Yield: 6 strawberry frosted sugar cookies // Total Time: 50 min. // Disclaimer: This post includes affiliate links.
Happy national sugar cookie day! It might not be that day for you but honestly, it’s never too late to celebrate. I made these deliciously soft and chewy sugar cookies, topped them with some melt-in-your-mouth buttercream. Then, finished them off with some strawberry curd (because how could I NOT make strawberry curd?!) and extra strawberries. The result? Soft and chewy frosted sugar cookies, bursting with fresh strawberry flavor.
Strawberry frosted sugar cookies
While the ingredient list might look long and scary, it’s really just 11 common ingredients total! These cookies are so fun to make, and even more fun to eat. If you are a fan of store-bought frosted sugar cookies, these are essentially those but packed with way more delicious, fresh flavor!
Small batch strawberry 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!
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. The cookies may look a little underdone at 10 minutes, but it’s important to take them out to keep them nice and soft. Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for an additional 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool.
Ingredients and substitutions
For the strawberry curd:
Strawberries: the base of the strawberry curd. I recommend using fresh strawberries as frozen may make the curd too runny due to excess water.
Granulated sugar: to sweeten up the curd. The amount of sugar was perfect for the strawberries I used, but if you have particularly sour or tart strawberries, you can slowly adjust the sugar content up to your liking.
Lemon: Provides a nice acidity and sharpness to the curd. You will use the juice and zest from one large lemon for this.
Salt: helps to balance and bring out the sweetness of the curd.
Eggs: thicken up the curd and is essentially what turns the mixture from a strawberry jam to a strawberry curd.
Unsalted butter: helps to enrich the strawberry curd, thicken it up, and give it that smooth and velvety mouth feel.
For the cookies:
Unsalted butter: makes the cookies chewy and tender. You can substitute in salted butter, just be sure to omit the extra salt from the cookies.
Powdered sugar: sweetens the cookies and helps give them that melt-in-your-mouth texture. I used organic powdered sugar, which made the cookies spread a bit more. Standard powdered sugar will yield you with thicker cookies.
Granulated sugar: sweetens up the cookies and helps them retain moisture.
Egg yolk: adds richness to the cookie dough and helps bind the dough together.
Milk: hydrates the cookie dough. I used whole milk, but really any milk will work here since so little is used!
Vanilla: for flavor. I use and love this vanilla extract!
All purpose flour: for structure and chewiness.
Baking powder: helps the cookies rise and give them a cakey texture.
Salt: balances and brings out the sweetness of the sugar cookies.
For the buttercream:
Unsalted butter: the base of buttercream. You can use salted butter, just be sure to omit the extra salt from the buttercream.
Salt: to balance and bring out the sweetness of the buttercream.
Powdered sugar: thickens up and sweetens the buttercream. I recommend using organic powdered sugar as it gives more of a melt-in-your-mouth feel to the buttercream, but standard powdered sugar will work just as great!
Milk: we will just use a little to thin out the buttercream so that it can be piped on to the cookies. Use your favorite milk here!
Vanilla: for flavor. I use and love this vanilla extract!
How to make small batch strawberry frosted sugar cookies
1. Make the curd. Start by cooking together the strawberries, sugar, lemon zest, and lemon juice on the stovetop. Simmer the mixture and mash down the berries as much as possible. Once you have done that, strain the mixture through a fine mesh sieve.
2. Add in the egg. While constantly whisking, add in the egg and whisk until the mixture thickens, for approximately 5 minutes. Once the mixture thickens, remove it from the heat and immediately whisk in the butter. Set the curd to thicken in the freezer while you make the cookies and buttercream.
3. Make the cookies. Start by beating together the butter, powdered sugar, and granulated sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy. Then, beat in the wet ingredients (egg yolk, milk, and vanilla).
4. Fold in the dry ingredients. Fold in the flour, baking powder and salt just until no flour streaks remain. Overmixing will lead to tough cookies!
5. Bake. Bake for 10 minutes. The cookies may look underdone but as long as your oven was at the right temperature, they’ll be good. Make sure you let the cookies sit on the hot cookie sheet for at least 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool.
6. Make the buttercream. Beat together the butter and salt until smooth, then slowly beat in the powdered sugar. Beat in the milk and vanilla until light and fluffy.
7. Frost, garnish & serve! Once the cookies have completely cooled to room temperature, frost them with the buttercream and top with strawberry curd and fresh strawberries. Enjoy!
Small batch strawberry frosted sugar cookies Q & A
Help! My strawberry curd is too runny.
The curd being too runny still could be one of two things.
