Cracked Sugar Cookies with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

Teresa Ambra

Cracked Sugar Cookies with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting are the ultimate cookies! We spent Valentine’s Day with my youngest son, Jordan, his wife, Candice, and our two adorable grandchildren in Amish country in southeastern Pennsylvania. Candice and I, with our three-year-old helper, Eliana, made these delicious cookies.

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We used Candice’s Cracked Sugar Cookies recipe and added a modified version of Betty Crocker’s vanilla buttercream frosting. These cookies were fabulous and you can see by our taste tester below they were finger lickin’ good!

Sugar cookies are probably my favorite cookie recipe — especially when they are slathered with a lot of creamy frosting. I like them even better than chocolate cookies–I know I’m treading on dangerous ground here. I have such a strong sweet tooth that cookies (cakes, cupcakes, etc.) with icing are usually among my favorites.

While this isn’t my all-time favorite Sugar Cookie recipe, Cracked Sugar Cookies with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting comes pretty close. The cookies are the EASIEST sugar cookie recipe I have ever found. Candice found the recipe at allrecipes.com and I can’t tell you how many times we both have made it.

I love quick, and I love easy recipes, too. This one is both. The frosting recipe is also quick and easy. Of course, we colored it pink to celebrate the day and added lots of cute sparkles, sprinkles, and colored sugars to make the cookies beautiful. I think you will love the presentation of these lovely Cracked Sugar Cookies with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting. We sure did.

Valentine’s Day is long gone, but you can make these delicious cookies green for St. Patrick’s Day, pink, blue, or yellow for Easter, red or blue for Independence Day, orange for Halloween, or red or green for Christmas. No matter the occasion, these cookies are beautiful, elegant, mouthwatering, and spectacular!

Did I mention that they are quick and easy?!!! And, as far as costs go, these are a lot cheaper to make than some cookie recipes where you have to buy a lot of special ingredients. If you’re looking for a wonderful cookie for your next special day like birthdays, baby showers, office parties, or a holiday, consider giving these cookies a go. You won’t be disappointed in the outcome.

When I initially published this recipe in March 2013 it was before I started taking pictures with my new Canon camera so the pictures just weren’t as clear and beautiful as I would have liked. I’ve been remaking all my first-year blog recipes so I can reshoot the pictures and make them more attractive.

To that end, I recently remade these cookies (June 2015) as give away cookies for our church’s Vacation Bible School program that we featured at a local park for neighborhood kids. I made these in six different colors with lots of different sprinkles on top. The kids and the adults all loved these cookies and wanted more! I wanted more too. 🙂

Cracked Sugar Cookies with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting | Can't Stay Out of the Kitchen | one of the most sensational #sugarcookies you will ever eat! #cookie #dessert

Cracked Sugar Cookies with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting are not only quick and easy to make, they taste delicious and look beautiful!

Cracked Sugar Cookies with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting | Can't Stay Out of the Kitchen | one of the most sensational #sugarcookies you will ever eat! #cookie #dessert

You can sprinkle these with any kind of sprinkles you like.

Cracked Sugar Cookies with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting | Can't Stay Out of the Kitchen | one of the most sensational #sugarcookies you will ever eat! #cookie #dessert

Cracked Sugar Cookies with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting are to die for! These cookies are rich and decadent because they have so much sugar in the cookie and the icing.

Cracked Sugar Cookies with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting | Can't Stay Out of the Kitchen | one of the most sensational #sugarcookies you will ever eat! #cookie #dessert

Take a plate of these Cracked Sugar Cookies with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting anywhere and they will be lapped up in no time!

Here’s what I did.

Cracked Sugar Cookies with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting | Can't Stay Out of the Kitchen | one of the most sensational #sugarcookies you will ever eat! #cookie #dessert

First, make a recipe of Candice’s Cracked Sugar Cookies. I used these ingredients.

