Spring just barely started like a week and a half ago and I am already excited for the flavors of summer! These Root Beer Cookies are phenomenal! Seriously life changing! The root beer concentrate flavors the cookie just like the soda pop and the vanilla buttercream gives it that ice cream flavor of a root beer float. We love root beer floats and good old Root Beer Freezes! (If you don’t know what a root beer freeze is, it’s a root beer float that has been blended up like a shake.)
These Root Beer Float Cookies take me right to summer, sitting in the yard watching my kids run through the sprinklers while I bask in the sun! It’s wonderful!
And I don’t know if you all have noticed, but I am starting to love sandwich cookies (remember the carrot cake whoopie pies that I made a few weeks ago?). You can of course frost the tops of these and keep them solo, but there is just something delicious about a sandwich cookie. I think it’s the fact that I like more cookie than frosting, so it balances out well.
If you are looking to try a new cookie, this is THE ONE! Do it! You know you want to!
Root Beer Float Cookies
Ingredients
Root Beer Cookie:
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 cups light brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 tsp McCormick Root Beer Concentrate
- 3 1/4 cup flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
Vanilla Buttercream:
- 6 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
- 6 Tbsp solid coconut oil (or shortening/crisco)
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla
- 1 1/2 Tbsp milk
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and brown sugar with the paddle attachment. Add eggs and root beer concentrate. Mix and scrape the bowl well.
- In a separate bowl, combine the flour, salt and baking soda. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture until combined.
- Using a #50 scoop (about 1½ Tbsp) scoop cookie dough balls and place them on a parchment lined baking sheet.
- Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 12 to 13 minutes (until the edges are set).
- To make the buttercream: Place the butter and coconut oil in a large bowl. Using a hand mixer, beat the mixture until smooth. Add about half of the powdered sugar, and all of the vanilla and milk. Mix well. Then add the remaining powdered sugar. Mix until combined.
- Place buttercream in a sandwich size zip-top bag with the corner cut off, and zip the bag shut. Squeeze/pipe icing onto the bottom of a cookie, then top the buttercream with another cookie, forming a sandwich cookie. Repeat with the remaining cookies. Store in an airtight container.
Recipe Notes
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Recipe lightly altered from Chocolate, Chocolate and More
Aimee @ Like Mother Like Daughter says
Mmmm Amber, rootbeer floats are one of my favorite treats. These cookies look and sound awesome!
Amber says
We are big root beer fans over here so these cookies were just perfect!
triedandtasty says
These look so pretty! I wish I liked rootbeer, but sadly I don’t! I’m sure they were wonderful though. 🙂
Amber says
Thanks, but I can’t believe you don’t like root beer! Lol.
Kami says
These looks so yummy and look very soft!! I think I will love them!
Amber says
They are fabulous! Enjoy!
Becky @ lovetobeinthekitchen says
What a fun idea! Root beer floats are always so good but I’ve never tried Root Beer Float Cookies before. Pinned these!
Amber says
I seriously have fallen in love with these cookies! They are summer in a bite!
Lauren Allen says
What a great idea! I love sandwich cookies too! I’ll have to try these!
Amber says
For sure! I hope you like them!
Jessica @ A Kitchen Addiction says
What perfect flavors for a sandwich cookie!
Amber says
Thanks Jessica! They are a new favorite!
[email protected] says
I can’t wait to try these. Thanks!
Amber says
I hope you love them as much as we did!
Becky @ Project Domestication says
Amber, these look so good! We make a root beer bundt cake (from the BAKED cookbook) during the summer that is so fun. Now I need to add these to our summer baking list.
Amber says
Root beer bundt cake?! I need to make that next!
Kayley | The Kitchen McCabe says
I’ve never seen root beer float cookies and these look amazing! The pictures are lovely too =)
Amber says
They were fabulous, thanks!
fittingintovegan says
I didn’t know they made Root Beer Concentrate! How awesome, and now I really need to try this recipe!!!
Amber says
Yes ma’am! It’s made by McCormick and homemade root beer is the best! Enjoy!
[email protected] in the kitchen says
These cookies look amazing Amber!!
Veronica says
What a GREAT idea! These cookies look fantastic! Visiting from the Time to Sparkle link party!
Jodi says
These sound amazing!
