The best fluffy vanilla sugar cookie buttercream frosting! With a blend of vanilla and almond extract, this recipe is perfect for spreading on soft cut out sugar cookies to make the ultimate buttery and creamy Valentine's, Christmas, or birthday cookies!
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When it comes to sugar cookies, I am particular about which types of frostings I pair with cut out sugar cookies depending on the different occasions. Between royal icing, easy sugar cookie icing, cream cheese frosting, and this sugar cookie buttercream - there's a time and a place for each.
And this creamy and buttery buttercream is perfect for when you want to make fancy-looking, bakery-style cookies without spending hours intricately icing cookies with royal icing. The trick to getting this buttercream nice and fluffy is starting with room temperature butter and using an electric mixer to whip.
Don't feel like frosting individual cookies? Make my Frosted Sugar Cookie Bars in a 9x13 pan instead!
Ingredients for Sugar Cookie Buttercream Frosting
- Butter, softened to room temperature
- Powdered Sugar
- Vanilla Extract & Almond Extract
- Salt
- Food Coloring, if desired
How to Make Sugar Cookie Buttercream Frosting
Step 1: In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to whip the butter on high speed for 3-4 minutes until light and fluffy. (If you have a Kitchenaid mixer, use the paddle attachment on speed 4.)
It is important to start with softened, room-temperature butter for this recipe in order to get the creamy, fluffy texture. (See photo below for reference on what butter should look like after being whipped.)
Step 2: After the 3-4 minutes, keep the mixer on high speed and add in the vanilla extract, almond extract, and salt. Turn the mixer down to low speed and slowly add in the powdered sugar ½ cup at a time until it is all incorporated.
Once all powdered sugar is worked in, add food coloring then turn the mixer back up to high speed and beat for 2-3 minutes until it is light, creamy, and fluffy.
Tip: To achieve this light pink color, I dipped the tip of a toothpick in red food coloring then did 1 swipe through the frosting. For a more in-depth look at achieving a light, blush pink, check out my post on how to make light pink frosting.
Step 3: Use a offset spatula to generously spread frosting onto cooled cookies or place frosting in a large piping bag with a large star tip for more intricate decorating.
For a rosette shape, start in the center and swirl the piping tip around to the outside. For a more traditional swirl (like shown below), start from the outside and swirl the piping inward to create a peak.
Step 4: Immediately after frosting, top with sprinkles! You want to do this right after frosting, otherwise the frosting will start to develop a slight crust.
See FAQ section below for storing instructions.
Don't feel like frosting individual cookies? Make my Frosted Sugar Cookie Bars in a 9x13 pan instead!
Frequently Asked Questions
Will this buttercream frosting harden?
The frosting will develop a slight crust if left sitting out (or when refrigerated), but it won't completely harden. Which means you don't want to stack them if piping swirls. For my tips on how to stack non-piped cookies (like the photo below), see my guide on how to freeze sugar cookies.
Does this buttercream frosting need to be refrigerated?
Although the amount of sugar will stabilize the butter (meaning you could technically leave them at room temperature for 2-3 days), I recommend refrigerating these so that the frosting doesn't "melt" down and flatten out.
Can I freeze buttercream frosting?
If you have leftover frosting, you can freeze it in a plastic freezer bag for 2-3 months. Just make sure all the air is out of the bag. When ready to use, thaw the bag in the refrigerator and once it's soft, place frosting back in bowl and beat for 2-3 minutes.
Note that frosting may not become as fluffy as before, so this method is typically best when you just want to spread the frosting vs. pipe it. To freeze frosted cookies, see my guide on how to freeze sugar cookies.
What sugar cookie recipe should I pair this with?
I use this sugar cookie buttercream frosting to top my soft & thick cut out sugar cookies. This frosting recipe will make about 2 cups of frosting, enough to generously frost about (24) 2.5" sized round cookies.
What vanilla extract do you recommend?
Although I typically recommend a clear-colored extract when making white buttercream icing, the flavor in this Nielsen Massey Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla takes the flavor up a notch. It's pricier than grocery store vanilla, but is worth it when you're looking to impress.
Sugar Cookie Buttercream Frosting
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ - 1 ½ teaspoons almond extract *adjust to your taste preference (some brands are stronger than others); I like a prominent almond flavor but you can use less for a less strong flavor
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- Food Coloring
Before you begin! If you make this, will you do me a huge favor and leave a review and rating letting me know how you liked this recipe? This helps my small business thrive so I can continue providing free recipes and high-quality content for you.
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whip unsalted butter (1 cup; i.e. 2 sticks) for 3-4 minutes until light and fluffy on high speed.
- Whip in vanilla extract (2 teaspoons), almond extract (*½ - 1 ½ teaspoons), and salt (¼ teaspoons).
- On medium/low speed begin adding in powdered sugar (3 cups) half cup at a time until all is incorporated.
- Mix at high speed for 2-3 minutes until nice and creamy.
