Identical to traditional vanilla buttercream frosting you’re keen on on truffles and cupcakes, this 5-ingredient cookie adorning buttercream is deliciously creamy and candy. It’s excellent for cookie adorning rookies, and soft-sets after a number 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 on the subject of 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 wish to mess with both!
It’s good to have choices.
In order for you a creamy buttercream frosting, that holds its piped form and will 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 simple to make
- Will be tinted any colour with gel meals coloring (right here is my favourite model)
- Is nice and creamy and flavored with actual vanilla
- Will be piped into designs with completely different piping ideas or just unfold onto cookies
- Is great on high of so many sorts/flavors of cookies
- Delicate-sets after a number of hours
The cookies you see listed here are my traditional sugar cookies. They’ve an irresistible buttery vanilla taste and comfortable, thick facilities. Plus, they maintain their form when baking and have a flat floor that’s excellent 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 comfortable and cakey sugar cookies.
Seize These 5 Elements:
- 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 may 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: A bit of cream smooths out the frosting. Although entire milk or half-and-half are completely acceptable, use heavy cream for optimum richness. I exploit much less in right this moment’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 might additionally use do-it-yourself vanilla extract.
- Salt: Only a pinch, to steadiness the candy.
How you can Make It
American-style buttercream is fast and simple.
Make sure 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 substances. At this level, you may 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 complete written-out, printable recipe under.
How you can Rid Buttercream of Air Bubbles
Over-whipping buttercream creates air bubbles. The style isn’t any completely different, however the buttercream is not clean and velvet-y. Right here’s the best way to eliminate 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 edges of the bowl to “pop” the bubbles. Do that till a lot of the air bubbles deflate, about 1–2 minutes. This trick requires quite a lot 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 nicely. For lighter tints, I like to recommend utilizing the tip of a toothpick so as to add colour, quite than squeezing a complete 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 gadgets that connect to small piping ideas, and preserve them OUTSIDE of the piping bag. This makes it simple to swap piping ideas among the many completely different coloured baggage of icing.
Fill the piping bag: Spoon the buttercream into the piping bag, ensuring to go away a number 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 edges of the cup, then fill with frosting. You’ll be able to see me doing this within the video under.
Whereas not completely obligatory, I exploit 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 Adorn Cookies With Buttercream
This cookie adorning buttercream holds form superbly and works for intricate designs. To embellish the sugar cookies you see pictured right this moment, crew members Allison and Stephanie and I used piping ideas 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 consists of the piping ideas I exploit to embellish cookies with royal icing.
You’ll be able to pipe zig-zags, swirls, strains, 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 ideas, use a knife or icing spatula to frost the cookies.
It doesn’t totally crust, however it does “comfortable set,” which suggests it units sufficient to be dry on high. You’ll nonetheless should be a bit cautious stacking the embellished cookies. To make a crusting buttercream, exchange half of the butter (1/2 cup) with shortening.
Sure, completely! Cut back the vanilla extract to only 1/2 teaspoon, after which you should use one other extract resembling 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 no less than 24 to 30 cookies.
Sure, you should use this buttercream to embellish 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). Immediately’s buttercream is just not excellent as a “glue” for the gingerbread home items. For that, you’ll want royal icing.
Extra Adorning Tutorials
Need to learn to adorn cupcakes? Watch my the best way to use piping ideas video to study 5 fundamental however lovely methods to pipe frosting onto cupcakes.
Need to give royal icing a strive subsequent? Right here’s my the best way to adorn sugar cookies with royal icing video.
And these are my high really helpful cookie adorning provides.
Cookie Adorning Buttercream
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Complete Time: 5 minutes
Yield: 2.5 cups (no less than 24-30 cookies)
Class: Dessert
Methodology: Mixing
Delicacies: American
Description
Identical to traditional vanilla buttercream frosting you’re keen on on truffles and cupcakes, this 5-ingredient cookie adorning buttercream is deliciously creamy and candy. It’s excellent for cookie adorning rookies, and soft-sets on the cookies after a number 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, vanilla extract, and salt. Beat on low pace for 30 seconds, then enhance 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.
- Shade the icing: When you’d prefer to tint the icing, divide it into separate bowls for every colour, or tint the complete batch one colour. A bit of 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 ideas or knife/icing spatula: You should utilize a knife or icing spatula to frost the cookies. Or, if utilizing piping ideas, match a piping/pastry bag with a piping tip (and use a coupler when you plan to change frosting colours and/or piping ideas). Spoon the buttercream into the bag, ensuring to go away a number 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’ll be able to pipe zig-zags, swirls, strains, dots, or no matter your coronary heart wishes! See video tutorial under for some inspiration.
- Cowl and retailer embellished 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 number of hours, which means it can 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 number 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 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 no less than 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 utilize 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 utilize, make certain it’s at room temperature. In any other case your frosting might separate or seem grainy.
- Does This Buttercream Crust? It doesn’t totally crust, however it does “comfortable set,” which suggests it units sufficient to be dry on high. You’ll nonetheless should be a bit cautious stacking the embellished cookies. To make a crusting buttercream, exchange 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 should use one other extract resembling 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.
