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by Katrina Bahl
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I’ve been perfecting my Christmas Sugar Cookies (cutouts) for 20+ years. This is the BEST Christmas Cookie Frosting recipe I use to top them!
Most people have strong opinions about politics, religion, global warming, etc.
I mean these are important things, so I get it, but I have opinions about cookies- especially cut-out cookies and the frosting that tops them.
- The cookie needs to be sturdy enough to hold a generous amount of frosting.
- Soft cut-out cookies only, please!
- Keep the sprinkles to a minimum… I’m trying to enjoy the frosting, not break a tooth.
- Finally, the frosting needs not to be sticky. I have children running around my house with cookies in their hands. I don’t need the frosting sticking to them and whatever they touch (and they touch EVERYTHING).
What Makes This the BEST Christmas Cookie Frosting?
This is a no-fuss frosting recipe.
Omit the almond extract if you don’t have any on hand.
Try other extracts such as peppermint, lemon, or rum. I have even seen cake batter extract in some craft and specialty stores!
You can add more or less heavy cream (or milk) to make the consistency that you need. If I’m spreading the Christmas Cookie Frosting with a knife, I use more cream. If I’m piping the frosting, I tend to make it stiffer and use less cream.
For a special twist sometimes I even use liquid vanilla coffee creamer.
If you make your frosting too runny you can add more powdered sugar to thicken it up.
Are you looking for a stiff frosting that dries completely hard?
Try mySmall Batch Royal Icing recipe. I use it for cookies as well as for building and decorating gingerbread houses.
I’ve been perfecting my BEST Sugar Cookies Ever and this BEST Christmas Cookie Frosting for over 20 years.
These are the most popular recipes on my website and the most requested recipes from family and friends. You don’t want to pass this up!
Q and A about Christmas Cookie Frosting:
Can I use this Christmas Cookie Frosting on Valentine’s Day cookies? Halloween? etc.
- Yes! Use I use this frosting recipe for nearly every cookie I make all year long.
- You can use it to frost cakes as well!
Ewww shortening is DISGUSTING! How could you?!
- I’m sorry to ruin your life. There’s good news and bad news here. The good news is that you can use whatever frosting recipe you want! The bad news is that you have to follow this recipe to get the stated results.
- Shortening (Crisco is what I generally use) makes this a “crisping” frosting. It will hold its shape days after being piped onto cookies. It won’t melt or wilt and isn’t sticky like store-bought frosting tends to be. I can also stack cookies for freezing and/or transporting after the frosting crisps up (at least 2-4 hours).
- More good news- there are organic all vegetable shortenings available out there in Internet land. I linked to one at the bottom of this post.
I’m still disgusted about using shortening. I’m going to use butter. Can I use butter…?
- You can use 1/2 butter and 1/2 shortening with similar results… but please don’t email me saying that the frosting didn’t crisp up and it didn’t hold its shape very well.
- If you want to use all butter, well then you are making American Buttercream. It’s delicious and I frost my cakes with it.
Everyone I know has a nut allergy. Can I omit the almond extract?
- You’re in good company; my son has a peanut allergy. My heart is happy that you want to accommodate all of the special dietary needs in your family and circle of friends. Bless you!!
- I personally use IMITATION almond extract. According to FARE (Food Allergy Research and Education):
Avoid natural extracts, such as pure almond extract. Imitation or artificially flavored extracts generally are safe.
- Always best to check with the person you are serving the cookies to, and of course let their doctor or allergist have the final word. If you are uncomfortable, you can omit the almond extract and use all vanilla extract.
How long and how can I store this Christmas Cookie Frosting?
- Leftover frostingshouldbe transferred to an airtight container and stored in the refrigerator or freezer until ready to use. It can be stored in the refrigerator for about a week and frozen for several months. Use leftover frostingjust as you would freshly whipped frostingonce it is warmed up and ready to spread. Bring it back to room temperature or to just slightly chilled.
Do I need to refrigerate frosted cookies?
- As I’ve always understood it the small amount of milk is stabilized by a large amount of sugar and considered safe at room temperature for two to three days. But of course, do what feels safe for your family. We eat these within 2-3 days.
Those are really bright colors! What food coloring do you use?
- I never use liquid food coloring (typical food coloring that you can find in the grocery store).
- I prefer to use food coloring gel such as Americolor or Wilton.
- You can find food coloring gel online (I link to it at the bottom of this post), at Hobby Lobby, JoAnne’s, Michaels, or even some Wal-Marts in the crafting/cake decorating section.
- I prefer gels because you only need a few drops to get a vibrant rainbow of colors.
