With crisp edges, thick centers, and room for lots of decorating icing, I know you’ll love these soft cut-out sugar cookies. Use your favorite cookie cutters and try my classic royal icing.
Originally published on my website in 2014, this recipe is a massive fan favorite. You’ll also find the recipe in my New York Times best-selling cookbook, Sally’s Baking 101.
This is my flagship recipe for cut-out sugar cookies. I’ve made them at least 38577 times (imagine all the butter), so I figured it’s time to share new recipe tips, a video tutorial, and more helpful information.
Why You’ll Love These Sugar Cookies
- Soft, thick centers with slightly crisp edges
- Irresistible buttery vanilla flavor
- Leave plain or flavor with extras like maple, cinnamon, and more
- Hold their shape
- Flat surface for decorating
- Stay soft for days
- Freeze beautifully
Sugar Cookies Video Tutorial
Overview: How to Make Sugar Cookies with Icing
- Make cookie dough. You only need 7 or 8 ingredients. With so few ingredients, it’s important that you follow the recipe closely. Creamed butter and sugar provide the base of the cookie dough. Flour and egg give the cookies structure, and vanilla extract adds flavor. I almost always add a touch of almond extract for additional flavor and highly recommend that you try it too! Baking powder adds lift, and salt balances the sweet. So many *little ingredients* doing *big jobs* to create a perfect cookie. By the way, I also have a recipe for chocolate sugar cookies!
- Divide in two pieces. Smaller sections of dough are easier to roll out.
- Roll out cookie dough. Roll it out to 1/4 inch thick. If you have difficulty rolling out dough evenly, try this adjustable rolling pin. Speaking from experience—it’s incredibly handy!
- Chill rolled-out cookie dough. Without chilling, these cookie cutter sugar cookies won’t hold their shapes. Chill the rolled-out cookie dough for at least 2 hours or up to 2 days.
- Cut into shapes. If you need suggestions for cookie cutters, I love Ann Clark brand. (Not sponsored, just a genuine fan!) Some of my favorites include this heart set, dog bone, snowflake, snowman, leaf, and a pumpkin. I also use and recommend these heart cookie cutters.
- Bake & cool. Depending on size, the cookies take about 11–12 minutes.
- Decorate. See my suggested icings below. I also have a tutorial on how to decorate sugar cookies with even more helpful decorating tips.
Have a little flour nearby when you’re rolling out the cookie dough. Keep your work surface, hands, and rolling pin lightly floured. This is a relatively soft dough.
The Trick Is the Order of Steps
Notice how I roll out the dough BEFORE chilling it in the refrigerator? That’s my trick and you can see me doing it in the video tutorial in this post.
Let me explain why I do this. Just like when you’re making chocolate chip cookies, to prevent the cookies from over-spreading, the cookie dough must chill in the refrigerator. Roll out the dough right after you prepare it, then chill the rolled-out dough. (At this point the dough is too soft to cut into shapes.) If you chill the cookie dough and then try to roll it out, it will be too cold and difficult to work with.
I also divide the dough in half before rolling it out, and highly recommend you do the same. Smaller sections of dough are simply more manageable.
Another trick! Roll out the cookie dough directly on a silicone baking mat or parchment paper so you can easily transfer it to the refrigerator. (Parchment paper will slide around on your counter, so I always place a piece of parchment paper on top of a silicone baking mat to roll the dough without slippage.)
Pick up the sheet of parchment with the rolled-out dough on top, transfer it to a baking sheet, and place it in the refrigerator. You don’t need to make room for two baking sheets in your refrigerator—simply stack the pieces of rolled-out dough on top of each other, with the parchment paper in between.
How Thick Do I Roll Sugar Cookies?
These sugar cookies remain soft because they’re rolled out pretty thick. Roll out the cookie dough to about 1/4 inch thick or just under 1/4 inch thick. Yes, this is on the thicker side and yes, this produces extra thick and soft cookies. If rolling out cookie dough doesn’t sound appealing, try my drop sugar cookies instead.
Sugar Cookie Icing
I have 3 sugar cookie icing recipes, and you can choose whichever works best for you.
