These Sugar Cookie Cut Out Cookies are perfect every time! Try this recipe to make your Christmas cookies this year! Top these delicious cut-out cookies with buttercream frosting or colorful royal icing and enjoy.
This is the ultimate cut-out sugar cookie recipe. It's the only one you will ever need to make deliciously soft sugar cookies that are perfect for cutting out into shapes for any holiday!
With a hint of almond, these cookies are perfectly crisp on the outside and have wonderfully soft centers. They keep their shape beautifully, without any bulging or unnecessary spreading too.
This sugar cookie recipe is made with simple ingredients and is a great way to get the kids involved in making sweet treats for your Christmas cookie tray.
It's a bonus that these cookies don't spread. What you see is what you get and I LOVE IT!
Make hearts for Valentine's Day, Christmas trees and stars for the holidays, or any other cookie shapes you can think of. This recipe is perfect all year round!
More Cookies to Taste
If you love sugar cookies for the holidays, then you will definitely love this Christmas Sugar Cookie Pie and my Grinch Sugar Cookies! These Chocolate Dipped Christmas Butter Cookies are also a quick and easy treat to make for the holidays, and these Sugar Cookie Bars are great for all kinds of occasions too!
Shopping List
Wet Ingredients. Butter, Egg, Almond Extract
Dry Ingredients. All Purpose Flour, Granulated White Sugar, Baking Powder, Salt
Topping. Sugar Cookie Frosting or Royal Icing
How to Make Sugar Cookie Cut Outs
The first thing you'll want to do is make sure your ingredients are all at room temperature before you begin.
Then, preheat the oven to 375 Degrees F, and prepare two baking trays with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
In a large bowl with an electric mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer on low speed, cream the softened Butter and White Sugar together until light and fluffy.
Add the Eggs and Almond Extract and continue to cream the mixture together.
In a separate bowl, combine All Purpose Flour and Baking Soda together. Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, making sure to scrape the sides of the bowl as needed.
Chill the dough by covering it with plastic wrap and placing it in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.
Roll out the cold dough on a floured surface with a rolling pin to a ¼ inch thickness.
Use your favorite cookie cutters, or even a biscuit cutter, to cut the cookie dough into shapes.
Then carefully place them on the baking sheet, allowing at least 2 inches between the cookies. (Optional - Cookie dough shapes can be placed in the refrigerator before baking if the cookie dough is too warm and soft.)
Bake cookies at 375 Degrees F for 7-9 minutes. The edges of the cookies will be lightly golden when they are done.
Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before moving them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Add frosting, icing, or a dusting of powdered sugar once the cookies have fully cooled.
Chilling the sugar cookie dough will help it stay intact when you roll it out. After cutting out your shapes, you can choose to chill the cookie dough for a second time, and this can help your shapes to stay in shape and keep their crisp edges even through baking!
Cut-Out Sugar Cookies should be stored in an airtight container or Ziploc bag in the refrigerator, and will last for up to a week. Cookies are best enjoyed within 2-4 days of being freshly baked.
Yes! To freeze these cookies, place a piece of parchment paper between each one or wrap them separately in plastic wrap, then store them in an airtight container or in a freezer bag for up to 3 months.
Substitutions & Variations
- Fillings. Add some white chocolate chips, chocolate chunks, or crushed nuts to the cookie dough for added flavor and texture.
- Toppings. Add white chocolate curls or some crushed nuts on top to finish these cookies, or add some whole caramel pieces!
- Flavoring. Use Vanilla Extract for a subtle vanilla flavor or Peppermint Extract for a festive minty variation.
Pro Tips
What makes a good cookie? Does it have a soft center and crispy edges, and is it chewy? Each of these makes a great quality cookie. To make perfect cookies every time here are some pro tips.
To find out more, check out my Pro Tips Guide for making the best cookies every time!
Weighing Ingredients.
Baking is a science and adding too much or too little of any of the ingredients will alter the recipe. Weighing and measuring dry ingredients properly makes a world of difference. Investing in a kitchen scale is ideal. When a kitchen scale is not available, make sure to stir and lift ingredients before scooping them into a measuring cup.
| Volume | Ounces | Grams | |
| All Purpose Flour | 1 Cup | 4½ Ounces | 120 Grams |
| Bread Flour | 1 Cup | 4½ Ounces | 120 Grams |
| Granulated Sugar | 1 Cup | 7 Ounces | 200 Grams |
| Brown Sugar | 1 Cup | 7½ Ounces | 213 Grams |
| Confectionary Sugar | 1 Cup | 4 Ounces | 113 Grams |
Cookie Scoop.
