This sugar cookie cups recipe is always a hit at any gathering. Buttery, sweet sugar cookie cups are filled with rich, sweet, and tangy cream cheese frosting to create a decadent flavor that everyone loves.
Sugar cookies are a classic dessert, and everything is better with frosting. These cookies highlight both of those facts in one sweet dessert that's easy to make and hard to stop eating!
This was inspired by my other frosted sugar cookie recipe on this site and pairs well with other decadent dessert recipes like these custard puffs as part of larger dessert spread at parties.
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Why You’ll Love This Sugar Cookie Cups Recipe
There's a lot to love about these cookie cups. They combine cookies with frosting, which is always a good thing, and they're as fun to eat as they are delicious.
- It only takes a few simple ingredients to make these cookies.
- It's an easy recipe that even beginners can make.
- All that cream cheese frosting is the perfect pairing for the buttery cookie cups.
- They're a sweet treat perfect for any occasion.
Ingredients
These cookie cups use simple baking ingredients that you can find in your kitchen or at your local grocery store. No specialty ingredients are needed!
For the Cookie Cups
- Butter - softened
- Granulated sugar
- Egg
- Vanilla extract
- Baking powder
- Salt
- All-purpose flour
For the Cream Cheese Frosting
- Butter - softened
- Cream cheese - softened
- Vanilla extract
- Powdered sugar
- Heavy cream
See the recipe card below for exact quantities.
Flavor Variations and Substitutions
- Frosting: Use plain or flavored buttercream or your other favorite frosting for these cups.
- Semi-Homemade: You can use storebought frosting and cookie dough for a faster recipe.
- Frosting Flavors: Add other extracts or cocoa to create frosting flavors like chocolate, coconut, blueberry, and more.
If you love frosted cookies like these, then you'll enjoy our fudgy Cosmic Brownie cookies.
How To Make Sugar Cookie Cups
1: Combine the wet dough ingredients.
2: Combine the dry dough ingredients.
3: Mix the cookie dough.
4: Bake the dough in muff tins until golden.
5: Cool completely.
6: Mix the frosting ingredients until creamy.
7: Frost the cooled cookies with a piping bag.
Hint
Remove the cookies as soon as they begin to turn golden for the best texture. Don't overbake them!
Storage
These cookies are frosted with cream cheese frosting, so they have to be refrigerated for freshness and food safety.
Refrigerator: Store for up to 5 days in an air-tight container.
Freezer: Wrap each cup in plastic wrap, place them in an air-tight, freezer-safe container, and freeze for up to a month. Defrost in the refrigerator overnight.
What To Serve With Sugar Cookie Cups
The buttery flavor of the cookie cups and the sweet, tangy cream cheese frosting make these cookies excellent with a variety of other cookie and fruit flavors.
Tips
- It's important to fully soften your butter and cream cheese for the easiest creaming and best texture for both the cookies and the frosting.
- A hand mixer is the easiest way to make the dough and the frosting.
- Chill your cookies, then wrap them in plastic wrap if you plan to freeze them. This allows the frosting to set and prevents freezer burn.
- Remove the cookies as soon as the begin to turn golden. The heat of the muffin tins will finish baking them as they cool.
FAQ
Cookie dough baked in muffin tins gets golden on the bottoms and the sides, making deeper flavor without any extra work.
Sugar cookies have a higher flour-to-butter ratio, making them firmer and sturdier. This dough usually has to be rolled out and cut into cookie shapes due to its firmness.
Butter and cream cheese both take between 30 minutes and an hour to soften.
Dry sugar cookie dough is usually the result of over-mixing or accidentally adding too much flour. Be sure to measure your flour precisely by loosely spooning it into your measuring cup rather than dipping the cup directly into your flour.
More Easy Cookie Recipes
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
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Sugar Cookie Cups
Ingredients
- ¾ cup butter softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 cup all-purpose flour
Cream Cheese Frosting
- ½ cup butter softened
- 8 oz cream cheese softened
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1-2 tbsp heavy cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉. Coat a mini muffin tin with cooking spray and set aside.
- Add butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla extract to a stand mixer bowl. Mix until the ingredients start to turn a lighter color.
- Next, add baking powder and salt, and mix well. Slowly add the flour and mix until well blended.
- Scoop the dough into the muffin tin using a 1½ cookie scoop. This recipe will make 22 cookies, so make sure to spread the dough evenly between 22 cups.
- Bake for 13-15 minutes or until the cookies start to turn a slight golden brown color.
- Let the cookies cool completely before frosting.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- Add butter, cream cheese, and vanilla extract to the bowl of a stand mixer, and mix until light and fluffy.
- Slowly add in the powdered sugar and mix well. If the frosting is too thick, add heavy cream, 1 tbsp at a time, until you get the desired consistency. Add your desired color of food coloring and mix well.
- Using a piping bag pipe the frosting on each cookie and sprinkle with your favorite sprinkles.
Notes
- It's important to fully soften your butter and cream cheese for the easiest creaming and best texture for both the cookies and the frosting.
- A hand mixer is the easiest way to make the dough and the frosting.
- Chill your cookies, then wrap them in plastic wrap if you plan to freeze them. This allows the frosting to set and prevents freezer burn.
- Remove the cookies as soon as the begin to turn golden. The heat of the muffin tins will finish baking them as they cool.
Nutrition
*All nutrition information provided is automatically calculated and is an estimate and will vary based on ingredients, brands, and changes in cooking methods listed in the recipe. If you need exact numbers on your ingredients, I would recommend calculating them with your prefered nutrition calculator.
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