42 buttercream icing recipes

Three-layer orange cream brownies with a fudgy walnut brownie base, fluffy orange buttercream middle, and a glossy chocolate icing top. The Terry's Chocolate Orange in bar form, cut into 36 perfect bites.

Cocoa thumbprint cookies rolled in sugar and filled with creamy peanut butter frosting. Loaded with chocolate chips and a sweet PB center. Makes 4 dozen irresistible little buttons.

Buttermilk whoopie pies: pillowy chocolate cake cookies sandwiched around fluffy marshmallow buttercream. The classic New England diner dessert, soft, sweet, and snack-cake delicious.

Chocolate mint cookie sandwiches stack slice-and-bake chocolate rounds around a cool mint buttercream, then dip half in semisweet chocolate glaze.

Chocolate maple cake with unsweetened chocolate, folded egg whites, and a maple walnut buttercream frosting. Split into four layers for an impressive celebration cake.

Rich chocolate frosting made with melted unsweetened chocolate, butter, cream, and powdered sugar, decorated with chocolate chips and chocolate kisses. Mrs. Fields copycat.

Tagalong cheesecake turns the peanut-butter-and-chocolate Girl Scout cookie into a dessert. A Tagalong cookie crust, peanut butter cream cheese filling, glossy chocolate ganache and crushed peanuts.

Intensely moist chocolate layer cake with boiling water in the batter, topped with a rich cocoa buttercream frosting flavored with brandy and vanilla.

Pina colada layer cake with a rum-soaked chiffon base, crushed pineapple filling, coconut buttercream frosting, and toasted coconut. The cocktail, in cake form.

Three-layer creme de menthe brownies with a fudgy chocolate base, green mint buttercream middle, and chocolate chip glaze on top. A retro holiday favorite that freezes well.

Soft-baked bars with apples, cranberries, and nuts baked into orange-scented batter, then frosted with tangy orange cream cheese icing. Perfect for holiday cookie trays.

Chocolate sweetheart sandwich cookies with cocoa dough puffed and crackled, filled with vanilla buttercream. Homemade Oreo-style cookies with a rich, creamy center.

Frosted pecan cuplets, bite-sized butter cookies rolled in chopped pecans with a tinted buttercream center. A festive thumbprint cookie for holiday cookie trays.

Moist banana cake made with ripe mashed bananas, buttermilk, and chopped walnuts, finished with buttercream frosting. The best use for those overripe bananas on your counter.

Mile-high three-layer chocolate celebration cake for a crowd, filled with raspberry jam and orange marmalade, frosted with mocha cream cheese buttercream. Party show-stopper.

Three-layer no-bake bars with a crunchy peanut butter cereal base, creamy vanilla buttercream filling, and a glossy chocolate topping. Like a homemade peanut butter cup in bar form, ready without turning on the oven.