Frankie N. says
These cookies sound so fun for a picnic. Would a tiny amount of the root beer concentrate work in the icing or would it be too much? Thanks.
Amber says
You know, the concentrate is pretty strong, so I would just keep it to the cookie part.
Katie says
I loved these! I added an extra half tsp of root beer concentrate to the cookie dough on my second batch. Love that flavor, and the icing Ruth coconut oil really works. My only complaint is that I wanted a bigger batch, lol :)!
Amber says
So glad you liked them! I’ve got another root beer recipe coming up Sunday so you can use up the rest of your root beer concentrate 🙂
Jen says
What aboutnfreezing them ? With or without icing ?
Amber says
I would freeze without the icing, but if you do freeze them with the icing, double wrap them individually, and they should be okay.
Sarabeth says
I was just wondering this exact same thing!! So glad I read the comments! Thank you these look amazing and my daughter is planning on sending them to our county fair this summer!
Leah says
Just made cookies from this recipe. Couldn’t find the root beer concentrate so decided to use maple instead and they came out great! My entire family is loving them!
Amber says
Wow, that sounds awesome! So glad you are enjoying them!
Bob says
Just finished making these cookies. It was lots of fun. They look wonderful and taste like coconut. I followed your directions exactly. The coconut center overwhelms the root beer flavored cookie. If I followed direction with precision why the flavor clash? Has anyone else experienced this? What’s your advice on correcting the clash. Just not enough true root beer flavor. I used Root beer extract from “Cooks Vanilla company” I’m told they are the finest purveyors of flavor extracts and spices. Maybe next time I ‘ll leave out the coconut solid oil.
Amber says
Huh, I’m sorry! You can alternately use shortening in the frosting, we just love using coconut oil instead of shortening in recipes. That should help with the overwhelming coconut flavor. I’m interested to know what brand of coconut oil you used? I also used McCormick Root Beer Concentrate, it’s what you make the soda with, so it’s quite strong.
Paige Theobald says
I followed the recipe to a “t”, but my cookies turned out more fluffy than flat and were very light colored. They tasted great, but didn’t look anything like your pictures. Any suggestions on what I could do different?
Amber says
There are a few things I can think of.
The brand of Root Beer Extract might have been different. I used McCormick brand.
The reason why it would be puffy would most likely have something to do with the amount of flour. Did you stir it before measuring? If you measure flour straight from the bag/container it will be settled, resulting in extra flour used. If you stir it up before measuring, it incorporates air into the flour and you end up using slightly less. It ends up being approximately 2 TBSP more flour per cup without stirring it first, which can make a big difference in a recipe with 3 1/4 cup flour. (That’s 6 TBSP(+) more flour – 1/2 cup is 8 TBSP.)
Also the softer the butter, the more the cookie spreads, but don’t melt your butter, that’s not ideal.
The last thing I can think of would be an altitude difference. I hope these tips help!
Krystal Hyde Stefonek says
I just made them and I am in love. I really am not a fan of sandwich style cookies but something just appealed (root beer) to me about making them. Thank you for sharing.
Amber says
I’m so glad you liked them! They are a fun unique cookie!
Patti Siems says
I followed the recipe but my cookie didn’t look like your picture and didn’t taste like root beer at all. Also, I used coconut oil in the buttercream and not it seems like that’s all I taste when I sandwich them together. What did I do wrong? I love root beer and want to make these right.
Amber says
Depending on the brand of coconut oil, you will get more or less of that coconut flavor, so feel free to substitute shortening or all butter in the buttercream. You can definitely add more root beer extract until you get the flavor you want as well. As far as how they looked, I’m not sure how to help you, unless I have more information. Were they flatter? Puffier? Something else?
Angela says
I made these cookies and they didn’t spread much at all they were puffy. I used McCormicks root beer flavouring. Do you sift the flour, scoop or spoon it into the measuring cup? The only thing I can think of is the amount of flour. Thanks they are tasty!
Amber says
Hi Angela,
Flour settles when it’s stored, so I usually stir my flour before measuring it, to lighten it up and incorporate some air into it. You could try spooning it into the measuring cup next time. You can also try melting your butter to see if that helps them spread more. Mine turned out pretty thin, so I’m surprised yours were puffy. Could be an altitude thing too, but definitely try lightly measuring the flour next time. Glad you liked the flavor!