Christmas Cookie Frosting
Yield: 8 cups
Prep Time: 15 minutes mins
Total Time: 15 minutes mins
I’ve been perfecting my Christmas Sugar Cookies (cut outs) for 20+ years. This is the Christmas Cookie Frosting recipe I use to top them!
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Ingredients
- 1 Cup shortening, such as Crisco (*see notes)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract, *nut allergies see notes
- 8 cups powdered sugar, about a 2 lb bag
- 1/2 Cup heavy cream , or whole milk (more or less added to desired consistency)
- Food coloring, if desired
Instructions
In the bowl of your mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl for use with your handheld electric mixer, place shortening and extracts. BEAT until creamy (at least 1 minute).
ADD powdered sugar 1 cup at a time.
ADD cream 2-3 Tablespoons at a time, alternating with the powdered sugar.
MIX until creamy. Use more or less cream (or whole milk) to reach desired consistency. (I like for it to be smooth enough to pipe through a piping bag, but still a bit more firm than typical store-bought frosting.)
ADD a 2-3 drops of gel food coloring if desired.
Notes
- You can omit the almond extract. Replace with vanilla.
- You can omit vanilla and almond extract and use 1 teaspoon peppermint extract.
- Whole milk or heavy cream will be okay in this recipe.
- Use more or less cream to reach our desired consistency. For spreading with a knife you may want more cream, for piping in bags you may want a firmer frosting so you can use less cream.
- If you omit the shortening and decide to use all butter that is okay but the frosting will not crisp up and you will not be able to stack the cookies.
Nutrition
Calories: 748kcal, Sodium: 9mg
Course: Dessert, Frosting
Cuisine: American
Keyword: christmas, cookies, frosting, holiday
Original recipes and images © In Katrina’s Kitchen
Did you make this recipe?Tag @katrinaskitchen on Instagram with the hashtag #katrinaskitchenrecipes
Don’t forget to grab my Best Sugar Cookie Recipe while you’re here! Made and loved by millions every year!
Items used in this post:
All Recipes, Christmas, Cookies, Frosting, Holidays
posted on December 13, 2016 — updated November 4, 2022 // 201 comments
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Darlene —Reply
Katrina, this is absolutely the best frosting I have ever made!! Thank you for sharing!!! It is not overly sweet, just perfect!!! I have never decorated with the bags before and this frosting was perfect and made it a fun experience for decorating with my girls. This is gonna be our new tradition!! Thank u again!!
Rhonda Swanson —Reply
Made your cookies and frosting for the first time tonight. The cookies came out perfect and I love that they are not overly sweet because man oh man, this frosting is sweet so it compliments each other. 🙂
My question for you is: How do you lower the sweetness in the frosting? Again, it is fantastic but I would like to have just a bit less sweetness.
Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Katrina Bahl —
For the frosting you can use less sugar but it will affect the taste and the consistency. Frosting can be tweaked here and there too your personal taste.
Barbara Lingenfelter —Reply
These are SO good! I use this Sugar cookie recipe every year at Christmas and they do not spread! The icing is also delicious! Thank you for sharing it with us!
Felicia —Reply
can you use a non-dairy milk or creamer in place of the whole milk/cream?
Katrina Bahl —
Yes
Jen —Reply
How many cups of frosting does this make? Thanks!
Mary Jo —Reply
Can the cookies be frozen after being baked and frosted — then brought back to room temperature or would they become too soggy?
Great recipe for both cookies and frosting! Just wondered how far in advance they could be made.
Thank you.Granny2012 —
Last year I made these cookies and frosting and froze some that thawed out perfectly. I did not have Crisco so used hardened coconut oil and turned out beautifully. Frosting hardened as it was supposed to.
Janice —Reply
Don’t knock it till you try it. The shortening didn’t take anything away from the flavor of the icing. I was impressed. Will be using this instead of store bought icing from now on.
Paulette —Reply
Loved making the frosting and your sugar cookies!!
Jenny —Reply
This frosting recipe is fantastic! Perfect piping consistency! My cookies came out beautiful!
FP —Reply
Hello! I want to try this and use cake batter extract. I got my hands on some 🙂 I’m a bit confused, should I use 2tsp cake extract and omit almond/vanilla?
Or 1tsp vanilla and 1tsp cake? Or just 1tsp of the cake extract (I see when substituting peppermint extract for them both you suggest just 1tsp)
My first time trying homemade cookies. Thank you!
