Cookie Butter Buttercream Frosting

The holidays are always one of my favorite times of the year. Being 37 weeks pregnant has put a damper on my traditional holiday baking spree, though. This year, I’m repeating many of my favorites and adding a little flair!

So far, I’ve made my Eggless Eggnog Streusel Muffins – which turned out amazing; I made my Chocolate Stout Cupcakes with this beautiful buttercream frosting; and I plan to make some Molasses Sugar Cookies later this week! As I said in my last post, once the baby comes, I’ll be clean-eating for a month. No cookies for me!

This frosting paired with the stout cupcakes so well – I was really pleasantly surprised! It’s a take on my homemade Nutella Frosting. Instead of the Nutella, I used Trader Joe’s Speculoos Cookie Butter. (Some people reading this blog may note that TJ’s cookie butter is not certified vegan. The label explains that it may have come in contact with eggs or dairy at some point.

For me, that is okay and I can use it. For strict vegans or those with allergies, you should not use this product. Instead, make your own Nutella using my recipe, or I am sure that there are tons of other blogs out there with recipes for homemade cookie butter.)

I love the taste of Biscoff and the cookie butter has a hint of that flavor along with notes of gingerbread – what could be more perfect this time of the year?!

Cookie Butter Buttercream Frosting

Recipe by Aileen MetcalfCourse: Uncategorized

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

30

minutes

Cooking time

40

minutes

Calories

300

kcal

Adapted from Wilton

Ingredients

• 1 c. organic non-hydrogenated shortening, like Spectrum

• 1 tsp. vanilla

• 2 1/2 to 3 c. vegan powdered sugar

• approximately 1 c. cookie butter*
  *or use homemade knockoff Nutella, recipe here

Directions

• Beat the shortening, vanilla, and cookie butter in a large mixing bowl. Gradually add the powdered sugar until everything is combined well, scraping the sides as needed. The icing should be pretty firm.
• I only added about 2.5 cups of powdered sugar to the icing. If you want a stiffer icing, add the full 3 cups. It also depends on what type of piping you plan on doing 🙂
• That’s it! Often, I will make my frosting the day before I bake the cupcakes, just to save time in the whole process (and to space out my dirty dishes). I put it in my piping bag and refrigerate it overnight. While the cupcakes are baking, I’ll take the frosting out of the fridge and let it settle to room temperature before piping. This goes without saying (I hope!), but wait until your cupcakes COMPLETELY cool before icing them.
• For the piping, I used my trusty Wilton 1M tip for rose-making. Here’s a link to my original tutorial.
• Enjoy this frosting with your favorite cupcakes 😉
  
  Cheers & Merry Christmas!
  
  -Aileen