Frosted sugar cookies are delicious any time of year! Birthdays and holidays and after schools snacks. Seriously… any freaking time! These sugar cookies are the fluffiest and sure to be a favorite.
These are decorated for St. Patrick’s Day! Check out some of my other St. Patrick’s Day treats here.
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Cookie Dough
There are many different ways to make sugar cookies. Different ingredients to include in your recipes to make sure your cookies are sweet and delicious. Some can be thinner and crispy. Some, like these beauties, are light and fluffy and my favorite frosted sugar cookies!
I cut straight to the chase with these guys and never look back… From the mixer to the cookie sheets then the oven to the cooling rack… then straight to my mouth!
Cookie Dough Ingredients
You’ll need the basics for this sugar cookie recipe:
Eggs, flour, butter, sugar, vanilla, baking soda, baking powder, salt and sour cream…
I know. I thought the sour cream was weird at first too. But, trust me on this one!
How to Make Sugar Cookie Dough
Start by creaming 1 1/4 cups of butter with 1 1/2 cups of sugar in an upright mixer. Mix at medium speed for about 2 minutes until it’s light and fluffy!
Add in 1 tsp of vanilla and 2 beaten eggs to the bowl. Mix until combined.
In a separate bowl combine 3 1/2 cups of flour, 1 teaspoon of baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 2 teaspoons of baking powder.
Alternate adding the combined dry ingredients to your mixing bowl with 1 cup of sour cream.
This dough pretty much fills up my KitchenAid mixer, so if you’re using a hand mixer, be sure to have a large enough mixing bowl!
Bake the Sugar Cookies
Use a large scoop to put cookies on the baking sheet. The one I used for this is about 3 tablespoons.
If you want your cookies topped with sugar, dip the bottom of a glass into your colored sugar, granulated sugar or demerara sugar. You’ll need to dampen the glass to make the sugar stick, so wipe it with a wet cloth or a bit of butter.
Press down on each cookie to spread it so it’s about 1/2″ thick.
Bake at 375 for 10 minutes.
Just a little… Frosting!
You’ll need butter, milk, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, food coloring and a fun little thing called bakery emulsion (and sprinkles if you’re feeling fancy) to make this sugar cookie frosting.
Emulsions are thicker than extracts and can be used in the same amounts in place of extracts. As a result it’s great for baking since the thicker consistency ensures the flavor doesn’t bake out as easily. I’ll definitely try that in the next cake I bake, or maybe even in my next batch of sugar cookies!
For this frosted sugar cookie recipe, I used a Princess Cake and Cookie Bakery Emulsion along with some regular vanilla extract. It has a slightly nutty flavor that I prefer hands down over almond extracts. A personal note: I cannot stand the taste of almond extract because it tastes like Jergen’s lotion smells to me… no thanks.
Mix it
Stir your milk, vanilla and emulsion into powdered sugar. I do this before bringing in the mixer because I don’t like watching powdered sugar all over. Use a hand mixer to combine softened butter to the powdered sugar mix. Add a drop or two of food coloring if desired and blend until smooth. If you need to thin down the frosting, add in a bit more milk about a teaspoon at a time.
I swear by my KitchenAid most of the time. But for small jobs like this sugar cookie frosting, a hand mixer is just easier. Ours snaps onto the top of its storage case. It’s super nice since I always know where the beaters and attachments are, and it’s not clunking around in the cabinet.
That’s it. Get busy frosting those sugar cookies. Maybe add a few sprinkles!
Buttercream frostings can be left at room temperature for about 3 days. So make sure to store your frosted cookies in an airtight container. Additionally, you can individually wrap the cookies in Saran for safe keeping. This makes them easier to store, or freeze and even share!
Michaels has an awesome collection of sprinkles!
Frosted Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
Sugar Cookie
- 1½ cups sugar
- 1¼ cups butter softened
- 2 eggs beaten
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup sour cream
- 3½ cups all purpose flour
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
Frosting
- ⅓ cup butter softened
- ¼ cup milk
- 3½ cups powdered sugar
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp cake and cookie emulsion
- 1-2 drops food coloring
- sprinkles if you're feeling fancy
Instructions
Sugar Cookies
- Cream butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl or upright mixer.
- Mix eggs and vanilla. Add to mixing bowl.
- Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
- Alternate adding dry ingredients and sour cream to mixing bowl.
- Scoop onto cookie sheet.
- Use the bottom of a glass cup covered in sugar to press the cookies to ½".
- Bake 375° for 10 minutes.
Frosting
- Stir milk, vanilla and emulsion into powdered sugar.
- Add softened butter and use hand mixer to combine.
- Use 1-2 drops of food coloring if desired, and beat until smooth.
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