Identical to basic vanilla buttercream frosting you like on desserts and cupcakes, this 5-ingredient cookie adorning buttercream is deliciously creamy and candy. It’s good for cookie adorning newbies, and soft-sets after a couple of hours. You’ll be able to pipe designs onto cut-out cookies, like sugar cookies and gingerbread cookies, or just unfold it on and high with sprinkles! See video tutorial within the recipe for inspiration.
Whereas royal icing is my first selection in relation to adorning sugar cookies, I do know it’s not everybody’s favourite cookie icing to work with. Which is why I developed this simple cookie icing, a beautiful glaze-like various. However generally you simply don’t need to mess with both!
It’s good to have choices.
In order for you a creamy buttercream frosting, that holds its piped form and might be tinted any colour you would like, then this cookie adorning buttercream is for you. And it tastes SO scrumptious on high of a cookie!
This Cookie Adorning Buttercream:
- Is fast and straightforward to make
- Might be tinted any colour with gel meals coloring (right here is my favourite model)
- Is good and creamy and flavored with actual vanilla
- Might be piped into designs with totally different piping suggestions or just unfold onto cookies
- Is great on high of so many varieties/flavors of cookies
- Smooth-sets after a couple of hours
The cookies you see listed below are my basic sugar cookies. They’ve an irresistible buttery vanilla taste and mushy, thick facilities. Plus, they maintain their form when baking and have a flat floor that’s good for adorning.
However be at liberty to make use of this cookie adorning buttercream on one other taste of cut-out cookies, like:
Or just unfold it on high of one other form of cookie, like we do on these mushy and cakey sugar cookies.
Seize These 5 Substances:
- Butter: You’ll be able to’t make buttercream with out butter! Although salted is okay, I like to recommend utilizing unsalted butter so you possibly can management the added salt. Whichever you utilize, be sure you are utilizing correct room-temperature butter.
- Confectioners’ Sugar: Sweetens vanilla buttercream and provides stability and pipe-ability to the frosting.
- Heavy Cream: Just a little cream smooths out the frosting. Although complete milk or half-and-half are completely acceptable, use heavy cream for optimum richness. I take advantage of much less in at this time’s buttercream than in my common vanilla buttercream, to maintain it thicker.
- Vanilla Extract: As a result of that is the primary taste within the frosting, I strongly advocate utilizing high-quality pure vanilla extract (not imitation vanilla). You can additionally use use selfmade vanilla extract.
- Salt: Only a pinch, to stability the candy.
Easy methods to Make It
American-style buttercream is fast and straightforward.
Ensure that your butter is softened to room temperature earlier than starting. Use a hand or stand mixer to beat it till clean and creamy. Beat within the remaining elements, style, after which add salt. At this level, you possibly can add extra confectioners’ sugar to thicken, or a splash of heavy cream to skinny out. That’s it!
I’ve the complete written out recipe beneath.
Easy methods to Rid Buttercream of Air Bubbles
Over-whipping buttercream creates air bubbles. The style is not any totally different, however the buttercream is now not clean and velvet-y. Right here’s learn how to do away with air bubbles in your frosting:
Flip off the mixer and seize a wood or metallic spoon or silicone spatula and start stirring the buttercream by hand. Mash the frosting up towards the aspect of the bowl to “pop” the bubbles. Do that till many of the air bubbles deflate, about 1–2 minutes. This trick requires lots of arm muscle!
Tint the Frosting and Fill Piping Luggage
You’ll be able to preserve the buttercream white or tint it with gel meals coloring. To paint it, divide it into small bowls. Add gel meals coloring to every bowl and blend effectively. For lighter tints, I like to recommend utilizing the tip of a toothpick so as to add colour, moderately than squeezing an entire drop into the bowl of frosting.
Seize a piping bag for every colour of icing. Match every with a coupler and piping tip. After I’m utilizing a number of colours with the identical piping tip, I all the time use couplers.
What are couplers? Couplers are 2-piece units that connect to small piping suggestions, and preserve them OUTSIDE of the piping bag. This makes it simple to swap piping suggestions among the many totally different coloured luggage of icing.
Fill the piping bag: Spoon the buttercream into the piping bag, ensuring to depart a couple of inches of house on the high of the bag. A tall cup makes this simpler! Place the piping bag inside, with the tip close to the underside of the cup, and fold the top of the bag over the edges of the cup, then fill with frosting.
Whereas not completely essential, I take advantage of these these clips to safe the top of the piping bag, so the frosting doesn’t leak out the top of the bag.
Piping Ideas I Use to Enhance Cookies With Buttercream
This cookie adorning buttercream holds form superbly and works for intricate designs. To embellish the sugar cookies you see pictured at this time, group members Allison and Stephanie and I used piping suggestions from this actual Wilton 55-Piece Piping Ideas Set.
Once more, you may get all of the following tips in a useful Piping Ideas Set, which additionally consists of the piping suggestions I take advantage of to brighten cookies with royal icing.
You’ll be able to pipe zig-zags, swirls, traces, or no matter your coronary heart wishes! See video tutorial beneath for inspiration. We used white balls from these sprinkles for tree “ornaments” and coarse sugar on the “snow.”
If you wish to skip piping luggage and suggestions, use a knife or icing spatula to frost the cookies.
