Bake Up Holiday Magic with the Best Sugar Cookie Recipe!
Bake Santa the best Christmas cookies this year with our favorite cut-out sugar cookie recipe.
It’s Christmas baking season and time for our classic cut-out cookie recipe!
Sugar cookies are so easy to make at home and don’t require a ton of ingredients. Making rolled cut-out sugar cookies is such a fun activity to do with the kids and perfect for every occasion! There is something extra magical about holiday cookie traditions, and this idea is perfect.
If you’ve ever been disappointed when taking the time to roll out cookies, check out this simple recipe that’s one of my all-time favorites!
Homemade sugar cookies are the best holiday dessert!
This is the recipe I use every year. It makes gorgeous cookie cutter-shaped cookies that are both delicious and easy to make. I love that these cookies come out soft, chewy, buttery, and perfect every time!
If getting in the kitchen and baking cookies is on your holiday bucket list, grab some fun cookie cutters, and let’s get baking!
Cut Out Sugar Cookies
yield: 16 SERVINGS
prep time: 20 MINUTES
cook time: 15 MINUTES
total time: 35 MINUTES
You'll love the flavor and simplicity of this easy to mold cookie dough.
Ingredients
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup confectioner’s sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Directions
1
With an electric mixer or hand mixer, cream butter, and sugar. Add egg and blend well. Add extracts and blend.
2
Mix salt and flour together separately, then gradually add to the wet ingredients. Knead into a ball.
3
Cover dough and chill for about 2 hours (this step is a must!).
4
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Working with about 1/3 of the batch at a time, briefly knead the chilled dough and roll about 1/8 inch to 1/4 inch thick on a floured surface.
5
Use cookie cutters to cut out shapes with the dough.
6
Bake cookies on parchment paper-lined baking trays for about 12-14 minutes, or until edges are slightly golden.
7
Transfer cookies to a cooling rack and frost as desired. I highly suggest using our homemade buttercream frosting recipe. Enjoy!
Additional Notes
Adapted from The Decorated Cookie
Tips for baking this easy cut-out sugar cookie recipe:
- Great sugar cookies take chilling time, so be sure to allow 2 hours for that. This will help them keep their beautiful cookie-cutter shape and not spread so much.
- Short on time? If you’re in a hurry, pop the dough in the freezer for 1 hour followed by 5 minutes to ever so slightly soften on your countertop, and it’ll work just as well!
- Sugar cookie dough freezes well! You can make this recipe up to 3 months ahead of time, store it in a freezer bag, and then thaw it out when you want to bake cookies. You can also cover and store baked sugar cookies in the freezer too. When ready, take them out of the freezer to thaw and decorate.
- If there’s a nut allergy in your household, just omit the almond extract. We love the fancy bakery taste the almond extract gives these cookies, but it’s easy to leave out.
- Prep a baking sheet pan with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. This will ensure your cookies won’t stick to the pan.
- You could always grab some store-bought cookie icing for these cookies if desired. However, here’s a great homemade buttercream frosting recipe I like to use with these. You can separate the batch and add food coloring to decorate cookies with festive colors.
Grab a glass of cold milk and enjoy a soft homemade cookie!
There’s nothing better than a soft, chewy sugar cookie. With this recipe, you’ll be making cookies like a pro for every holiday and occasion.
Some of my best and messiest memories are in the kitchen decorating cookies with my kids as little ones, and we still enjoy this activity even though they are now teens!
My teammate Emily made these delicious holiday treat, and here’s what she had to say about them:
“This is my first time making my own cookie dough for cutouts (Pillsbury has been assisting me all these years), and this is the BEST cookie I’ve probably ever had. Just enough sweetness while not tasting bland, and the almond extract is divine for that extra hint of flavor. I swapped the flour for King Arthur 1:1 gluten-free flour, and these still worked out perfectly.
They melt in your mouth while still having a crisp exterior, and they actually hold their cutout shape immaculately (no gingerbread blobs over here 😂). I was shocked, too, at how simple the recipe is…guess I won’t be needing to buy those pre-made dough rolls anymore!”
Pair some Crockpot Grinch Hot Chocolate with your cookies!
Anyone have a yummy recipe for royal icing to decorate these cookies with? I tried one recipe with confectioners sugar and no one in my family liked it. 😝
We always make a powdered sugar glaze for our sugar cookies. It tastes good and it’s smooth and dries quickly. Makes the cookies look so nice!