- Spread on top of cookies or place frosting in a large piping bag with a large star tip to achieve a more intricate design. To pipe the swirl, start from the inside and swirl to the outside.
- Makes 2 cups of frosting, which is enough to generously frost about (24) 2.5" circle cookies.
Last Step! Please leave a review and rating letting me know how you liked this recipe! This helps my small business thrive so I can continue providing free recipes and high-quality content for you.
Notes
Nutrition
This sugar cookie buttercream frosting is perfect for Valentine's Day cookies! For these adorable bite-sized heart cookies, I used Sugarbelle's Multi Heart Cutter and spread on pink buttercream.
Dye the buttercream frosting any color and top with sprinkles for perfect Christmas, halloween, baby shower, or birthday cookies!
Jackie
Best buttercream I have ever made!! Amazing!! Spread it on sugar cookies and oh my word! Delicious!! Thank you 🙏
Melissa
Yay, I'm so happy you loved this recipe! Thanks so much for leaving a review, Jackie!
Bev
Perfectly smooth, perfectly spreadable on cookies and perfectly delicious. Takes a lot of mixing time so I’d definitely recommend using a stand mixer so you can multitask.
Melissa
Thank you so much for leaving a review, Bev! I really appreciate it!
Ruby
This really brought my Christmas sugar cookies up a notch. I'm thinking of using this frosting to frost vanilla cupcakes for my birthday.
Melissa
Yum, I think this would work great on cupcakes as well! So glad you enjoyed this recipe, Ruby! Thank you so much for leaving a review!
Amy Fiss
This shall be my go to frosting from now on!
Shannon Weber
Can this be used to make a baked cake?
Melissa
Yeah! It is a sweet frosting, so as long as your cake isn't overly sweet it will work well. You may just want to add a little more milk to help thin it out so it's a lighter texture.
Leslie Cook
This is the most perfect buttercream frosting recipe I’ve ever tried. I was hesitant about the almond extract but I really do believe that it added a particular addictive quality and an added dimension to the frosting.
Melissa
I am so glad to hear you enjoyed this recipe, Leslie! Thank you so much for leaving a review, I really appreciate it!
Courtney
This was delicious, quick and easy! This will now be my go to buttercream recipe!
Melissa
Thank you so much for leaving a review, Courtney! I really appreciate it!
Chandalar Rector
Absolutely delicious! Best Buttercream frosting I’ve ever made!
Melissa
Thank you so much for leaving a review, Chandalar! So glad you enjoyed this recipe!
Kristin
Delicious! I used all vanilla extract, totaling 3 teaspoons, and only had salted butter, so just omitted the additional salt. Turned out great! Had a rich buttery/vanilla flavor and the frosting set up a bit, but was still creamy, which is just how we like it.
Melissa
So happy to hear you loved this recipe, Kristin! Thank you so much for leaving a review!
Jessica Rose
This is the best recipe for frosting on sugar cookies. I only ever make this! The almond extract just sets them apart from other cookies. It’s the best and so easy!
Melissa
I'm so glad to hear you enjoyed this recipe, Jessica! Thank you so much for leaving a review!
Karen
I bake alot and i folloew your directions,however it turn out very runny
Melissa
Sorry this didn't work for you! Did you use very softened butter or margarine by chance?
Jan
Worked great for my cut out cookies.
Melissa
So happy to hear that, Jan! Thank you so much for leaving a review!
Lyndsay
My new favorite for frosting sugar cookie cut outs!
Melissa
Thank you so much for leaving a review, Lyndsay!
Pam Piscitelli
I used 1 tsp of almond extract and it was enough for our taste. The icing is very light and creamy. I will definitely make this again!
Melissa
Thank you so much for leaving a review, Pam! I'm so glad you enjoyed this recipe!
Ray
Simple and turned out great. We did not have unsalted butter so we just didn't add salt.
Melissa
That's what I would've done, too! So glad you enjoyed the recipe, thank you so much for leaving a review, Ray!
Peggy
Made this for Christmas cookie decorating. Love the flavor, but it did not go on as smoothly as my old recipe. I will definitely make it again for cakes and cupcakes.
Melissa
Thanks for giving it a try!
K
So good!
Melissa
Thank you so much for leaving a review!
Jolene Keel
sounds absolutely wonderful! Going to try it with my sugar cookies that I am baking this week.
Julie
Can you decorate buttercream frosting like you can with your sugar cookie frosting with corn syrup?
Thanks for your help….doing cookie decorating with kids between 4yr/13yr.
Melissa
Hi Julie! Do you mean can you make it thinner so it “floods” the cookie? If so, I don’t recommend melting it down but you can rub the piping bag between your hands to warm it up so that it comes out a bit more fluid. But it won’t be a true glaze consistency like the other one. Is that what you were asking?
D Shaw
Ok recipe, the almond extract was a nice add, but way too “fatty” taste for me. I cut the amount of butter back by half and kept the same amount of sugar and the taste was better for me.