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Buttercream Cookies

At this point in time, my royal icing skills could definitely use some improvement. Heck, marbled sugar cookies are about all I can do when it comes to that type of thing. But you know what I do love to decorate with? BUTTERCREAM! I decided to be a rebel and ditch the royal icing to make these buttercream cookies.

To be fair, these cookies were for a Christmas party. My friend who was hosting the party is obsessed with frosting and she specifically asked be to bring something with frosting on it.

While I considered buttercream cookies taking the easy way out, I was just being a good friend, right??

Either way, these soft, chewy sugar cookies with buttercream frosting will knock your socks off. They’re not too sweet on their own, which makes them the perfect base for my sweet buttercream frosting.

overhead shot of buttercream cookies decorated with pink frosting and sprinkles

They’re easy to make and in my opinion are just as pretty as a fancy sugar cookie.

The Secret Ingredient(s) in These Buttercream Cookies

These cookies are pretty unique. They have a tender texture and are oh so tasty.

What gives these cookies that unique texture and taste? We can thank a bit of cream cheese and cornstarch for making these cookies so delicious.

Both help the cookies bake up soft so they’re still chewy once they’ve cooled.

In fact, I feel like these cookies should be named cream cheese cookies. Is that too weird??

Now I know cream cheese is probably not an ingredient you’d expect to find in a cookie recipe. But trust me, it makes all the difference.

It also brightens the color of the cookies by giving them a lighter color. I love this because it really helps the colorful buttercream pop once the cookies are frosted.

image of cream cheese sugar cookies stacked and baked

And the cornstarch? It helps soften cookies by “softening” the proteins found in the all-purpose flour.

The end result is almost like you’re using cake flour in this recipe! It creates a super tender, melt-in-your-mouth cookie.

Making Sure Your Cookies Are Soft & Fluffy

While I love getting caught up in the decoration of my desserts, it’s super important that my recipes are just as delicious.

When I eat a sugar cookie, I want it to be thick, soft, and buttery.

close up shot of sugar cookie with cream cheese

Now, this isn’t the easiest thing to accomplish. Even if you have the best sugar cookie recipe, so much comes down to the technique you use and how you make the cookie dough.

The first thing to keep in mind is measuring the right amount of flour. Some home bakers tend to really pack flour into their measuring cup.

Unfortunately, this can cause a person to add a lot more flour to a recipe than it calls for.

I like to use a kitchen scale to be exact, but you can also fluff your flour up in your bag with a spoon, then add spoonfuls into a measuring cup and level it off with a knife.

image of flour being leveled in a measuring cup

It’s also important that you chill your dough and liberally flour your counter or surface before rolling out the dough.

This makes the dough easier to roll out and prevents the cookies from spreading. I know it can be hard to be patient but it’s worth taking the extra time to chill the dough!!

I’m actually a big fan of the double chill. I chill the dough before I roll it out, and one more time once they’re cut out.

I’ve found that a lot of the time once I’m done cutting out my cookies the dough has warmed up to room temperature!

image of sugar cookies with cream cheese being cut out

I pop the cut cookies into the freezer for about 10 minutes before baking them. The second chill ensures the cookies are still cold when they go into the oven. This really helps them keep their shape.

The Buttercream Frosting

Now onto my favorite part, the buttercream frosting. These buttercream cookies are decorated with my American buttercream.

While this frosting is amazing for making cakes, it also is fantastic for cookies! I add a tiny bit more heavy cream to make it easy to pipe with.

An added bonus is that this type of frosting hardens! American buttercream crusts as it sits and is exposed to air.

It might sound creepy, but it’s a totally natural reaction caused by the high sugar content in the frosting.

Making frosting from scratch can be intimidating the first time, but I promise once you try it, you’ll never go back to canned or pre-made frosting.

My buttercream frosting for cookies only uses 5 ingredients and comes together in about 5 minutes. It doesn’t get easier than that!!

Another great thing about my buttercream recipe? It can be made in advance, and keeps in the fridge for months!

I love prepping things in advance so that I don’t have to make everything in one day. It makes the decoration process so much easier and more enjoyable.

Decorating These Buttercream Cookies

Now it’s time to discuss my favorite part, decorating these cookies!

If we’re going to spend a bunch of time baking these buttercream cookies from scratch, we should take a little extra time to make them beautiful too.

image of a cream cheese cookie that's been decorated with a pretty swirl of delicious buttercream frosting

All you need are some piping bags and maybe a frosting tip or two. The beauty of this recipe is that you can cut out any shape you want and decorate it accordingly!

