Baked, non-refrigerated · food 14 of 42
Can I sell buttercream icing from home?
buttercream icing: 39 states allow it outright, 0 allow it conditionally, and 12 prohibit it under their cottage food exemption. The exact requirements vary by state — see the table below.
Allowed if made with butter + sugar (non-TCS)
Free with a Crosodo account. 5-page national report with all 51 US jurisdictions.
National picture
Allowed outright39
Conditional0
Prohibited12
Out of 51 US jurisdictions
Why it's treated this way
The food-safety reasoning
Baked goods reach ≥190°F internal temperature during baking, which destroys vegetative pathogens (Salmonella, E. coli, Listeria). Once cooled, water activity (aw) sits below 0.85 for cookies/breads, which prevents bacterial growth without refrigeration. This is the safest food class for a home kitchen because there's no cold-chain risk and no acidification step to get wrong.
What can go wrong
Real risks in a home kitchen
Cross-contamination from raw eggs used in dough (wash hands, use pasteurized eggs for anything not fully cooked), and allergen labeling (wheat, egg, milk, tree nut, soy).
All 51 US jurisdictions
Buttercream icing — state-by-state verdicts
| State | Verdict | Notes | Statute |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alaska Okay | Yes | Alaska cottage food provisions permit shelf-stable buttercream on baked goods.· state override | AS 17.20.332 |
| Alabama Good | Yes | Alabama cottage food law permits shelf-stable buttercream on baked goods.· state override | Ala. Code §22-20-5.1 |
| Arkansas Freedom | Yes | Arkansas Food Freedom Act (Act 1040) permits shelf-stable buttercream on baked goods DTC.· state override | A.C.A. §20-57-201 (Act 1040 of 2021) |
| Arizona Great | Yes | Arizona Home Baked Goods program allows buttercream made from butter and powdered sugar; egg-based buttercreams (Swiss/Italian) require testing.· state override | A.R.S. §36-931 / §36-932 |
| California Good | Yes | California CFO list permits buttercream frosting made without eggs, cream, or cream cheese. Cream cheese frosting remains prohibited.· state override | Cal. Health & Safety Code §113758 |
| Colorado Great | No | Colorado Cottage Foods Act prohibits buttercream frosting unless made with ghee or vegetable oil. Cream cheese frosting also prohibited.· state override | C.R.S. §25-4-1614 |
| Connecticut Okay | No | Connecticut DCP: buttercream is not allowed unless the recipe uses only shelf-stable ingredients (shortening + sugar + commercial meringue powder) or the finished product is lab-tested.· state override | Conn. Gen. Stat. §21a-62a |
| District of Columbia Okay | Yes | D.C. cottage food law permits shelf-stable buttercream on baked goods.· state override | D.C. Code §7-742.02 |
| Delaware Good | Yes | Delaware cottage food regulations permit shelf-stable buttercream frosting on baked goods.· state override | 16 Del. Admin. Code 4458A |
| Florida Great | No | Florida prohibits buttercream made with real butter as a TCS food (FDACS Cottage Food Operations FAQ). Only shortening / vegetable-oil frostings are permitted. Cream cheese frosting also prohibited.· state override | Fla. Stat. §500.80 |
| Georgia Okay | Yes | Georgia cottage food license permits shelf-stable buttercream on baked goods.· state override | O.C.G.A. §26-2-470 et seq. (eff. July 2025); prior: GA R&R 40-7-19 |
| Hawaii Poor | No | Hawaii home-based bakery rules require frostings to be shelf-stable; butter-based buttercream is not explicitly approved.· state override | HAR §11-50-3 |
| Iowa Good | Yes | Iowa Home Food Processing Establishment rules allow buttercream on baked goods when shelf-stable.· state override | Iowa Code §137F.1 / §137F.20 |
| Idaho Great | Yes | Idaho cottage food provisions permit shelf-stable buttercream on baked goods.· state override | IDAPA 16.02.19 (Idaho Food Code, cottage food provisions) |
| Illinois Great | Yes | Illinois Home-to-Market Act explicitly permits buttercream frosting. Frostings must not contain raw eggs (meringue powder is allowed).· state override | 410 ILCS 625/4 (Food Handling Regulation Enforcement Act, §4) |
