3 Simple and Easy Decorated Sugar Cookies Ideas: A Tutorial for Beginners

Learn 3 super simple and easy decorated sugar cookies ideas below!

Decorating sugar cookies can be super fun since there are so many possible ways to decorate them! Unfortunately, almost all of the tutorials out there for decorated sugar cookies involve royal icing and a lot of patience, haha.

Now, these sugar cookies decorated with royal icing are certainly beautiful and I would even say fun to make for people who are feeling both artsy and patient at the same time. And sometimes I am that person, too.

But let’s be honest—most of the time we’re too busy with the day to day work of parenting, working, and maintaining a household to have the time and mental energy to pour into crafting jaw-droppingly gorgeous cookies.

So I wanted to make a super simple and easy decorated sugar cookie tutorial for bakers who just want some stress-free, pretty cookies that don’t take a lot of time.

Plus, buttercream frosting on sugar cookies tastes way better than royal icing. I’m just saying… 😉

So will this easy tutorial turn you into a Food Network baking champion? No.

But will it help you bust out a ton of fun sugar cookies fast that you won’t be embarrassed to give out to your friends? Heck yeah!

If you need great sugar cookie and frosting recipes, check out the ones I use here.

Ok, let’s get started!

Easy Decorated Sugar Cookies

First off, get out your piping bag! Don’t even think of using a knife or spatula. If you don’t have any piping bags, you can get some reusable ones here or a box of single-use ones here.

Attach a star tip to your bag—I used tip number 18, but you could use any one you like.

Fill your bag with frosting, and you’re ready to go!

Method 1: Zig Zag

For the first super simple decorating method I’m going to show you, simply pipe the frosting back and forth across the cookie until it’s covered.

And that’s it! You’ve got a lovely cookie with frosting that actually tastes good and it only took a few seconds. That’s what I’m talking about!

Method 2: Spiral

The next method is just as easy—simply pipe the frosting around the edges of the cookie and then keep going on in until the whole cookie is covered in frosting.

Easy peasy, ya’ll!

Method 3: Stars

Ok, so this one takes a little more than a few seconds, but it’s still really fast.

Just angle your piping tip perpendicular to your cookie so it’s almost touching it but not quite. Then, without moving the piping bag away at all, squeeze out the frosting with a consistent pressure until you have a little starburst. Don’t move the piping bag away from the cookie until you’ve stopped squeezing it— then just pull it straight up and away.

Then make another star right next to the first one, and just keep going until the cookie is all covered.

SO EASY!!

Adding Sprinkles

Ok, so maybe you’re an overachiever and just aren’t satisfied with letting decorating your sugar cookies be this easy. In that case, you can take it up a notch with sprinkles!

Alright, so sprinkles aren’t exactly a fancy decorating trick or anything—I know, I know. I just wanted to include them here because I often see people just dumping sprinkles on their cookies straight from the sprinkle container.

And that’s ok if you don’t mind your cookies having that playful, childlike style to them. But if that’s what you’re going for, then I suggest you put two tablespoons of sprinkles on each cookie, but only on one side. 😉

If you want your sugar cookies to be slightly more intentionally decorated, I recommend applying the sprinkles with your fingers. I’m not saying that you have to individually place each one, of course. But getting a pinch between your thumb and forefinger and sprinkling that on your cookie will always come out more evenly than trying to sprinkle directly from the container.

And there you have it!  Super easy and simple sugar cookie decorating that even the least artistically inclined baker can pull off!

Seriously– I’ve hosted tons of cookie decorating parties with my friends and their kids and only the very youngest (I’m talking like 2 years old) can’t handle decorating cookies with buttercream in a piping bag.

And as a bonus, it’s actually faster than trying to spread frosting on with a knife. 😊

If these methods are just too easy for you and you’d like something a little more challenging, check out my cozy sweater sugar cookie tutorial.

So what is the next occasion that you’re going to bust out your new-found cookie decorating skills for? Let me know in the comments!