- Favorite Royal Icing: This royal icing is my preferred sugar cookie icing because it’s easy to use, dries within a couple of hours, and doesn’t taste like hardened cement. (It’s on the softer side!) I make it with meringue powder. Meringue powder takes the place of raw egg whites, which is found in traditional royal icing recipes. It eliminates the need for fresh eggs, but still provides the same consistency. You can find meringue powder in some baking aisles, most craft stores with a baking section, and online. The 8-ounce tub always lasts me a good while. The trickiest part is landing on the perfect royal icing consistency, but I provide a video in the royal icing recipe to help you.
- Easy Cookie Icing: This easy cookie icing is ideal for beginners. It’s easier to make than royal icing because you don’t need an electric mixer and the consistency won’t really make or break the outcome. However, it doesn’t provide the same sharp detail that royal icing decorations do. It also takes a good 24 hours to dry.
- Buttercream: This cookie decorating buttercream is also excellent for beginners. You can tint it any color you like, flavor it, and spread it on with a knife or use piping tips. It soft-sets after a few hours, meaning you can carefully stack the cookies for storage.
The pictured heart-shaped cookies are decorated with my royal icing using Wilton piping tip #4. If you’re not into piping tips, you can simply dunk the tops of the cookies into the icing, like we do with these mini animal cracker cookies. 🙂
Sugar Cookie Tips & Tools
Before I leave you with the recipe, let me suggest some useful sugar cookie tools. These are the exact products I use and trust in my own kitchen:
- Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand Mixer)
- Baking Sheets
- Silicone Baking Mats or Parchment Sheets
- Rolling Pin or this Adjustable Rolling Pin
- Food Coloring: Liquid food coloring can alter the consistency of the icing, so I recommend gel food coloring. For the pictured cookies, I used a few drops of dusty rose and 1 drop of sky blue. This Americolor Soft Gel Paste Color Kit is great to have if you do a lot of decorating and want to have a variety of colors on hand.
- Piping Tips/Squeeze Bottle: If you’re using royal icing, I recommend Wilton piping tip #4 for outlining and flooding. This is a wonderful basic piping tip to have in your collection. If you’re using my easy glaze icing, I recommend using a squeeze bottle.
- Piping Bag: If you’re using royal icing and a piping tip, you need a disposable piping bag or reusable piping bag.
- Couplers: Couplers are handy if you have multiple colors of icing and only 1 tip, and need to move the tip to the other bags of icing.
- Cookie Cutters: I like this heart-shaped cookie cutter, but you can use any shape you desire!
For even more recommendations, see this complete list of my favorite cookie decorating supplies.
Here’s What You Can Do With This Dough
- Christmas Sugar Cookies
- Striped Fudge Cookie Sandwiches
- Snowman Cookies
- Cinnamon Roll Cookies
- Stained Glass Window Cookies
- Valentine’s Day Cookies
- Maple Cinnamon Cut-Out Cookies
- St. Patrick’s Day Cookies
- Easter Cookies
- Fireworks Cookies
And if you’re craving sugar cookies with a little extra tang, try my cream cheese cut-out cookies with Nutella glaze.
Print
Soft Cut-Out Sugar Cookies
- Prep Time: 40 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours (including chilling)
- Yield: 24 3-4 inch cookies
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
With crisp edges, thick centers, and room for lots of decorating icing, I know you’ll love these soft sugar cookies as much as I do. The number of cookies this recipe yields depends on the size of the cookie cutter you use. If you’d like to make dozens of cookies for a large crowd, double the recipe. This recipe is also in my New York Times best-selling cookbook, Sally’s Baking 101.
Ingredients
- 2 and 1/4 cups (281g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled), plus more as needed for rolling and work surface
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup (12 Tbsp; 170g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract (optional, but makes the flavor outstanding)*
For Decorating
- Royal Icing, Easy Glaze Icing, or Cookie Buttercream (royal icing is pictured)
- Assorted sprinkles
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together. Set aside.
- In a large bowl using a handheld or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar together on high speed until the mixture is light and creamy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg, vanilla, and almond extract (if using) and beat on high speed until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and beat again as needed to combine. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on low speed until combined. The dough should be soft. If it seems too soft and sticky for rolling, beat in 1 more Tablespoon of flour.