Cracked Sugar Cookies with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting | Can't Stay Out of the Kitchen | one of the most sensational #sugarcookies you will ever eat! #cookie #dessert

To make the cookies, soften butter for a few hours on your countertop. Place in mixer bowl. Add sugar. Cream with an electric mixer until combined. (I was making a triple batch of these cookies, so amounts are more than a normal batch).

Cracked Sugar Cookies with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting | Can't Stay Out of the Kitchen | one of the most sensational #sugarcookies you will ever eat! #cookie #dessert

Add eggs and vanilla and cream again with mixer.

Cracked Sugar Cookies with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting | Can't Stay Out of the Kitchen | one of the most sensational #sugarcookies you will ever eat! #cookie #dessert

Add UNBLEACHED all-purpose flour. Bleached flour toughens baked goods. Add baking soda and cream of tartar.

Cracked Sugar Cookies with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting | Can't Stay Out of the Kitchen | one of the most sensational #sugarcookies you will ever eat! #cookie #dessert

Mix ingredients on low speed of electric mixer until combined.

Cracked Sugar Cookies with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting | Can't Stay Out of the Kitchen | one of the most sensational #sugarcookies you will ever eat! #cookie #dessert

Form mixture into balls and place on greased cookie sheets.

Cracked Sugar Cookies with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting | Can't Stay Out of the Kitchen | one of the most sensational #sugarcookies you will ever eat! #cookie #dessert

Bake at 350 for 11-12 minutes (mine took 15 minutes).

Cracked Sugar Cookies with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting | Can't Stay Out of the Kitchen | one of the most sensational #sugarcookies you will ever eat! #cookie #dessert

I used these ingredients for the Vanilla Buttercream Frosting.

Cracked Sugar Cookies with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting | Can't Stay Out of the Kitchen | one of the most sensational #sugarcookies you will ever eat! #cookie #dessert

Place softened butter, cream and vanilla in a mixing bowl. Don’t skimp out here. Use either heavy whipping cream or half-and-half cream. Milk and fat-free milk won’t deliver the taste or consistency you need for this recipe. Add vanilla (real not imitation). 

Cracked Sugar Cookies with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting | Can't Stay Out of the Kitchen | one of the most sensational #sugarcookies you will ever eat! #cookie #dessert

Mix in your mixer until well mixed – a few minutes. I mixed this for 5 minutes. My daughter-in-law and her sister usually mix this for about 10 minutes. It gets really creamy at that point.

Cracked Sugar Cookies with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting | Can't Stay Out of the Kitchen | one of the most sensational #sugarcookies you will ever eat! #cookie #dessert

Add food coloring and mix again. I left one white and colored the rest with different colors.

Cracked Sugar Cookies with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting | Can't Stay Out of the Kitchen | one of the most sensational #sugarcookies you will ever eat! #cookie #dessert

Ice the cookies with frosting and then sprinkle with sprinkles. Any flavor or kind will work.

Cracked Sugar Cookies with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting | Can't Stay Out of the Kitchen | one of the most sensational #sugarcookies you will ever eat! #cookie #dessert

I put different kinds of sprinkles on each cookie. I didn’t make them all the same.

Cracked Sugar Cookies with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting | Can't Stay Out of the Kitchen | one of the most sensational #sugarcookies you will ever eat! #cookie #dessert

Aren’t they beautiful? Cracked Sugar Cookies with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting are a fabulous cookie to make for special occasions. Use whatever food color you want to celebrate the holiday or special day. Then add sprinkles to make your cookies even more festive.

Cracked Sugar Cookies with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting | Can't Stay Out of the Kitchen | one of the most sensational #sugarcookies you will ever eat! #cookie #dessert

Here’s a look at the different toppings I used on the cookies. Cracked Sugar Cookies with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting didn’t last too long.

Cracked Sugar Cookies with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting | Can't Stay Out of the Kitchen | one of the most sensational #sugarcookies you will ever eat! #cookie #dessert

Thankfully, I was making these for someone else, otherwise I would have eaten them until I was sick. 🙁 I have a hard time staying away from sugar cookies–especially those with icing!

Here’s the recipe.

