Yield: 6 lucky charms frosted sugar cookies // Total Time: 50 min. // Disclaimer: This post includes affiliate links.
Why you’ll love these lucky charms frosted cookies
I love creating desserts for the holidays because food is one of the best ways to bring people together. I am, however, not particularly a fan of green-dyed desserts (unless they’re matcha.) A fun way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day without dyeing everything green is by making these lucky charms frosted sugar cookies! Here’s why I think you’ll love them:
1. They’re super thick and chewy. Because a frosted sugar cookie MUST have a thick layer of cookie underneath the frosting.
2. They’re made with a dreamy frosting. These cookies are frosted with swiss meringue buttercream to replicate a marshmallow-y flavor to go along with the best part of lucky charms – the marshmallows!
3. They’re fun to look at – and fun to eat! I mean, who doesn’t want to eat a cookie that’s frosted and loaded with colorful cereal?
Lucky charms frosted sugar cookies recipe tips
Weigh your ingredients
- Weighing your ingredients is important for getting the recipe perfect and getting consistent results. Not weighing your ingredients can lead to adding too much or too little of an ingredient. In a small batch recipe it is especially important to get those correct measurements because there is less room for error. If you haven’t already, I highly recommend purchasing a kitchen scale. This one is super cheap and worked well for me when I was starting out!
Room temperature ingredients
- It is important for the ingredients to be at room temperature so that they properly incorporate with each other. If you have ever had your batter look curdled, it is most likely due to the ingredients separating from being at different temperatures. Take out the eggs, butter, and milk at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hr 30 min. before starting the recipe. Here’s how to get room temperature ingredients FAST if you’re in a time crunch or forgot to take the ingredients out (like I often do):
- Egg: place the egg in a bowl and run hot water over it for 1 continuous minute, or let it sit in a bowl of warm water for 5 minutes.
- Butter: slice the butter into 1 tbsp. slices and place them flat on a plate. Microwave in 5-second intervals until the butter is soft to the touch, but not melting.
- Milk: microwave the milk in 5-second intervals until it is no longer cold, but is not warm (room temp!) Because you’ll only need 1 tbsp. for this recipe, this should only take 5 seconds.
Mix the dough carefully
- When adding in the flour, only fold the mixture just until no flour streaks remain. Overmixing the dough leads to more gluten formation, which can make the cookies super tough and chewy.
Under bake for perfect cookies
- Cookies continue baking after they have been taken out of the oven. Once the edges turn slightly golden brown, the cookies are ready to come out. Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for an additional 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool.
Cookie scooting
- Wanna know the secret to perfectly round cookies? It’s cookie scooting! Right when the cookies come out of the oven, take a bowl, cup, or biscuit cutter that is just slightly larger than your cookies and place it over one of the cookies. Gently swirl the bowl around the cookie to make the cookie perfectly round (and slightly thicker). And that’s all there is to it!
Ingredients and substitutions
For the sugar cookies:
All purpose flour: for structure and chewiness.
Baking powder: for helping the cookies rise.
Salt: to help balance and bring out the sweetness of the cookies
Unsalted butter: for tenderness and flavor. You can use salted butter in place of the unsalted, just be sure to omit the extra salt from the cookies.
Vegetable oil: a little bit of vegetable oil helps keep the cookies super soft at room temperature after baking. You can substitute in any neutral oil, such as canola, here as well.
Powdered sugar: for sweetness and gives the cookies a melt-in-your-mouth texture.
Light brown sugar: for sweetness, moisture, and flavor.
Egg yolks: for binding and richness. We’ll use two egg yolks in the dough and use the remaining egg whites in the buttercream – no extras here!
Milk: for moisture. Use your favorite dairy or non-dairy milk here. I used oat milk since it’s typically what I have on hand.
Vanilla: for flavor. I use and love this vanilla extract!
For the swiss meringue buttercream:
Egg whites: the base of the meringue in swiss meringue buttercream.