Katrina Bahl —
Sounds delicious! I have no experience with cake batter extract so I can’t advise on how much to use. Peppermint extract is extremely potent, hence the advice to reduce the amount.
lilly —Reply
what can you substitute for almond extract
Katrina Bahl —
You can substitute vanilla extract.
lilly —Reply
I love this recipe it is so good with the cookies
Kate —Reply
Great frosting. It dried hard enough that you can stack it with no problem. I double more vanilla and almond flavor.
Carol Jennings —Reply
Wonder if you might use butter flavored Crisco, or butter extract?
See AlsoQuick Pickled Asparagus RecipeRenee Chamberlain —
I was wondering about butter flavored Crisco, too, and if it would taste “fake” compared to original Crisco or 1/2 butter and 1/2 shortening. Has anyone tried it and was it good?
Cheryl —
I have often used butter flavored Crisco with great results. But note that you will not have white icing; most of the time it’s not a problem for me as I’m usually making green & red.
Briana —Reply
Is there a way to make this without dairy?
Katrina Bahl —
You can use your favorite milk substitute.
Sam —Reply
This icing recipe is the best!!! Can you store left over frosting in the fridge for another batch of cookies the next day?
Liz —Reply
This frosting works perfectly! I’m not a pro with piping , but my cookies looked better than ever before plus they tasted amazing!
Jill —Reply
Should you use butter flavored crisco or regular crisco?
Katrina Bahl —
You can use either butter flavor or original. I don’t recommend butter flavor if you need to make a bright white frosting as it will be creamy, off-white in color. Not a problem if you plan on coloring the frosting anyway.
Christina —Reply
Ive made the cookies they r awesome , never made the frosting , my question is if i half the recipe for the frosting will it change it in any way
Katrina Bahl —
You can halve the recipe with no problem at all!
Meredith —Reply
I’m going to use this recipe tomorrow. I’m wondering, will I be able to put the individual cookies in little cellophane bags when they are “dry” without messing up the icing? I’m making a lot for work so individual bags would be easier and safer for distributing.
Thanks in advance! I’ll come back to let you know how they turn out.
Katrina Bahl —
Yes you will be able to. They aren’t very stackable (the icing will flatten a bit under too much weight) but the icing won’t stick to the bag like store bought frosting would.
Emily —Reply
Officially the BEST cookie frosting I have EVER had. I made it along with your best sugar cookie recipe for Christmas in 2018, and they were a HIT. Thanks, Katrina!! Stay safe!!
Peggy Rofkahr —Reply
Do you have a book for sale on how to decorate designs on Christmas cookies
Brianna —Reply
Would you recommend this frosting for piping cupcakes?
Elaine —Reply
Just made your sugar cookie recipe it came out so yummy I have them frosted with this recipe too very good was surprised I liked it cause I love butter frosting but I really like the taste and I am a frosting snob if it’s made with unsalted butter it tastes like lard to me yucky anyway how long before it hardens? They are still gooy?
Judy —Reply
Hi! I’m going to make these, I love sugar cookies. I heard that almond extract wasn’t made from almonds. Have you ever heard this?
Thank you!
Lorenza —Reply
I need to try your frosting this year with my Christmas cookies. I normally use icing and couldn’t find a frosting that would crisp. Thank you for sharing!
Ashley —Reply
about how many cookies can be frosted with these amounts?
Nicole —Reply
How long does it take for the frosting to harden up once on the cookies? I would like to use this recipe for a cookie decorating party for 1st graders. They will be taking the cookies home that day, maybe 10-15 minutes after decorating. Thank you
Katrina Bahl —
That may be a bit too quick but here is a tip that we do with kids- place the cookies on a rimmed paper plate and place in a zip top bag. As long as they don’t stuff them in their backpack they should be fine!
Jan —Reply
How long can this frosting be mixed up and refrigerated for? To keep reusing
Christine Hayes —Reply
Hi. I used your cookie and frosting recipes for neighborhood Christmas celebration. Got rave reviews and no leftovers! I am working on Easter cookies for pre school party and really want to flood the cookies like with Royal icing but your frosting is so much better. Is there a way to thin it to be able to flood cookies with an outline? Thank you so much.
BABS —Reply
Where did you purchas the frosting bag clips I see in the photo?
Amy —Reply
Awesome recipe. I was skeptical but it is delicious! I used butter flavored Crisco and substituted butter extract for the almond in a few of the several batches I made. Thanks for the recipe! Everyone loved it!
Dawn Calvert —Reply
Hello,do you know how many cookies that will frost?Thanks
Susan Purdy —Reply
Made these cookies and frosting for Christmas! They are amazing!
John V —Reply
Great to read this! This has always been my favorite frosting recipe, which I call wedding cake frosting.
