These cut out sugar cookies are soft, tender cookies made with dough that doesn't spread when baked! They're topped with a simple vanilla glaze that's easy to color and decorate for any season.
Making cut out sugar cookies is a popular family tradition for the holidays. Today I'm sharing the best, most reliable cut out sugar cookie recipe that I trust every year!
These cookies turn out incredibly soft, tender, and hold their shape beautifully when baked in the oven. They taste great too - no dull, boring, or bland sugar cookies here!
The icing on top is a simple recipe made with three ingredients that fully hardens and holds your sprinkles in place. It's easy to color with gel or liquid food coloring and can be spread with a knife or the back of a spoon.
Add these cut out sugar cookies to your next Christmas cookie tray - everyone will be asking you for the recipe! You may also love my maple cut out cookies recipe. They're great for fall and use the same, reliable dough base.
Ingredients and substitutions
- Butter - I recommend using a high quality butter (I like Kerrygold) for the best flavor. If you're using salted butter instead of unsalted, I recommend cutting the listed salt in half.
- Sugar - You'll need granulated sugar for this recipe. I don't recommend substituting with other types of sugar or reducing the amount of sugar listed for best results. Sugar not only sweetens your cookies but adds moisture and ensures your cookies don't turn out dry or bland.
- Eggs - Add moisture and structure to the dough. Eggs are necessary to ensure your cookies don't spread too much in the oven.
- Flour - I've only tested this recipe using all-purpose flour, so I can't say for sure how other flours would turn out. Have a different type of flour on hand? Instead of wasting ingredients, I highly recommend searching for a recipe that's written using the ingredients that you have on hand.
- Vanilla - Adds flavor to the cookies. Vanilla extract can be substituted with other extracts like maple, lemon, or peppermint for a different flavor.
- Salt - Enhances the flavor of the cookies. For best flavor, do not omit or reduce the salt listed in the recipe (unless you're using salted butter).
- Leavening - Baking powder is needed for this recipe, not baking soda. The two are not interchangeable.
- Milk - Needed to create the icing for your cookies. I used whole milk, but any milk (like skim or almond milk) will work here.
- Confectioner's sugar - The base of the icing recipe and necessary to create a smooth, thin icing without any grainy texture.
- Food coloring - Adding color to your icing is optional. I recommend a high quality gel food coloring for bright, vibrant colors. I use AmeriColor Soft Gel Food Paste (Amazon), but any gel or liquid food coloring will work in this recipe.
Tips and tricks
Don't substitute ingredients - Each ingredient serves a purpose in the recipe and shouldn't be substituted or omitted.
Room temperature ingredients - Make sure you're using room temperature ingredients, not melted or cold. Room temperature ingredients emulsify when mixed with the sugar, creating a creamy, even dough.
Chill dough - Once your dough is mixed, wrap it up and place it in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour. Your dough can rest as long as 24 hours if you'd like to make it the day before. Chilling the dough reduces stickiness and makes it easier to roll out. It also helps your cookies spread less while baking in the oven.
Handle dough as little as possible - When you are ready to roll out the dough, try not to handle it too much with your hands. This warms up the dough faster, causing it to spread in the oven.
Dust everything with flour - Think about everything that’s touching the dough: the counter top or parchment paper, cookie cutters, rolling pin, and even your hands. A little flour will help the dough from sticking.
Chill cut cookies before baking - Whether you have issues with cookies spreading or not, I highly recommend chilling your dough for a second time before baking. Place the entire baking sheet into the refrigerator for about 10 minutes before baking.
Cool before icing - Allow your baked cookies to cool completely before adding decorations. Warm cookies can cause icing to slide off and melt.
Add less icing than you think you'll need - This icing is thin and you'll only need maybe ½ teaspoon per cookie. Add less than you think you'll need and carefully spread to the edges using a butter knife, offset spatula, or the back of a spoon. Extra icing will run off the edges.
Add sprinkles while icing is wet - If you'd like to add sprinkles, have them ready and decorate while your icing is wet. This icing dries completely and sprinkles won't stick once it's dry.
