Snowflake Sugar Cookies with Homemade Buttercream
This recipe is a year-round classic but there’s something extra special about snowflakes that work from the day after Thanksgiving all the way until Easter rolls around.
Ingredients
Sugar Cookie Dough:
- 1 ⅓ cup KAMUT® White Flour (or 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ cup butter
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla
Buttercream Frosting:
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter (softened)
- 12 oz powdered sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 TBSP vanilla
Instructions
Sugar Cookie Dough:
- Line each baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper and set aside. Combine the dry ingredients using a dough hook or whisk and set aside.
- Cream together the butter and sugar until completely smooth using a stand or hand mixer and then add the egg and vanilla, mixing after each addition. When this mixture is smooth, add the dry ingredients in one or a few batches. Add in a few batches if you are using a hand mixer or a small stand mixer.
- When combined, turn the dough out onto plastic wrap and place the dough ball in the fridge for 45 minutes (or up to 3 days). If you used cold butter, you can skip this step. But anytime your prepared dough has been out of the fridge for more than 20 minutes (aside from made ahead dough - see below) place the cookie dough back into the fridge. For best results, cookie dough to be cool yet easy to roll anytime you’re rolling and cutting.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and transfer the dough ball to a lightly floured surface. Use a rolling pin to roll out the dough until it is approximately ⅛ to ¼” thick. Place snowflake cookies on prepared trays and, if the dough has been sitting out for more than 20 minutes, place the tray in the fridge for 10 minutes before baking.
- Bake cookies for 8-12 minutes or until the bottom edges are just starting to turn golden brown.
- Let the cookies cool all the way on the tray while you make the homemade buttercream frosting.
Buttercream Frosting:
- Weigh and sift powdered sugar and set aside.
- Place softened butter in a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or in a bowl if using a hand mixer. Add powdered sugar in batches and mix each addition until smooth.
- Add salt and vanilla and mix on low until incorporated, and then increase the mixer speed to medium-high and mix for 4-6 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Buttercream is ready when it reaches the desired consistency. Mixing for longer will result in a lighter, fluffier frosting, which will be easier to pipe.
- Fit a piping bag with a small round piping tip (I used Wilton 10). Secure the piping tip so that if you turned the piping bag upside down, it would not fall out. Use scissors to cut around the middle of the piping tip and pull off the plastic end of the piping bag.
- Fill the piping bag with frosting and twist the end. Your top hand will squeeze the bag while the bottom hand will steer (or draw).
Notes
How to Store Snowflake Sugar Cookies
- Room Temperature: Decorated sugar cookies keep at room temperature for 3 to 5 days, longer if in an airtight container.
- Refrigerator: Frosting will keep in fridge for one week. When ready to use, bring back to room temperature and use a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or hand mixer to get a nice, creamy texture.
- Freezer: You can freeze decorated sugar cookies or undecorated cookies and frosting for up to 2 to 3 months. When ready to use, bring back to room temperature and use a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or hand mixer to get the frosting back to a nice, creamy texture.