Similar to basic vanilla buttercream frosting you’re keen on on truffles and cupcakes, this 5-ingredient cookie adorning buttercream is deliciously creamy and candy. It’s good for cookie adorning rookies, and soft-sets after a couple of hours. You possibly can 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 alternative with regards 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 different. However typically you simply don’t wish to mess with both!
It’s good to have choices.
If you need a creamy buttercream frosting, that holds its piped form and could be tinted any coloration 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
- May be tinted any coloration with gel meals coloring (right here is my favourite model)
- Is good and creamy and flavored with actual vanilla
- May be piped into designs with totally different piping suggestions or just unfold onto cookies
- Is fantastic on high of so many varieties/flavors of cookies
- Mushy-sets after a couple of hours
The cookies you see listed here are my basic sugar cookies. They’ve an irresistible buttery vanilla taste and gentle, thick facilities. Plus, they maintain their form when baking and have a flat floor that’s good for adorning.
However be happy 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 type of cookie, like we do on these gentle and cakey sugar cookies.
Seize These 5 Components:
- Butter: You possibly can’t make buttercream with out butter! Although salted is okay, I like to recommend utilizing unsalted butter so you’ll be able to management the added salt. Whichever you employ, 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: Somewhat cream smooths out the frosting. Although entire milk or half-and-half are completely acceptable, use heavy cream for optimum richness. I take advantage of much less in at present’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 suggest utilizing high-quality pure vanilla extract (not imitation vanilla). You might additionally use home made vanilla extract.
- Salt: Only a pinch, to stability the candy.
How you can 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 easy and creamy. Beat within the remaining elements. At this level, you’ll be able to add extra confectioners’ sugar to thicken, a splash of heavy cream to skinny out, or a bit extra salt if desired. That’s it!
I’ve the total written-out, printable recipe under.
How you can Rid Buttercream of Air Bubbles
Over-whipping buttercream creates air bubbles. The style is not any totally different, however the buttercream is not easy and velvet-y. Right here’s find out how to eliminate air bubbles in your frosting:
Flip off the mixer and seize a wood or steel spoon or silicone spatula and start stirring the buttercream by hand. Mash the frosting up in opposition to the perimeters of the bowl to “pop” the bubbles. Do that till many of the air bubbles deflate, about 1–2 minutes. This trick requires numerous arm muscle!
Tint the Frosting and Fill Piping Baggage
You possibly can 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 properly. For lighter tints, I like to recommend utilizing the tip of a toothpick so as to add coloration, slightly than squeezing an entire drop into the bowl of frosting.
Seize a piping bag for every coloration of icing. Match every with a coupler and piping tip. Once 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 gadgets 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 baggage of icing.
Fill the piping bag: Spoon the buttercream into the piping bag, ensuring to go away a couple of inches of area 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 tip of the bag over the perimeters of the cup, then fill with frosting. You possibly can see me doing this within the video under.
Whereas not completely needed, I take advantage of these clips to safe the tip of the piping bag, so the frosting doesn’t leak out the tip of the bag.
Piping Suggestions I Use to Enhance Cookies With Buttercream
This cookie adorning buttercream holds form superbly and works for intricate designs. To brighten the sugar cookies you see pictured at present, staff members Allison and Stephanie and I used piping suggestions from this actual Wilton 55-Piece Piping Suggestions Set.
Once more, you will get all of the following tips in a useful Piping Suggestions Set, which additionally contains the piping suggestions I take advantage of to brighten cookies with royal icing.
You possibly can pipe zig-zags, swirls, traces, or no matter your coronary heart wishes! See video tutorial under for inspiration. We used white balls from these sprinkles for tree “ornaments” and coarse sugar on the “snow.”
If you wish to skip piping baggage and suggestions, use a knife or icing spatula to frost the cookies.
It doesn’t absolutely crust, but it surely does “gentle set,” which implies it units sufficient to be dry on high. You’ll nonetheless need to be a bit cautious stacking the adorned cookies. To make a crusting buttercream, change half of the butter (1/2 cup) with shortening.
Sure, completely! Cut back the vanilla extract to only 1/2 teaspoon, after which you need to use one other extract comparable to peppermint, coconut, lemon, maple, or almond. I might begin with just 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 at the least 24 to 30 cookies.
Sure, you need to use this buttercream to brighten a gingerbread home. See my gingerbread home recipe. The recipe under doesn’t crust as a lot because the buttercream recipe I embrace within the gingerbread home recipe, as that one accommodates shortening (which aids in crusting). Right this moment’s buttercream will not be ideally suited as a “glue” for the gingerbread home items. For that, you’ll want royal icing.
Extra Adorning Tutorials
Wish to learn to embellish cupcakes? Watch my find out how to use piping suggestions video to be taught 5 fundamental however stunning methods to pipe frosting onto cupcakes.
Wish to give royal icing a strive subsequent? Right here’s my find out how to embellish sugar cookies with royal icing video.
And these are my high beneficial cookie adorning provides.
Cookie Adorning Buttercream
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Whole Time: 5 minutes
Yield: 2.5 cups (at the least 24-30 cookies)
Class: Dessert
Technique: Mixing
Delicacies: American
Description
Similar to basic vanilla buttercream frosting you’re keen on on truffles and cupcakes, this 5-ingredient cookie adorning buttercream is deliciously creamy and candy. It’s good for cookie adorning rookies, and soft-sets on the cookies after a couple of hours. You possibly can 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 possibly can 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, vanilla extract, and salt. Beat on low pace for 30 seconds, then improve to medium-high pace and beat for two full minutes. Style. To thicken the buttercream, beat in additional confectioners’ sugar. To skinny out the buttercream, beat in additional heavy cream. To assist offset extra sweetness, beat in an additional pinch of salt.
- Coloration the icing: In the event you’d wish to tint the icing, divide it into separate bowls for every coloration, or tint the complete batch one coloration. Somewhat gel meals coloring goes a good 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 suggestions 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 go away a couple of inches of area on the high of the bag. Twist the tip of the bag or use a clip to seal it shut. You possibly can pipe zig-zags, swirls, traces, dots, or no matter your coronary heart wishes! See video tutorial under for some inspiration.
- Cowl and retailer adorned cookies at room temperature for 1 day, or within the fridge for as much as 5 days. Frosting “soft-sets” on the cookies after a couple of hours, that means it would barely dry on high.
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 Baggage | Couplers | Wilton 55-Piece Piping Suggestions 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 at the least 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 entire milk as an alternative if wanted. The decrease the fats, the much less creamy your buttercream will likely be. Whichever you employ, be sure it’s at room temperature. In any other case your frosting might separate or seem grainy.
- Does This Buttercream Crust? It doesn’t absolutely crust, but it surely does “gentle set,” which implies it units sufficient to be dry on high. You’ll nonetheless need to be a bit cautious stacking the adorned cookies. To make a crusting buttercream, change half of the butter (1/2 cup/8 Tbsp/113g) with shortening.
- Can I Taste the Buttercream with Different Extracts? Sure, completely! Cut back the vanilla extract to only 1/2 teaspoon, after which you need to use one other extract comparable to peppermint, coconut, lemon, maple, or almond. I might begin with just one/2 teaspoon of any of those, style, after which beat in additional if desired.