CRACKED SUGAR COOKIES

(Recipe from my daughter-in-law, Candice Ambra, Oxford, PA, source: Pam at AllRecipes.com)

Cracked Sugar Cookies with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

Teresa Ambra
Cracked Sugar Cookies with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting are so drool-worthy, you'll be salivating from the first taste! These spectacular Sugar Cookies crack when they bake! The Vanilla Buttercream Frosting is to die for! Color the frosting and sprinkle the cookies with the sprinkles of your choice. These sensational cookies can be used for any kind of holiday baking, but they're particularly marvelous for Christmas and Valentine's Day.
No ratings yet
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Course Cookies, Brownies and Bars, Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 24
Calories 275 kcal

Equipment

  • 2 large 18x26" cookie sheet pans
  • 2 large mixing bowls
  • 1 electric mixer
  • 2 heavy wooden spoons
  • measuring cups
  • measuring spoons
  • 1 spatula

Ingredients
  

SUGAR COOKIES:

  • 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
  • 1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
  • 3 large egg yolks
  • 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
  • 2 1/2 cups UNBLEACHED all-purpose flour bleached flour toughens baked goods
  • 1 tsp. baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp. cream of tartar

VANILLA BUTTERCREAM FROSTING:

  • 1 stick unsalted butter softened to room temperature (1/2 cup)
  • 3 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 tbsp. real vanilla extract use real vanilla not imitation
  • 2-3 tbsp. heavy cream or half and half don't substitute milk
  • 4 drops food coloring as desired
  • 1/2 cup assorted sprinkles as desired

Instructions
 

SUGAR COOKIES:

  • Preheat oven to 350°.
  • Lightly grease 2 cookie sheets.
  • Cream together granulated sugar and butter with an electric mixer.
  • Beat in egg yolks and vanilla.
  • Add flour, baking soda, and cream of tartar.
  • Stir until well combined or use an electric mixer to mix thoroughly.
  • Form dough into walnut size balls and place 2 inches apart on cookie sheet.
  • Don't flatten.
  • Bake 11 to 12 minutes, until tops are cracked and just turning color.
  • Rotate cookie sheets on oven racks half way through cooking time.
  • Allow cookies to cool in pan before removing to wire racks.
  • Cool completely.

VANILLA BUTTERCREAM FROSTING:

  • Place all the ingredients except food coloring and sprinkles in a mixing bowl.
  • Mix with an electric mixer for 5 minutes or so to get a really nice texture.
  • If desired, separate icing into different bowls and color each batch as desired.
  • Spread on cookies or cake.
  • Sprinkle with assorted sprinkles, jimmies, colored sugar crystals or nonpareils as desired.
  • Makes about 2 cups of frosting.

Notes

NOTE: My oven took about 15 minutes, but you do not want to overbake these. It is better to take them out before they are completely done than overbake them.
 
NOTE: My daughter-in-law and her sister beat the frosting ingredients in their big mixer for almost 10 minutes providing a super, creamy, rich texture.
 
NOTE: Add several drops of food coloring of your choice, depending on the occasion. Sprinkle with jimmies, non-pareils, sparkles or sprinkles, or colored sugar.
 
Cookie recipe adapted from All Recipes. Icing recipe adapted from Betty Crocker.
 
© Can’t Stay Out of the Kitchen

Nutrition

Calories: 275kcalCarbohydrates: 39gProtein: 2gFat: 13gSaturated Fat: 8gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0.5gCholesterol: 55mgSodium: 60mgPotassium: 39mgFiber: 0.4gSugar: 28gVitamin A: 403IUVitamin C: 0.01mgCalcium: 9mgIron: 1mg
Keyword buttercream frosting, christmas cookie exchange, cookie, dessert, sugar cookie, valentine's day
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

 