- Divide the dough in half. Place each portion on a piece of lightly floured parchment paper or a lightly floured silicone baking mat. With a lightly floured rolling pin, roll the dough to about 1/4-inch thickness. Use a bit more flour if the dough seems too sticky. The rolled-out dough can be any shape, as long as it is evenly 1/4 inch thick.
- Lightly dust one of the rolled-out dough portions with flour. (This prevents sticking.) Place the second rolled-out dough portion, still on the parchment paper, on top of the first. Cover the dough tightly and refrigerate it for at least 2 hours and up to 2 days.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Line large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- Carefully remove the top piece of dough from the refrigerator. If it’s sticking to the bottom, run your hand under it to help remove it. Using a cookie cutter, cut the dough into shapes. Gather the scraps, reroll, and continue cutting until all the dough is used. (Note: It doesn’t seem like a lot of dough, but you get a lot of cookies from the dough scraps you reroll.) Repeat with the second piece of dough. Arrange the cookies 3 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.
- Bake for 11–12 minutes or until the edges of the cookies are very lightly browned and set. If your oven has hot spots, rotate the baking sheets halfway through bake time. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely before decorating.
- Decorate the cooled cookies with royal icing, easy cookie icing, or cookie decorating buttercream. Feel free to tint any of the icings with gel food coloring. See post above for recommended decorating tools. No need to cover the decorated cookies as you wait for the icing to set. If it’s helpful, decorate the cookies directly on a baking sheet so you can place the entire baking sheet in the refrigerator to help speed up the icing setting.
- Enjoy cookies right away or wait until the icing sets to serve them. Once the icing has set, these cookies are great for gifting or shipping. Store plain or iced cookies covered tightly at room temperature for up to 5 days. For longer storage, cover and refrigerate for up to 10 days. If decorated with cookie buttercream, cover and store decorated cookies at room temperature for up to 1 day, or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: Plain or decorated sugar cookies freeze well for up to 3 months. Wait for the icing to set completely before layering between sheets of parchment paper in a freezer-safe container. To thaw, thaw in the refrigerator or at room temperature. You can also freeze the cookie dough (before rolling it out) for up to 3 months. Prepare the dough through step 2, divide in half, flatten each half into a disc (like we do with pie crust), wrap each disc in plastic wrap, place both wrapped discs in a freezer-safe container, and freeze. Thaw the wrapped discs in the refrigerator overnight, then bring to room temperature for about 1 hour. Roll out the dough as directed in step 4, then chill the rolled-out dough in the refrigerator for 1 hour before cutting into shapes and baking.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand Mixer) | Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mats or Parchment Paper | Wooden Rolling Pin or Adjustable Rolling Pin | Heart-Shaped Cookie Cutter | Americolor Soft Gel Paste Color Kit | Piping Bags (Disposable or Reusable) | Couplers | Wilton Tip #4 | Squeeze Bottle
- Room Temperature: Room-temperature butter is essential. If the dough is too sticky, your butter may have been too soft. Room-temperature butter is actually cool to the touch. Room-temperature egg is preferred so that it mixes quickly and evenly into the cookie dough.
- Flavors: I love flavoring this cookie dough with 1/4 teaspoon almond extract as listed in the ingredients above. For more flavor, use 1/2 teaspoon. Instead of the almond extract, try using 1 teaspoon of maple extract, coconut extract, lemon extract, or peppermint extract. Or add 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice or ground cinnamon. If using lemon extract, you can also add 1 Tablespoon lemon zest.
- Icing: Use royal icing, easy cookie icing, or cookie decorating buttercream. See post above to read about the differences.
- Can I Double the Recipe? Yes. Double all of the ingredients and divide the dough into 3 or 4 portions in step 3.
- Be sure to check out my top 5 cookie baking tips AND these are my 10 must-have cookie baking tools.
Reader Comments and Reviews
Hi Sally,
Thank you for this tasty recipe. I’ve made a few batches of this cookie dough and it is wonderful. Each time I have made these my cookies seem to have bubbles in the dough when they come out of the oven. Is there any way to help prevent this? Some are small and not noticeable but when I put royal icing on them you can see the bubbles. Thanks!
Hi Sarah! I find this happens with cookie cutter cookies when you over-beat the cookie dough after you add the egg. Only mix the wet ingredients until the egg has combined. Then once you add the dry ingredients, mix to combine. Do not over-mix. You could also try reducing the baking powder, too. Though over-mixing is likely the issue.
