The Best Frosting Recipes for Christmas Cookies (Easy)

Dec 6

You probably don’t spend all that much time baking and decorating cut-out cookies throughout the year, so if you celebrate Christmas and bake Christmas cookies, the decorating process can feel a bit intimidating. The type of frosting you decorate your cookies with is really up to you, but knowing the difference between the options you have can help you pick the right one for the kind of cookies you’re planning to make and the vision you have for the final product (because nothing triggers a holiday cookie-induced meltdown like putting a ton of work into cookie baking and decorating and things not going how you want them to).

Here, two Christmas cookie frosting recipes—butter and no butter—to get you started off on the right track. Happy baking!

Learn about decorating right from the pros with ECBG’s virtual classes or, if you’re local to Chicago, you can take in-person classes!

And check out Erin’s favorite tools here to help make your cakes and cookies look even better.

Why You’ll Love These Christmas Cookie Frosting Recipes

Buttercream frosting: Velvety, smooth, and a breeze to work with, it pipes like a dream and stays soft for days. Plus, it’s so delicious.

Royal icing: A classic for cookie decorating, this icing hardens after a little while, making your cookies look professionally decorated and a bit more durable. Cookies frosted with royal icing can tolerate being stacked on top of each other, which is pretty useful during a time of year when cookies are plentiful and you’ve got to store them somewhere.

Christmas Cookie Frosting Recipe - Butter

For a sweet, creamy, fluffy frosting that everyone will love, try this classic vanilla buttercream. Note: measurements are in grams because weighing out your ingredients will give you the best and most accurate results. If you don’t have one, snag a cheap kitchen scale on Amazon—you’ll never go back!

Ingredients

454 g unsalted butter, at room temperature
575 g powdered sugar, sifted
50 ml heavy whipping cream
1½ teaspoon vanilla extract
10 g meringue powder (keeps it light and stable)
½ teaspoon salt

Instructions

Prep the Butter: Leave that butter out overnight so that it can come to room temperature. You can't make buttercream icing with butter that's fresh out of the fridge, so make sure you give it time to warm up a bit and soften. Forgot? Microwave it in 10-second intervals. You want soft, not melted. If it’s too soft, pop it back in the fridge for a few minutes to firm it up to room temperature.
Whip the Butter and Meringue Powder: Using a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, whip the butter and meringue powder for a solid 10 minutes. It should look like light, fluffy clouds when you’re done.
Add the Powdered Sugar: Switch to the paddle attachment, then slowly add your confectioners' sugar. Low speed first, then medium. Scrape the bowl well with a rubber spatula a few times while incorporating to make sure no butter clumps go unmixed! We want a homogenous mixture where all ingredients are well dispersed!
Add the Cream: Pour in the whipping cream, vanilla, and salt. Mix on medium-low for another 10 minutes. Lower the speed to low and whip for another 10 minutes to get the silkiest, smoothest buttercream. Once it gets to the right consistency, you're ready to frost.
Store It: If you’re ready to frost, it’s ready to use. Otherwise, scrape it into an airtight container. You can store it at room temperature for up to 24 hours or in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. Want to hold it for longer? Freeze it!

Christmas Cookie Frosting Recipe - Royal Icing

When we make decorated sugar cookies at ECBG, we stick to royal icing for the frosting because we love that it will harden. It makes storing the cookies so much easier! One batch of frosting will decorate about 12 cookies, but you can double it (or more!) if you have more cookies to frost. Again, you’ll want to use a kitchen scale for the most accurate measurements (and best-tasting product!). You can find an affordable one—you don’t need anything fancy!

Ingredients

540 g powdered sugar
85 g egg whites
2 g cream of tartar (keeps the structure strong)
2 g salt
5 g vanilla extract
5 g white Americolor gel food coloring (white food coloring will help make the frosting stark white as well as prevent other colors from bleeding as much)
5 g almond extract (you could use lemon instead if you’d like!)

