Perfect Piping Buttercream is the absolute best recipe for frosting cakes and cookies with a great consistency just right for piping your beautiful designs. This luscious buttercream frosting is light and airy with added flavor from vanilla and almond extract.
Best Buttercream
Frosting cut-out cookies for holidays is both my favorite and most dreaded activity. I LOVE frosting the first couple dozen cookies with beautifully ornate piped designs with buttercream.
I am alone in this process though because no one else in my family is willing to help. They claim they “can’t do it as well” and therefore are unwilling to even try. Total cop out!
Frosting for cookies
So 5-6 dozen cookies and hours later I am completely burnt out. The cookies are beautiful and taste amazing, but man oh man are my hands tired and eyes weary.
Frosting cookies should totally be a family affair and it would be much more fun. When I have children, I will happily let them slather on the frosting in the ugliest of designs, mostly because that means I won’t have to frost as many cookies! 😉
Best Buttercream for piping designs
Over the years my mother and I have perfected the recipe for frosting. We were looking for a balance of taste and how it piped. We used to use a royal icing, but it didn’t taste as good.
We later moved to buttercream for flavor but our original recipe was too thick to get nice piping shapes from. We altered that recipe over the years and finally landed upon this recipe that is absolutely perfect.
This perfect piping buttercream is our go-to frosting for everything from cookies to cupcakes!
How to make the best buttercream?
I could pretty much lick a bowl of this buttercream and be one happy woman. The addition of vanilla AND almond extract gives it a great flavor that we all love. It sets it apart from plain frosting.
It is important to only use gel or paste food dye
when making your frosting, because the liquid dyes will alter the consistency a surprisingly great deal. Liquid dye will take your luscious buttercream from the perfect consistency, to a runny consistency that won’t hold it’s shape in a quick hurry.
How to pipe buttercream?
I separate my batch of buttercream into 5 or 6 bowls and dye each bowl of frosting to my desired consistency. I have never found a dye that will get me a true red, so if you have any secrets for a rich Christmas red, I would love to hear them!
Grab your piping bags and decorating tips and you are ready to fill them up. I like to turn the bag half way inside out and set it in a tall glass. This makes it easier to scoop the buttercream into the bag if I am doing it along.
After your bags are filled it’s time to dream up all sorts of amazing designs for your cookies or cake that have the added bonus of tasting great!
More baked goods perfect with buttercream!
While we could eat buttercream right from the spoon, it’s probably best to serve it on a cake or cookie. Here are some other great recipe that you can use buttercream with.
- Fresh Strawberry Ombre Cake
- Frosted Sugar Cookies
- Pumpkin Cake Bars – Swap out the cream cheese frosting for buttercream
Perfect Piping Buttercream Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 c. shortening butter flavored
- 1 c. butter
- 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp. almond extract
- 7 1/2 c. powdered sugar
- 1/3 c. heavy whipping cream
- gel or paste icing dyes
Instructions
- In a large bowl, beat the shortening and butter until smooth and fluffy. Add the vanilla, almond extract and cream and mix until smooth.
- Add the powdered sugar 1-2 cups at a time, mixing well between each addition. Beat the frosting for an additional 4-5 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Using a toothpick, add the tiniest amount of dye at a time to the bowl of frosting to control your color. These dyes will color the frosting quickly, so there is no need to add too much.
Gaye says
Does the butter need to be room
temperature or cold when mixing?
Danielle Green says
Room temperature works best
Sally-Anne Dunn says
Thank you, thank you, thank you for this recipe!! I make an egg shaped cake (in an old 5-lb ham can :-), at Easter, frost it with a thin layer of white frosting, then let the grandchildren and great nieces and nephews decorate it with colored frosting. This is the best tasting frosting I’ve ever tried for it AND it makes enough for the base frosting and all the colors. There’s even enough to frost my hot cross buns, too. Love it!!!
Danielle Green says
That sounds like such a fun way to involve the kids at Easter, I love it!!! So glad you enjoyed the recipe.
