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This mouthwatering 5-minute Sugar Cookie Frosting is smooth, creamy, and perfect for decorating cookies. It’s a top-requested recipe!
This delicious Sugar Cookie Frosting is made with both vanilla and almond extract. It’s perfect for decorating cookies, especially The Best Sugar Cookies and Sugar Cookie Bars.
The Only Sugar Cookie Frosting Recipe You’ll Ever Need
A good Sugar Cookie Frosting recipe is a necessity for anyone who likes to decorate cookies. But there’s a problem with most recipes: they don’t taste good!
Sugar Cookie Frosting is usually bland and often grainy. It will help you make cute cookies, but you won’t enjoy eating them. And where’s the fun in that?
That’s why I love this recipe so much. It’s a frosting that you’ll actually want to eat. The secret? I add a little almond extract, as well as vanilla extract, to give this frosting a rich and complex flavor.
You’ll love whipping this up for any occasion or celebration, and it’s perfectly customizable. Color it for holidays, it’s perfect for making a tasty Christmas cookie. It goes perfectly with our favorite Sugar Cookie Recipe! Enjoy!!
How to Make Frosting for Sugar Cookies
This is an exceptionally Sugar Cookie Frosting recipe. It only takes 5 minutes, and then you’ll have a melt-in-your-mouth frosting that is perfect for decorating.
COMBINE. Mix all the ingredients with a hand or stand mixer. Add more milk until it’s the desired consistency. Add food coloring (optional).
DECORATE! Spread on top of cookies with a knife or piping bag. Top it with delicious jimmy sprinkles, and enjoy!!
Sugar Cookie Frosting Variations
This frosting recipe is obviously customizable with food coloring, but here are some additional variations:
- Flavor. A huge part of what makes this recipe so good is the almond extract in addition to the vanilla extract. Change the flavors depending on the cookie being decorated: mint extract, strawberry extract, orange extract, and lemon extract, are some of my favorites.
- Consistency. A key part of good frosting is getting the desired consistency. After making the frosting, add more milk to make it thinner, or add more powdered sugar to thicken it up.
- Make it salted. While I usually use unsalted butter in this recipe, you can use salted butter too. It won’t make the frosting salty, it will just amplify some of the flavors, and reduce the sweetness a little bit.
Recipe Tips
Here are some tricks and tips for making the best sugar cookie frosting every time.
Softened butter. It’s important to use butter that is properly softened or it won’t mix with the other ingredients. If it’s too soft, it will start to separate, and the frosting will be runny. Use butter that’s soft enough to spread, but not so soft that it loses its shape.
Sift the powdered sugar. Confectioners’ sugar makes for silky frostings, but it can occasionally get clumps, which will ruin the texture. Sift the powdered sugar when adding it to the bowl, to ensure that the frosting is smooth.
Food coloring. When adding food coloring to this Sugar Cookie Frosting, it’s important to remember that once added, ingredients cannot be subtracted.
Start with a small amount of food coloring, mix up the frosting, and then add more if desired. I recommend gel food coloring as it is less likely to affect the texture than liquid food coloring.
Types of Frosting
In a nutshell, the different types of frosting include:
- Royal Icing is made using meringue powder and confectioners sugar. Adjust this icing so that it “floods” or holds a shape. It can be used to create pictures and intricate designs on the top of the cookies. It dries smooth and hard.
- Sugar Cookie Icing has a confectioners sugar base that is thinned out with liquid, usually milk. It is thinner than frosting and is often simply spread on the cookie using a butter knife. Adjust the thickness of the icing with more powdered sugar to be applied with piping tips.
- Cake Frosting uses a creamy base and then adds confectioners sugar to sweeten it up. It is thicker and can hold its shape when using a piping tip or spread on using a butter knife.
Storing Info
STORE leftover Best Sugar Cookie Frosting in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Let the frosting come up to room temperature before using it.
FREEZE the frosting in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Thaw to room temperature before using, and blend with a hand mixer if the consistency isn’t quite right.
STORE a frosted cookie. Cool cookies and allow time for the frosting to set. Sugar Cookie Frosting doesn’t get hard like royal icing and can get smashed if not stored properly.
- Line the frosted cookies up on a baking sheet and then place them in the freezer.
- Once the frosting is solid stack the cookies, separating the layers with a piece of parchment paper, in a freezer-safe container.
- Freeze for 3-6 months.
- To thaw the cookies remove the layers and let them come to room temperature in a single layer.
