Frosted Sugar Cookies are soft, tender, and wonderfully fluffy, with a melt-in-your-mouth texture that makes them perfect for holidays, birthdays, parties, and everyday baking. Each cookie is finished with a thick layer of classic buttercream frosting, giving you the sweet, bakery-style sugar cookie experience at home. The best part is how easy these cookies are to customize. Change the frosting color, add festive sprinkles, or keep them simple for a beautiful homemade treat that works for any occasion.
Table of contents
- 🔑 Key to Success #1 – Soften Butter and Cream Cheese
- 🔑 Key to Success #2 – Chill the Dough for Best Results
- 🔑 Key to Success #3 – Add a Bit of Heavy Cream to the Frosting
- 📌 Get the Printable Recipe for Frosted Sugar Cookies
If you enjoy classic sugar cookies, these frosted sugar cookies take that familiar favorite and make it even better. They are soft enough to feel special, yet sturdy enough to hold a generous layer of rich buttercream frosting without falling apart.
The cookie dough includes butter, cream cheese, and sugar, which creates a tender crumb and a light texture. Once baked and cooled, the cookies are topped with fluffy vanilla buttercream. You can make the frosting any color you like, then finish the cookies with sprinkles for a fun and festive look.
These soft frosted sugar cookies are a great choice when you need a cookie recipe that is easy to decorate but still tastes homemade. They are ideal for cookie trays, school parties, family gatherings, and holiday dessert tables.
🔑 Key to Success #1 – Soften Butter and Cream Cheese
The foundation of these frosted sugar cookies is a creamy mixture of softened butter, softened cream cheese, and granulated sugar. For the best texture, both the butter and cream cheese should be at room temperature before mixing. Softened ingredients blend more smoothly and help create a light, fluffy dough.
Let the butter and cream cheese sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before you begin. They should be soft enough to press gently with your finger, but not melted or greasy. If the butter is too cold, it will not cream properly. If it is too warm, the dough may become too soft and difficult to handle.
Cream cheese is an important ingredient in this sugar cookie recipe because it adds flavor, fat, and moisture. That extra moisture helps the cookies stay soft after baking, while the cream cheese gives the dough a richer taste. Beat the butter, sugar, and cream cheese together until the mixture looks pale, smooth, and fluffy before adding the egg and extracts.
🔑 Key to Success #2 – Chill the Dough for Best Results
Once the cookie dough is mixed, it needs time to chill. Refrigerating the dough for at least one hour makes it easier to roll and cut. Chilled dough holds its shape better, which helps the cookies bake evenly and keeps the edges clean.
To chill the dough, place a piece of plastic wrap on the counter and transfer the dough onto it. Wrap the dough tightly and press it into a large disc. Forming the dough into a disc before chilling makes it much easier to roll later, because the shape is already flat and even.
After the dough has chilled, place it on a lightly floured surface. Roll it to an even 1/2-inch thickness. Try to keep the thickness consistent from the center of the dough all the way to the edges. Even thickness is important because it allows every cookie to bake at the same rate.
Use a 3-inch round cookie cutter to cut out the cookies. Gather the scraps, press them back together, and roll the dough again to cut more cookies. This recipe makes about 24 cookies, depending on the exact size of your cutter and how many times the dough is rerolled.
🔑 Key to Success #3 – Add a Bit of Heavy Cream to the Frosting
The buttercream frosting for these sugar cookies is simple, classic, and delicious. It starts with softened butter and powdered sugar, then gets finished with heavy cream, vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt.
Beat the softened butter until it becomes light and fluffy. This usually takes about 2 minutes with a stand mixer, though it may take a little longer with a hand mixer. Add the powdered sugar and continue beating until the frosting is smooth and airy.
The heavy cream gives the frosting a richer texture and helps it spread beautifully over the cookies. Vanilla extract adds flavor, while a pinch of salt balances the sweetness. Even a small amount of salt makes a noticeable difference in buttercream frosting.
If you want colorful frosted sugar cookies, use gel food coloring for the best results. Gel coloring creates bold color without thinning the frosting. Add a small amount at a time, mixing well and scraping down the bowl so the color is even throughout.
Spread a thick layer of buttercream over each cooled cookie with an offset spatula or knife. Add sprinkles while the frosting is still soft so they stick well. Once decorated, the cookies are ready to serve and enjoy.
📌 Get the Printable Recipe for Frosted Sugar Cookies
Save this frosted sugar cookie recipe for your next cookie tray, holiday baking day, birthday party, or weekend dessert project. These cookies are soft, sweet, colorful, and easy to make ahead for special occasions.
Frosted Sugar Cookies with Buttercream Frosting
Dessert
American
24 cookies
241kcal
Jennifer Smith
20 mins
10 mins
1 hr
1 hr 30 mins
Ingredients
For the Cookies
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ cup butter, softened
- 4 oz cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp almond extract
For the Buttercream
- ¾ cup butter, softened
- 2 ¾ cups powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp heavy cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Pinch salt
- Food coloring
- Sprinkles, optional
Directions
-
In a large bowl, beat the butter, sugar, and cream cheese until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the egg, vanilla extract, and almond extract, then beat until fully combined.
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Add the dry ingredients and mix just until the dough comes together. Transfer the dough to plastic wrap, shape it into a large disc, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
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Lightly flour your work surface. Roll the dough to 1/2-inch thickness and cut with a 3-inch round cookie cutter. Place the cookies on the prepared baking sheets. Reroll the scraps and continue cutting until all dough is used.
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Bake until the edges are just set, about 10 to 12 minutes. Let the cookies cool completely before removing them from the baking sheet.
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To make the frosting, beat the butter until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the powdered sugar and beat for about 3 minutes more. Mix in the heavy cream, vanilla extract, and salt. Add food coloring if desired and beat until the color is even.
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Spread a thick layer of buttercream frosting over each cooled cookie. Add sprinkles while the frosting is still soft.
Equipment
-
Round cookie cutter
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Sprinkles
-
Hand mixer or stand mixer
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Baking sheets
Nutrition Facts
Calories: 241 kcal |
Carbohydrates: 33 g |
Protein: 2 g |
Fat: 12 g |
Saturated Fat: 3 g |
Cholesterol: 12 mg |
Sodium: 199 mg |
Sugar: 22 g
Did You Make This Recipe?
If you made these frosted sugar cookies, save the recipe so you can bake them again for your next celebration.
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