted to be more thick or thin by adding more powdered sugar to thicken or more milk to thin.

Colored frosting: If you’d like to dye your frosting I recommend gel food coloring. Add it in step one of the recipe.

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Recipe

This creamy and delicious frosting is the perfect topping for decorating sugar cookies.

5 from 126 votes

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Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 10

Total Time: 10

Servings: 20 – 40 (makes approximately 2-½ cups of frosting)

Calories: 153kcal

Author: Allison Mattina

Ingredients

▢ 1 cup unsalted butter, softened to cool room temp (still cool to the touch)
▢ 3 cups powdered sugar*, sifted if lumpy
▢ 1 tablespoon half and half or milk*, plus more as needed
▢ 1 ¾ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
▢ ¼ teaspoon almond extract
▢ pinch salt

Instructions

Sugar cookie frosting:

Using a hand mixer, or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and half of the powdered sugar until well-combined (starting out the mixer low and increasing to medium-high). Slowly add the remaining powdered sugar (while beating), followed by vanilla and almond extracts, pinch of salt, and 1 tablespoon milk. Continue to add more milk, a little bit at a time, until you get a creamy spreadable frosting. If desired, you can add food coloring at this point.
Turn the mixer to medium-high and beat well. Depending on how thick you want the frosting, you can easily adjust the consistency by adding more powdered sugar (to thicken) or more milk (to thin).

Frosting to spread or pipe:

Use a piping bag, small knife, or spreader to add the frosting to baked and cooled sugar cookies. Immediately top with sprinkles, if using.

Melted dippable frosting:

Prepare the frosting above adding extra powdered sugar and milk (see note).
Working with half of the frosting at a time: Place frosting in a wide shallow bowl and microwave for 15-20 seconds. Stir really well. The frosting should be melty and thin. Microwave for a few more seconds, and add a splash of milk, if necessary, to get it thin enough.
Working quickly, dip each sugar cookie face down into the frosting. Move the cookie around a bit, then flip it over and jiggle it back and forth to get the frosting to settle into an even layer. Top with sprinkles, if using, then set aside to allow the frosting to set.
Note: The frosting will firm up as it cools, so you might need to microwave it again to thin it out. Once you have used the first half of the frosting, proceed with microwaving the second half.

Video

Notes

*For melted dipping buttercream: Add an additional cup of powdered sugar and increase the milk to 3 tablespoons (plus more, as needed).

Storage

Frosting: Frosting can be stored in the refrigerator, in an airtight container, for up to one week. Bring frosting to room temperature before using it. Note: frosting can absorb odors from the fridge so make sure it is well sealed.

Frosted cookies: Chill frosted cookies in a single layer in the refrigerator until the frosting firms up. Once chilled, you can stack and store the cookies, tightly sealed, in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or the freezer for up to 3 months. Bring to room temperature before serving.