I know what you might be thinking: Does the world need another cut out sugar cookie recipe? My answer to that is a resounding, “Yes!” These rolled sugar cookies stand out from the crowd by not only looking great but tasting amazing, too. Best of all, you don’t have the chill the dough! When you want to make sugar cookies from scratch but don’t have time to waste, this is the recipe you need. Pair it with an amazing Sugar Cookie Frosting Recipe and you are all set for Christmas cookie making!
Cut Out Cookies
Christmas just isn’t Christmas without sugar cookies. Many of us grew up rolling out sugar cookie dough in our childhood kitchens, decorating our creations with frosting and candies.
I’ve always loved how much fun sugar cookies are to make and how cute a decorated cookie looks on a platter of treats. There’s something so wonderful and comforting about biting into a big sugar cookie decorated with festive frosting, no matter how old you are.
Christmas Sugar Cookies
What I haven’t always loved about every sugar cookie? The taste.
Let’s face it, a lot of sugar cookies leave something to be desired in the taste department. Some are too sugary sweet while others start soft but get hard and tough after just a day. They’re more about the decorations than the cookies themselves.
I don’t know about you but I want my cookies to taste as good as they look. For a while, these Soft Sugar Cookies have been my favorite surefire tasty sugar cookie recipe. They come out perfectly soft and delicious every time. They are a great copycat Lofthouse Cookie recipe for sure.
There are however two downsides to these cookies.
First, you can’t really shape the soft sugar cookies, for that you need a cut out sugar cookie recipe. Basically I love both of these sugar cookie recipes, but they serve very different purposes.
The other downside to my soft sugar cookie recipe is that the dough has to chill for quite a while in the fridge before you cut and bake them. I don’t know about you but sometimes I’m just not patient enough to wait hours and hours for my cookies! Then there are those occasions when I realize with an hour to spare that I promised to bring homemade cookies to a party.
That’s why a few years ago when my friend Katrina shared her Best Sugar Cookie Recipe, which does not require chilling, I knew I had to try it. No time waiting for the dough to chill in the fridge just mix, cut out, bake and decorate! It really is the perfect cut out sugar cookie recipe!
How to Make Cut Out Sugar Cookies
Everyone needs a good stand-by cut out sugar cookie recipe, especially around the holidays, and this might just become your new favorite. I was amazed by how easy it was to get soft, buttery, sweet sugar cookies from scratch in hardly any time at all.
This would be a fun recipe to make with kids! Let everyone pick out a couple of fun cookie cutter shapes and get rolling!
Frosting Cut Out Sugar Cookies
Rolled Sugar Cookies are extremely versatile and go well with just about any frosting you can imagine. My favorite choice for these is this Sugar Cookie Frosting Recipe.
That said, feel free to try them spreading these cut out sugar cookies with a classic Buttercream Frosting and sprinkles or this Cinnamon Brown Sugar Frosting for something different.
The ingredients for these sugar cookies are all simple pantry staples, too.
Christmas Cookies
If you’re looking for the right sugar cookie recipe for your Christmas cookie party, this is it! Since you don’t have to spend any time chilling the dough, there’ll be even more time for the fun part: decorating. Gather a group of friends, pop on a cheesy Christmas movie and get baking!
While you’re at it, try a few more of my favorite Christmas cookies, too. . .
Make sure to check out my Christmas Cookie Recipes post. You’ll find all of my favorite Christmas cookies gathered together in a single post!
Sugar Cookie Ingredients
Ingredients at a glance, full printable recipe below.
- Butter
- Sugar
- Egg
- Baking Powder
- Flour
How to Make Cut Out Sugar Cookies
Full printable recipe found at the bottom of the post.
1. In the bowl of a stand mixer cream butter and sugar until light and creamy, approximately 3-4 minutes.
2. Add egg and vanilla and mix well to combine.
3. Add one cup of flour, baking powder and salt to the mixture, and stir well to combine. Add additional cup of flour and mix well to combine. Add third and final cup of flour and mix to combine. This is a very thick and dry dough that can be hard to mix, but this helps prevent cookies from spreading. If dough seems too dry, sprinkle a few drops of water on it, but remember, it should be a dry dough.