FREEZE Sugar Cookie dough. Whip up a batch of frosting and a batch of Sugar Cookie Dough and keep them both in the freezer to be baked at a later date.
- Shape the dough into a log or disk.
- Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and then again with foil or place the wrapped cookie dough in a freezer Ziploc.
- Thaw in the fridge then roll and shape with cookie cutters before baking.
How to use Sugar Cookie Frosting
It probably goes without saying that I usually make this recipe to decorate Sugar Cookies. Here are some of my favorite recipes to top with this frosting.
- Lemon Sugar Cookies
- 3 Ingredient Sugar Cookies
- Sugar Cookie Bars
- No-roll Sugar Cookies
- The Best Sugar Cookies
More Mouth-Watering Frostings:
- Berry Buttercream Frosting
- Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting
- Creamy Peanut Butter Frosting
- Easy Marshmallow Frosting
- Cream Cheese Frosting
- Lemon Frosting
Sugar Cookie Frosting
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 4½ cups powdered sugar
- ¼ cup milk, plus more as needed
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- food coloring
Instructions
- Mix softened butter, powdered sugar, milk, vanilla extract, and almond extract with a hand mixer. Add more milk until it’s the desired consistency. Add food coloring (optional)
- Spread on top of cookies with a knife or piping bag. Top it with delicious Jimmy sprinkles, and enjoy!!
Video
Notes
- Use quality extracts, and don’t overdo it. Too much extract can give the icing an artificial or overpowering taste.
- Depending on the event or holiday, add food coloring to the frosting.
- Ensure butter is properly softened. If it’s too cold, you’ll have clumps; if it’s melted, the icing will be too thin and greasy.
- Add milk to thin it out, or thicken it with powdered sugar for it to be applied with piping tips.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This made more of a paste that was not pipe-able or spreadable.
I don’t have almond extract. I only have vanilla. Any suggestions.
So fast and delicious! It worked!
The cookies are not sweet- they taste doughy. Ew ew ew ew ew ew
Frosting was amazing! Made for the first time today. Just perfect – not too sweet. I too, always add a pinch of salt. This will be my go to recipe from now on. Thank you!
Can you add cream cheese to this, for that flavor of a cream cheese frosting.
Yes you could! Here is our cream cheese icing recipe that is really yummy on sugar cookies too: https://lilluna.com/cream-cheese-icing/
It gives directions on how to store the frosting but what about the cookies after they are frosted? Are they good to be left in a container on the counter? And if so for how long?
Yes they are! You can store the baked and frosted cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. You can freeze for up to 3 months. I just like to allow the frosting to set, and separate layers with wax or parchment paper before storing.
Can I do 1 full teaspoon of vanilla extract instead of 1/2 vanilla & 1/2 almond extract?
Family member is alergic to nuts. I have to use vanilla and not almond extract.
Yes you can!
Amazing flavor and consistency.
Perfection!
This is my go to sugar cookie frosting every time I do cut out sugar cookies. Best ever and turns out perfect every time! So delicious!
Finally, an icing recipe without corn syrup! We love this recipe. The icing is light and fluffy. I doubled the recipe to make sure I had enough but I had plenty and ended up freezing half. Thank you. This goes right into my Exceptional folder. You’ve never failed me!! 😉
FYI, readers, in case you are as skeptical as I was about the “Servings: 5 cups” claim–you are correct. This recipe makes NOWHERE near 5 cups. I made it exactly as written, and while it is tasty and beautifully textured and spreadable and will be lovely on sugar cookies, it made almost exactly 2 cups. But that’s it. And although I do love almond extract, next time I’ll try 1 tsp vanilla and only 1/2 tsp almond.
Thanks for the feedback and the review and for giving the recipe a try!
Can this frosting be used on cupcakes, too?
Yes you could! This is my favorite frosting for cupcakes, but the other could work too. If it needs to be a bit thicker for cupcakes, just add a little more powdered sugar. https://lilluna.com/vanilla-buttercream-frosting/
Our favorite cookie frosting! The almond extract adds great flavor. It goes on cookies well, and is easily colored for more festive cookies! 🙂
The recipe is good, but the amount of pop-ups and inability to quickly jump to recipe without confirming or denying installation of an app is SO annoying.
Ya click on jump to recipe and at just clicks to mire yappin
When making the cookies what size round cookie cutter do you use ?? where to get them ??