[b]Cracked Sugar Cookies with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting[/b]
Recipe Type: Cookies, Brownies and Bars
Cuisine: American
Author: Teresa Ambra adapted from my daughter-in-law, Candice, Oxford, PA; source: adapted from [url href=”http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Cracked-Sugar-Cookies-I/Detail.aspx?event8=1&prop24=SR_Title&e11=cracked%20sugar%20cookies&e8=Quick%20Search&event10=1&e7=Home%20Page&soid=sr_results_p1i1″ target=”_blank” title=”cracked sugar cookies”]All Recipes.com[/url]
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 24
Spectacular sugar cookies that crack when they bake! The Vanilla Buttercream Frosting is to die for! Color frosting and sprinkle with the sprinkles of your choice. These can be used for any kind of holiday baking.
Ingredients
  • 1 1/4 cups white sugar
  • 1 cup unsalted [url href=”http://www.landolakes.com/” target=”_blank”]Land O’ Lakes[/url] butter, at room temperature
  • 3 egg yolks
  • 1 teaspoon [url href=”http://www.mccormick.com/Spices-and-Flavors/Extracts-and-Food-Colors/Extracts/Pure-Vanilla-Extract” target=”_blank”]McCormick’s[/url] pure vanilla extract
  • 2 1/2 cups [url href=”http://www.goldmedalflour.com/” target=”_blank”]Gold Medal[/url]UNBLEACHED all-purpose flour (bleached flour toughens baked goods)
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350°.
  2. Lightly grease 2 cookie sheets.
  3. Cream together sugar and butter.
  4. Beat in egg yolks and vanilla.
  5. Add flour, baking soda, and cream of tartar.
  6. Stir.
  7. Form dough into walnut size balls and place 2 inches apart on cookie sheet.
  8. Don’t flatten.
  9. Bake 11 to 12 minutes, until tops are cracked and just turning color.
Notes
My oven took about 15 minutes, but you do not want to overbake these. It is better to take them out before they are completely done.

 

[b]Vanilla Buttercream Frosting[/b]
Recipe Type: Cookies, Brownies and Bars
Cuisine: American
Author: Teresa Ambra adapted from Robyn Boring, Williamsburg, VA, source: adapted from [url href=”http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/vanilla-buttercream-frosting/39107a19-be94-4571-9031-f1fc5bd1d606″ target=”_blank” title=”vanilla buttercream frosting”]Betty Crocker[/url]
Prep time:
Total time:
Serves: 24
Spectacular sugar cookies that crack when they bake! The Vanilla Buttercream Frosting is to die for! Color frosting and sprinkle with the sprinkles of your choice. These can be used for any kind of holiday baking.
Ingredients
  • 1 stick [url href=”http://www.goldmedalflour.com/” target=”_blank”]Land O’ Lakes[/url] unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
  • 3 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 tbsp. [url href=”http://www.mccormick.com/Spices-and-Flavors/Extracts-and-Food-Colors/Extracts/Pure-Vanilla-Extract” target=”_blank”]McCormick’s[/url] real vanilla extract (use real vanilla not imitation)
  • 2-3 tbsp. heavy cream or half-and-half (don’t substitute milk)
  • food coloring as desired
  • assorted sprinkles as desired
Instructions
  1. Place all the ingredients except food coloring and sprinkles in a mixing bowl.
  2. Mix for 5 minutes or so to get a really nice texture.
  3. If desired, separate icing into different bowls and color each batch as desired.
  4. Spread on cookies or cake.
  5. Sprinkle with assorted sprinkles, jimmies, colored sugar crystals or nonpareils as desired.
  6. Makes about 2 cups of frosting.
Notes
My daughter-in-law and her sister beat this in their big mixer for almost 10 minutes providing a super, creamy, rich texture.[br][br]Add several drops of food coloring of your choice, depending on the occasion. Sprinkle with jimmies, non-pareils, sparkles or sprinkles, or colored sugar.
Cracked Sugar Cookies with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting | Can't Stay Out of the Kitchen | one of the most sensational #sugarcookies you will ever eat! #cookie #dessert

We love Cracked Sugar Cookies with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting and believe you will, too, once you try them!

Cracked Sugar Cookies with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting | Can't Stay Out of the Kitchen | one of the most sensational #sugarcookies you will ever eat! #cookie #dessert

These cookies melt in your mouth.