Granulated sugar: for sweetening and helping the egg whites whip up.
Unsalted butter: adds flavor to and thickens up the buttercream. You can use salted butter here, just be sure to omit the extra salt from the buttercream.
Vanilla: for flavor. I use and love this vanilla extract!
Salt: for balancing and bringing out the sweetness of the buttercream.
Lucky charms: the star of the show to pile on top of those cookies!
How to make lucky charms frosted sugar cookies
Here are the basic steps to follow to make these cookies. You can find the complete recipe at the end of this blog post!
1. Cream together the butter, oil, and sugars. It’s super important to cream together these ingredients to incorporate air into the dough and make them bake up nice and tall. I recommend using a hand or stand mixer as this will be difficult by hand. Beat the ingredients for 3 minutes, until the mixture is cohesive, light and fluffy.
2. Add in the egg yolks, milk, and vanilla. Beat until combined.
3. Add in the dry ingredients. Beat the mixture together just until no more flour streaks remain. Overmixing will lead to a tough cookie!
4. Bake the cookies. Evenly space out 3 heaping tbsp. scoops of the cookie dough on a cookie sheet. Bake for 12-14 minutes at 350°F / 175°C, until the edges slightly turn golden brown.
5. Get perfect cookies. Once the cookies come out of the oven, I recommend “scooting” them. This just means take a bowl, cup, or biscuit cutter that is slightly larger than the cookie, place it on top of the cookie, and swirl the bowl around to make the cookie perfectly circular. It’s not needed at all but it will help you get that perfectly round cookie look! Also, leave the cookies to cool on the hot baking sheet for 5 minutes to help them set up.
6. Make the swiss meringue buttercream. In a small saucepan set over medium heat, constantly whisk together the egg whites and sugar until the mixture reaches 160°F / 71°C. This is important to ensure that the egg is safe to consume!
7. Whip the egg whites to stiff peaks. Once the mixture is hot enough, transfer it to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whisk the mixture on medium-high speed until it hits stiff peaks.
8. Beat in the butter. Switch your mixer to the paddle attachment. Add in the butter 1 tbsp. at a time, waiting 30 seconds for it to incorporate before adding in the next tbsp. Once all the butter has been added, beat in the egg and vanilla.
9. Frost, serve and enjoy! Frost each cookie and top with a generous amount of lucky charms. Enjoy!
Lucky charms frosted sugar cookies Q & A
Can I double this recipe?
- Of course! Obviously they will not be small batch anymore but small batch isn’t always what we need! Simply double all of the ingredients in the recipe to make 12 delicious cookies. I even more strongly recommend measuring by weight if you are going to double the recipe for the best results.
Can I make these cookies ahead of time?
- Definitely! Cookie dough only gets better with time. You can keep the cookie dough tightly covered in the fridge for up to 2 days before baking. For longer term storage, you can also freeze the cookie dough. Just be sure to take the dough out of the fridge at least 30 minutes to 1 hour before you want to bake, so that it becomes soft enough to scoop again! They will also bake up thicker since the ingredients will be cold. The longest in advance I would recommend making the buttercream is the night before. Store it in the fridge and let it sit out for at least 30 minutes before whipping it up again and frosting the cokies.
How to store lucky charms frosted sugar cookies
- The longest I would recommend letting the frosted cookies sit out at room temperature is one day in an airtight container. After that, you will want to refrigerate the cookies in an airtight container since the frosting does contain egg whites in it.. I would also highly recommend waiting to top the cookies with lucky charms until the day you plan on eating them, because the cereal will become soft and mushy from the buttercream over time.
Why do you measure in grams?
My recipes are all written in grams because it is the most accurate way to bake. When you use a kitchen scale, you ensure that your baked goods turn out as close to the written recipe as possible. Plus, the cleanup is way easier when using a scale! I will provide standard cup measurements but please note that I have not tested the recipe using cup measurements and therefore can not guarantee your recipe will come out how mine did. Here is my favorite kitchen scale, and here’s an article about why I use a kitchen scale, and why you should too!
