Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting

We got the Christmas tree. Ryan and I took the twins in the stroller to the lot three blocks over and they looked at the trees with the expression of two people who have never encountered trees indoors before, which they have not. Owen reached for every branch we walked past. Nora stared at the lights on the lot display with complete focused intensity. Ryan picked a seven-footer. We carried it home in shifts because Ryan cannot carry a seven-foot tree and also push a stroller.

The ornaments are a combination of: the box of ornaments Ryan had when we got married, a set of glass ones I have had since college, three ornaments from our first Christmas in this apartment, and the new ones Patty bought, which are a small lion and a small pumpkin. She did not explain this. She did not need to.

Owen pulled one ornament off the tree on the first night. He looked at it, found it acceptable, and put it in his mouth. Ryan removed it from his mouth. Owen looked at Ryan with an expression that suggested this was an unreasonable restriction on his freedom. We moved the bottom third of the ornaments to the upper two-thirds. This is called toddler-proofing the holiday season.

I made a batch of sugar cookies this weekend and put both babies in their highchairs with crackers to watch while I decorated. Nora watched with intense focus. Owen ate his crackers methodically. The sugar cookies are for Ryan's firehouse Christmas party. I wrote "the Kowalczyks" on the container in marker and felt the specific small pleasure of that, of being a family that sends cookies somewhere.

The sugar cookies needed something worthy of Ryan’s firehouse — something a little brighter and more celebratory than plain vanilla buttercream. I landed on a strawberry cream cheese frosting, and it turned out to be exactly right: sweet and a little tangy, the kind of pink that looks intentional on a holiday cookie tray. Nora watched me mix it from her highchair like she was studying for a future career in baking. I didn’t mind the audience one bit.

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 0 minutes | Total Time: 10 minutes | Servings: 24 cookies (approximately)

Ingredients

8 oz cream cheese, softened to room temperature
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1/3 cup fresh or frozen strawberries, hulled and finely chopped
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon heavy cream or milk, as needed for consistency
Pinch of salt

Instructions

Prepare the strawberries. If using fresh strawberries, hull and finely chop them, then pat dry with a paper towel to remove excess moisture. If using frozen, thaw completely and drain well before chopping.
Beat the cream cheese and butter. In a large mixing bowl, beat the softened cream cheese and butter together on medium-high speed for 2—3 minutes until light, smooth, and fully combined with no lumps.
Add the vanilla and salt. Mix in the vanilla extract and pinch of salt until incorporated.
Incorporate the powdered sugar. With the mixer on low, gradually add the sifted powdered sugar one cup at a time, mixing between each addition to avoid a sugar cloud. Once all the sugar is added, increase speed to medium and beat for 1 minute until fluffy.
Fold in the strawberries. Add the chopped strawberries and gently fold them in with a spatula until evenly distributed. The berries will tint the frosting a natural pink and add small bursts of fruit flavor throughout.
Adjust consistency. If the frosting is too thick to spread or pipe, add heavy cream or milk one teaspoon at a time, mixing between additions, until you reach your desired consistency.
Frost and serve. Spread or pipe onto cooled sugar cookies. For the cleanest look, refrigerate frosted cookies for 15 minutes to let the frosting set before stacking or packaging.

Nutrition (per serving)

Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting — The Batch That Made Us Feel Like a Family