Darlene says
How far ahead can I make the icing?
Will it stay a good consistency for 6 hours before I use it?
Having dinner and the grand kids over to decorate Easter egg cookies and trying to have everything ready ahead of time.
Danielle Green says
I’ve used this buttercream as much as a week later and it holds its consistency incredibly well. Just refrigerate the frosting until you need it and then bring to room temperature before using.
Katrina says
Does shortening (copha) soften before you beat with butter?
Danielle Green says
Shortening is pretty soft to start with, so it should blend smoothly with the butter.
Audrey Cassel says
When I use a soft delicious frosting like this, I place the frosted cookies on a cookie sheet in my freezer, fast freeze them so they don’t stick. It doesn’t take long. Sometimes I’ll just use payment paper in between layers. I also do that with my choc chip cookies if the chips don’t “dry” fast enough. It works for me.
penny lopresti says
How do I make this chocolate?
Missy says
I love this recipe! I use it for all of my cake decorating and all of my cookie frosting.
LaDonna says
can you store left over frosting in the refrigerator?
Danielle Green says
Yes! Just let it come to room temperature before using it or it will be difficult to pipe or spread.
Jenn says
How long can the frosted cookies be left out?
Danielle Green says
They can be left out for a week. If they are sealed well, they keep very nicely and actually soften even more a bit from the buttercream.
Lisa says
What is an alternative flavor for the almond? My daughter is allergic to nuts and we stay clear of anything but related. I’m trying the recipe out tomorrow for her cupcakes!! Thank you
Danielle Green says
Just add a little extra vanilla!
Gail Mullen says
I’m making sugar cookies for our breast cancer event. I will place these in individual plastic bags for 130 people. Would that work ? Or should I make the confectioner icing? Thank you
Danielle Green says
Once they are dried they could be placed in plastic bags, but I wouldn’t stack them at all or it will smush the icing.
Debra Moore says
Can I substitute a small amount of cream cheese with the butter shortening as I do not have quite enough shortening , so maybe a 1/2 cup of cream cheese with the shortening, will it still have the same consistency?
Danielle Green says
butter would be the best substitute
Vickie says
when it says 1 c in the recipe could you translate to grams please
Maureen says
Live in New Zealand what would I replace the shortening with regards Maureen
Danielle Green says
You can just use all butter, but the consistency will be very slightly soften and not hold its shape for piping designs quite as well.
Andrea says
If I use this recipe to frost a cake, should I refrigerate the cake after decorating? And if so, do I serve it cold or at room temperature? Thank you.
Danielle Green says
You can refrigerate, but it will be fine at room temperature for 48 hours.
Norma says
This recipe is great, I have not used a better one.
I was able to make it and use it in the same day . It was perfect
Gina says
Can’t wait to try this recipe!! Is the butter best salted or non salted?
Danielle Green says
I often use salted butter and it comes out great. If you want precise control over your salt, then unsalted is the way to go.
Lauren says
Can this be made in advance or do I need to ice my cake right away after making the buttercream?
Danielle Green says
It can absolutely be made in advance. Store refrigerated until you need to use it.
Stephanie says
Sorry if I miss this being asked already.
Does this frosting freeze well?
Danielle Green says
Yes! Just freeze it in a pipping bag for easiest use.
Joan Tomas says
so coconut shortening is being used for this recipe?
Danielle Green says
no, vegetable shortening
Dacia says
Can you substitute coconut oil for shortening?
Danielle Green says
No, that will give a very different consistency
Evelyn McGuire says
Can I use regular Crisco instead of the butter flavor?
Danielle Green says
Sure, the butter flavor just enhances the flavor a bit.
Sarah says
Thank you so much for this recipe i am going to be trying it out here in a couple of days for a cake that im doing for my husbands friend. Is is possible to use regular shortening sticks that aren’t butter flavor instead or will it make the buttercream taste different ?
Danielle Green says
Absolutely! You will loose a tiny bit of flavor, but it will still work perfectly good.