Peppermint Frosting

This peppermint frosting is fast, easy, and perfectly peppermint! It’s the frosting that makes holiday baking feel festive without any fuss. Spread it on peppermint brownies, cookies, or cakes for festive holiday treats!

I use this American buttercream recipe as the base because it’s forgiving, stable, and incredibly easy to customize. Peppermint extract does all the heavy lifting here. A little goes a long way, so measure carefully. Peppermint would also be a great addition to Swiss meringue buttercream!

This peppermint frosting pairs beautifully with chocolate! It would be great on top of the best red velvet cupcake recipe or these chocolate cupcakes! But it is your kitchen, your rules, so use it on top of this blondie recipe!

Ingredients & Substitutions

• Unsalted Butter: I always use unsalted butter in frostings. It gives you control over the flavor.
• Powdered Sugar: Also called confectioner’s sugar or 10x sugar. Sift it if you want ultra-smooth frosting, but I rarely bother. The mixer does the work.
• Peppermint Extract: This is the star. Use pure peppermint extract, not peppermint oil, which is too concentrated. Start with less and add more to taste. I use McCormick or Nielsen Massey’s.
• Heavy Cream: This lightens the frosting and makes it fluffy. You can substitute whole milk in a pinch, but the frosting won’t be quite as rich or whip up as light.

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

Variations for Peppermint Frosting

• Add crushed candy canes. Fold in about 1/2 cup of finely crushed candy canes for texture and extra peppermint punch. This works best if you’re spreading the frosting rather than piping it. And you should use this frosting as soon as you add the candy canes; prolonged storage will cause the candy canes to melt.
• Make it festive with food coloring. A few drops of red or green gel food coloring turn this into a show-stopping holiday frosting. Or swirl red with white on top of cupcakes for a great peppermint swirl!
• For chocolate peppermint: Add 2-3 tablespoons Dutch-processed cocoa powder with the powdered sugar. You can also make my chocolate buttercream frosting recipe and replace the vanilla extract with peppermint extract!

Professional Tips

• Soften your butter properly. The butter should be soft enough to press your finger into, but still cool to the touch. Too soft, and the frosting gets soupy. Too cold and it won’t whip up light and fluffy.
• Add peppermint extract carefully. Start with the amount listed in the recipe, then taste. You can always add more, but you can’t take it back once it’s too strong.
• For smooth buttercream: Switch back to the paddle after whisking and mix on low speed for 2-3 minutes to remove the air bubbles. This will make the buttercream denser and will not frost as many cupcakes or cover as much cake, but it will give a smoother finish to a frosted cake.

How to Make Peppermint Frosting

Use these instructions to make this easy peppermint buttercream frosting! Further details and measurements can be found in the recipe card below.

Step 1: Soften and smooth the butter. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium-high speed until smooth and slightly lightened.

Step 2: Slowly incorporate the sugar. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the powdered sugar ½ cup at a time, allowing it to mix in completely before adding the next batch (photo 1).

Just like when making cream cheese frosting for cookies, if your powdered sugar is on the lumpy side, I would sift it before adding it to the butter. Some of those lumps can be pretty stubborn.

Step 3: Flavor with peppermint. Once all the sugar has been incorporated, add the peppermint extract and mix on medium speed until smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula to ensure the extract is evenly distributed (photo 2).

Step 4: Whip until light and fluffy. Switch to the whisk attachment. Add heavy cream and whisk on high until light, fluffy, and white. You can add additional cream until you reach the right consistency (photos 3 & 4).

Recipe FAQs

Before You Go

I hope you enjoyed this professional chef-tested holiday recipe. Check out our other delicious and easy buttercream and frosting recipes, like my personal favorite, this ermine frosting recipe!