Just going to try my hand at decorating cookies. I’m a terrible baker, FYI. I’ve never liked it and seem to create a huge mess whenever I attempt something. I was super happy to find your cookie recipe, and the idea to roll out the room temp dough, and then chill it before cutting shapes. I tried the ‘chill the dough’ first and of course I got busy, and left it to chill too long, so then had to defrost, etc etc. and then I had a crumbly mess to deal with. Looking forward to trying them your way now! Thanks so much!
I hope you enjoy these, Lesley! Keep me posted 🙂
Do you think the royal icing would be hard enough to use edible markers on after drying?
Yes!
If I choose not to use almond extract or any other suggestions-do you increase the amount of the vanilla extract?
Hi Jodi, you can simply leave the almond extract out. Or, if desired, you can add a little more vanilla extract in its place. Either way is fine. Still plenty of vanilla flavor.
Was wondering if you have tried these with Gluten Free flour? I am going to try them today with King Arthur AP GF flour. Will report back.
Oh my goodness I made these sugar cookies today and they turned out great! This is going to be my new sugar cookie recipe, thank you so much!
I just want to let you know that last night I made these cookies and also your royal icing recipe and they turned out amazing! I had been reading some comments saying the icing was too sweet and such, but I disagree. Everything about the cookies and icing was a perfect texture and flavor. All of my guests raved about my Halloween cookies. Thank you so much for the amazing cookie/icing recipe!!
These cookies are so good! I loved that they didn’t spread. Thanks for sharing!
Hi Sally!
I’m planning on using this recipe for some Halloween cookies and am so excited! However I’m wondering if you have a suggestion for a butter substitute (blasphemy, I know). My boyfriend is very lactose intolerant so I’ve used Earth Balance spread successfully in other recipes but have also heard of people using things like coconut oil in place of butter. Have you heard of anyone substituting butter in this recipe?
Thank you!!
Hi Julia! I haven’t tested this cookie recipe with a butter replacement, but let me know what you try!
After 60 years of searching for the Best Sugar Cookie recipe, I found it on your site…your recipe is amazing and I tossed out all other sugar cookie recipes. It is exactly as you describe it and just perfect!
Sally, do you think these cookies would hold their shape if I rolled them with an embossed roller? I’m trying to find cookies that will keep embossed details. These look like they’d taste fantastic!
Yes! Many readers have done that with this recipe with luck. I haven’t personally tried it, but would feel confident doing so.
Good Morning – ok been told this recipe is a great one – the reviews tell me so. My question is: I plan on putting 6 cookies to a bag and giving them away so people can decorate them. Freezing the cookie and thawing at room temperature and than decorating – can this be done?? And am I correct on the directions of thawing them out before decorating- also can they be frozen again after they are decorated?
Thank you and have a great day
Hi Germaine, Yes you read correctly! You can bake the cookies and freeze them and then let them come back to room temperature before decorating. I would be afraid if they were RE-frozen again after they were decorated they wouldn’t taste as fresh.
This is definitely a delicious and beautiful cookie. Last year I tried a couple of different sugar cookie recipes and nothing tasted as good. I did add the 1/2 tsp almond extract and you are right, that made the flavor fantastic.
I also made your royal icing recipe and while I like the somewhat softer consistency, I did not like the flavor, which was essentially just sugar. I’m going to pitch that batch of icing and make another one, adding vanilla and a tad bit of salt to see if that improves the flavor so it doesn’t detract from the delicious cookies. Do you ever add flavorings to your royal icing, and if so what do you find works well?
I personally do not add flavor to my royal icing, but yes it’s incredibly sweet! You can certainly add any flavor you wish, vanilla, almond, or anything else – just be sure it’s oil free – and try mixing it with the water before adding it to the sugar and meringue powder.
I’m a novice home Baker. I’m stepping put of my comfort zone because, while I can cook, I never was a very successful baker. My daughter has just turned eight and is determined to be a great Baker when she grows up. Weve been baking together, and this is our very favorite recipe. The cookies turn out so perfect every batch and we have a blast decorating them..thanks for the recipe, the inspiration and the great memories!
