Cream Cheese Icing

Do yourself a favor and make decadent Cream Cheese Icing ASAP to add to your favorite dessert or breakfast! Calling for a handful of ingredients, this smooth and creamy cream cheese frosting recipe is perfect for anything.

Last weekend, we made Joy the Baker’s Cream Cheese Cinnamon Rolls for my friends Elizabeth, Eric and their baby, Hannah.

They were absolutely incredible, and I made this Cream Cheese Frosting for Cinnamon Rolls to go on top of them.

I recommend checking Joy’s recipe out, and I wanted to share the Cream Cheese Icing recipe I whipped up for the rolls because it was perfection.

Why I love this recipe:

Honestly, Cream Cheese Icing for Cinnamon Rolls is something special, totally decadent and incredibly simple to make at home, too. It tastes delightfully tangy with just a little balance of sweetness.

All you need are four ingredients and a pinch of salt…

In about 5 minutes, you’ll have the creamiest, dreamiest frosting imaginable.

Serve on warm cinnamon rolls to really get gooey and perfect!

Please note that this homemade cream cheese frosting has a runnier texture than the type you’d find on a layered cake, like a red velvet cake, spice cake or a carrot cake or even cupcakes.

This recipe was originally developed to drizzle on cinnamon rolls and it is too thin to use in a piping bag, but I am biased and will tell you it is the BEST cream cheese frosting recipe to add to cookies, red velvet waffles, pancakes, etc.

However, you can find my thicker, pipable Cream Cheese Frosting for Cakes and Cupcakes here.

Recipes to use this thinner Cream Cheese Icing with: Guinness Brownies with Cream Cheese Frosting Drizzle | Fresh Strawberry Cupcakes | Spiced Pumpkin Sugar Cookies | Funfetti Sugar Cookie Bars | Chocolate Chip Brownies with Bourbon and Pecans

Looking for more frosting recipes? Check out my Icing Recipe Index.

What you need to make this recipe:

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• Large mixing bowl
• Hand mixer or a stand mixer

Here’s what you’ll need to grab from the grocery store:

• Cream cheese — I recommend using the full-fat cream cheese to get as much flavor as possible out of this recipe. I have not tried this with low-fat cream cheese or nonfat cream cheese. The texture will potentially change and be less luscious if you use one of these.
• Powdered sugar — also known as confectioner’s sugar, this is the sweetener for our frosting.
• Pure vanilla extract — the real deal stuff really makes a difference in the flavor!
• Milk — you can use whatever type of milk you’ve got on hand. I’ve made this with skim milk, as well as whole milk.

When I make icings like this, I like to add a pinch of salt to balance out the sweetness. I won’t count it as a fifth ingredient, but please note that this will help the frosting not taste too sweet.

How to make Cream Cheese Icing

Measure the softened cream cheese into a large bowl. It needs to be at room temperature to blend more easily.

Use an electric mixer to beat the cream cheese, starting slowly so it doesn’t splatter. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.

Add the powdered sugar. Beat until combined with the cream cheese. Be sure to start the blender slowly so the powdered sugar doesn’t fly everywhere.

Pour in the vanilla, and mix to combine. It should smell amazing.

Drizzle the milk slowly into the frosting. Do this very slowly as you blend the ingredients together, keeping an eye on it so it doesn’t become too runny.

Enjoy with cinnamon rolls, cookies, cakes, pancakes and more!

You can spread this onto warm rolls and it will become gooey and delicious.

How to store:

Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 4-5 days.

Let the icing come closer to room temperature to drizzle upon cinnamon rolls or cookies.

Quick tips and tricks to the best Cream Cheese Cinnamon Roll Icing

• Double the recipe and make a double batch if you’re serving a crowd or like a lot of frosting!
• How to store: Transfer the icing into an airtight food storage container. Store in the refrigerator for up to a week.
• Change up the flavors! You can add a little strawberry to make Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting. Swap the vanilla extract with another extract (like maple, lemon, etc.) to give this a different flavor.

More cinnamon roll recipes to try:

• Cranberry Cinnamon Rolls
• Cinnamon Roll Pancakes
• Strawberry Cinnamon Rolls
• Walnut Sticky Buns with Cream Cheese Icing

Want to learn how to make this goodness?

Check it out below…

Cream Cheese Icing

Erin Parker, The Speckled Palate

Do yourself a favor and make decadent Cream Cheese Icing ASAP to add to your favorite dessert or breakfast! Calling for a handful of ingredients, this smooth, creamy and thin cream cheese frosting recipe is perfect for cookies, cinnamon rolls and more!

4.95 from 55 votes

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Servings 8 servings

Calories 160 kcal

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Total Time 5 minutes mins

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 4 oz. cream cheese softened
• 2 cups powdered sugar 260g
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 5g
• 1 tablespoon milk 17g
• Kosher salt to taste

Equipment

• Hand mixer
• Large mixing bowl
• Rubber spatula

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Instructions

 

• Add the softened cream cheese to a large bowl.
• Use a hand mixer to beat the cream cheese, starting slowly so it doesn't splatter. We do this to add air to the cream cheese from the get-go and make the blending easier.
• Sprinkle in the powdered sugar, and beat until combined with the cream cheese. (Be sure to start the mixer on low so that the powdered sugar doesn't fly everywhere.)
• Pour in the vanilla, and mix to combine.
• Drizzle the milk into the icing slowly, running the hand mixer at the same time. We don't want the icing to become runny, though you might like yours thicker or thinner depending on your personal tastes.
• Add milk until the icing is the correct consistency.
• Spread the icing on top of your dessert or breakfast of choice. (It works great for cinnamon rolls, cupcakes, cake, pancakes and more!)

Notes

If you want your icing a little runnier to drizzle it, add an additional tablespoon of milk.

Quick tips and tricks to the best Cream Cheese Cinnamon Roll Icing

• Double the recipe if you’re serving a crowd or like a lot of frosting!
• How to store: Transfer the icing into an airtight food storage container. Store in the refrigerator for up to a week.
• Change up the flavors! You can add a little strawberry to make Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting. Swap the vanilla extract with another extract (like maple, lemon, etc.) to give this a different flavor.

Nutrition

Serving: 1 servingCalories: 160kcalCarbohydrates: 28gProtein: 1gFat: 5gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 15mgSodium: 47mgSugar: 28g

Keyword cream cheese, cream cheese icing, dessert, dessert recipe, easy dessert recipe, easy frosting recipe, frosting, frosting recipe, homemade frosting, homemade icing, icing, icing recipe, no bake dessert, no bake dessert recipe, no bake desserts, powdered sugar

Course Desserts & Sweet Treats

Cuisine American

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