I made half of this batch into festive sugar cookies and decorated the other half in a less seasonal way 🙂

image of christmas sugar cookies decorated with buttercream

Don’t be afraid to get creative! Whip out all the fun colors of gel food coloring you have, invite your friends or your kids into the kitchen with you and have some fun.

And if all else fails, throw some fancy sprinkles on top and call it a day 😛

Tips for Making the Best Buttercream Cookies:

  • Liberally flour your counter before you roll out your cookie dough and move it around while you roll and cut your cookies.
  • Also flour your cookie cutters before each cut! It helps the dough easily pop out of the cutter and helps the cookies keep their shape.
  • Really cream together the butter, cream cheese, and granulated sugar in the first step of this recipe. It helps incorporate air into the dough which makes fluffy and soft cookies.
  • Don’t overwork your cookie dough! It can over-work the gluten and result in tough and dense cookies
  • Roll your cookie dough out to a consistent thickness of 1/3 inch. If some are thicker or thinner than others, they may over or under bake in the oven.
  • Chill your cookie dough. It helps prevent your cookies from spreading while they bake.
  • Don’t over bake your cookies. Err of the side of underbaking your cookies and remember that the cookies continue to bake for a few minutes once they’re out of the oven.
image of a buttercream cookie that's been bitten into to show it's soft, fluffy texture

Making These Buttercream Cookies in Advance and Storage Tips

You can store frosted cookies in an airtight container for up to 2 days at room temperature or for up to 5 days in the fridge. The buttercream won’t spoil, I promise!

If you want to stack the cookies on top of one another, I recommend adding a layer of parchment paper between them.

image of a buttercream cookie decorated with pretty pastel buttercream frosting

This cookie dough can also be frozen for up to 1 month if wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and stored in an airtight container.

I like to move the cookie dough to the fridge the night before I plan to roll it out and bake the cookies.

Baked, unfrosted cookies can also be frozen! These cookies last for up to a month if frozen in an airtight container.

I recommend waiting to frost them until they’ve thawed to room temperature.

Move them to the fridge the day before you plan to eat them, then let them sit out at room temperature for a few hours before frosting them.

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Let Me Know What You Think!

If you try this recipe for my buttercream cookies, I’d love to hear what you think of it! Please leave a rating and let me know your thoughts by sharing a comment.

Yield: 30

Buttercream Cookies

image of buttercream cookie decorated with unicorn inspired pastel buttercream frosting

These buttercream cookies are incredibly soft and chewy, and are topped with the most delicious homemade buttercream frosting.

Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 11 minutes
Additional Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 1 minute

Ingredients

Soft Buttercream Cookies

  • 3/4 cup or 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temp (170g)
  • 1/2 cup or 4 oz. full fat cream cheese, room temp (113g)
  • 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar (300g)
  • 1 large egg, room temp (56g)
  • 2 tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract (8g)
  • 1 tsp almond extract, optional (4g)
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour (375g)
  • 1 Tbsp cornstarch (8g)
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder (2g)
  • 1/2 tsp fine salt (3g)

Buttercream Frosting for Cookies

  • 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature (226g)
  • 1 Tbsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract (9ml)
  • 1/2 tsp salt (3g)
  • 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar (440g)
  • 2 Tbsp heavy cream (30g)

Additional Supplies

Instructions

Soft Buttercream Cookies

  1. In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, beat 3/4 cup butter and 1/2 cup cream cheese on a medium speed with a hand mixer or whisk attachment until smooth.
  2. Next, add in 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar and mix on a medium-high speed for a couple minutes, until the mixture becomes lighter in color.
  3. Add in 1 egg, 2 tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract, and 1 tsp almond extract (optional). Mix on a medium speed until incorporated.
  4. In a separate bowl, whisk together 3 cups flour, 1 Tbsp cornstarch, 1/2 tsp baking powder, and 1/2 tsp salt.
  5. Add the flour mixture into the butter mixture in two additions, mixing on a low speed until it is JUST incorporated. Scrape the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula between additions.
  6. At this point the dough should still be pretty sticky. Divide the dough in half and wrap each portion of dough in a piece of plastic wrap. I like the flatten the dough out into a rectangle that's about 1/2 inch tall to make it easier to roll out once it's chilled.
  7. Chill the dough in the fridge for about 2 hours or the freezer for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350 F / 175 C about 30 minutes before you plan to roll out the dough, and line two large baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper. Set aside.
  8. Generously dust the surface you plan to roll the cookies out on with additional flour. Take one piece of dough out of the fridge or freezer, leaving the other in there to continue to chill.
  9. Sprinkle additional flour on top of the dough and on the rolling pin. Roll the chilled dough to be 1/3 inch thick and cut out shapes with a flour-dusted cookie cutter. Use a kitchen brush to brush any excess flour off the cookies and place them on the prepared baking sheets. The cookies don't spread much as they bake, so you can place them about 1-inch apart.
  10. Chill the cut-out cookies one more time in the fridge for 15 minutes or the freezer for 5 minutes to help them keep their shape as they bake.
  11. Bake one sheet of cookies at a time. Bake for 9-12 minutes on the top rack of your oven (bake time will vary based on the size and shape of the cookies). Keep a close eye on the cookies and be sure to pull them out before the edges start to brown.
  12. Let the baked cookies cool on the pan for about 15 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.
  13. While the first batch bakes and cools, knead together the cookie dough scraps and rewrap them in plastic wrap. Pop them back in the fridge to chill.
  14. Pull out the 2nd chilled portion of dough and repeat steps 9-15. Then repeat with the chilled dough scraps.

