Description
These Sugar Cookie Cups with Buttercream Frosting are delightful bite-sized treats perfect for parties or everyday indulgence. They feature a soft, buttery sugar cookie base shaped into mini cups and filled with smooth, sweet buttercream frosting. Optional sprinkles and food coloring add a fun visual touch, making them as appealing to the eyes as they are to the palate.
Ingredients
Scale
Cookie Dough
- 3/4 cup salted butter, softened
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract (optional)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
Buttercream Frosting
- 1/4 cup salted butter, softened
- 1 1/3 cups powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon milk or heavy whipping cream (plus additional 1/2 to 1 tablespoon if needed)
- Food coloring (optional)
- Sprinkles (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat and prepare pans: Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and generously grease 36 mini muffin cups with cooking spray to ensure the cookies don’t stick.
- Mix cookie dough base: In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the softened butter and sugar together until the mixture is light and fluffy, creating a smooth texture.
- Add wet ingredients: Add the egg, vanilla extract, and almond extract (if using) into the butter-sugar mixture and blend thoroughly until fully incorporated.
- Add dry ingredients: Sprinkle in the baking powder and the flour, stirring gently or mixing on low speed just until the dough comes together uniformly without overmixing.
- Shape dough in muffin tin: Scoop rounded tablespoons (about 1 inch diameter) of dough and roll into balls. Place one ball in each greased mini muffin cup and gently press flat with your fingers, but do not form cup shapes yet.
- Bake the cookie bases: Bake the dough in the preheated oven for about 10 minutes or until the edges are golden brown, indicating they are ready.
- Form cookie cups: Immediately after baking, while the cookies are still warm, use a bottle cap (like a vanilla extract bottle cap) to gently press into the center of each cookie, creating a cup shape.
- Cool cookie cups: Allow the shaped cookie cups to cool in the muffin tin for about 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.
- Prepare frosting: In a clean stand mixer bowl, beat the softened butter until smooth and creamy. Gradually add the powdered sugar and vanilla extract and beat until combined.
- Adjust frosting consistency: Add milk or heavy cream, beating until smooth. Add an additional 1/2 to 1 tablespoon of milk if needed to achieve a perfect piping consistency. Mix in food coloring if desired.
- Pipe frosting into cookie cups: Fill a piping bag or resealable plastic bag with the prepared buttercream. Pipe the frosting evenly into each cooled cookie cup.
- Add sprinkles: Optionally, finish by sprinkling colorful sprinkles on top of each frosted cookie cup for a fun and festive look before serving.
Notes
- Ensure the cookies are warm when pressing the centers to form cups to avoid cracking.
- Do not overmix the dough to keep the cookies tender and soft.
- Cupcake pan greasing is critical to easily remove the formed cookie cups.
- Use room temperature butter for both cookie dough and frosting to achieve the best texture.
- Customizing frosting colors and sprinkles makes these cookie cups perfect for themed parties or holidays.