| Indiana Great | Yes | Indiana Home-Based Vendor law permits shelf-stable buttercream frosting on baked goods.· state override | Ind. Code §16-42-5.2 |
| Kansas Great | Yes | Kansas cottage food law permits shelf-stable buttercream on baked goods (Kansas has state-tested buttercream recipes on record).· state override | K.S.A. §65-657 |
| Kentucky Okay | Yes | Kentucky home-based processor law permits shelf-stable buttercream on baked goods.· state override | KRS §217.137 |
| Louisiana Okay | Yes | Louisiana cottage food law permits shelf-stable buttercream on baked goods; cream cheese remains excluded.· state override | La. R.S. §40:4.13 |
| Massachusetts Okay | Yes | Massachusetts residential kitchen permits shelf-stable buttercream on baked goods; egg-based buttercreams (Swiss/Italian) require review.· state override | 105 CMR 590.009(D) |
| Maryland Good | No | Maryland prohibits butter-based buttercream unless the recipe is lab-tested and water activity is documented at 0.85 or below.· state override | MD COMAR 10.15.03.27 |
| Maine Freedom | Yes | Maine Food Sovereignty Act permits buttercream frosting DTC in participating municipalities.· state override | 7 M.R.S.A. §282 (Food Sovereignty Act) |
| Michigan Great | No | Michigan permits only two specific buttercream recipes published in the state's approved recipe book. Other buttercreams and cream cheese frostings are prohibited.· state override | MCL §289.4102 |
| Minnesota Great | No | Minnesota cottage food producer registration excludes butter-based buttercream unless lab-tested for water activity.· state override | Minn. Stat. §28A.152 |
| Missouri Great | Yes | Missouri cottage food law permits shelf-stable buttercream on baked goods.· state override | Mo. Rev. Stat. §196.298 |
| Mississippi Good | Yes | Mississippi cottage food law permits shelf-stable buttercream on baked goods.· state override | Miss. Code Ann. §75-29-951 |
| Montana Freedom | Yes | Montana Local Food Choice Act permits buttercream frosting DTC with disclosure.· state override | Mont. Code §50-50-116 and §50-50-117 (cottage food); Mont. Code §§50-49-201 et seq. (Local Food Choice Act) |
| North Carolina Good | Yes | North Carolina cottage food regulations permit shelf-stable buttercream icing on baked goods.· state override | 02 NCAC 9C.0307 |
| North Dakota Freedom | Yes | North Dakota Food Freedom Act permits buttercream frosting DTC with informed-consumer notice.· state override | N.D. Cent. Code §23-09.5-01 through §23-09.5-02 |
| Nebraska Good | Yes | Nebraska cottage food law permits shelf-stable buttercream on baked goods.· state override | Neb. Rev. Stat. §81-2,280 (producer of food at private home); §81-2,239 et seq. (Nebraska Pure Food Act) |
| New Hampshire Good | Yes | New Hampshire homestead food operation allows buttercream frosting on baked goods when shelf-stable.· state override | RSA §143-A:12 |
| New Jersey Poor | No | New Jersey Department of Health explicitly prohibits butter-based buttercream, French/German/Swiss buttercream, cream cheese, meringue, whipped cream, and ganache frostings.· state override | N.J.A.C. 8:24-11 et seq. |
| New Mexico Great | Yes | New Mexico Homemade Food Act permits shelf-stable buttercream on baked goods.· state override | NMSA §25-12-3 (Homemade Food Act) |
| Nevada Okay | Yes | Nevada cottage food law permits shelf-stable buttercream on baked goods.· state override | NRS §446.866 (repealed 2025; superseded by AB352/chapter 420 & 512, Statutes of Nevada 2025) |
| New York Good | No | New York cottage food law prohibits buttercream on cottage baked goods. A 20-C Home Processor license and process approval is required for butter-based frostings.· state override | N.Y. Agric. & Mkts. Law §251-z-4; 1 CRR-NY 276.4 |
| Ohio Good | Yes | Ohio Department of Agriculture confirms buttercream is allowed on baked cottage foods when made without perishable dairy fillings.· state override | O.R.C. §3715.023; §3715.025; Ohio Admin. Code Ch. 901:3-20 |
| Oklahoma Freedom | Yes | Oklahoma Homemade Food Freedom Act permits buttercream frosting DTC.· state override | 2 O.S. §5-4.1 through §5-4.6 (Homemade Food Freedom Act) |
