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{Recipe} The Best Frosted Sugar Cookies*

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Frosted Sugar Cookie Recipe

When I was in the 4th grade, my class put together a cookbook as a fundraiser. Everyone submitted recipes from their friends and family, and the illustrations for the chapter dividers and front/back covers were all done by the members of my class… so of course, it was a true work of art *wink*.

One thing that is arguably a work of art in the kitchen though… the sugar cookie recipe that I first discovered in that book!

I honestly can’t remember who originally submitted it and it seems that what I’d thought was a “beloved” cookbook was somehow a casualty of one of our moves growing up (hmmm…), but I started making these little gems regularly around the 6th grade for school functions, friends’ birthdays, holidays, etc… and it kind of became one of my “things”.

MANY years later… I can’t tell you how many of my jr. high and high school friends still come out of the woodwork on Facebook around the holidays or their kids’ birthdays and ask for “the sugar cookie recipe“. “THE” is all the description that I need to know what they’re talking about. =)

Frosted Sugar Cookie Recipe

I think it’s finally time to post about these – so that instead of countless emails the recipe will be easily accessible in one spot. It’s really a “back to basics” recipe… eggs, sugar, flour, BUTTER… but the secrets to making them great are the cooking time (you almost want them undercooked so they’re super soft), and GENEROUS amounts of frosting. No skimping with this one!

Frosted Sugar Cookie Recipe

THE BEST FROSTED SUGAR COOKIES*

{*in my own humble opinion}

Ingredients

  • 1 cup butter
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tbsp vanilla
  • 3 cups flour
  • 3 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400º.

2. Mix dry ingredients in a bowl & set aside.

3. In a separate bowl, combine butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Beat until mixed well. Add the dry ingredients in slowly & mix well.

4. Chill for at least an hour to stiffen the dough.

5. Roll the dough out with a rolling pin & cut shapes with cookie cutters OR form dough balls and flatten them into thick circles with your hands.

6. Bake 8-10 mins or until just the edges of cookies start to turn a very, very light golden brown. Don’t over-bake.

7. For an extra-doughy consistency, remove the cookies before the edges start to brown.

FROSTING:

  • 1/3 cup butter, melted
  • 1 Tbsp vanilla
  • 3 Tbsp milk
  • 1 egg yolk (optional)
  • 5-6 cups powdered sugar (thicken to desired consistency)
  • food coloring

Directions

Whisk butter, vanilla, milk, and egg yolk together. Slowly mix in powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, until the frosting reaches your desired consistency. If it gets too thick, add more milk in very small amounts, about 1 tsp at a time.

*****

ENJOY! =)

40 Comments

  1. whatever DeeDee Wants May 18, 2011 at 6:46 am

    Oh my yummy! I want to make some today.

  2. mini coach May 18, 2011 at 8:10 am

    Cookies are my favourite and they look cool in the pic too.

  3. Carrie @ Half Baked May 18, 2011 at 9:53 am

    These look delicious! Thanks for sharing the recipe and the lovely images… your little cookie fan is adorable!

  4. Mae May 18, 2011 at 1:38 pm

    Aww this is apt for kids! Yum

  5. Leslie Swan May 18, 2011 at 5:05 pm

    I can attest to these cookies being THE best sugar cookies on the planet! I can recall eating way too many of them in college. Thanks for making the recipe readily available forever!

  6. Katrina May 19, 2011 at 6:11 am

    Who cares about the cookies! Look @ the sweetheart. She has more sugar than any cookie could have :) Such a cutie!

    • jenn s. May 21, 2011 at 6:05 am

      Thanks, Katrina! I have to agree with you but if course as her mom I’m a litte biased ;)

  7. Carolyn May 19, 2011 at 8:19 am

    Can’t wait to try this recipe?! However, does anyone know a good way to package the cookies individually so the frosting doesn’t get all smushed and look gross?

  8. Sandra@ribbonsandfavors.com May 20, 2011 at 7:21 am

    I have had success in packaging cookies and cupcakes with soft icing in boxes. I would recommend a 4″ x 4″ x 2″ box lined with a piece of cello or parchment paper (line bottom & sides only) for a single sugar cookie. If you use a deeper box lay a bed of shred down. I slip frosted cookies in the freezer so the frosting hardens and they can be handled without finger prints.

  9. thuy May 20, 2011 at 11:16 am

    i just made these last night and they are delciious. i don’t usually like soft cookies but these are good. now if only the icing wouldn’t stick to the bottom of the other cookies…thanks for the fab recipe!

  10. Kim May 20, 2011 at 4:16 pm

    So, normally I hate sugar cookies. The only ones I would eat were those super sweet and soft ones from the grocery store. BUT, I saw these and since my husband loves sugar cookies, I decided to make them. And lets just say that out of a 12 cookies, My hubby only ate 3 because I ATE ALL THE REST! They were so good! I guess I can say that I officially love sugar cookies now! -but only these ones. :)

    • jenn s. May 21, 2011 at 6:04 am

      Too funny, Kim! Glad I could help you cross over to the “fan” side ;)

  11. Audrey May 20, 2011 at 11:38 pm

    Do you personally think the icing is better or not as good with the optional yolk?

