This easy cutout sugar cookie recipe is the best! It makes soft cookies with lightly crisp edges. The perfect sugar cookie for decorating!
Sugar cookies are such versatile cookies – there’s one for every occasion! This recipe makes amazing sugar cookies for decorating. You can also try Brown Sugar Cookies, these Soft & Chewy Sugar Cookies, and Brown Butter Cut Out Cookies for more ways to enjoy this classic cookie!
Sugar Cookies: A Classic Holiday Cookie Tradition!
Decorating sugar cookies was a holiday tradition for my family growing up. My mom is not a baker but every Christmas she’d get things ready to make Christmas cookies with my brother and I. These caramel clusters were made very year, along with cutout sugar cookies. We’d actually ice the cookies with a traditional buttercream, but I decided to use royal icing this time around.
My mom actually gave me the cookie cutters we used to use a few years ago, figuring I’d get more use out of them now. I used those cookie cutters for these cookies. 🙂
Why I Love These Cut Out Sugar Cookies
I also used the same recipe we’d use – with a few modifications. The original recipe actually spread quite a bit. Not really ideal for cutout cookies.
So I did some playing around with the recipe and got them just right! I’m not going to lie, they spread juuuusssst a tad. It’s really more that they rise a bit. I considered making them a touch thicker so they didn’t spread/rise at all, but honestly I love them just the way they are. Too thick and you end up with a less than appetizing, dry cookie. The spread really isn’t much and as you continue to work with the dough and re-roll it, more flour mixes in and by the time you’re done, there’s no spread at all. The cookies hold their shape great, even when they spread a tad.
You will want to make sure to accurately measure your ingredients for these cookies. The amounts of ingredients – especially the flour – really do need to be correct to ensure your cookies turn out correctly. Too much flour and you’ll have some hard cookies. Too little and they’ll spread too much.
To help with that potential problem, I’ve included weight measurements for those who have a scale. It really is more accurate.
If you’re using a scoop, just be sure not to pack in the flour. I pour my flour into a canister and then scoop it out of there, so it isn’t densely packed but is loose.
How to Make Cutout Sugar Cookies for Decorating
Make the Cookie Dough
To make the dough, start by creaming the butter and sugar together for 3-4 minutes. You should notice the color of the mixture actually get lighter in color and it should get fluffy in texture. Then you’ll mix in the egg and vanilla, then the dry ingredients. It’s a very simple and straightforward recipe as far as the ingredients and method.
The dough will actually be quite thick, even a little crumbly at first. If it doesn’t completely come together with the mixer, use your spatula or hands to press it into a ball.
These Are No Chill Cutout Sugar Cookies
You can definitely refrigerate this cookie dough and make it a few days ahead if you want, but it isn’t required. You can start rolling our cookies as soon as it’s ready.
Shape Your Cut Out Cookies
Sprinkle a little flour onto your surface (I used our countertops). Grab some of the dough – I start with about 1/3 of the dough – and roll it out. If you find your rolling pin sticks to the dough, sprinkle a touch of flour onto it. You’ll want the dough to be 1/8 to a 1/4 inch thick after being rolled out.
Cut out your cookies, making the most of the dough and squeezing in as many cookies as you can. My cookie cutters were fairly big, so I didn’t get quite as many cookies per roll out. Remove the excess dough and lift the cookies with a lightly floured spatula, then place them on a lined cookie sheet. I like to use my silicone baking mat, but parchment paper would work well too.
Bake the Cookies
The cookies bake for 7-9 minutes. You can wait until the edges are just starting to get golden, or remove them a touch sooner. The time might vary a bit between ovens, but 8 minutes was just right for me. Well baked, but not browned. I like mine a little softer.
Once you remove the cookies from the oven, you’ll want to let them sit for 4-5 minutes before removing to a cooling rack. They will be fairly soft until they firm up a bit as they cool, so it’ll be easier to move them once they’ve cooled a bit.
Decorate Your Sugar Cookies
Once the cookies are completely cool, it’s time to ice them with royal icing. It’s really not as scary as it seems, it just takes a little time and you need the right tools. I liked these cutout sugar cookies best once I had the royal icing on them. The icing softens the cookie up a bit from the moisture and results in a seriously perfect decorated sugar cookie.
In fact, I took one with me to Chicago right after I made them so that my friend Julianne from Beyond Frosting could try one. She said it was the best royal icing cookie she’s had! A big compliment. 🙂
If you’re wanting to decorate your cookies with royal icing when they’re ready, check out my post on how to make, color and pipe with royal icing. There’s even a video!
More Christmas Cookie Recipes
- Best Gingerbread Cookies (Soft and Chewy Cutouts)
- Christmas Tree Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake
- White Chocolate Dipped Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies
- Coconut Sugar Cookies
- Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
- No Bake Salted Caramel Coconut Macaroons
- Gingerbread Cookies with Eggnog Icing
- Caramel Stuffed Chocolate Cookies
- Frosted Sugar Cookie Bars
My Favorite Tools For Making These Cookies:
- Silicone baking mat
- Scale, for weighing ingredients
- Parchment paper
- Rolling pin
Watch How To Make Them
Cutout Sugar Cookies
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Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (112g) unsalted butter (room temperature)
- 1 cup (207g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp (5ml) vanilla extract
- 2 1/4 cups (293g) all-purpose flour
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉ and line a cookie sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
- Cream butter and sugar together for 3-4 minutes, until light and fluffy.
- Add egg and vanilla extract and mix until combined.
- Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl, then add to wet ingredients and mix until well combined. Dough will be very thick. You might need to use a spatula or your hands to help it all come together.
