Brown Sugar Frosting, Penuche Frosting, is a thick, creamy frosting with a distinct depth of brown sugar flavor. I would say it is a bit “heavier” in flavor than your run-of-the-mill buttercream or sugar cookie frosting. This is my Grandma’s brown sugar frosting, and when I read the recipe, I was intrigued, when I was a kid, I would eat brown sugar plain whenever I would make cookies, so the thought of brown sugar frosting sounded delightful, especially on the sugar cookies I was about to make! This frosting is one of the best I have tried, perfectly spreadable, creamy, and rich with flavor. Because of the brown sugar, I was curious to see how the end color was going to be, it is light brown but easily able to be dyed with food coloring to the desired color!
Ingredients you will need
This is a simple frosting recipe that does not take too many ingredients, most of which you will likely find in your pantry already!
- Butter
- Brown Sugar
- Milk
- Powdered Sugar
Recipe Tips & Tricks
The brown sugar gives this frosting a really earthy brown tone to it, which would look great if you are going for a “rustic” natural look. If you are looking for colors, have no fear! Food dye works great, and I had great success using gel food coloring. See the photo 😉
The recipe calls for 2 cups of powdered sugar, this makes it a very thick frosting, and because you boil it, it may stiffen a bit. To counter this, I added vanilla extract to smooth out the frosting. I did this after I added the food coloring, and it doesn’t take much! You can also add as much powdered sugar to reach the thickness desired, if you want more of a glaze, don’t add all 2 cups! But the more powdered sugar you add, the lighter the brown color will be!
You will thank yourself for using a nonstick saucepan! They make cleaning up 10x easier! These are my favorites, and they are amazing quality.
Brown Sugar Frosting Video Tutorial
How to Make Brown Sugar Frosting
- In a saucepan, melt the butter. Once it is melted, add the brown sugar. Stirring constantly, bring the mixture to a boil, and let it boil for 2 minutes.
- Lower the heat, and add the milk slowly and gradually. If you add the milk too quickly it will scorch. Bring the mixture just back up to a boil then remove from heat.
- Allow the mixture to cool until it is lukewarm.
- Gradually stir in the powdered sugar, using a hand mixture to whip the frosting, making it light and creamy. Add enough frosting until your desired thickness.
- If the frosting gets thicker just sitting on the counter, add a bit of vanilla extract.
- Add food coloring if desired!
Brown Sugar Frosting
Ingredients
- ½ cup Butter
- 1 cup Brown Sugar
- ¼ cup Milk
- 2 cups Powdered Sugar
Instructions
- In a saucepan, melt the butter. Once it is melted, add the brown sugar. Stirring constantly, bring the mixture to a boil, and let it boil for 2 minutes.
- Lower the heat, and add the milk slowly. Bring the mixture just back up to a boil then remove from heat.
- Allow the mixture to cool until it is lukewarm.
- Gradully stir in the powdered sugar, using a hand mixture to whip the frosting, making it light and creamy. Add enough frosting until your desired thickness.
- If the frosting gets thicker just sitting on the counter, add a bit of vanilla extract.
- Add food coloring if desired!
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