Easy Cookie Dough Frosting (not grainy)
This cookie dough frosting is made with heat treated flour and without eggs making it safe to eat! It combines the creamy smoothness of a buttercream frosting with the unmistakeable cookie dough flavor. With mini chocolate chips added to the icing, it’s the perfect topping for cookie dough cupcakes.
When I was creating this recipe I wanted to make sure that it had two things:
- A non grainy, smooth, and creamy base.
- Cookie dough flavor!
A lot of recipes call for brown sugar in the frosting, which is essential to creating that cookie dough flavor. But most of them just add the brown sugar to the recipe without cooking it down first, and this is what makes it grainy, and in my opinion, not so much fun to eat.
As a professionally trained baker, I really wanted to make a smooth frosting, so instead of adding brown sugar directly to the frosting base, I decided to melt it down with water to make it smooth.
It does take an extra few minutes- it’s the same thing I do with my brown sugar buttercream, but it’s so worth it!
For a real cookie dough lover, make sure you top them over these cookie dough cupcakes or on top of these chocolate fudge cupcakes.
I also love that you dont have to make an actual cookie dough for this recipe. The process is straightforward and simple, let me show you how to make it!
Heat treating the flour
Flour in frosting? I know, sounds weird, but it helps give the recipe that distinct cookie dough flavor, plus it bulks it up and helps with the thick consistency.
Since the rest of the ingredients in this recipe will be eaten raw, the flour first needs to be heat treated. Raw flour can contain traces of salmonella so if you’re going to eat it raw, it needs to be cooked first.
Heat treating flour is simple and can be done 2 ways.
- Spread the flour on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 5 minutes on 350° F, then let the four cool.
- Add the flour to a microwaveable safe bowl and microwave on high for 30 seconds. Mix, then microwave for another 30 seconds.
In both circumstances you want to let the flour cool before adding it to the rest of the ingredients, otherwise it can turn it into a weird texture. The first time I made this, I didnt let it cool the whole way and it melted the mini chocolate chips and made the frosting a gross gray color.
Melt the brown sugar
Melting the brown sugar is the next step. Actually you should do this while the flour is in the oven, and let them both cool at the same time.
It’s time to add the chocolate chips! I recommend using mini chocolate chips- they blend better into the frosting and make it a lot easier to spread onto cupcakes or cake. If you only have the big ones I would chop them up instead of using them whole.
Decorating
If you want to pipe this frosting you need to use a very wide open round tip like this Ateco 809 tip ( a favorite of mine when I worked at a custom cake place bakery)
If you use a smaller tip or a different shape, the chocolate chips will get stuck and you wont be able to frost that way.
Easy Cookie Dough Frosting (not grainy)
Ingredients
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 3 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp Heavy cream, or half n half
- 1 pinch kosher salt
- 3/4 cup mini chocolate chips
Instructions
Heat treat the flour
- Preheat the oven to 350°. Spread the 1 cup flour over a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 5 minutes. Alternatively add the flour to a microwaveable safe bowl and microwave for 30 seconds. Mix the flour then microwave again for 30 seconds. Cool.
- Add the 3/4 cup brown sugar and 1/4 cup water to a small saucepan over med-high heat until it boils. Stir, melting the sugar. Turn to low and simmer for 3-4 minutes or until the sugar is completely melted. Set aside to cool.
- Meanwhile make the rest of the frosting. Add the 1 1/4 cups softened butter and 3 cups powdered sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low- medium speed for 2 minutes. The mixture will still be dry, it won't come together yet- that's ok!
- Add the cooled flour and mix again until well incorporated.
- With the mixer running on low, slowly add in the brown sugar syrup. Then add in the 1 tbsp heavy cream and pinch of salt. Mix on high speed for 1 minute for maximum fluffiness.
- With a spatula, mix in the mini chocolate chips and frost over cookie dough cupcakes.
How many days does this frosting stay good for, if you store it in an air tight container in the fridge?
5 days 🙂
I was looking for a non-grainy cookie dough frosting and this was perfect. It turned out so delicious!! I doubled it for a three-layer red velvet cake. Yum.
So glad you found exactly what you were looking for Carmen, yay!
This was AMAZING! I used it in between layers of a 3 layer cake, it was perfect! Keeping this recipe forever!
AHHHH yay! So glad Dana! That is such a good idea, I might try it too! thank you!
I couldn’t get the brown sugar simple syrup to be smooth. When I let it cool it was a grainy paste. So I reheated again and then it got really hard like it turned to candy. Any suggestions?
Oh no, sorry that one gave you trouble Ava! It sounds like it just needed a bit longer on the stove. After it boils, turn it down to low and simmer for 3-4 minutes until the sugar is completely melted. Take a little out with a spoon, let it cool, and rub it between your fingers. If it feels gritty at all it needs another minute. Once it’s smooth, set it aside to cool and don’t reheat it. Let me know how it goes next time!