Easy Sugar Cookie Frosting {Best Icing Recipe}

Not a fan of royal icing? Make your own Sugar Cookie Frosting from scratch! This frosting uses vanilla beans for a rich flavor. It adds the perfect touch to your stackable holiday sugar cookies.

Spread this creamy frosting over your holiday cut out sugar cookies! Or put a swirl on top of your favorite fudgy brownies. Add some color or sprinkles for a festive touch.

Sugar Cookie Frosting that Hardens

Not all frostings are the same. Sometimes I want a cupcake covered in fluffy chocolate buttercream or salted caramel swiss meringue.

Other times, you need a perfect cream cheese frosting to cover your Gingerbread Cookie Bars.

Today’s frosting recipe is designed specifically with cut out sugar cookies in mind! Perfect on my favorite sugar cookie bars!

Thin enough to easily spread over a baked cookie while delivering that rich buttercream taste.

This simple sugar cookie frosting hardens a little, like bakery frosting. You can stack your cookies without worrying about them sticking together.

Using vanilla beans brings this icing to a new level. The deep vanilla taste and fragrance pairs beautifully with a classic sugar cookie.

Add food coloring to match the occasion or enjoy the frosting just as is.

Ingredient Notes

I love this easy sugar cookie icing and it’s list of basic ingredients.

Vanilla.

• You need vanilla bean pods to make this recipe. I get mine online and you can also find them at most well stocked grocery stores.
• Nothing beats real vanilla beans for giving desserts a robust vanilla flavor. Cut the bean pods in half and scrape out the seeds to use in your frosting.
• Don’t throw out those pods after your remove the seeds. You can save the empty bean pod for making Vanilla Sugar or vanilla extract.

Butter. Softened room temperature butter works best. Don’t use imitation or margargine for this sugar cookie frosting recipe. Use my guide on how to soften butter quickly.

Powdered Sugar. Used to sweeten up the easy frosting for sugar cookies! Sometimes it’s refered to as icing sugar.

Milk. Any variety will work here. From heavy cream or whole milk to fat free and even oat milk. Use what you have in your kitchen.

You can easily change the flavor of this frosted sugar cookie recipe. Just swap the vanilla for almond extract or lemon extract!

*Some recipes will call for meringue powder to help the frosting set u p. But for this icing recipe, the confectioners’ sugar results in the right consistency for frosting to harden.

How to Make Frosting for Sugar Cookies

You’ll want to use a stand mixer with whisk attachment (not paddle attachment) or a hand mixer to make the buttercream frosting for soft sugar cookies.

• The first step is to beat softened butter for 3 minutes until pale in color.
• Add in powdered sugar (sometimes called confectioners sugar), milk and vanilla beans. Beat for an additional 3 minutes until fluffy and the right consistency. Add food coloring if desired.
• Add sprinkles immediately after frosting the cookies.

Tips & Tricks

• Beat the butter until it turns a pale color before adding the other ingredients. Keep beating until the frosting gets fluffy.
• You can use a butter knife or flat rubber spatula to spread the frosting onto cookies or pipe on the frosting with a piping bag. If piping the frosting, you may need to thin it by beating a little bit more milk.
• If you’re using food coloring, beat it in at the end after the frosting is smooth and fluffy. I love using Americolor gel food coloring. One small dollop creates deep lovely colors! Any liquid food coloring works good, just start with a small amount and add more as needed.
• Store frosted sugar cookies in an airtight container at room temperature. Leftover frosting can be stored in the refrigerator for several days, or frozen in a freezer safe container.
• Stack the soft frosted and decorated cookies between layers of parchment paper to set. If adding sprinkles, make sure to do it immediately after frosting the cookies, before the frosting has a chance to firm up.
• Swirl on top of my homemade chocolate chip cookie cake.
• To make more intricate designs, you can thin the icing to put in squeeze bottles or pastry bags.

Recipe FAQs

How to use Vanilla Bean Frosting

Believe me when I tell you this is the best ever frosting to spread on tof of the cookie.

• Valentine’s Day- Cut your cookies into hearts and tint them pink (or keep the frosting white). Add festive sprinkles.
• Halloween- tint the frosting orange and add festive fall sprinkles to your pumpkin shaped cookies.
• Christmas- whether you make gingerbread or classic shaped Christmas cookies, tint your frosting red/green with fun holiday sprinkles.

More Easy Dessert Recipes

• Monster Sugar Cookies
• Caramel Sugar Cookies
• Snickers Cookie Cups
• Rainbow M&M Cookie Bars
• Sugar Cookie Bites
• Lemon Frosting

Whip up a batch of this Sugar Cookie Frosting, get out the sprinkles and cookie cutters and have fun decorating delicious cookies for Christmas or any occasion!