When I was a little kid, my mom taught me how to make buttercream frosting. Back then, in the early ’70s, this was just how frosting was made. My Grandma Ruth taught my mom how to make it and she taught me. By the time I was in middle school, we switched to those cans of pre-made frosting that you can buy at the supermarket.
Here are the ingredients in Betty Crocker’s Rich & Creamy Vanilla Frosting:
Sugar, Partially Hydrogenated Soybean and Cottonseed Oil, Water, Wheat Starch, High Maltose Corn Syrup, Contain 1% or Less of Salt, Distilled Monoglycerides, Colored with Artificial Color, Yellows 5 & 6, Polysorbate 60, Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate, Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate, Natural and Artificial Flavor, Citric Acid, Nonfat Milk, Freshness Preserved by Potassium Sorbate (Source)
That’s a whole lotta chemicals to put in frosting! Most alarming, though, is the fact that they’re using partially hydrogenated soybean oil and cottonseed oil. These are not foods; they are industrial waste products.
Hey, I’m not saying frosting is a health food. It isn’t. It’s way too high in sugar. We eat frosting a few of times a year. On birthdays and on Christmas cookies. But if you’re going to eat frosting, you might as well eat a healthier version of frosting.
And oh by the way, it tastes a billion times better! I can’t even eat what most people call buttercream frosting anymore. Not even on a cupcake from a fancy bakery. It’s all made with that crappy soybean oil and it tastes like chemical-laden wax.
Join me in my quest to bring back REAL buttercream frosting! You’ll be surprised how easy it is to make. And I guarantee, you will NEVER go back to the fake stuff.
Recipe Notes
I recommend using coconut sugar or sucanat because they are natural, unrefined sweeteners. Unrefined sweeteners have vitamins and minerals, while refined sugar contains no vitamins and minerals.
Please keep in mind that if you use unrefined sweeteners, your frosting will not come out white. If you want white frosting, or you want frosting that you can add food coloring to (for Christmas cookies or a cake), you will want to use refined organic cane sugar. I normally do not recommend white sugar. I use it only for very special occasions because in my mind, it is a non-food.
Buttercream Frosting
Ingredients
Coconut sugar or sucanat, or you can use organic cane sugar (3 cups) — where to buy unrefined sweeteners
Butter, from grass-fed cows, raw if possible (1 cup) — where to buy butter
Vanilla extract, homemade if possible (1 tsp) — how to make homemade vanilla extract
Cream, from grass-fed cows, raw if possible (add until you get the consistency you want) — where to find grass-fed cream
Equipment
Stand mixer
Directions
1. Put the sugar in the blender. Blend until it is the consistency of powdered sugar. Be sure it’s very well mixed to a fine powder — otherwise, you’ll have grainy frosting.
2. With a handheld mixer or stand mixer, mix together powdered sugar and butter. Mix on low speed until well blended and then increase speed to medium and beat for another 3 minutes.
3. Add vanilla and cream by the tablespoon. Continue to beat on medium speed until you get the consistency you want.
4. Use a butter knife or pastry piping bag to decorate cakes or cookies.
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I’ve seen you link to where to get butter and I always look for your recommendation…but there isn’t one
This will be my first year of Christmas cookies made with sucanat 
If you don’t have a local farmer who sells butter or cream (to make butter with) you can buy grass-fed butter at the grocery store. Kerrygold is a good brand; it comes from Ireland.
I do buy raw milk and make some butter with the cream but I really end up with maybe 1/2 cup of it per week…not enough! There is no Kerrygold where I am and I settle for Organic Valley…despite the boycott, I buy that. Also I have access to Strauss. I have one more week of raw milk then I have to switch to Strauss milk for the winter whilst the cows are taking a break
If only they could ship raw dairy over state lines….
I would buy Organic Valley pastured butter if I could not find Kerrygold.
Strauss is good.
The one that is simply amazing is the frosting recipe in Nourishing Traditions page 569 “Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting” It is sweetened with honey. We got honey from Tropical Traditions. Soooo good. High quality honey and a delicious frosting. Wish I could have gotten raw milk cream cheese but oh well. Just went with best organic I could find. Delicious! Just have to keep frosting cool. If its hot out the frosting will run off the cake. We still eat it anyway!
I have a good source for raw milk but not cream.
Are any supermarket cream brands any good?
Can we sub cream for coconut milk cream?
Look for grass-fed cream. If you can’t find grass-fed cream, get organic cream.
That said, avoid all UHT (ultra-pasteurized) cream. Most organic cream is UHT, unfortunately.
Kinda makes you want to get your own cow, eh?
Yes you can use coconut milk in place of the cream. You can also use milk in this recipe — the frosting just won’t be as thick.
I subscribed to your newsletter!
I like your FB page, too!
I hope I’m doing this right to enter your give-aways. -thanks!
Hi, Linda, you have to go comment on the giveaway page: http://www.cheeseslave.com/weekly-drawing-india-tree-natural-food-coloring-set-23-value/
I make this recipe using lemon juice instead of cream for a light lemon icing on cookies…it’s delicious! Add a drop of lemon extract (no flavorings…use the real stuff!). I’ve never put it on a cake, but I’m sure you could.
Can you use any type of blender? I have a Kitchen Aid, but have never tried to make a powdered sugar with it. I know people who do it in their Vitamix all the time, but I guess i never thought my Kitchen Aid could do it. Any thoughts?
Yeah any blender will work I think
I agree, when did it become so hard to make frosting at home (or the cake itself, for that matter!), that we had to start buying the nasty, pasty canned stuff? It should be a little bit of work to make “treats” anyway, in my opinion! I make a similar but GAPS/SCD legal butter cream by using raw honey (solid), vanilla, and butter. Turns out very yummy!
Silly question, but with using the raw cream can you leave the cookies out or do they have to be refrigerated? If left out how long would they last left out?
Thanks!
Not a silly question!
They are best refrigerated. When I make buttercream frosting and put it on cakes or cupcakes, it will get droopy if it is not kept cool.
Remember, Sally Fallon Morell says we should eat foods that spoil but eat them before they do. The fact that most cookies can sit out for months means we shouldn’t be eating them!
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