Buttercream Thumbprint Sugar Cookies – deliciously soft and chewy sugar cookies married with creamy buttercream and festive sprinkles, all bundled up in a no-stress sugar cookie mix recipe.
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This post was originally shared on December 19, 2013, and has since been updated.
Buttercream Thumbprint Sugar Cookies are one of my most popular recipes on SBS!
I am not sure if it's because the sugar cookie is soft and chewy delicious, or the vanilla buttercream is wicked good or the recipe is awesomely easy. If I had to guess, I'd say it's a little bit of everything.
I decided to reproach this holiday cookie recipe given that you all love it, to make it the very BEST, and to answer some of your questions.
Buttercream Thumbprint Sugar Cookies: Your Questions
1. Buttercream Thumbprint Sugar Cookies utilize a 17.5-ounce package of Betty Crocker Sugar Cookie Mix. The recipe I provide is based on this size packaging.
2. When using the above-mentioned sugar cookie mix, follow my recipe NOT the back of the package. They may or may not be the same. Just follow mine, it works.
3. It is very possible that you may lose your thumbprint indentation while baking; don't fret. Immediately after you remove from the oven, repress your ¼ teaspoon indentation back into the cookie. Easy-peasy.
4. You will have leftover buttercream. I'd suggest eating it with a spoon but apparently, that is frowned upon SO how about making Melting Snowman Cupcakes. The buttercream can also be stored in the fridge for a month, more if you use water instead of milk.
5. Yes, storing and transporting these cookies aren't as easy as Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies, BUT the buttercream is a crusting buttercream, which helps in storing and transporting. If you're going to stack, place a piece of waxed paper in between your layers and try to stagger your cookies. I've done it this way with very little mess to my buttercream.
Last weekend I celebrated my 2nd Christmas of this year. The holiday celebration was with my Dad’s side of the family. We had the Mosley Ugly Christmas Sweater Party. It was a hoot seeing all the ugly Christmas sweaters, particularly the men who all seemed to be wearing women’s sweaters. Apparently, they don’t make Christmas sweaters for men or they are just really difficult to find.
For this family shindig, I volunteered to bring a plate of Christmas desserts. I had a long list of recipes I wanted to bake, but typical of this time of year I ran out of time. {Is there anyone who doesn’t have this problem? If so, I’d love some tips.} So instead of making fabulous sugar cutout cookies, I ended up making fabulous Buttercream Thumbprint Sugar Cookies, Peanut Butter Sandwiches, and Butter Mint Pillows.
I decided to take the easy route in making my Buttercream Thumbprint Sugar Cookies and used a sugar cookie mix. If you have an awesome sugar cookie recipe that you would prefer to use, by all means, do so. However, if you are finding yourself frazzled and seriously stretched for time this holiday season then get yourself some sugar cookie mix. It is less stressful and doesn’t lose any of the sugar cookie goodness.
Before you bake your Buttercream Thumbprint Sugar Cookies you need to put in the thumbprint. I pressed a ¼ teaspoon into each dough ball rather than use my thumb. The indent may look small, but the cookies will spread while baking. The indent will get a little larger and shallower, perfect for a dollop of buttercream.
These Buttercream Thumbprint Sugar Cookies do not take long to bake. You do not want to overbake them or they will become dry and hard. Neither are good qualities in a cookie.
Once your cookies have completely cooled it is time for the fun part; a dollop of Vanilla Buttercream. I am not sure there is anything more perfect to fill the thumbprint of a sugar cookie with than buttercream. I used a #12 Wilton decorating tip to fill my thumbprint. If you don’t have a decorating tip, cut the corner off a sandwich bag and fill the bag with buttercream.
These Buttercream Thumbprint Sugar Cookies are beautiful with their festive holiday sprinkles. They are soft and delicious as sugar cookies should be, and the buttercream complements the sugar cookie with just the right amount of sweetness.
During the holiday season, we all can get a little frazzled. I am still trying to figure out how to be less stressed during the holidays. Why not take it easy on yourself and exchange an extravagant holiday recipe for a simple one that just LOOKS extravagant, and bake Buttercream Thumbprint Sugar Cookies!
Buttercream Thumbprint Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
For Sugar Cookies
- 1 (17.4-ounce) package Betty Crocker Sugar Cookie Mix ¹
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 7 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- nonpareils or sprinkles
For Vanilla Buttercream
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- ½ cup vegetable shortening
- 1 lb powdered sugar
- ¾ teaspoon clear vanilla extract
- ¾ teaspoon butter vanilla
- 2 tablespoons milk or water
Instructions
For Sugar Cookies
- Preheat oven to 375F degrees.
- In a large bowl using an electric mixer, stir sugar cookie mix, flour, butter, and egg on medium speed until soft dough forms.
- Scoop dough into 2.5 teaspoon balls, or use a #60 disher to scoop balls of dough. Roll balls of dough into nonpareils/sprinkles. Place on a silicone mat/parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
- Press a ¼ teaspoon into the center of each dough ball creating a small indent. Indent will spread and become larger and shallower as cookies bake.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until edges are light golden brown. Cookies may appear to be soft and undone, but they will set as they cool. If your thumbprint indentation disappeared, repress ¼ teaspoon into the center immediately after removing from oven.
- Cool cookies on baking sheet for 1 minute; transfer to wire rack and cool completely.
