Sugar Cookie Buttercream Frosting Recipes

Steps:

• In a large bowl, mix together butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; gradually stir flour mixture into butter mixture until well blended using a sturdy spoon. Chill dough for 2 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut into desired shapes using cookie cutters. Place cookies 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets.
• Bake for 4 to 6 minutes in the preheated oven. Remove cookies from pan and cool on wire racks.
• Using an electric mixer, beat shortening, confectioners sugar, water, salt, vanilla extract, and butter flavoring until fluffy. Frost cookies after they have cooled completely.

Steps:

• Cream together shortening, egg, vanilla and sugar.
• In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture in three phases, alternating with the three tablespoons of milk.
• Chill in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes. At this point the dough can be kept overnight in the fridge or for several months in the freezer.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Flour a smooth surface, and roll the dough to 1/4 inch, working with about half the dough at a time. Put the remaining dough in the fridge to stay chilled. Cut out the cookies with cookie cutters of your choice.
• Place cut-out cookies on a cookie sheet, and bake for 8-10 minutes.
• Allow cookies to cool before decorating with frosting.
• Buttercream Frosting: Cream softened butter and sugar. Beat in vanilla and milk, adding milk by teaspoons and beating until frosting is smooth and of desired spreading consistency.

Steps:

• Combine confectioners' sugar butter, vanilla and milk, beating until creamy. Thin with a few more drops of milk (if necessary) to reach desired spreading consistency. Stir in optional food coloring. Spread frosting over cooled cookies and decorate with colored sugar, if desired.

Steps:

• 1. Beat together the butter and extracts. Start adding in the powdered sugar a little at a time, beating after each addition until you get the desired texture. (if you add too much sugar, a little milk can be added)
• 2. If desired, add food coloring and blend well. Split frosting into different bowls to make a variety of colors, or just keep it a clean white.
• 3. Apply how you would like to, either with a spatula or a piping bag. If you don't have a piping bag, but would like the effect, clip a small corner off a ziploc bag to use as a piping bag. Don't use generic bags for this, though, as it could burst open at the seam.

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream together the confectioners' sugar and shortening until smooth. Gradually mix in the milk and vanilla with an electric mixer until smooth and stiff, about 5 minutes. Color with food coloring if desired.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a baking tray with a silicone baking mat (such as Silpat®) or parchment paper.
• Cream sugar and 1 cup butter together in a bowl with an electric mixer on high until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add in egg yolks, 1 at a time, until well incorporated and fluffy; don't overmix. Blend in all of the zest from the lemon and 3 tablespoons of lemon juice (if you have extra juice, reserve it for the frosting).
• Combine flour, baking soda, and cream of tartar in a bowl and whisk to blend. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl with the butter-sugar mixture and mix in on low speed until just combined. Scrape down the sides and bottom with a spatula until cookie dough is evenly blended.
• Use a 1 1/2-tablespoon cookie scoop to scoop out 12 dough balls and set, evenly spaced, onto the prepared baking sheet. Don't flatten them, you can leave them just as they come out of the scoop. If you don't have a scoop, just shape walnut-sized balls by hand.
• Bake in the preheated oven until bottoms are very lightly browned and tops begin to appear crackled, 10 to 11 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet for 2 to 3 minutes and then very carefully move to a cooling rack to complete cooling (they will be very soft still).
• Repeat with remaining dough until all cookies are baked and cooled.
• When cookies are cooled, make the buttercream frosting by whipping 3 cups of confectioners' sugar with 1/2 cup butter; start on low speed until butter and sugar begin to combine, then turn up the speed slowly. When sugar and butter are mostly combined, add in lemon juice and whip until creamy and smooth. Check consistency and flavor; you can add a little extra lemon juice or milk if you want a creamier consistency. But if you want the texture fairly stiff you may not need extra liquid at this point.
• Frost the cooled cookies as desired and allow the buttercream to set before stacking or storing the cookies.