These soft and chewy sugar cookies are the perfect blend of classic flavors with charming aesthetics. Each cookie is frosted with a creamy buttercream frosting and finished with a variety of pink candy sprinkles. They are perfect for any occasion.
Sugar cookies are just about the best thing in the world. Those buttery, sweet cookies are perfect for any occasion, and everyone always loves their soft, chewy texture. I would say they’re the best cookies ever, but there’s one cookie that tops them. Frosted sugar cookies take first place for me. They always have. Buttery sugar cookies are great, but when you top them with rich, thick buttercream frosting… Well, you’ve got something special, then! That’s why I love making these cookies. They’re always a huge crowd-pleaser, and I can change the sprinkle colors to suit different occasions.
Sugar Cookies
This recipe starts with a basic sugar cookie dough with added corn syrup to make the cookies extra soft and chewy. I bake them for about 10 minutes and let them finish cooking on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. Then, I make a simple buttercream frosting. I top the cookies with the frosting and sprinkles, and I’m all done! The entire process takes about 30 minutes – an hour when you include cooling time for the cookies. That’s all there is to it. It’s a quick and easy cookie recipe perfect for parties, snacking, or a weeknight dessert.
Why You’ll Love These Frosted Sugar Cookies
- The cookies are soft and chewy, and the buttercream frosting adds a creamy sweetness that complements the cookie perfectly.
- The pink candy sprinkles add a pop of color and make the cookies visually appealing.
- They are perfect for any occasion, such as birthday parties or potlucks, and when added to a larger dessert spread, they are perfect for breast cancer awareness month.
- They are versatile and with just a simple change of the candy sprinkles, these are great to make for Valentine’s day or for Christmas sugar cookies. Any holiday theme works with this recipe.
Sugar Cookies with Buttercream Frosting Ingredients
- Butter: Butter gives these cookies a super-rich, buttery flavor and makes the frosting so decadent.
- Corn Syrup: Corn syrup adds sweetness and moisture and makes the cookies extra soft and chewy.
- Milk: Milk is used to help give the frosting a rich, creamy texture.
- Powdered Sugar: Powdered sugar adds body to the frosting and gives it its signature sweetness.
- Pink Sprinkles: I used pink sprinkles for breast cancer awareness, but any color works!
See the recipe card at the end of the post for a full list of ingredients and their exact amounts.
How to Make Sugar Cookies
This is an incredibly easy recipe to make. Both sugar cookies and buttercream frosting are two of the most basic baking recipes, and even beginners should have no trouble with this one!
Step 1: Prep
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Step 2: Mix the Wet Ingredients
Beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer for about 3 minutes or until creamy. Then, add the egg, vanilla, and corn syrup and beat again until combined.
Step 3: Mix the Dry Ingredients
Whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl.
Step 4: Make the Dough
Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix until just combined.
Step 5: Bake
Scoop out the dough with a 1 ½-inch cookie scoop and place the balls on the baking sheet. Gently press them down. Bake for 10 minutes.
Step 6: Cool
Remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool on the baking sheet for a couple of minutes. Then, transfer them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
Step 7: Make the Frosting
Cream the butter, milk, and vanilla in a medium bowl. Gradually add the powdered sugar while mixing until smooth and creamy.
Step 8: Decorate
Frost the cooled cookies and top them with sprinkles. Enjoy!
Recipe Tips
- Mix your sugar cookie dough until just combined and no further. Overmixing creates excess gluten and results in tough cookies.
- Be sure to loosely spoon your flour into your measuring cup and level it off with a knife. This avoids packing and ensures the correct amount of flour is used.
- Don’t bake these cookies longer than 10 minutes. They’ll look underdone, but the carry-over cooking time from the hot baking sheet will bake them to perfection.
- Be sure your cookies are fully cooled before frosting them. Otherwise, the frosting will begin to melt on contact and slide off of the cookies.
Variations
- Try adding sprinkles directly into the dough for more color.
- Change the sprinkle colors for specific holidays and special occasions.
- You can use store-bought frosting in a pinch.
What to Serve with Sugar Cookies
Sugar cookies are always great with a big glass of milk or a cup of coffee or tea. They also make a classic dessert after burgers, dogs, or other simple Americana dishes. Pair these with your other favorite sweets for a larger dessert spread at parties, as well.
Recipe FAQ
Sugar cookies can be decorated in a variety of ways. You can go with something simple like sanded sugar or sprinkles for color and texture, or you can frost them with buttercream. You can also use royal icing and create more intricate frosting effects using a small piping bag with a very small tip.
Knowing when sugar cookies are done is a bit of an art. Remove your cookies when the edges are beginning to turn golden, but they are still pale and look underdone. Then, leave them on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes. When the cookies are firm, they’re done.
Sugar cookies are usually frosted with buttercream or royal icing, so they don’t need to be refrigerated. Both buttercream and royal icing have so much sugar in them that the frosting is shelf-stable for up to 3 days.
Unfrosted sugar cookies will last for up to a week at room temperature. Frosted sugar cookies will last for up to 3 days at room temperature or up to a week in the refrigerator.
Unfrosted sugar cookies can be frozen for up to 3 months.
How to Store Leftover Frosted Sugar Cookies
Store these cookies at room temperature for up to 3 days in an airtight container. For longer storage, refrigerate them in an airtight container for up to a week.
Try This Delicious Easy Sugar Cookie Recipe Today
These frosted sugar cookies are as delicious as they are easy! With a soft, chewy texture, buttery flavor, and decadent buttercream frosting, this is one cookie recipe you have to try. Give it a whirl, and I know you’ll find yourself making them again and again!
More Delicious Sugar Cookie Recipes You’ll Enjoy
These Mini Sugar Cookies with Mini M&Ms are an easy and delicious, soft and chewy, bite-size cookie that are perfect for parties, potlucks, or a midday snack.
Sugar Cookies with Buttercream Frosting
Ingredients
Sugar Cookies
- 2 ⅔ cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup butter
- 1 ¼ cup sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon corn syrup
Buttercream Frosting
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- ½ cup butter
- 3 tablespoons milk
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- Pink candy sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Sugar Cookies
- In a large bowl, using an eclectic mixer, cream butter and sugar together until creamy, about 3 minutes.
- Beat egg, vanilla and corn syrup into mixture until combined
- In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt together.
- Add dry ingredients into wet ingredients and mix.
- Using a 1½ inch cookie scoop, place rounded cookie dough on the prepared baking sheet.
- Gently press each cookie down.
- Bake in a preheated 350 degrees oven for 10 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and let cookies sit on the baking sheet for a couple minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Buttercream Frosting
- In a medium mixing bowl, cream butter, milk and vanilla together. Gradually add powdered sugar and beat until smooth and creamy.
- Frost cool cookies and sprinkle with a variety of pink candy sprinkles of your choosing.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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These Sugar Cookies with Buttercream Frosting were so good! The kids loved them, I can’t wait to make them again!!
These came out so soft and delicious. Plus they are so fun to decorate..perfect holiday cookie to make with the family!
Tried them for a party and they came out great. Sweet, soft, and the buttercream is amazing!
These are so festive! There is nothing quite like a classic soft sugar cookie with good homemade buttercream. These would be such a hit on a holiday cookie tray.
These are amazing! The frosting is tasty, but that softy, caky cookie texture is what really got me.
Even without the frosting, these would be the best sugar cookies ever. I love the texture.
I LOVED the frosting with the soft cookies. So yummy!
These are so good. They’re super soft, and the frosting is perfect.