Recipe for Sugar Cookies with Frosting

Recipe updated: April 12th, 2024

This is a simple and delicious sugar cookies with frosting recipe that the whole family is going to love. And the best part is the kids can help you make them. The kids will especially love putting the powdered sugar icing or cream cheese buttercream frosting on the top of each cookie.

So get the kiddos some food coloring and let them make different colors of icing. What a fun afternoon that will be for them, not to mention when they get to eat one of these soft sugar cookies after all the hard work they did preparing them. 😊

This recipe for sugar cookies makes a lot of cookies, about 77, but that depends on how big or small you make them. You can either cut this recipe in half, or freeze some of them.

These are the sugar cookies my mother made for us kids when we were growing up. We loved them, and so did our friends, so maybe that’s why she made such a big batch at a time.

🍪 Key Ingredients

Sugar Cookies Dough

• 5 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 3 sticks of unsalted butter (1 and 1/2 cups)
• 1 cup milk
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (not shown)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• Pinch of table salt
• Sprinkles (not shown) a varity of sprinkles are sold in the grocery store or online

Sugar Cookie Icing or Sugar Cookie Frosting (ingredients not shown)

Powdered sugar icing recipe:

• 3 cups powdered sugar – also known as confectioners sugar
• 1/2 cup of unsalted butter – softened
• 3 tablespoons of milk
• 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

Cream cheese buttercream frosting recipe:

• 5 cups of powdered sugar
• 4 ounces of cream cheese
• 1 stick unsalted butter
• 6 tablespoons of whole milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

👩‍🍳 How to Make Sugar Cookies with Frosting

These step-by-step instructions are accompanied by detailed photos for enhanced clarity and guidance.

Step 1. Preheat the Oven

The first thing we need to do is set the oven temperature to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Step 2. Soften the Butter

Put 3 sticks of unsalted butter (or use a measuring cup to measure 1 and 1/2 cups of butter) in a separate bowl that is safe for the microwave. Then, put the bowl in the microwave for about 50 to 60 seconds. It is a good idea to keep checking the butter, since your microwave may have more or less power than ours does.

Tip: If you prefer room temperature butter, take the butter out of the refrigerator and let it sit on the countertop for about 15 minutes until it is soft.

Step 3. Prepare the Wet Ingredients

Transfer the melted butter into a large bowl, then add 2 cups of sugar together with the melted butter. Mix thoroughly.

Tip: We didn’t use an electric hand mixer or stand mixer for this cookie recipe, because as soon as we start to add the flour mixture, the cookie dough batter becomes very thick.

Step 4. Add the Eggs

Put 2 eggs in the bowl together with the butter and the sugar. Mix until blended well.

Step 5. Pour in the Milk and Vanilla Extract

Add 1 cup of milk and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract together with the butter, sugar, and eggs mixture. Mix well.

Step 6. Mix the Butter Sugar Mixture

So far, we have melted butter, sugar, eggs, milk, and vanilla extract in the bowl. Stir all of this together well. Set aside for now.

Step 7. Prepare the Dry Ingredients

Put 5 and 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour in a different mixing bowl. Add 1 teaspoon baking soda, 2 teaspoons baking powder, and a pinch of salt together with the flour. Blend thoroughly together.

What is a Pinch of Salt?

Let’s talk about a pinch of salt for a minute. A pinch of salt really does make a difference in the recipe you are making. It enhances the recipe just right! So, what exactly is a pinch of salt? Well, I did some research to make sure I got the facts straight for y’all.

Some information said a pinch of salt is using 2 fingers – your thumb and index finger – then grab some salt and whatever amount you pinched up in your 2 fingers, it comes out to be 1/16 of a teaspoon, then again, other information said 1/8 of a teaspoon.

Therefore, I decided to go get my salt and do a pinch-of-salt test to see. No matter how many times I did the 2-finger pinch-of-salt test, it filled my 1/8 of a teaspoon halfway up, so I figure the answer is 1/16 of a teaspoon.

So, there you have it, I’m sticking with 1/16 of a teaspoon. However, not all fingers are created equal. I understand totally and I figure that everyone’s fingers can be different sizes, but that’s a whole different discussion for a later date.

Step 8. Add Dry Ingredients to Wet Ingredients

Add the flour mixture a little at a time together with the butter, sugar, eggs, milk, and vanilla extract mixture. Stir until it becomes kind of hard to mix it, then use your hands to shape it into a ball of dough.

Step 9. Prepare the Cookie Dough for the Sugar Cookies

Take the cookie dough out of the bowl and lay it on a lightly floured surface such as a cutting board or a dough mat, or even the kitchen countertop. We used the kitchen table.

Step 10. Roll the Cookie Dough

Take the rolling pin out of the drawer and start rolling the cookie dough starting from the middle and then rolling out towards the end of the dough. Sprinkle just a light dusting of flour on the cookie dough as you roll, so this way the dough won’t stick to the roller.

