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–+ servings
cream cheese frosting piped onto red velvet cookies.
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Cream Cheese Frosting for Cookies

Homemade Cream Cheese Frosting recipe for Cookies is soft and fluffy, sweet and tangy, and easy to spread or pipe onto your favorite baked goods. Easy to make in minutes with 5 ingredients. Delicious on sugar cookies, whoopie pies, and shortbread cookies.
Prep Time10 minutes
Total Time10 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Servings: 48
Calories: 73kcal
Author: Cara Lanz

Ingredients

  • ½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 4 cups powdered sugar

Instructions

  • In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and cream cheese until smooth and creamy, 1-2 minutes. Mix in the vanilla and salt. Gradually mix in the powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, until completely combined. Do not overmix or the frosting may become runny.
  • Spread or pipe cream cheese frosting onto cookies, cakes, and cupcakes. If the frosting is too soft to pipe, chill for 15-20 minutes.
  • Refrigerate frosted cookies, cakes, and cupcakes until ready to serve. Store baked goods frosted with cream cheese frosting in the refrigerator.

Notes

  • Use room temperature cream cheese and butter for lump-free frosting. 
  • If the frosting is too soft to pipe at first, refrigerate it for 10-15 minutes to help it firm up.
  • For thicker frosting, add more powdered sugar, one tablespoon at a time, until it reaches your desired consistency. If it gets too thick, thin it with a little milk.
  • No piping bag? No problem! Use a zip-top plastic bag with a corner snipped off. You can even add a piping tip to the bag for more precision—I do this all the time.
  • This recipe yields approximately 3 cups of frosting, enough for: 
    • 48 cookies with 1 tablespoon of frosting each
    • 24 - 32 whoopie pies with 1 ½ - 2 tablespoons of frosting
    • 24 cupcakes with 2 tablespoons of frosting
    • One 9 x 13-inch cake
    • One 2-layer cake
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Nutrition

Calories: 73kcal | Carbohydrates: 10g | Protein: 0.3g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 10mg | Sodium: 27mg | Potassium: 7mg | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 123IU | Calcium: 5mg | Iron: 0.01mg