It doesn’t absolutely crust, but it surely does “mushy set” which implies it units sufficient to be dry on high. You’ll nonetheless must be a bit cautious stacking the adorned cookies. To make a crusting buttercream, exchange half of the butter (1/2 cup) with shortening.
Sure, completely! Scale back the vanilla extract to simply 1/2 teaspoon, after which you should use one other extract resembling peppermint, coconut, lemon, maple, or almond. I’d begin with only one/2 teaspoon of any of those, style, after which beat in additional if desired.
Relying how a lot frosting you placed on every cookie, this buttercream is sufficient for a minimum of 24 to 30 cookies.
Sure, you should use this buttercream to brighten a gingerbread home. See my gingerbread home recipe. The recipe beneath doesn’t crust as a lot because the buttercream recipe I embody within the gingerbread home recipe, as that one accommodates shortening (which aids in crusting). Right now’s buttercream just isn’t ultimate as a “glue” for the gingerbread home items. For that, you’ll want royal icing.
Extra Adorning Tutorials
Wish to learn to enhance cupcakes? Watch my learn how to use piping suggestions video to study 5 primary however lovely methods to pipe frosting onto cupcakes.
Wish to give royal icing a attempt subsequent? Right here’s my learn how to enhance sugar cookies with royal icing video.
And these are my high beneficial cookie adorning provides.
Cookie Adorning Buttercream
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Complete Time: 5 minutes
Yield: 2.5 cups (a minimum of 24-30 cookies)
Class: Dessert
Methodology: Mixing
Delicacies: American
Description
Identical to basic vanilla buttercream frosting you like on desserts and cupcakes, this 5-ingredient cookie adorning buttercream is deliciously creamy and candy. It’s good for cookie adorning newbies, and soft-sets on the cookies after a couple of hours. You’ll be able to pipe designs onto cut-out cookies, like sugar cookies and gingerbread cookies, or just unfold it on with a knife and high with sprinkles! See video tutorial within the recipe for inspiration.
Directions
- Have your cookies baked and cooled fully. You’ll be able to use this recipe, or your favourite recipe for cookies.
- Make the buttercream: With a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium pace till creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the confectioners’ sugar, heavy cream, and vanilla extract. Beat on low pace for 30 seconds, then improve to medium-high pace and beat for two full minutes. Style. Add a pinch of salt if frosting is simply too candy. I all the time add 1/8 teaspoon. To thicken the buttercream, beat in additional confectioners’ sugar. To skinny out the buttercream, beat in additional heavy cream.
- Coloration the Icing: In the event you’d wish to tint the icing, divide it into separate bowls for every colour, or tint all the batch one colour. Just a little gel meals coloring goes a great distance, so use a toothpick to dot the gel into the icing. Stir it in, after which add extra to deepen the colour if desired.
- Use Piping Ideas or Knife/Icing Spatula: You should use a knife or icing spatula to frost the cookies. Or, if utilizing piping suggestions, match a piping/pastry bag with a piping tip (and use a coupler when you plan to change frosting colours and/or piping suggestions). Spoon the buttercream into the bag, ensuring to depart a couple of inches of house on the high of the bag. Twist the top of the bag or use a clip to seal it shut. You’ll be able to pipe zig-zags, swirls, traces, dots, or no matter your coronary heart wishes! See video tutorial beneath for some inspiration.
- You probably have leftover buttercream, cowl it tightly and retailer within the fridge for as much as 1 week.
Notes
- Make Forward and Freezing Directions: Freeze in an hermetic container for as much as 3 months. Thaw within the fridge in a single day, then beat the frosting on medium pace for a couple of seconds so it’s creamy once more. After thawing or refrigerating, beating in a splash of heavy cream or milk will assist skinny the frosting out once more, if wanted.
- Particular Instruments (affiliate hyperlinks): Electrical Mixer (Handheld or Stand Mixer) | Silicone Spatula | Gel Meals Coloring | Disposable or Reusable Piping Luggage | Couplers | Wilton 55-Piece Piping Ideas Set | Bag Clips | Small Icing Spatula | White Sprinkles | Coarse Sugar Sprinkles
- Amount: Relying how a lot frosting you placed on every cookie, this buttercream is sufficient for a minimum of 24 to 30 cookies.
- Confectioners’ Sugar: In case your confectioners’ sugar is especially lumpy, I like to recommend sifting it earlier than measuring and utilizing.
- Heavy Cream: You should use half-and-half or complete milk as an alternative if wanted. The decrease the fats, the much less creamy your buttercream might be. Whichever you utilize, be sure it’s at room temperature. In any other case your frosting may separate or seem grainy.
- Does This Buttercream Crust? It doesn’t absolutely crust, but it surely does “mushy set” which implies it units sufficient to be dry on high. You’ll nonetheless must be a bit cautious stacking the adorned cookies. To make a crusting buttercream, exchange half of the butter (1/2 cup) with shortening.
- Can I Taste the Buttercream with Different Extracts? Sure, completely! Scale back the vanilla extract to simply 1/2 teaspoon, after which you should use one other extract resembling peppermint, coconut, lemon, maple, or almond. I’d begin with only one/2 teaspoon of any of those, style, after which beat in additional if desired.