Cracked Sugar Cookies with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting | Can't Stay Out of the Kitchen | one of the most sensational #sugarcookies you will ever eat! #cookie #dessert

Prepare yourself for a sugar overload! Cracked Sugar Cookies with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting are really quite easy to make. Consider making these cookies for your next party. They turn out wonderfully every time.

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Cracked Sugar Cookies with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

Teresa Ambra
Cracked Sugar Cookies with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting are so drool-worthy, you'll be salivating from the first taste! These spectacular Sugar Cookies crack when they bake! The Vanilla Buttercream Frosting is to die for! Color the frosting and sprinkle the cookies with the sprinkles of your choice. These sensational cookies can be used for any kind of holiday baking, but they're particularly marvelous for Christmas and Valentine's Day.
No ratings yet
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Course Cookies, Brownies and Bars, Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 24
Calories 275 kcal

Equipment

  • 2 large 18×26" cookie sheet pans
  • 2 large mixing bowls
  • 1 electric mixer
  • 2 heavy wooden spoons
  • measuring cups
  • measuring spoons
  • 1 spatula

Ingredients
  

SUGAR COOKIES:

  • 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
  • 1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
  • 3 large egg yolks
  • 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
  • 2 1/2 cups UNBLEACHED all-purpose flour bleached flour toughens baked goods
  • 1 tsp. baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp. cream of tartar

VANILLA BUTTERCREAM FROSTING:

  • 1 stick unsalted butter softened to room temperature (1/2 cup)
  • 3 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 tbsp. real vanilla extract use real vanilla not imitation
  • 2-3 tbsp. heavy cream or half and half don’t substitute milk
  • 4 drops food coloring as desired
  • 1/2 cup assorted sprinkles as desired

Instructions
 

SUGAR COOKIES:

  • Preheat oven to 350°.
  • Lightly grease 2 cookie sheets.
  • Cream together granulated sugar and butter with an electric mixer.
  • Beat in egg yolks and vanilla.
  • Add flour, baking soda, and cream of tartar.
  • Stir until well combined or use an electric mixer to mix thoroughly.
  • Form dough into walnut size balls and place 2 inches apart on cookie sheet.
  • Don’t flatten.
  • Bake 11 to 12 minutes, until tops are cracked and just turning color.
  • Rotate cookie sheets on oven racks half way through cooking time.
  • Allow cookies to cool in pan before removing to wire racks.
  • Cool completely.

VANILLA BUTTERCREAM FROSTING:

  • Place all the ingredients except food coloring and sprinkles in a mixing bowl.
  • Mix with an electric mixer for 5 minutes or so to get a really nice texture.
  • If desired, separate icing into different bowls and color each batch as desired.
  • Spread on cookies or cake.
  • Sprinkle with assorted sprinkles, jimmies, colored sugar crystals or nonpareils as desired.
  • Makes about 2 cups of frosting.

Notes

NOTE: My oven took about 15 minutes, but you do not want to overbake these. It is better to take them out before they are completely done than overbake them.
 
NOTE: My daughter-in-law and her sister beat the frosting ingredients in their big mixer for almost 10 minutes providing a super, creamy, rich texture.
 
NOTE: Add several drops of food coloring of your choice, depending on the occasion. Sprinkle with jimmies, non-pareils, sparkles or sprinkles, or colored sugar.
 
Cookie recipe adapted from All Recipes. Icing recipe adapted from Betty Crocker.
 
© Can’t Stay Out of the Kitchen

Nutrition

Calories: 275kcalCarbohydrates: 39gProtein: 2gFat: 13gSaturated Fat: 8gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0.5gCholesterol: 55mgSodium: 60mgPotassium: 39mgFiber: 0.4gSugar: 28gVitamin A: 403IUVitamin C: 0.01mgCalcium: 9mgIron: 1mg
Keyword buttercream frosting, christmas cookie exchange, cookie, dessert, sugar cookie, valentine’s day
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

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