- The curd was not cooked long enough. Once the curd has been cooked for long enough on the stove, it will thicken. You should be able to feel this happen. If you want to be 100% sure the curd has been cooked, use a thermometer to check that it has reached at least 170°F / 77°C.
- The curd has not cooled down enough. I recommend putting the curd in the freezer once you have made it so that it cools down fast while you are making the cookies and buttercream. The curd won’t be extremely thick when cooled down, but it will be much thicker than it is immediately coming off the stove.
How do I get the strawberry curd to stay on top of the cookies?
I use the back of a spoon to indent the buttercream/make a little well where I want the curd to sit on top of the cookies. I did a crescent moon shape but please feel free to get creative with it!
Can I double these small batch strawberry frosted sugar cookies?
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 strawberry frosted sugar cookies. The strawberry curd will make plenty for all the cookies since we don’t use a lot, so just double the buttercream and cookie dough. 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 3 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! The curd can also be made and stored in the fridge for up to 1 week before serving.
How to store small batch strawberry frosted sugar cookies
The cookies can be kept out at room temperature unfrosted, or frosted with only the buttercream. Once the curd is added, they can be kept out safely for 2 hours, but need to be transferred to the fridge after that. I recommend waiting until you want to serve and enjoy these cookies to add the curd.
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.
Tools and ingredients
Cookie Sheet: I absolutely love USA pan products because of their great quality. I use their cookie sheet which is always the perfect size for all of my small batch cookies!
Silicone baking mat: parchment paper will always do the job for cookies, but I like to use a silicone mat when I can to try to cut down on waste. This is the one I use.
Cookie scoops: I have gone through a lot of cookie scoops in my baking journey, and these ones have lasted me the longest without breaking. Plus they are dishwasher safe!
Vanilla: I love using Rodelle vanilla extract. Not only is it a great quality product, but it’s on the lower end of the price that vanilla can be! This is the one I use.
For a full list of tools, equipment and ingredients that I use and love, you can check out this page here.
Did you make these small batch strawberry frosted sugar cookies?
If you made these small batch strawberry 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!
Strawberry Frosted Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
Strawberry Curd
- 100 g fresh strawberries diced
- 65 g granulated sugar
- 15 g lemon juice
- zest of ½ lemon
- pinch of salt
- 1 egg
- 35 g unsalted butter sliced (2 ½ tbsp.)
Soft Sugar Cookies
- 56 g unsalted butter room temperature
- 45 g powdered sugar
- 50 g granulated sugar
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tbsp. milk
- ½ tsp. vanilla
- 90 g all purpose flour (¾ c.)
- ½ tsp. baking powder
- ¼ tsp. salt
Buttercream
- 85 g unsalted butter room temperature
- ⅛ tsp. salt
- 150 g powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp. milk
- 1 tsp. vanilla
Instructions
Strawberry Curd
- In a small saucepan, add the strawberries, sugar, lemon juice and lemon zest. Stir over medium heat until the mixture reaches a simmer.
- Once the mixture is simmering, begin mashing the berries as they soften.
- Once the berries have been mashed as much as they can be, pass the mixture through a fine mesh sieve then return to the heat.
- Whisking constantly, add in the egg. Continue to whisk until the mixture thickens (This took me ~5 minutes!) Once thickened, remove the curd from the heat.
- Immediately whisk in the butter until it melts completely and you have a cohesive mixture. Transfer the curd to a bowl and place in the freezer.
Soft Sugar Cookies
- Preheat the oven to 350°F / 175°C. Line a cookie sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
- In a small bowl with a hand mixer or by and, beat together the butter, powdered sugar, and granulated sugar for 2 minutes, or until the mixture is light and fluffy.
- Beat in the egg yolk, milk, and vanilla.
- Add in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Use a rubber spatula to fold the mixture together just until no flour streaks remain.
- Use a 3 tbsp. cookie scoop to dish out the cookies on to the cookie sheet, evenly spacing them out.
- Bake for 10 minutes. Remove the cookies from the oven and let them sit on the hot cookie sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool.
Buttercream
- In a medium sized bowl with a hand mixer, beat together the butter and salt for 1 minute, until the butter is smooth.
- Slowly beat in the powdered sugar until all of it has been used.
- Add in the milk and vanilla, and beat for an additional 2 minutes to make the buttercream light and fluffy.
- Once the cookies have cooled to room temperature, frost them with the buttercream. Use the back of a spoon to indent the buttercream where you want to pour strawberry curd. Add the strawberry curd into the indents, then top with fresh diced strawberries.
- Serve and enjoy!