Instructions

Whip the Egg Whites: In your 7-quart mixer with the whisk attachment, combine egg whites, cream of tartar, salt, and extracts. Whisk until you get soft peaks.
Add the Powdered Sugar: Slowly add the powdered sugar, one cup at a time. Whip until it’s fluffy and thick enough to hold its shape. Make sure you scrape the bottom of the bowl to get all of the powdered sugar mixed in.
Add the Food Coloring: Add white food coloring for an extra bright finish. Want colored frosting? Divide it up in separate bowls and mix in gel food coloring in whichever colors you choose.
Store: Keep unused icing in an airtight container in the fridge.

Christmas cookie frosting recipe butter - frosted Christmas tree cookie decorated with sprinkles

Cookie Frosting Tips and Tricks

Put your frosting to use by pairing it with your favorite sugar cookie recipe.
For buttercream: Don’t have piping bags on hand? Try using a sandwich bag. Just snip off one corner and you’ve got yourself a piping bag. You can fit the makeshift piping bag with a piping tip if you'd like or just use the hole you cut into the bag. You can also use a butter knife or mini offset spatula to spread the frosting onto each cookie. It's still a great option, especially for homemade cookies!
Lay your cookies in a single layer after frosting, no matter what you're using. If you're using royal icing, you'll be able to stack them once the icing has hardened! Sandwich a piece of parchment paper between each layer of hardened frosted cookies.
For royal icing: Play with consistencies—thin for flooding, thick for details. If you don't feel comfortable piping royal icing (or you're decorating with kids and looking for an easier way to decorate that'll still be so much fun), transfer your homemade frosting to a squeeze bottle and use that instead. Make sure you give them time to dry before stacking them!

Decorating hack: Use a piping bag with a fine tip for intricate designs, or grab a toothpick to swirl colors together for a marbled masterpiece.
While the frosting is still soft add fun sprinkles for a delicious festive texture!

FAQs

If you want professional-quality cookies that’ll harden, go for royal icing. If the look you’re after is a fluffy, soft cookie (or something that might be a bit easier to frost with kids), you might want to spring for the buttercream frosting.
Yes! Both of these frostings can be made ahead of time and stored in an airtight container in the fridge. The buttercream frosting can also be frozen if you need to save it for longer!
The royal icing recipe calls for white food coloring because that will make the frosting really bright white and help the other colors you use while decorating pop.
Absolutely! I know it sounds fussy, but weighing out your ingredients will give you more accurate measurements than using measuring cups and spoons for everything. Plus, when you use a kitchen scale to measure, you'll find yourself with a lot less dishes to wash when you're cleaning u
Gel food coloring is your best friend here! Unlike liquid food coloring, gel adds vibrant color without negatively affecting the consistency of your frosting. Start with a small amount and mix thoroughly, adding more as needed to reach your desired shade. For darker colors like red or black, let the icing sit for a few hours—the color will deepen over time. We love to use the brand Americolor!
Technically, yes, but it’s not ideal. Salted butter can throw off the balance of flavors, making your frosting taste saltier than you intended. Stick with unsalted butter and add your own pinch of salt for the perfect sweet-and-savory blend.
Royal icing usually takes 12 hours to dry completely at room temperature, depending on the thickness of the icing and humidity in your kitchen. Check them after a couple of hours to see if the top of the cookie has dried. If you’re layering designs, allow each layer to dry before adding the next. Rushing this step? Recipe for disaster.
Yes! Both frostings are incredibly versatile. For buttercream, try swapping vanilla for almond, peppermint, or even a splash of rum extract for a holiday twist. With royal icing, stick to oil-free extracts—oils can mess with the icing’s ability to set.
Keep things cool! If your kitchen feels like a sauna, pop the frosting into the fridge for a few minutes to firm up. Also, avoid handling your piping bags too long; the heat from your hands can soften the frosting. Pro tip: Use two piping bags and rotate them—one works while the other chills.

Whether you’re team buttercream or royal icing, these recipes will make this year’s cookies your best yet. With a little prep, you’ll create holiday treats that taste as amazing as they look.