A note on oven temperature
Ovens vary and fluctuate in temperature. For example, I always have to set my oven to 330°F if I want it to bake at 350°F. If you love to bake like I do, I highly recommend getting an oven thermometer. They are super helpful for letting you know when your oven might be lying to you! I use this one.
Lucky charms frosted sugar cookies recipe troubleshooting
The swiss meringue buttercream is soupy
- If the mixture seems thin and soupy, place it in the fridge for 20 minutes and whip it back up – it should be perfect! You may need to refrigerate it longer but do not put it in for more than 20-minute intervals or the butter will solidify. If it seems a bit curdled, just keep on beating it until it eventually smooths out.
The dough and/or the cookies are super dry and crumbly
- The #1 reason for this would be adding in too much flour which is a high risk when using cup measurements. I highly recommend using a kitchen scale (this one here is great and cheap!) but if you are not able – here’s how to properly measure flour with cups:
- Fluff up your flour with a fork or whisk, then spoon it gently into your cup measurement. Level off the top of the cup with a knife – then use as directed.
Tools and ingredients
You can find all my favorite tools and ingredients that I use on my Amazon Storefront page, here!
Did you make these lucky charms frosted sugar cookies?
If you made these lucky charms frosted sugar cookies I would love to see them and know your thoughts! Please leave a comment and review down below, and tag me on Instagram @freshbeanbakery. If you have any questions about the recipe I will gladly do my best to answer them in the comments below!
Lucky Charms Frosted Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
Sugar Cookies
- 70 g unsalted butter room temperature (5 tbsp.)
- 20 g vegetable oil (1 ½ tbsp.)
- 60 g powdered sugar (½ c.)
- 80 g light brown sugar (⅓ c. + 1 tbsp.)
- 2 egg yolks room temperature
- 1 tbsp. milk room temperature
- ½ tsp. vanilla
- 150 g all purpose flour (1 ¼ c.)
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- ½ tsp. salt
Swiss Meringue Buttercream
- 2 egg whites
- 140 g granulated sugar (¾ c.)
- 113 g unsalted butter cold, cut into 1 tbsp. slices (½ c.)
- ¼ tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- ~¾ c. lucky charms cereal
Instructions
Sugar Cookies
- Preheat the oven to 350°F / 175°C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- With a hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter, oil, powdered sugar and brown sugar until the mixture is cohesive, light and fluffy (~3 min.)
- Add in the egg yolks, milk and vanilla. Beat until combined.
- Add in the flour, baking powder and salt. Beat the mixture on low just until no flour streaks remain, being careful to not overmix.
- Scoop out heaping 3 tbsp. scoops of dough and place them evenly spaced out on the lined baking sheet.
- Bake for 12-14 minutes, until the edges start to turn golden brown.
- Once the cookies come out of the oven you can "scoot" them to make them more circular. Just take a bowl, cup, or biscuit cutter that is slightly larger than the cookies and place it upside down on top of the cookie. Swirl the bowl around to make it perfectly circular. Optional – but nice if you'll be sharing the cookies!
Swiss Meringue Buttercream
- In a small saucepan set over medium heat, constantly whisk together the egg whites and sugar until the mixture reaches 160°F / 71°C.
- Once the mixture is hot enough, transfer it to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whisk the mixture on medium-high speed until it reaches stiff peaks.
- While the egg whites are whipping up, remove the butter from the fridge and slice it into 1 tbsp. slices.
- Once the egg whites reach stiff peaks, keep the mixer running. Add in the butter 1 tbsp. at a time, waiting 30 seconds before adding in the next slice. Continue until you have used all of the butter and no more chunks are visible in the buttercream.
- Beat in the salt and vanilla.
- Once the cookies have cooled to room temperature, frost them with the buttercream. Top the cookies with a generous amount of lucky charms cereal, serve, and enjoy!