A healthier cookie dough frosting, melt in the mouth delicious, speckled with chocolate chips, only 4 ingredients, and surprisingly includes fiber-rich oat flour.
This frosting is just so delicious. It's a mix of buttercream and edible cookie dough, and as you reach for a spoonful, get ready to swoon. And taste is not the only great aspect, it's also healthier.
Normally the words "frosting" and "healthy" don't reside in the same sentence. And with good reason, frosting is normally high in fat and sugar with zero nutrition.
Well, my frosting is still pretty high in fat and sugar, but this recipe has redeeming qualities that make it lean toward a healthier frosting. And it works perfectly with my chocolate fudge cake or my healthier chocolate cupcakes.
The Healthy Aspects
First off this frosting uses organic powdered sugar which contains essential nutrients and tastes better than non organic powdered sugar. And I include oat flour, an ingredient not normally found in frosting but excellent here for stabilizing and for nutrition. And finally, I use a mix of vegan butter and a healthy organic shortening that actually contains more essential nutrients. Nothing like lard-based Crisco.
Ingredients
Organic Powdered Sugar: This sugar contains tapioca instead of corn starch found in most commercial powdered sugars, and it tastes so much better that you might want to always buy organic. My favorite brand is Wholesome.
Butter: This butter provides half the fat in the frosting. I normally use vegan Earthbalance sticks. Be sure to allow the sticks to be at room temperature before use; this takes about two hours or overnight.
Brown Sugar: You can use coconut palm sugar for nutritional consistency. This ingredient helps the frosting lean into the chocolate chip cookie mode.
Organic Plant-based Shortening: The other half of the fat portion is shortening. Not the white lard-based shortening such as crisco however. That type is extremely unhealthy. Instead, I use a plant-based shortening that is a mix of red palm oil and coconut oil. It's also non-GMO and sourced without harming the rain forest.
You might have noticed that red palm oil is having a nutritional moment. For good reason, it is said to help reverse cholesterol, support the brain, contribute to a healthy hear. In this shortening, it is non hydrogenated and provides antioxidants as well as vitamins A & E.
The coconut oil provides nutrient-rich lauric acid. I use Nutiva brand but there are other plant-based shortenings as well.
Oat Flour: The final ingredient. This addition allows for smooth, perfect piping of this frosting, and oat flour brings fiber that aids digestion, as well as some essential nutrients not found in most foods. Oat flour is basically rolled oats ground into flour.
And you can actually make oat flour that way, but for the sake of a smoothie frosting texture, I'd advise that you buy oat flour. It's easy to find online and in many grocery stories. And it's fine to eat it raw; no need to heat treat as you would white flour.
Customize
I made chocolate chip cookie dough frosting so I used Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips. I chose to use 60% cacao because that is what my mini chips were, and mini chips are best for this frosting so as to not weigh it down. Enjoylife is my favorite mini chip brand.
But this frosting is easy to customize further. Fold in rainbow sprinkles for a funfetti cookie dough frosting, or chocolate sprinkles for a lighter chocolate chip cookie dough frosting, or even streaks of nut butter for a peanut butter cookie dough frosting. The options are endless.
How to Make
This frosting is as easy to make as any basic buttercream frosting.
Step 1: Set the butter sticks out to reach room temperature, about two hours or overnight.
Step 2: Cream the butter, shortening and vanilla together until, well, creamy. I add about 3 tablespoon of my favorite milk here. Almond milk works, so does coconut cream or any other milk you have on hand.
Step 3: Pour in the powdered sugar and flour. No need to sift. I mix this up with a hand mixer.
Step 4: Fold in chips and spoon frosting into frosting bags, or slather on cupcakes or a cake. I don't refrigerate in order to pipe it, the frosting holds any piping shape quite nicely. And as it dries, it creates a tiny stiff surface, just like a bakery cupcake.
How Much Frosting Does This Recipe Make?
This recipe makes enough frosting to frost about 18 cupcakes or 1 (2-layer) cake.
How to Store
Refrigerate the frosting in a sealed container for a week, or freeze for 3 months. Keep frosted baked goods at However, I keep frosting cupcakes on the counter at room temperature for about 24 hours. After that I refrigerate them.
Other Frosting Recipes
Vegan Royal Icing for Sugar Cooking Decorating
I invite you to keep up with me on: Facebook | Pinterest | Instagram | Twitter
Don't miss a thing, subscribe here to get recipes delivered to your inbox!
If you try my recipes, please leave a comment and rating below and tag me on your Instagram post with @greensmoothiegourmet so I can see and share your remakes!!
📖 Recipe
Cookie Dough Frosting
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter I used Earth Balance vegan butter
- ½ cup shortening I used Nutiva organic plant-based shortening
- 5 cups organic powdered sugar
- ¾ cup light brown sugar
- ½ cup oat flour
- 2 teaspoon vanilla
- ¼ cup milk Or more for texture. I used almond milk
- ½ cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
Cookie Dough Buttercream
- Set the butter stick out to reach room temperature, about two hours or overnight.
- Cream the butter, shortening and vanilla together until, well, creamy. Add the milk and cream again.1 cup butter, ½ cup shortening, 2 teaspoon vanilla, ¼ cup milk
- Pour in both sugars and oat flour. No need to sift. I mix this up with a hand mixer.5 cups organic powdered sugar, ½ cup oat flour, ¾ cup light brown sugar
- Fold in mini chocolate chips.*½ cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
- Spoon frosting into frosting bags, or slather on cupcakes or a cake.
Store
- Refrigerate unused frosting for a week; freeze for three months. Frosted cupcakes or cake can be at room temperature for 1 day and refrigerated after that.
Leave a Reply