- On a lightly floured surface and using smaller amounts of dough at a time, roll out dough to about 1/8 to a 1/4 inch. IF you roll them out too thickly, they might spread a little bit. If the dough sticks to the rolling pin, lightly sprinkle the top of the dough with flour. See my notes about rolling out the cookie dough below.
- Use cookie cutters to cut out cookies, then transfer to cookie sheet. (If you want to be completely sure that they don’t spread even a little, put them on parchment paper and freeze them for 7-8 minutes before baking them.)
- Bake cookies 6-8 minutes. Remove from oven just before they start to brown on the edges.
- Allow cookies to cool for 4-5 minutes, then move to cooling rack to finish cooling.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
The nutrition facts provided are calculated using a third-party tool and are estimates only. Actual nutritional content may vary based on the ingredients and brands you use, as well as portion sizes. For accurate results, please consult a registered dietitian or nutritionist.
Enjoy!
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Categories:
Christmas, Cookies, Fall and Holiday Favorites, Holidays, Recipes, Recipes with video, Sweets and Treats,
Made these today and they are AWESOME. I used salted butter and it was delicious. Thanks for the great recipe!
Wonderful! I’m so glad you are happy with them! 🙂
Does the butter have to be unsalted? Have you used salted butter before?
Yes, I have used salted. If you use salted, just be sure to leave out the addition salt listed.
Can I use margarine instead of butter,
I haven’t tried it, but I don’t think so.
I’m not really sure what I did wrong 🙁 The dough was pulling apart quite a bit and had a tough time combining. After they were baked, they were beautiful and looked soft with lightly crisp edges. But when I bit into them they were dense and very crumbly, not soft. I followed the directions to a T, or so I thought. Any idea where I might have gone wrong?
It sounds like there may have been too much flour. With cookies like these, a little bit more or less can make a big difference which is why I added weight measurements in addition to cups, which can be less accurate since everyone measures cups a little differently. You might be able to save them though. Try icing one of them and letting it sit for a few hours. The moisture from the icing will often times soften cookies up and they might still be ok.
I’m having the same issue right now. I haven’t rolled them out yet cuz I can’t get the dough to hold together enough to do it. It’s all crumbly. What can I do to save it?
Hmm, you could try adding a touch more butter. You’ll want it to be soft so that it’ll incorporate well. Try 1/2 tbsp at a time. I’d hope 1/2 tbsp would be enough. The other option is to try adding 1 tsp of milk at a time, but I’d think butter would be the better option.
I read on the internet you can use Confectionary Sugar to roll out the dough instead of flour. What do you think Lindsay?Thank You!
I haven’t tried it, so I’m not sure. Definitely seems like it’d be worth trying.
I had the exact same problem with my dough, so I kept adding butter by the tablespoon and had added 4-5 tablespoons and still didn’t get the consistency I wanted. I could roll it out but it was very crumbly and most of the cookies broke apart before I could transfer them to the baking sheet.
As a last resort, I threw all the dough back in the mixer and added a second egg. It worked like magic! Dough held together perfectly, it was pliable but not too sticky. And the cookies turned out beautiful! I have NO idea why that worked or what went wrong initially, I checked the garbage to make sure I’d added an egg already and I had! Just a tip if anyone else has this problem. 😊
Is this necessary to add eggs………will it be the same without using egg and what toppings have u used
Yes, the egg is necessary. Without it you actually have more of a shortbread, which is much firmer. I’d suggest royal icing or buttercream for topping the cookies.
Does the butter have to be unsalted?
No, you can use salted butter, just don’t add the salt listed in the recipe if you use salted butter.
Hello, how many cookies would you say come out of one batch? Thanks!
I got about 20 large cookies. If you are using smaller cutters, you might be able to get 35-40.
if my dough is to sticky can I set it in the fridge for a little bit
Yes, you can
Hi, I’m just wondering if the baking powder doesn’t make the cookies puff up too much. Can I opt it or will it interfere in the baking process?
Thank you.
I would suggest leaving it in, but you could try it.
Hi left out the baking powder to make puzzle cookies and they were fine… only difference is crisper cookies which I loved the same way….
Your sugar cookies and decorating skills are perfect!
These are gorgeous. I want to figure out how to do a Chanukah version, but my decorating skills are not as amazing as yours. These are, quite literally, perfect!
Lindsay, like *all* of your baked goods, these are simply gorgeous! I’d like to have one right now to go with my cup of tea.
OMG….not at all what our cookies looked like years ago! Thanks for the memory! Hope you saved me some! They are adorable and I KNOW they will taste great!
Haha! I know right? I actually made more this week, so I’ve got a bunch of them for you tonight. 🙂
These cookies are sooo cute! Your decorations are awesome!
Thank you Katrina!
Can you re-roll the excess dough?
Yes, definitely. I’m sorry if that wasn’t clear. Just mix it in with the rest of the dough and re-roll. I’d suggest trying to get as many cookies out of each roll though so you don’t add too much flour with each re-roll.
Hi Lindsay! Does the butter need to be softened first? Thank you!
It does. Thank you for pointing that out – I’ve addd that above. 🙂
Great, thanks! I look forward to making these with my kids!
Can you tell me where you got the cute Santa cookie cutter?
Gosh, I don’t even know. It’s one my family has had since I was a kid. I’m sorry!
Love this recipe! I love how these cookies came out. They are exactly as promised, crispy on the edges with a softer center.
I enjoyed making them with my chicks and bunnies Easter cookie cutters, then decorated for a wonderful finish. I will be using this recipe for all the holidays, so easy and so goos!!
Awesome! I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed them!
This is the best recipe!!!! Thank you!!!
So glad you enjoyed it!
Can I substitute lemon flavoring instead of vanilla?
Yes, you can.