Keep rolling the dough out from the middle outwards in all directions until it is about 1/4 of an inch thick. If you roll the dough out thinner than that, of course, the cookies will be thinner, but the cookies will also be crispier with crisp edges and not as soft in the inside after baking them in the oven.

We ended up with a couple of thinner cookies in the batch, and a couple of family members liked them the best, the others liked the thicker softer ones. See, some mistakes can make everyone happy!

Step 11. Cut the Cookie Dough into Shapes

The next step is to cut out the cookie shapes. We made circles, but you can use any cookie cutters you have. The more different shapes you can make sounds like so much fun for the kids. We just used a small cup. The granddaughters and I each had a cup, and we were cutting out cookie circle shapes like crazy.

With your working surface lightly covered with flour, dip the edge of the cookie cutter into the flour. Then push the cookie cutter into the dough, and slightly wiggle it around just a little bit on the surface of the flour before taking the cookie cutter out of the dough. This will make it easier to pick up the cookie shape to place it on the cookie sheet, shown in the next step below.

Step 12. Prepare the Cookie Sheet

Spray a cookie sheet, also known as a baking sheet, with non-stick cooking spray. If you prefer to not use non-stick cooking spray, you can line the cookie sheet with parchment paper, or use a silicone baking mat.

Place the sugar cookie dough (about 12 cut-out cookie shapes) on the cookie sheet. Of course, that could be different if your shapes are a little bit bigger than our shapes.

Prepare two cookies sheets. While the first batch of cookies is baking in the oven, the second batch of cookies will be ready to pop in the oven when the first batch is done.

Tip: If you don’t want your cookies to bake into each other, a good rule of thumb is to leave about 1 and 1/2 to 2 inches between each cookie. This is because some cookies will expand outward during baking, and we don’t want these cookies to run into each other.

However, the spaces between each cookie don’t have to be exact or perfect, or the shapes, for that matter. My granddaughters and I were having a blast making these cookies together, and we weren’t worried about making the perfect cookie.

Unless you want perfect sugar cookies for a recipe bake-off contest, believe me, these cookies will get eaten way too fast for anyone to notice the different shapes or square edges.

Step 13. Bake the Sugar Cookies

Put the cookies in the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 12 minutes. They should be just barely turning brown around the edges of the cookies and a slight brown color on top when the 12 minutes are up. Leave the cookies on the cookie sheet for about a minute, then place the cookies on a cooling rack, also known as a wire rack, or wax paper for about a minute or so to cool before putting any frosting on them.

Step 14. Spread on the Icing and then Sprinkles

These yummy homemade sugar cookies are fun to make, and the granddaughters loved putting the icing and sprinkles on them. They had so much fun mixing up the different colors for the icing too. And getting to put the sprinkles on top of the icing was the kicker to a fun-filled afternoon in the kitchen.

Note: We used liquid food coloring to color our icing, but you can use gel food coloring, if you prefer. We also used an assortment of sprinkles on top of each cookie, so you can use any combination of sprinkles you like.

You can use any kind of icing or creamy frosting you prefer, or click on the links here for the full detailed powdered sugar icing we used for these cookies, or our cream cheese buttercream frosting, or follow the short version of the recipes below.

Powdered Sugar Icing

• In a medium bowl, add 1/2 cup of softened butter (optional) together with 3 cups powdered sugar, 3 tablespoons of milk, and 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract. You can leave the icing white, or add food coloring if you prefer.
• Mix thoughly and then spread the icing on the cookies.
• If you want the icing to be thicker, add less milk, and for thinner icing, add more milk.
• This recipe tastes just as good without the butter added. Adding the butter just gives the icing a slight bit buttery taste.

Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting

• In a medium bowl, add 1 stick of softened unsalted butter together with 4 ounces of softened cream cheese.
• Then add in 6 tablespoons of whole milk, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract, and mix well.
• Slowly add 5 cups of powdered sugar to the mixture and mix until creamy, then spread the frosting on the cookies.

✨ Recipe Variations

• Make different cookie shapes for different holidays. Heart shaped cookies are perfect for Valentine’s Day, or Christmas tree shapes for the Christmas holidays. Get out your favorite cookie cutters and have some fun. The possibilities are endless when it comes to holiday cookies or that special occasion are you planning.

❓ FAQs

📌 Final Thoughts

The kids love making this easy sugar cookie recipe, and they love the taste of them too, and so do the adults. With the basic ingredients of butter, flower, sugar, vanilla extract, baking soda, baking powder, milk, eggs, and a pinch of salt, you can make these yummy cookies right now.

But, I must warn you, these are the best sugar cookies around, and eating one cookie just isn’t enough, but eating two of them is just right! 😉

📋 Recipe Card

🥰 More Cookie Recipes You Will Love

• Make a big hit with your family, friends, and guests when you make these ranger cookies, loaded with rolled oats, raisins, and rice crispies.
• You are going to love these chocolate chip s’more’s cookies. They are the best cookie with chocolate chips, mini marshmallows, and graham crackers in the cookie dough.