Description
Delightful sugar cookie cups filled with smooth buttercream frosting, perfect for bite-sized treats. These mini cookie cups combine a buttery, soft sugar cookie base with creamy, sweet frosting, optionally decorated with colorful sprinkles for a festive touch. Easy to make and ideal for parties or everyday indulgence.
Ingredients
Scale
Cookie Cups
- 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 an additional 1/2 to 1 tablespoon as needed)
- Food coloring (optional)
- Sprinkles (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat and Prepare Pans: Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and grease 36 mini muffin cups thoroughly with cooking spray to prevent sticking.
- Mix Cookie Dough Base: In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the softened butter and sugar until the mixture is light and smooth.
- Add Wet Ingredients: Incorporate the egg, vanilla extract, and almond extract (if using) into the mixture, mixing until fully blended.
- Add Dry Ingredients: Sprinkle in the baking powder and flour, then mix gently until a uniform dough forms without overmixing.
- Shape Dough in Muffin Tin: Using rounded tablespoons (about 1-inch diameter), scoop and roll dough into balls and place one in each greased mini muffin cup. Press the dough balls flat using your fingers but do not shape into cups yet.
- Bake the Cookie Bases: Bake for about 10 minutes until edges are golden brown.
- Form Cookie Cups: Immediately after baking, press the center of each warm cookie with a bottle cap to create a cup shape.
- Cool Cookie Cups: Let the cookie cups cool in the muffin tin for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Prepare Frosting: Beat softened butter in a clean stand mixer bowl until creamy, then blend in powdered sugar and vanilla extract thoroughly.
- Adjust Frosting Consistency: Add milk or heavy cream and beat until smooth; add extra milk if needed to achieve frosting suitable for piping. Add food coloring if desired and mix well.
- Pipe Frosting into Cookie Cups: Fill a piping bag with frosting and evenly pipe into each cooled cookie cup.
- Add Sprinkles: Optionally, decorate each frosted cookie cup with sprinkles for added color and texture before serving.
Notes
- Make sure to press the cookie centers using a bottle cap while the cookies are warm for easy shaping.
- Do not overmix cookie dough once flour is added to avoid tough cookies.
- Optional almond extract adds a subtle nutty flavor but can be omitted.
- Use room temperature butter for best mixing results.
- Adjust frosting thickness with additional milk or powdered sugar as needed for easy piping.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