4. Divide dough in half and roll half out at a time onto a floured surface. Dough should be approximately 1⁄4” thick. Once rolled out, cut with cookie cutters of your choice.
5. Place on a baking sheet leaving approximately 1” space between cookies. While they spread very little, it’s best not to overcrowd them on your baking sheet.
6. Bake in 350 degree oven for 8-10 minutes, until edges are just starting to turn lightly golden brown. Cookies may seem slightly underbaked, but this results in a perfectly soft sugar cookie. Let cool on the cookie sheet until firm enough to transfer to a cooling rack. Repeat with remaining ingredients.
Cut Out Sugar Cookie Recipe
Thanks to Katrina’s Kitchen for this sugar cookie recipe! Make sure to check out her Chocolate Cut Out Cookies Recipe as well!
Cut Out Sugar Cookie Recipe
Equipment
- Cookie Cutters
- Rolling Pin
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 1 cup granulated white sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3 cups all-purpose flour measured correctly*
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- in a large bowl, or bowl of a stand mixer, cream together butter and sugar until very light and fluffy, approxiately 3-4 minutes. Add egg and vanilla and mix until well combined.
- Add one cup of properly measured flour*, along with the baking powder and salt, to the mixture. Stir well to combine. Add one additional cup of flour and stir to combine. Add final cup of flour and stir to combine. This dough can be very thick, dry and hard to mix, but the dry texture is what helps prevent the cookies from spreading. If the dough seems too dry, sprinkle a few drops of water on it, but remember, it should be a dry dough.
- Prepare a clean surface, making sure it's fully dry. Sprinkle with additional flour. Roll dough to approximately 1/4" thick. If you have cracks, you can dip your finger into water and then smooth them out. Once rolled out, cut with cookie cutter. Transfer to a baking sheet, leaving approximately 1" space around each cookie as to not overcrowd them.
- Bake for approximately 8-10 minute, until edges start to lightly brown. For soft cookies, make sure to not overbake, pulling them from the oven as soon as those edges start browning. Let cookies cool on baking sheet for five minutes, then carefully transfer with a spatula to a wire cooling rack. Allow cookies to cool completely prior to decorating.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Disclaimer
Nutrition information is estimated as a courtesy. If using for medical purposes, please verify information using your own nutritional calculator. Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Catherine says
This recipe is terrific! Easy to make and the dough is so easy to handle. I lightly dusted my rolling pin, and it didn’t stick! Since I only had salted butter, I omitted the salt, and I only used 1 tsp baking powder. Made one batch regular and one with 1/4 almond extract added- both were delicious! I’m deleting my other cut out recipes so I don’t use anything else by accident!
Dale says
So easy to make, this is so quick to assemble and bake.
They come out perfect every time. No spread is great.
Heather says
Love this recipe! Works great every time! Would I be able to pre-make this dough then freeze it so I could pull it out thaw then cut and bake?
Christi Johnstone says
Heather, I have not tried so I can’t speak to the results. Let me know if you do!
Heather says
Good news it worked! The thawed dough tasted exactly the same
Christi Johnstone says
Heather, awesome! Thanks for letting me know!
Amanda says
Hello! So I did everything right like it said on the recipe but it was very very crumbly. Is this normal? I found it very annoying and turned me off from the recipe. Maybe I did something wrong but I don’t know!
Christi Johnstone says
Amanda, this is a very dry cookie dough, which is what prevents it from spreading in the oven like so many cut out cookie recipes do, and eliminates the need to chill the dough. Did you bake the cookies?
Allison says
How long do these cookies last after baked?
Christi Johnstone says
About the same as all other sugar cookies, definitely best within a few days, otherwise I’d recommend freezing.