    • jenn s. May 21, 2011 at 5:48 am

      Hi Audrey –
      I like using the yolk and do think it makes the icing richer. I think the recipe makes it optional for people that aren’t comfortable with the idea of even a very small amount of raw egg. I’ve never had an issue with it in 20 years though! :)

    • Trina May 25, 2011 at 6:31 am

      Have you tried with meringue powder ? 2 tsp meringue powder+ 2 tbsp water = 1 egg white.
      These look delicious ! Can’t wait to try them ~ thanks!

  12. Marisel M May 21, 2011 at 6:32 am

    I love this! I’ve been looking for a good sugar cookie recipe for my daughter’s first birthday party. Her color scheme is these exact colors, but I have been troubled finding a blue like that. What did you use for coloring?

    • jenn s. May 21, 2011 at 6:45 am

      Hi Marisel –
      I used the Gel Colorings by Wilton. You can get them in the baking aisle at Michaels or right here on Wilton.com. I used the Pink, Golden Yellow, and Sky Blue for these cookies :)

  13. Gayle T. May 27, 2011 at 9:38 am

    Do you use real butter?

  14. Kendall July 5, 2011 at 11:11 am

    THESE ARE THE BEST! Thanks, Jenn! I am always asking you for a reminder on how to make them…so happy that the recipe is here for me to refer to! Can’t wait to make my next batch!

  15. Heidi August 21, 2011 at 11:50 am

    Hey!I just wanted to let you know that I made these cookies last night and posted the results on my blog. My photos didn’t turn out that great but the cookies themselves were some of my favorite! Gosh they were super delicious! I will definitely keep this recipe. Thank you so much.

    • jenn s. August 21, 2011 at 4:07 pm

      Thanks, Heidi! So glad you liked them :)

  16. MaryAnne August 26, 2011 at 10:10 am

    I can not wait to make these! I would make them tomorrow and let you know how it goes!! Thanks for sharing:)

  17. Sarah Beck-Furbee September 2, 2011 at 4:39 am

    Do these cookies freeze well?

    • jenn s. September 2, 2011 at 5:42 am

      Hi Sarah –
      I’ve only frozen them unfrosted before, so I’m honestly not sure about how well they’d do with the frosting, but without frosting they did freeze well :)

  18. Sarah December 20, 2011 at 7:48 am

    Hi. This recipe looks delicious! I am planning to make these cookies for a holiday party later this week. Just wondering about how many cookies it makes though? I am sure it depends on the size of the cookie but any estimate would help me know if I should double the recipe or not. Thanks so much!!

    • jenn s. December 21, 2011 at 1:08 pm

      Hi Sarah –
      You’re right in that it depends on the size of the cookie. I’d say this makes about 24 medium-sized round sugar cookies, give or take a few. If you want to be on the safe side and need to serve a lot of people I’d double the recipe. Pretty sure the “extras” won’t go to waste! ;)

  19. Elizabeth January 26, 2012 at 1:15 pm

    Just took these to my daughter’s first grade class to RAVE reviews! It is a keeper…also I did not chill the dough and they rolled and cut out fine. Thanks for sharing!

  20. Megan February 9, 2012 at 6:23 pm

    The cookies are good, but the frosting is terrible! I followed the recipe exactly…I’m not sure why everyone says these are so good? Would be great cookies with a different frosting.

  21. Jeanna Scott February 21, 2012 at 7:26 pm

    Colors so bright and beautiful as the recipes are. Excited to make the cookies and “more”.

  22. Michelle Huante April 4, 2012 at 5:04 pm

    Hi! I was wondering how many cookies the recipe was for?

    • jenn s. April 5, 2012 at 8:02 am

      Hi Michelle – It really depends on what size you make the cookies. I think I usually get 20-24 out of the recipe though.

  23. jessica July 2, 2012 at 9:15 pm

    I have made these a couple of times before with great success (once for my dentist who went out of his way to tell me how amazing they were), and just now nearly had a heart attack when I thought I couldn’t find the recipe online! It doesn’t get any better than a simple recipe like this that really showcases premium ingredients. Thank you so much!

  24. shannon August 1, 2012 at 4:34 am

    I got this recipe off a different website (Annie’s Eats), and when I noticed in the bottom it said, adapted from..(your blog) I HAD to come over and thank you for posting this recipe. Honestly, the **best** sugar cookies I’ve ever had. My husband hates sugar cookies, and he loves these :)

  25. Latrice Brauckman November 6, 2012 at 9:29 pm

    best sugar cookie recipe I have ever found!

  26. breezy alloway November 17, 2012 at 12:03 pm

    i love this cute website of yours

  27. Sommer November 26, 2012 at 4:09 pm

    just dropping by to tell you that I saw these on pintrest and they looked sooooooo good, I am making some right now! my sister wanted the canned frosting, so for a little bit of flavor for myself i used some jello mix! all i did was boil water like normal, add the water to the jello mix, and whisked it for a few mins. then after it cooled, i added it to some of the canned frosting and whipped it up and ohh my its sooooo good! definitely glad i found this!

  28. Patricia Duncan November 30, 2012 at 4:36 pm

    TRY IT YOU WILL LOVE IT.

  29. Sana December 12, 2012 at 7:32 am

    Hi. These look really good! Really want to try them. Can you tell me whether you used granulated sugar or castor? I live in Pakistan and the granulated sugar we have here has big granules, should I crush it into castor sugae?

    Thanks, =)

  30. Jennie January 7, 2013 at 10:33 am

    When I made them, they came out really oily/buttery and not at all cake like. :(

  31. James Day January 16, 2016 at 3:02 am

    Nice!

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