I made these cookies with my 7 year old son last night and oh my goodness! They are so dang good! The texture is so soft and fluffy and they taste amazing. I saw in some previous comments that the dough was really sticky. Mine was sticky too. I sprinkled some flour on the parchment paper I was going to roll the dough on, sprinkled some more on top of the dough and rubbed flour on my rolling pin. It worked like a charm and they came out perfect! Thank you for this delicious recipe.
This frosting is SO GOOD and FLAVORFUL! It is now permanently attached to my sugar cookie recipe 🤗
I’m confused about the recipe. You talk about three different kinds of frosting (which I understand). However, is this particular recipe one that you pipe on or is it one that if thinned, has the properties of royal and will harden? Or harden enough that you can stack them?? Please advise. 🙂
I’m looking for a recipe that will allow you to fill in with a piping bag, but not be as hard and bland as royal icing.
Great question! I’d say let the cookies cool and allow time for the frosting to set. It can be piped or spread, and it doesn’t get hard like royal icing. So it can get smashed if not stacked/stored properly. You can freeze the cookies and then stack just fine.
So good. We won’t be able to add almond next time due to nut free school policy. Do you think this would taste just as yummy?
For sure!! You definitely don’t have to add it. Hope they are a hit!
Loved this recipe for cookie frosting. Turned out delicious.
Thank you
I have never made homemade frosting before. I just walked my 12 year old through the recipe to make a double batch. This recipe is incredibly easy to make and it’s delicious! The only adustments we made were due to my years experience of cooking and baking. My dad was a gourmet chef and baker for almost 30 years, my brother is a chef, and my grandmother was a baker and confectioner. I had my 12 year old sift each cup to cup and a half of powdered sugar and I had them add a little bit of salt to each batch of icing since we used unsalted butter. I am SOOOO impressed with this frosting and I will be using it again and again! Thank you so much for such an AMAZING frosting recipe!
This is my first time making frosting as well. I have 75 round cookies to frost. Will this recipe be enough, or should I double it?
It kind of depends on how thick you like your frosting and the size of your cookies. This recipe makes about 5 cups of frosting. If you used about a tablespoon per cookie, that would give you 75-80 cookies. So, if the cookies are large or you like lots of frosting, you may want to make a batch and a half or even double it.
I was just wondering approximately how many cookies I would be able to frost with one batch of this frosting. Thank you in advance! I am excited to try this recipe.
I added a little cream cheese and it tasted perfect!
I don’t even know how this frosting recipe has so many reviews or I should say good reviews all I could taste is powdered sugar I even added way more vanilla extract than I should have and it’s still just taste like powdered sugar also when I separated my different frosting in a different bowls so they can have food coloring and I’m waiting for the cookies to cool down the frosting starts creating a hard shell on the outside and then when I go to stir it back up it’s all lumpy because the hard pieces aren’t breaking back down absolute garbage recipe
Sorry to hear you didn’t have a good experience with the frosting. Thanks for the feedback and for giving the recipe a try!
Powdered sugar is always sweet! To tone it down, add a dash of salt or two or as many as needed to get the desired taste. Start by adding a splash of milk & a hand mixer to revive frosting. Recipe adjustments can be made by simply experimenting. Its a common practice in high altitudes – weather conditions can affect a recipe.
Hello, what kind of food coloring is used? is it like Americolor gel paste or just regular McCormick food color? Thank you!
You could use either one!
Great frosting
LOVE this recipe. Used it for Halloween cut out cookies. Doesn’t taste too sweet and is the perfect consistency. Gentle stiffens to hold our toppings (sprinkles) after a few minutes then handles great in an airtight container. Also stores very well for the next day. Made with oat milk and had no problems with consistency or taste. Highly recommend and will be saving to use again!
Thanks for sharing what you did! I’m so glad you enjoyed the frosting recipe!
So many compliments on this frosting. What a hit!
Yay! I’m so happy to hear that!
I will definitely be using this icing for sugar cookies from now on. It’s much easier to decorate them and you can do it anytime. The icing is delicious, but I will leave out the almond extract as I think it overpowers the other flavors.
There are so many pop up ads that stay put I can’t even hardly reduce recipe
Finally got around to making our annual Christmas cutout cookies- this recipe is our favorite! The almond extract in both the cookie and the frosting make them sooo yummy! 😋
Easy but super sweet. An extra 1/2 tsp of milk makes it much easier to spread. Thanks for sharing!
Recipe my mother-in-law taught me. We don’t use almond though. Sometimes peppermint. But I love it plain! Making it today actually with my grandson
Ooh I bet the peppermint is yummy too! So glad you enjoy the frosting recipe.