| Oregon Good | Yes | Oregon domestic kitchen permits shelf-stable buttercream frosting on baked goods.· state override | ORS §616.723 |
| Pennsylvania Good | Yes | Pennsylvania Limited Food Establishment allows buttercream on baked goods; cream cheese and whipped cream frostings excluded.· state override | 3 Pa.C.S. §§5721–5737 |
| Rhode Island Poor | No | Rhode Island cottage food regulations exclude butter-based frostings unless lab-tested as non-potentially hazardous.· state override | R.I. Gen. Laws §21-27-6.2 |
| South Carolina Good | Yes | South Carolina allows buttercream frosting on cottage baked goods; not cream cheese or whipped cream frostings.· state override | S.C. Code §44-1-145 |
| South Dakota Good | Yes | South Dakota cottage food law permits shelf-stable buttercream on baked goods.· state override | SDCL §34-18-35 |
| Tennessee Good | Yes | Tennessee Food Freedom Act permits buttercream frosting DTC.· state override | Tenn. Code §53-1-125 (Food Freedom Act) |
| Texas Great | Yes | Texas explicitly allows buttercream icing on cottage baked goods (butter + powdered sugar, no cream/eggs). Non-TCS shelf-stable frostings are permitted.· state override | Tex. Health & Safety §437.001 et seq. |
| Utah Freedom | Yes | Utah HB94 Homemade Food Act permits buttercream frosting DTC with disclosure.· state override | Utah Code §4-5-501 |
| Virginia Good | Yes | Virginia home food processor exemption permits shelf-stable buttercream. VDACS treats butter + powdered sugar frostings as non-TCS.· state override | Va. Code §3.2-5130 |
| Vermont Okay | No | Vermont cottage food exemption excludes butter-based buttercream unless finished product is documented as non-potentially hazardous.· state override | 18 V.S.A. §4351; Act 42 (2025) cottage food operator exemption |
| Washington Good | No | Washington requires a 3:1 non-perishable to perishable ingredient ratio in frostings. Butter-based buttercream typically fails this test; only shortening + sugar frostings meet the rule.· state override | RCW §69.22.010–.040 |
| Wisconsin Freedom | Yes | Wisconsin cottage food law permits shelf-stable buttercream on baked goods.· state override | Wis. Stat. §97.29 |
| West Virginia Good | Yes | West Virginia cottage food law (2026) permits shelf-stable buttercream on baked goods.· state override | W. Va. Code §19-40-1 through §19-40-6 (Article 40, Cottage Foods, enacted 2026); §19-35-6 (Nonpotentially hazardous foods at farmers markets) |
| Wyoming Freedom | Yes | Wyoming Food Freedom Act permits buttercream frosting DTC with informed-consumer disclosure.· state override | Wyo. Stat. §11-49-101 through §11-49-104 (Wyoming Food Freedom Act) |
Take it with you
Get the buttercream icing report as a PDF
5-page national report — verdict tiles, food-safety reasoning, and the complete 51-jurisdiction table with statute citations.
Download the PDFOr read the deeper writeup on the blog post.
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51 yes · 0 conditional · 0 no
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51 yes · 0 conditional · 0 no
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Can I sell muffins?
51 yes · 0 conditional · 0 no
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Can I sell brownies?
51 yes · 0 conditional · 0 no
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Can I sell fruit pies?
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Want all 42 foods in one PDF?
Can I Sell This? The Cottage Food Rulebook
A single 100+ page reference — every food, every state, every verdict, with the sanitation reasoning behind each yes, no, and conditional. Same data as this page, plus 41 other foods.
Fine print
This is a summary of state cottage food statutes as of July 2026, not legal advice. Statutes change; municipal zoning codes update quarterly. Verify with your state's department of agriculture, your local health department, and your city or county's planning office before selling. Crosodo is a clothing brand for cottage bakers, not a law firm.