Can you post your recipe for the glaze? Thank you!!
I mix powdered sugar with just enough water to get a thick but spreadable consistency. Dries well. Add a bit of almond extract for more flavor.
Thank you!
That’s all I do too. Just powdered sugar and enough water to make it the right consistency and then I add flavored extracts.
I also make a kind of glaze. I take a pat of real butter and soften on the microwave then add powdered sugar and dribble just enough milk into it to make it smooth. A touch of almond extract is good too but not too much or the frosting aka glaze will be way to thin to use. Remember about an 1/8 teaspoon to start out with and add a 1/8 teaspoon at a time till the consistancy you desire. Add food coloring as you also desire. Good luck!!
We like this one. Just remember to add a tiny bit of water for the fill. https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1017887-royal-icing
We use a powdered sugar glaze too. The trick I learned is to add a tablespoon or so of corn syrup. It will make it harden. Don’t make your glaze too runny either!
Thanks for the tip Megan.. I’ll try that!
I have tried Wilton’s recipe and it’s good! https://www.wilton.com/royal-icing/WLRECIP-50.html
I use this website for my Sugar Cookies and the Royal Icing recipies: https://www.hanielas.com/royal-icing/
Also, a good trick to get the cookies the same thickness is to glue together two sets of paint sticks and using those as guides to roll the rolling pin on. all cookies are then the exact same thickness.
My recipe is similar and I love that it doesn’t poof up so the cookie keep their shape. I remember really struggling with rolling out chilled dough so one tip I have is rolling it out before chilling it. I separate mine and roll it on to parchment paper then lightly dust the top with flour so I can stack all my sheets and then chill. It’s so much easier to cut them this way.
That’s brilliant. Thanks for the great suggestion.
Great tip! Going to try this!
I love buttercream frosting, but since it doesn’t harden like the royal icing, it’s hard to layer cookies on a platter or store them. Any suggestions?
Waxed paper, or parchment paper between layers.
I let mine sit overnight on the counter so the frosting sets up. Just lay wax paper or a tea towel over them so they don’t dry out.
Try this:
https://theamericanpatriette.com/the-best-buttercream-frosting-for-sugar-cookies-that-hardens/
Thanks for sharing (even though it was a year ago!). I’m loving the recipe and the bloggers website seems awesome!
Could you use “plant butter” (olive or avocado oil butter) or another dairy free butter? Will it change the consistency?
My mom always substituted butter with half margarin and half shortening and the texture/flavor was good. All plant butter would make them softer would be my guess.
This veryyy similar to my recipe for sugar cookies. Best recipes always seem to use powdered sugar instead of granulated sugar 🙂
This is the original Betty Crocker Cookbook rolled sugar cookie recipe. I have made these for family gatherings the last 40 years. I make multiple recipes of these to send home with family members, by request. I have used Imperial margarine for years in this recipe, with great results. I just started using butter recently. I just use the Betty Crocker vanilla butter frosting recipe. I have found that you don’t want to spend hours frosting cookies to have them all gone in ten minutes. I know from years of making these😁
It is the Betty recipe except they omitted the cream of tartar.
Really?! LOL I read the recipe and my first thought was, “This is just like my grandma’s famous sugar cookie recipe except hers had cream of tartar in it.” I did not know the recipe was from Betty Crocker. I’ve been making those for about 40 years. That tickles me a bit. It’s a good one though, people have always loved those cookies.
Thank you ! I can’t wait to try this recipe 🎄
Great catch, Sara 👍 One teaspoon cream of tartar.
Would love to make these cookies but there is a nut allergy in the family. When omitting the almond extract do you replace it with additional vanilla or anything else? Thanks so much!
It’s a small amount, I think ok to just omit!
I never use it, just the vanilla:)
We use imitation almond extract
I have a child allergic to tree nuts so I researched this and from what I could find, McCormick does not use any nuts in their flavorings. The nut flavors come from alternative sources.
We have an egg allergy. Any good recipes out there without eggs?
Shortbread. I have used Fanny Farmer’s recipe for cutouts without pricking with a fork.