The ads in the bottom corner are so annoying, distracting & get in the way. No way to x them out. I mistakenly touched them more than once taking me to amazon & away from the recipe. I get you gotta have the ads but hate there’s no way to close them.
How long can this frosting stay good for?
You can store the buttercream frosting in an airtight container in the fridge for 1-2 weeks or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Be sure to bring the frosting to room temperature before using it to spread. Also, you can revive the texture a bit by whipping it up with a hand mixer. Once you have frosted the cookies you can store them, covered, at room temperature for 2-3 days.
OMG IMA MAKE SOME YUMMY COOKIES😁😁
Yay! Hope you enjoy the frosting and the cookies!
How much merengue to add for creative designs? I’m making gingerbread men and Christmas trees.
I halved this recipe and added a little bit more of everything but the milk and it turned out AMAZING!!! I’ve never had frosting taste this good and I think it’s all thanks to the almond extract. But this recipe is sooooo good and thank you so much for sharing!!!
You are so welcome! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Do u need to use the almond extract or can i double the vanilla
You certainly don’t have to use the almond. You can use whatever flavoring you prefer — vanilla, lemon, etc.
You definitely need more than 1/4 c milk fir 4.5 c of powdered sugar.
Otherwise simply yummy. Best powder sugar frosting I’ve ever made.
Best cookie frosting, delicious
Awe, thank you! So glad you like it as much as we do!
You need to fix your ads. The save and shop sits right on top of the email sign up x-out button, making it impossible to read your site.
Thanks so much for letting me know! I really appreciate it! 🙂
Can you use any kind of milk? I plan on using this recipe tomorrow for valentines cookies,
I think any would work 🙂
This frosting is AMAZING
It’s my favorite! Glad you like it! Thank you!
Does the frosting ‘set up?’
Any way to replace the milk?
I haven’t left it out before. It does need some liquid. I would google what good milk substitutions would be. Maybe some water, but it might not be as creamy.
This is the first recipe that has given me nice and fluffy frosting. It is usually oily and grainy. The recipe mentioned how soft the butter should be and that made all the difference. It was perfect for frosting our Christmas sugar cookies!
Awe, that makes me so happy!! I appreciate you letting me know!
These are great. Not too sweet with frosting and hold up to grandkids decorating! 🙂
Yummy!!
This is the best sugar cookie recipe I’ve ever found!!!
This cookies were so easy to make and delicious. The frosting is amazing and we had so much fun decorating the cookies. Thanks lil Luna for all your fabulous recipes.
If I want to leave out the almond extract, would you recommend subbing it with more vanilla extract, or just omitting it? Thanks!
I would probably just omit it. Enjoy!!
Delicious! The almond and vanilla add the perfect flavor.
I agree! Thank you!
Would this frosting be good to use for making pillsbury sugar cookie sandwiches?
I personally haven’t tried, but I am sure it would! We love this frosting!
I followed the recipe but it definitely didn’t make 5 cups. Did I do something wrong?
No, I am sure you didn’t. Sometimes, I don’t get 5 cups out of it 🙂
Can you make this frosting the night before??
You sure can! Just place it in the refrigerator the night before and then take it out the next day a few minutes before you are wanting to use it.
So I will be making this through out December, and was wondering on advice for adding cacao powder and peppermint extract.
Hmm..I haven’t tried adding the powder. Worth a try 🙂 The peppermint extract is a great addition!
your frosting is so good and I know that because I am 8 years old!
Well, I am so happy to hear that! Thank you for letting me know what you thought!
Very good frosting recipe. Complements sugar cookies very well, will be my go-to frosting recipe!
Yay!! Thank you so much for saying that!
This reCipe looks perfect! Does the frosting harden? Or do i have to use the Shortening to get it to harden?
It doesn’t get hard. I haven’t tried adding shortening. It is super good though 🙂
I love the almond FLAVORING in this. It pairs perfectly with your sugar cookie recipe that uses almond as well.
Truly one of the best frosting for your cookies. Simple and yummy!
We use this frosting all the time for cookies! We love the hint of almond!
Yummy! This tastes just like my favorite cookie-store frosting. Can’t get enough of it!
This recipe is amazing and tasty! I made cookies with my kids recently and this frosting came in handy. It made the cookies so much better! I can’t wait to make this again!
Thank you for such an easy frosting recipe to work with. I usually buy frosting to use because I could never get it right, until now! This was perfect!