Storage
Cut out sugar cookies will keep for 5 to 7 days in a tightly sealed container at room temperature. To help keep cookies fresh, place a slice of bread in the cookie container and replace when it dries out.
Cookies can be frozen for up to three months. To thaw, place on the countertop to bring to room temperature for 1 to 2 hours.
Frequently asked questions
No, these cookies turn out soft and tender throughout. This is due to the proportions of flour/egg/butter as well as the addition of two eggs that help keep the cookies soft.
Here are a few common reasons why your cut out cookies are spreading in the oven and how to prevent this from happening:
- You've greased your baking sheet instead of using parchment. Adding grease to a baking sheet will cause any cookie (not just cut out cookies) to spread more than they should. This recipe calls for lining a baking sheet with parchment instead of using grease.
- Your dough is too warm. If your dough has spent a long time out of the refrigerator or you've handled it too much, it will spread more in the oven. To prevent this, chill your baking sheet with cut out cookies in the refrigerator for 10 minutes before baking.
- Don't place dough on a hot baking sheet. Instead, use two baking sheets and rotate them out, or allow your baking sheet to cool before loading it up with more cookies.
Too much flour will cause your dough to be dry, crumbly, and tough. If your dough is too dry, add 1-2 tablespoons of milk and mix to incorporate. The most accurate way to measure flour is with a kitchen scale (this is what I do and what I recommend to others). If you don't have a scale, spoon your flour into a measuring cup, then level off with a knife. When scooping directly from a bin with a measuring cup, this compacts the flour into the cup, adding up to 25% extra flour to your recipe.
If every recipe you've tried isn't turning out, it may be a matter of the ingredients you're using, the environment, or your technique. It's important to follow the recipe instructions and ingredients exactly without substitutions or variations. I find that most often when a reader has issues with a recipe and they've "followed the recipe to a T", they're making substitutions in the ingredients without realizing that affects the recipe. The ingredient list is made with a purpose and baking is an exact science. Substitutions can't be made without expecting a change in results.
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📖 Recipe
Cut Out Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
Cutout cookies
- ¾ cup (170 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- ¾ cup (148 g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 ¾ cups (330 g) all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
Icing
- 1 cup (113 g) confectioner's sugar
- 1 ½ tablespoons milk
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- gel food coloring, optional
Instructions
Cookies
- In a large bowl with a hand mixer (or stand mixer), cream together butter and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla extract and beat until fluffy, about a minute.
- In a separate bowl, sift (or whisk) together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Add dry ingredients to butter mixture and mix until just combined (do not overmix). Shape dough into two round discs and wrap in wax paper. Refrigerate for 1 hour, or up to 24 hours.
- Preheat oven to 350℉ and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Remove one disc of dough at a time from the refrigerator.
- Dust counter top, rolling pin, and top of dough with flour. Roll dough out to ¼" thickness, dusting with additional flour as needed to prevent sticking. Using cookie cutters, cut into various shapes and place onto prepared baking sheet about 1 inch apart.
- Bake cookies for about 8-9 minutes, or until cookies just begin to lightly brown around edges. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes on baking sheet before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Icing
- In a bowl, combine confectioner's sugar, milk, and vanilla extract, using a whisk if needed to remove clumps. Icing should be smooth and shiny.
- Optionally, divide icing between bowls and add gel food coloring to achieve desired colors.
- Using a small spatula, the back of a spoon, or a butter knife, gently coat each cookie with a thin layer of icing. You'll need very little (maybe ½ teaspoon) for each cookie, depending on size and shape.
- Optionally, add sprinkles while icing is wet.
- Allow cookies to dry for several hours before stacking and/or storing.
Equipment Recommendations
Notes
- Storage: Cut out sugar cookies will keep for 5 to 7 days in a tightly sealed container at room temperature. To help keep cookies fresh, place a slice of bread in the cookie container and replace when it dries out.
- Freezing: Cookies can be frozen for up to three months. To thaw, place on the countertop to bring to room temperature for 1 to 2 hours.
- To prevent spreading: Use parchment, not grease. Chill your dough before rolling out. Chill dough a second time on the baking sheet just before baking. Don't place dough on a hot baking sheet.
- Food coloring: Gel and liquid food coloring both work in this recipe.
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