Holiday Icing Cookies
Cakey cookie with buttercream icing
Ingredients
Cookie
- 5 cups flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup butter, room temperature (salted is fine)
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla*
- 1 cup buttermilk**
- ½ tsp baking soda
Buttercream icing (3 cups of icing)
- 4 cups confectioner sugar
- 1 cup unsalted butter (I've used salted butter and the world hasn't ended.)
- ~4 tbsp milk (I use 1% milk, but you could use a different percent fat milk.)
- 1½ tsp vanilla extract (If you're using almond extract, use 1 tsp since almond extract is a much stronger flavor.)
Instructions
Cookie Instruction
- Preheat oven to 350° F. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking power, and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment (or in a large bowl, using a hand mixer), cream the together butter and sugar. Add eggs to creamed mixture and mix together until eggs are fully incorporated and add vanilla.
- To the 1 cup of buttermilk,** add baking soda and stir to dissolve. Pour buttermilk-baking soda mixture into sugar mixture and mix.
- Gradually mix in dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.
- Create round balls with either with teaspoons or a 1-inch cookie scoop, and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes.
Buttercream Icing
- Cream together butter and confectioner sugar.
- Mix in milk teaspoon by teaspoon. (Depending on the fat content in the milk, you might need more or less milk.) Mix in vanilla.
- Add vanilla. Refrigerate until cookies are completely cooled and ready for icing.
Notes
* You can used other extracts--almond or orange are great. I really like to split the extract with a vanilla-almond combo.
** You can substitute sour cream or plain yogurt for the buttermilk. It's a 1-to-1 swap.