Cut-Out Sugar Cookies

A perfect cut-out sugar cookie that holds it shape after baking! Decorate with icing or frosting for a real stand out cookie this holiday season! These cookies are made with just 7 simple ingredients and can be made ahead of time!

 

Tis the season for all things cookie related! Bring on the powdered sugar and butter in mass quantities.

And amidst all the cookie swap recipes out there like my peanut butter chocolate kiss cookies, classic gingerbread man cookies, or my Russian Tea cake cookies, the one that stands alone time and time again. The classic cut-out sugar cookie. Every self respected cookie platter has a sugar cookie adorning it in some cute shape.

These sugar cookies are made in one bowl with just a few staple ingredients. They use powdered sugar which keeps them super soft. And there’s no baking powder so they don’t spread in the oven and keep their shape. So they are perfect for decorating!

Ingredients Needed

• Unsalted Butter – I always recommend unsalted butter so you can control the amount of salt. And make sure it’s softened properly. Here are How To Soften Butter Fast (3 ways!) If you do use salted butter, reduce the added salt.
• Powdered Sugar – This cookie uses powdered sugar and not granulated sugar which creates a softer cookie. Here is my homemade powdered sugar recipe.
• Flour– I used regular all-purpose flour for this recipe. Just make sure to measure your flour correctly by spooning it into your cup, and leveling it off. Do not pack it down into the cup. Or measure with a kitchen scale for best accuracy.
• Salt 
• Egg – Make you are using a room temperature egg otherwise it will seize up the butter. I place mine in a warm bowl of water for 10 minutes before using. 
• Vanilla and almond extract – I like adding both but you can omit the almond and simply use just vanilla extract.

How To Make These Cut Out Sugar Cookies

Making the cookie dough

Cream butter and powdered sugar together. You want to then make the dough by creaming together your butter first for a few minutes to make it light and fluffy. Then add in your powdered sugar together in your stand mixer and beat to combine. You can also use a hand mixer but it will take a bit longer.

Add remaining wet ingredients. And then add in the egg, vanilla extract, almond extract. Beat on low speed to combine.

Sift in the salt and flour. You want to sift in the flour and salt so it helps aerate the flour and create soft, fluffy cookie. Do not overmix at this point as it will create a tough cookie. Then place dough onto a piece of plastic wrap and shape and flatten into a disc. Wrap and chill for at least 6 0 minutes until firm.

It’s important you chill the cookie dough at this point because the dough is too soft at this point to roll out. You can also let the dough chill up to 3 days, which makes it a great make ahead Christmas cookie recipe!

Prep oven and pans. When you’re ready to bake, start by pre-heating your oven to 375^oF and preparing your cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Rolling out the dough and cutting out the cookies

Roll out the cookie dough. And then roll out the cookie dough on a lightly floured counter with a lightly floured rolling pin until it’s a 1/4-inch thickness. You want to go sparingly with the flour. The more you add to the rolling pin and counter the more it will get worked into your dough and create a dry, tough cookie.

Make sure to not handle the dough too much when rolling it out which can warm up the dough and cause the cookies to spread.

You don’t have to roll out all the cookie dough at once. You can start by cutting the dough in half or in quarters and roll out a smaller portion at a time.

And now it’s time for the fun part! Using your cookie cutters. You want to try to cut out as many cookies as possible on the first roll of the dough. So try to keep your cookie cutters close together. The more you cut out the first time means the less dough scraps you have to roll out the second time which can toughen the cookie dough.

Baking The Cookies

Bake cookies. Before you bake them you could top the cookies with colorful sanding sugar so you don’t have to decorate them after.

Then place the cookies on cookie sheet spaced about 2 inches apart. These will spread a little bit but not as much as other types of cookies as long as your dough hasn’t gotten too warm. When you are rolling out and cutting out your cookies. You can always pop the whole cookie sheet back in the fridge for a few minutes before popping them in the oven.

You want to bake these for about 8-10 minutes until just lightly browned on the bottom but still slightly pale on top, but there should be no rawness. Be careful not to let these cookies brown. Ten minutes worked like magic for me, but hey your oven is not mine. Start with 8 minutes and go from there. I like to have my cookie slightly browned on the bottom and then just a hint on the sides. Watch it carefully. Sugar cookies can go quickly from perfect to overbaked before you know it.

Make sure to allow to cool for 5 minutes before transferring these to a cooling rack before decorating. If you are using the same cookie sheet again and again, make sure it is completely cooled before placing more cookies on for them to bake.

Decorating Sugar Cookies

When it comes to decorating you have a few options. First, you can just sprinkle on sanding sugar before baking and skip the decorating part! Easy peasy.

For frosting the easiest way is to use my sugar cookie glaze. It’s quick to mix up and you can just give the cookies a quick dunk and then add sprinkles. Call it the lazy girl way to decorate. Nothing wrong with that.

I personally love my sugar cookie frosting (it’s similar to my vanilla buttercream frosting but without almond extract) and crusts over so it’s great for stacking cookies and holds up well.

For the fancy decorator in you, try my royal icing recipe! It’s easy to make, made with meringue powder (so no eggs) and you can create really fancy looking sugar cookies.

Storage Instructions

These sugr cookies will keep at room temperature 3 days, covered.

You can also freeze these cookies baked or unbaked. For unbaked cookies, you can freeze the cookie dough disc for up to 3 months. Then thaw overnight in the fridge. Or cut out the cookies, then flash freeze and then transfer to a freezer bag or container unstacked and wrapped in parchment paper. You can always bake them frozen without thawing them first. You will just need to bake them a few minutes longer.

I like to freeze baked cookies unfrosted, and then after they are thawed, ice them. Wrap in plastic wrap or place in a plastic bag and freeze for up to 3 months I wrapped mine in plastic wrap and then put in a large Ziploc bag. When I was ready to make more, I simply pulled it out the freezer and let it defrost on the counter for a few hours.

More Recipes To Try

If you’re craving more easy Christmas cookies, try my Danish butter cookies or my shortbread cookies. They’re great for decorating with sprinkles, dunking in chocolate or just keeping plain!