Our school lunch lady used to make it when I was a kid, but would not share the recipe. So as an adult I combed every cookbook in the library until I found the one that tasted like it.
The one thing that you omit, which I highly recommend including, is 1/2 TSP of salt (or 1/4 TSP for a one pound box of sugar, which is the size batch I make for a cake). It really enhances and brings out the flavor without being enough to taste the salt.
Also, I like to make it a day in advance to give the 3% cornstarch found in all confectioners sugar, a chance to diminish in taste.
We have been using your cookie recipe for a number of years too. It’s the best and agree not having to refrigerate the dough is a big plus!One other tip…a lot of Christmas cookies use lemon flavored frosting, so I make half the frosting with that instead of almond.
Zulay —Reply
Hi! I’m interested in testing out this frosting, but I don’t see how much frosting this makes…I’m planning on making about 4 dozen cookies, would this recipe work?
Julie —Reply
I made this yesterday for our annual cookie decorating, was great except for some reason it just wouldn’t ‘stick’ to the cookies?… When we spread the frosting, it just wanted to come back up – so had a tough time decorating.
Misty Williams —Reply
Hi Katrina!
I read through the comments so sorry if I missed this question previously, but is there a way to thin out a bit of the frosting so I can flood some of the cookies? I don’t want an entire batch of thin frosting but I did want to do some of them that way… thank you and I’m so excited to use this recipe!!STEFANIE DUGGAN —Reply
Hi there! We used your icing recipe at Christmas and loved it! We are gluten/dairy free and it worked so well with our coconut milk. I am curious, do you think this will go well on cupcakes? Or would you recommend a different icing for cupcakes? Thanks so much!
Barbara Thomsen —Reply
I plan to use your fabulous sugar cookie recipe to make Easter bunny cookies. If I would want to make some of the frosting recipe chocolate, how would you suggest might be the best way to do that?
I gave away a collection of great cookie cutters because I couldn’t make a really good, workable sugar cookie dough. Thanks to you after 20 years of failure, now I can! Wish I had my collection of cookie cutters back.
Linda Johnson —Reply
I made your recipe for my Valentine cookies and everyone loved it. Will this frosting work for roses made ahead of time on parchment paper, and then transferred to cookies a few days later?
Katrina Bahl —
Yes definitely!
Joie —Reply
I made these cookies with a Gluten Free (one to one flour mix) at Christmas and we all loved. Them! In fact, some friends brought some non-GF cookies they had made over and I tried a bite of one….they were not nearly as good, my husband agreed. So THANKS for sharing this! We just made it again for V-Day. I am going to try your icing recipe and was curious if you posted a link to organic shortening. I am not opposed to Crisco but was curious what else you have tried. Thanks so much.
Bm —
What gf flour did you use? I can’t seem to get a good gf recipe
Ariel —Reply
This was the worst icing I have ever made. I followed the directions to a tee and it still turned out bad. The cream and colour separated from the shortening within minutes of piping. So small chunks of shortening clumped up the icing. It was disgusting. Very mad. Made the whole recipe to go straight to the trash can.
Dawn Neumann —Reply
Just made these for the second time. These are amazing cookies and pairs very well with the frosting. So very easy to make!! This will be my go to sugar cookie recipe!! Thank you for sharing this great recipe!
Kim —Reply
Can you use this on cup cakes?
Laura —Reply
This will be my new “go to” frosting recipe! Thank you for sharing!
Kris-a very happy cookie baker! —Reply
I tried the sugar cookie and frosting recipe for the first time. I was to bring cookies and frosting to two Christmas parties for a cookie decorating table. The cookies were easy to make and yummy! The frosting had a nice flavor and was very easy to work with. Everyone enjoyed decorating and loved eating them. Thank you!
Jackie —Reply
I see that you recommended using artificial almond flavoring if you have a almond allergy. What if you also can’t use artificial flavorings because of what they use to make it. I have a allergy list you would not believe and I cant use artificial flavorings. Can I use vanilla in place of the Almond flavoring.
A Ansari —Reply
Love the cookies and this frosting! I used vegetable shortening Crisco and was delighted with the taste and so were the lil chefs. The only complaint I have..if it is one is..what do I do with all the extra frosting?? I kept it in the bags and placed them in a gallon ziploc and placed in the fridge.. Ugh, frosting problems..
I do have to confess using piping bags was a disaster for us.😟 Don’t do cookies ever and the lil chefs have now got the frosting bug😬
Angela —Reply
Excellent recipe! Worked perfect with your cut out cookie recipe. Thank you so much for sharing this! For those on the fence, don’t hesitate, try this recipe!
