Crumbl Pink Sugar Cookie Recipe With Almond Frosting

Pink Sugar is one of the few Crumbl cookies that stays on the menu nearly every week, and the bakery describes it simply: “a classic almond sugar cookie topped with a silky pink swoop of real almond frosting.” The flavor people try to recreate is almond, not strawberry or vanilla. The color is only food coloring.

It is also served chilled. A cold cookie tastes denser and less sweet, and the frosting has the texture of firm fudge rather than soft buttercream. That serving temperature is as much a part of the recipe as the ingredients. If you want a plainer vanilla version with a piped swirl, use our soft Crumbl sugar cookie recipe instead; this page is the almond one.

The role of sour cream

Half a cup of full-fat sour cream is the ingredient that makes this cookie soft and cakey. Its acid reacts with the baking soda for a gentle rise, and its fat keeps the crumb tender even straight from the fridge. Low-fat sour cream or yogurt makes a wetter, flatter cookie.

How much almond extract

Almond extract is strong. One teaspoon in the dough and one in the frosting gives a clear almond flavor without the bitter, medicinal note that comes from too much. Measure it level.

Because the bakery cookie lists almonds and tree nuts, read the Pink Sugar ingredient notes before you bake for someone with a nut allergy.

1. Whisk the dry ingredients. Whisk the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
2. Cream butter and sugar. Beat the butter and sugar for 2 minutes until creamy.
3. Add the wet ingredients. Beat in the egg and yolk, then the sour cream, almond extract, and vanilla.
4. Finish the dough. Mix in the dry ingredients on low until a soft, slightly sticky dough forms.
5. Shape and chill. Scoop 12 portions of about 97 g, roll into balls, press into discs about 3 inches wide and 3/4 inch thick, and chill 30 minutes.
6. Bake. Bake at 350°F (175°C) for 8 to 10 minutes, until the tops are set and no longer shiny but the cookies are still pale.
7. Cool. Cool completely, about 1 hour, so the frosting does not melt.
8. Make the pink frosting. Beat the butter until smooth, add the powdered sugar gradually, then the cream, almond extract, vanilla, and salt. Tint with one drop of pink gel at a time.
9. Frost and chill. Spread a thick layer, about 3 tablespoons, on each cookie with an offset spatula, making a swoop in the center. Chill 20 minutes before serving.

The dough is softer than most cookie doughs because of the sour cream. If it is too sticky to roll, chill the whole bowl for 15 minutes before scooping, and lightly flour your hands.

Bake at 350°F (175°C) on the middle rack for 8 to 10 minutes. The tops should look set and matte, not shiny, and the bottoms should be barely golden. These cookies bake faster than the chocolate chip copycat because the dough is wetter and the discs are flatter. Over-baked by even 2 minutes, they turn dry and lose the dense, cold-cookie texture.

A cookie that is meant to be eaten cold has a different problem from a warm one: butter hardens in the fridge. Sour cream and the extra yolk add moisture and emulsifiers, so the crumb stays soft at fridge temperature. The tablespoon of cornstarch keeps it tender rather than chewy.

Pressing the dough into discs gives the flat surface the frosting needs. Chilling the shaped discs keeps them from spreading, and baking them pale keeps the edges soft enough to bite through cleanly when cold.

The frosting needs to be thicker than a typical buttercream so it holds a swoop and firms up in the fridge. That is why it uses 3 1/2 cups of powdered sugar to one stick of butter. Beat the butter until it is very smooth before adding the sugar, then thin it with cream until it spreads like soft peanut butter.

For the color, use gel coloring, not liquid. One small drop gives the pale pink of the bakery cookie; two gives a brighter bubblegum pink. Add it with the last of the cream so it mixes in evenly.

To make the swoop, put about 3 tablespoons of frosting in the center of a cooled cookie, spread it almost to the edge with an offset spatula, then set the tip of the spatula in the center and turn the cookie a full circle. Chill for 20 minutes so the frosting sets.

• Valentine’s hearts: roll the dough 3/4 inch thick, cut hearts, and bake 7 to 9 minutes.
• Vanilla only: swap the almond extract for vanilla for a nut-free flavor.
• Sprinkles: add pink nonpareils on the frosting for a birthday look.
• Mini pink sugar cookies: scoop 35 g portions and bake 7 minutes for a tray of bite-size cookies.

Store frosted cookies in a single layer in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. They are meant to be eaten cold, so there is no need to bring them to room temperature. Unfrosted cookies freeze for 2 months, and the frosting freezes separately for 3 months.

The bakery figures are copied from Crumbl’s official profile (checked 2026-11-09) and sit on our Crumbl Pink Sugar Cookie page. The homemade number is an estimate: we added up standard calorie values for every gram in the ingredient list and divided by 12 cookies, so a bigger or smaller scoop changes it. Pink Sugar is one of the higher-sugar classics on the menu; the full breakdown is on the Crumbl nutrition facts page, and how it ranks against the Chocolate Chip classic is on the calories in Crumbl cookies guide.

Craving the chocolate classic instead? The copycat Crumbl chocolate chip cookie uses the same chill-and-underbake logic. Every recipe in the series is listed on the Crumbl copycat hub.