Buttercream Frosting for Sugar Cookies

  1. Beat 1 cup of butter on a medium speed for 30 seconds with a paddle attachment, until smooth.
  2. Mix in 1 Tbsp vanilla paste or vanilla extract and 1/2 tsp salt on a low speed.
  3. Slowly add in 3 1/2 powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time. Halfway through add in 2 Tbsp of heavy cream or milk to make it easier to mix.
  4. Beat on low until the ingredients are fully incorporated and the desired consistency is reached
  5. If the frosting seems too thick, add in additional cream (1 Tbsp at a time). If the frosting is too thin, add in more powdered sugar (quarter of a cup at a time).
  6. If you plan to color the buttercream, add in the gel food coloring once the frosting is fully made and beat on low until it reaches the desired colored.
  7. Place frosting into a piping bag and decorate as desired! I didn't use a piping tip, and just cut about a 1 inch opening at the end of my bag to pipe some simple swirls on top of my cookies.

Notes

Yield

This recipe can be used to make about 36, 3-inch circular cookies. The yield and bake time will vary based on the size and shape of the cookie cutter(s) you use.

This recipe can be halved to make less cookies (use half a scrambled egg in the dough), but I don't recommend doubling it unless you have a commercial (8 qt.) stand mixer.

Making These Buttercream Cookies in Advance and Storage Tips

You can store frosted cookies in an airtight container for up to 2 days at room temperature or for up to 5 days in the fridge.

If you want to stack the cookies on top of one another, I recommend adding a layer of parchment paper between them.

This cookie dough can also be frozen for up to 1 month if wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and stored in an airtight container. I like to move the cookie dough to the fridge the night before I plan to roll it out and bake the cookies.

Baked, unfrosted cookies can also be frozen! These cookies last for up to a month if frozen in an airtight container. I recommend waiting to decorate them until they’ve thawed to room temperature.

Move them to the fridge the day before you plan to eat them, then let them sit out at room temperature for a few hours before frosting them.

Tips for Making the Best Buttercream Cookies

  • Really cream together the butter, cream cheese, and granulated sugar in the first step of this recipe. It helps incorporate air into the dough which makes fluffy and soft cookies.
  • Don’t overwork the cookie dough! It can over-work the gluten and result in tough, dense cookies.
  • Roll the cookie dough out to a consistent thickness of 1/3 inch. If some are thicker or thinner than others, they may over- or under-bake in the oven.
  • Take the time to chill the cookie dough. It helps prevent your cookies from spreading while they bake and helps them bake up with a soft texture.
  • Liberally flour your counter before you roll out the cookie dough and move the dough around while you roll and cut the cookies.
  • Also flour your cookie cutters before each cut! It helps the dough easily pop out of the cutter and helps the cookies keep their shape.
  • Don’t over bake your cookies. Err of the side of underbaking your cookies and remember that the cookies continue to bake for a few minutes once they’re out of the oven.

Nutrition Information

Yield

30

Serving Size

1

Amount Per Serving Calories 258Total Fat 13gSaturated Fat 8gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 4gCholesterol 40mgSodium 144mgCarbohydrates 34gFiber 0gSugar 24gProtein 2g

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Melanie

Monday 13th of February 2023

I am making this recipe for a friend. she wants butterflies. so i have to order the cookie cutter for this. This will be my first cut out cookie attempt with frosting. I am making her some sample cookies of this recipe for tommorrow to see if she likes them. Wish me luck!

Chelsweets

Monday 13th of February 2023

Hi Melaine,

That's so fun!! I hope they turn out amazing, and that your friend loves them :)

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