Scotch Shortbread
½ pounds Butter
½ cup Confectioners’ sugar
2 cups Flour
¼ teaspoon Salt
Preheat the oven to 350F. Cream the butter, then gradually add the sugar, beating well. Mix the flour and salt together and add to the first mixture, combining thoroughly. Roll out the dough with a rolling pin until it is ¼-inch thick, then cut into rectangles or any other shape desired. Put them on ungreased cookie sheets, prick each cookie with a fork, and bake for 20 – 25 minutes or until lightly browned around the edges.
_The Fannie Farmer Cookbook_, 13th edition. Marion Cunningham, ed
Thanks for this! I think I’ll try it this year! I have so many cookie cutters but never use them 🙈😅
I love the “Christmas Cactus” 😂
Haha yep! There’s lot of those where I live ❤️ 🌵
Think this would work with King Arthur’s Measure for Measure Gluten-free flour??
Yes, it definitely does! I’ve personally tried this and love the result. The cookie is a little less chewy and more melt-in-your-mouth, but the flavor is spot on!
Where did you get the merry Christmas cookie cutter?
Hi Roxy! I found mine at HomeGoods years ago. Here’s the amazon listing- Brand is Birkmann https://amzn.to/3acpGFw
Lina they look so yummy, Sounds like a great recipe
Thanks so much Sharron!
In addition to the 1 tsp of cream of tartar, my recipe calls for 1 tsp baking soda and the powdered sugar is 1 1/2 c – not 1 cup. I have made hundreds of batches of these cookies and they are amazing! The dough rolls out perfectly every time and with my buttercream icing they are so soft and delicious!
My dough was really sticky and didn’t form up correctly? Any ideas?
Really? Hmm Even after chilling? You can add a bit more flour maybe? Darn haven’t had that happen.
Maybe I made it wrong but any idea why my dough turned out crumbling after overnight fridge chill and – after kneading it, it was ok… but eating it tasted… dry – almost like a scone dry cookie- is that how it’s supposed to be? any advice help
mine were a liittle crumbly after the two hour chill. I agree mine tasted like scone dry cookies also. Blechhh
Yes! Mine were like scone dry too…any advice?!
Less cook time and roll a tad thicker maybe.
Made these and gave to friends who aren’t gluten and dairy free. They got great reviews. Thank you so much. I hadn’t purchased white flour in years! Today we are using this recipe with Cassava flour and ghee and coconut oil. We will see how it turns out. Thank you again we had a great time making these for our friends!
Oh that is so great to hear! Thanks!
Could you guys recommend some really good quality cookies sheets? Thank you
I bought some nice stainless steel ones like this https://amzn.to/3lRfcAh and highly recommend as they are easy to clean and stay nice looking!
Thank you, Lina🙂
I love my Nordic ware cookie sheets Nordic Ware – 43172AMZM Nordic Ware Half Sheet with Oven Safe Nonstick Grid, 2 Piece Set, Natural https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BZLZFRG/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_X8M7KG8SGMVXTPZBEHBP
I have stainless ones from Amazon and they still look perfect and work well. https://amzn.to/3VJ7Rmr
I always bake cookies on a pizza stone lined with parchment… they cook more even than metal baking sheets and rarely burn! I’ve been using pizza stones for about 10 years… I’m never going back to metal baking sheets!
These cookies are the bomb! They came out in the same shape as they went into the oven. They taste delicious. This will be my sugar cookie recipe from now on!
Oh I am so glad you had success with this one! Thank you for sharing!
I’ve used this cookie recipe for the past 2 Christmases. It is awesome! Love the flavor from the almond extract. Thanks!
Where did you get the cookie cutters?
Hey AngieM! Lina shared in one of the above comment about the Merry Christmas cookie cutter. Hope that’s helpful.🥰
Is there a printable version of this by chance? I can’t wait to try it!
Yes, there is! At the top of the post, there’s a link that says “Print” that will open a new tab for a printer-friendly version of this recipe! Hoping this is helpful! ❤️
Thank you! I’ll try on a desktop- not seeing on mobile.
You’re welcome! I just pulled it up on my phone, and there’s a little light blue printer icon in the right-hand top corner under the title for this option there! 🤗❤️
I have a tree nut allergy in my house, what do you recommend in place of?
Hey there! My dad has the same allergy and we’ve just left out the almond extract and added in extra vanilla of the same amount! Hope that helps! ❤️