For Vanilla Buttercream
- In a large bowl using an electric mixer, cream butter, and shortening until creamy and smooth. Add vanilla and butter extracts; mix until combined.
- Turn mixer on lowest speed and slowly add 1 lb of powdered sugar; mix until creamy. Scrape down the bowl as necessary. Adding the powdered sugar gets dusty - place a damp towel over the top of the mixer to shield flying powdered sugar dust.
- Once all powdered sugar has been mixed in, add 1 tablespoon of milk or water at a time and mix. Continue to add and mix until desired consistency is achieved.
- Once cookies have cooled completely, pipe a dollop of buttercream into the thumbprint indentation of each cookie. Eat & Enjoy!
desiree says
can i use my own butter cream icing recipe? or is there a reasoning. behind using the ingredients you chose such as shortening and clear vanilla extract and butter flavor
Sarah says
Hi Desiree, you can use your favorite buttercream recipe. Thanks and Happy Baking!
donna unangst says
can i use jam or jelly instead of buttercream
Sarah says
Hi Donna! You can absolutely use jam or jelly instead of buttercream! Thank you and Happy baking!!
Debbi says
All I could find was the 40% more package (24.5 ounces). What would be the adjusted amounts of flour, butter and eggs? Hope you answer quickly, I have to bake them for a cookie exchange tomorrow!
Thank You,
Sarah says
Hi Debbi! Use the recipe on the back of the bag for cutout cookies. Thanks & Happy Baking!
Ayla says
I'm in Canada and I'm not sure I can find butter vanilla, is there a sub I could use?
Sarah says
Hi Ayla! You can omit the butter vanilla and just use traditional vanilla extract. Thanks & Happy Baking!!
Kelly says
Do the buttercream thumbprint cookies freeze well?
Sarah says
Hi Kelly! I have never freezed these cookies so I cannot attest to if they freeze well. Theoretically, you should be able to freeze them, BUT the nonpareils will likely bleed in the thawing process. If you do it, let me know how it turns out. Thanks & Happy Baking!
Joann says
With the buttercream........ Are these cookies easy to transport with out the buttercream gettting all messed up?....I need 5 dozen to be transported and have concerns about how to do that without the buttercream getting all messed up...
Sarah says
Hi Joann. It is buttercream, so you are correct that you should at least be cognizant of that when transporting. That being said, it does crust a bit. I'd give them a sec to crust a bit before doing any stacking. Then try to stagger your stacking and put a piece of parchment paper or wax paper between each layer. Depending on how full you fill your thumbprint the buttercream may get flattened a bit but it shouldn't be too bad if that happens. I hope that helps. Thanks for stopping by and baking these. Happy Baking!!
Jessica says
If I make these with a from scratch sugar cookie recipe, do I need to add the other "cookie" ingredients you have listed or were those on the package directions from your cookie mix?
Sarah says
Hi Jessica! No, you do not need the other cookie ingredients; they are for using the cookie mix.
Deb says
Were you using the bonus package of cookie dough mix? (20% more free) if so the one tablespoon of flour might not have been enough...this happened to me and my cookies did the same thing....I also didn't add enough powdered sugar to the buttercream, so I had to redo a whole batch. I have boys and 2 dogs, those cookies didn't last long!!
Sarah says
Deb - Thank you for your feedback. I am going to update the recipe to include the size of the package!
Tammy says
How many cups equals 1.5 pounds of powdered sugar?
Sarah says
Hi Tammy! It's about 6 cups of powdered sugar. Thanks!
Diane says
I also tried a chocolate butter cookie. Delicious!
Sarah says
Great idea Diane! That does sound delicious!
Diane says
I had enough buttercream to fill 10 dozen thumbprint cookies with at least one third left over.
Sarah says
The buttercream will keep in the refrigerator if you want to use with other recipes.
Laura says
What size package/how much sugar cookie mix do you use?
Sarah says
Hi Laura. It really doesn't matter. The ingredients listed are from the packaging, and there is plenty of buttercream. With that being said, the standard packaging size, 17.5 oz. I hope that helps. Thanks!
Denise says
Where do you find the Betty Crocker Cookie Mix?
Sarah says
Denise - are you in the US because you can find Betty Crocker Cookie Mix anywhere: Walmart, Target, just about any grocery store, etc. You can also purchase it online on Amazon. You don't have to use Betty Crocker either - any brand sugar cookie mix or if you have a favorite sugar cookie recipe that will work too! I hope that helps!
Spinnin Jenny says
Can the baked cookies (or dough balls) be frozen without the buttercream, and if so, how long will they keep in the freezer? It would save a lot of time to have the cookies baked, then just thaw and finish them. Great recipe, especially if using the sugar cookie mix!
Sarah says
Yes, you should be able to freeze either the dough balls or the baked cookies without the buttercream. Personally, I would freeze the dough balls (without nonpariels) over the cookies themselves. The nonpariels will likely bleed during the thawing process. I also prefer fresh baked cookies though that is a personal preference. Thanks!
Cathy says
Oh Wow, these cookies are making my mouth water, I would love one with my coffee! Yummy! 🙂 All month long I am featuring different holiday cookie creations for my cookie countdown to Christmas! I would love it if you stopped by to check it out! 🙂
Cathy
Sarah says
Thanks Cathy! I'll check out your cookie countdown. I love me some Xmas cookies! 🙂