Using a cookie scoop keeps each ball of cookie dough the same size, which is essential for baking. I have used a medium cookie scoop in these photos.
Baking Sheets.
You can use an ungreased cookie sheet if you prefer. I like to use Parchment Paper to line baking sheets or a Silicone Mat for easy cleanup.
Baking Time.
Every oven heats a little differently. I recommend doing a test batch of 1-3 cookies to test the baking time for a perfectly baked cookie before baking the remaining dough.
Cookies.
Cookies are perfectly baked when the edges are set and the centers are no longer glossy.
Cooling Rack.
Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for a minute or two before moving them to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Kitchen Scale. I use this for accuracy in measuring and it's a lifesaver when it comes to consistent baking
- Wire Rack for cooling cookies. I like to have at least 2 cooling racks
- Mixing Bowls. A Large Mixing Bowl for mixing ingredients and small and medium mixing bowls for other ingredients
- Cookie Sheet. Most recipes will take 2 batches to bake. It's great to have multiple baking sheets available
- Parchment Paper or Silicone Baking Mat. Line the Cookie Sheet with parchment paper for easy cleanup and to prevent sticking.
- Cookie Scoop. A small #60 Cookie Scoop or a Medium Cookie Scoop #50 are great choices for uniform drops of cookie dough.
- Storage Container. An Airtight Container to store cookies or a Ziploc Bag works great too.
- Additional supplies. Measuring Cups and Measuring Spoons along with a silicone spatula are all helpful.
Have you tried this Cut Out Sugar Cookie recipe?
Let me know what you thought of this recipe! Tag @bestcookierecipes on social media so I can see how great your cookies turned out! I would also love to read your comments below. Let me know what you think of these delicious cookies. It really does help!
More Easy Cookie Recipes
- Chocolate Dipped Butter Cookies
- Soft Almond Sugar Cookies
- Frosted Chocolate Sugar Cookies with Ganache
- Snickerdoodle Sandwich Cookies
- Mini Pumpkin Pie Cookies
- Pecan Pie Bars
- Soft Funfetti Sugar Cookies
- Pistachio Pudding Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Mrs. Fields Chocolate Chip Cookies
- White Chocolate Chip Macadamia Nut Cookies with Cranberries
The BEST Sugar Cookie Cut Outs
Ingredients
- 1 cup Butter Softened
- 1 cup Granulated Sugar 200g
- 2 Eggs Large
- 3 cup All Purpose Flour 360g
- 2 teaspoon Baking Powder
- 2 teaspoon Almond Extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 F Degrees. Line 2 Cookie Sheets with Parchment Paper or Silicone Baking Mat
- Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy using a hand mixer or a stand mixer.
- Add eggs and extract and continue to cream the mixture together
- In a separate bowl combine All Purpose Flour and Baking Soda together. Gradually add flour mixture to the butter mixture making sure to scrape the sides of the bowl as needed
- Cover cookie dough with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator for 15 minutes
- Flour the work surface and roll out chilled cookie dough to ¼ inch.
- Using cookie cutters or even a biscuit cutter, cut cookie dough into shapes and carefully place on the baking sheet allowing at least 2 inches between cookies
- Optional - Cookie dough shapes can be placed in the refrigerator before baking if cookie dough is too warm and soft.
- Bake at 375 F Degrees for 7-9 minutes. Edges of cookies will be lightly golden
- Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before moving them to a wire cooling rack.
Notes
- Optional - Cookie dough shapes can be placed in the refrigerator before baking if the cookie dough is too warm and soft.
- Store: These cookies should be stored in an airtight container or Ziploc bag in the refrigerator, and will last for up to a week. Cookies are best enjoyed within 2-4 days of being freshly baked.
- Freezer: Put the cookies into an airtight container with a piece of parchment paper between each one or wrap them separately in plastic wrap, then store them in an airtight container or in a freezer bag for up to 3 months.
Nutrition Disclaimer
All nutrition values are approximate and calculated by a plugin and are provided as a courtesy. Adding or subtracting ingredients will change the nutritional value.
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