I must be the only one that cannot get the dough not sticky. I follow the recipe, however the dough is just tacky. I’m not sure if I’m not creaming the butter and sugar long enough. When I add the egg and vanilla it almost seems to curdle. What am I doing wrong??
Hi Andrea, combining egg and vanilla with creamed butter + sugar can result in a curdled mess if the temperatures of those ingredients vary significantly. Make sure everything is at room temperature. Once you add the dry ingredients, though, the dough comes together just fine. Make sure you’re using enough flour. You can add another Tablespoon or 2 if the dough is just too sticky.
I love these sugar cookies!! I have made the recipe several times and always get rave reviews from people. I like to flatten the dough into a disc shape, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate the dough for a couple of hours. Then I quickly roll it out to desired thickness on parchment paper and cut into shapes and transfer shapes to parchment lined baking sheet. The dough can soften fairly quickly, so work quick. Cookies are perfect each time! I often double the recipe
I absolutely love this recipe. I made it the first time by measuring out the cups of flour and it came out perfectly. I decided to quadruple it this time and weighed the flour based on the weights given in the recipe, and I noticed that the dough was sticky and needed more flour. So I did the math and the recipe ended up needing about 300 more grams of flour (when quadrupled) than what this recipe called for. Next time I will just measure it out with cups because that seemed to be more accurate.
Why is my batter hard as rock when taken it out of the fridge?
Hi Fi, that’s completely normal since it contains solidified butter. If it’s too hard and the shaped cookies are breaking, let it soften at room temperature for a few minutes before shaping.
Every year during the holiday season I’ve tried to find a good sugar cookie recipe that cuts the mustard, can’t tell you how many batches that have gone in the trash. Then I tried this one last week and finally it did exactly what it did for you in your video. I’ve been baking for years but never found that right cookie recipe that I want to stick with until now. I love this recipe and I tried it last night with some other flavors and they are a hit. Thank you and I love your technique for rolling out the dough and refrigerating. My cookies have great height and definition with nicely flat tops for decorating. Glad I came across your website during my google search.
I don’t make sugar cookies often, but when I do, I use this recipe! It’s very informative for the novice sugar cookie maker, but if you do have a question Sally is great when it comes to responding to a lot of questions.mThanks for a great recipe!
Hi Sally! Want to say firstly that I love your site and you are my go-to for recipes! I made this dough tonight and it seemed great.. but while trying to roll it out, it kept breaking apart. It does not seem too dry at all.. truly stumped me. I followed the recipe exactly. Help? 🙂
Hmm. Usually when dough cracks, it’s too try. I wonder if yours was too warm/too moist? Refrigerating it for a few minutes would definitely help!
I was so surprised at how perfect my cookie shapes came out! I was even more surprised how soft they actually were, even though they felt hard enough to put icing on and decorate! Perfect flavor. Every single cookie I made got devoured! I never review recipes, but I really liked this one.
Hands down the best sugar cookie recipe.
I do cheat and refrigerate, then soften and roll.
This is the same recipe as I have, except Sally adds baking powder. I will try that next time I make cut-out cookies. To make cutting the cookies out REALLY easy, and quick, instead of refrigerating them, I roll my dough between 2 sheets of parchment, (then your rolling pin doesn’t even have to be cleaned!), place the parchment/dough on a cookie sheet and stick it in the freezer for 15-20 minutes. The cookie dough is not frozen solid, but really well chilled so that it is stiff when you cut the cookies out, and they don’t stretch or get misshapen. I don’t even flour my cookie cutters, so the dough usually sticks inside the cookie cutter. Just give it a gentle push to get it out and onto the cookie sheet. Since the dough is almost frozen, even if it stays on your counter, you can just lift it up and place it on the cookie sheet. It will keep its shape, no problems!
I LOVE this recipe. I’d like to add lemon flavor to my next batch. How much lemon zest should I use?
Hi Vonnie! See recipe note about lemon flavor.
Love, love, love this recipe! It’s perfect! The cookies hold their shape after baking and taste delicious! Thank you so much for sharing it!
Hi Sally, Carolyn Garcia here I wanted to thank you for your reply, I really appreciate it. Your site is the best I found for any recipes ( of all kinds ) I have been sticking to this site for a long time now. Keep them coming Sally you are doing a great job. Thanks again and have a wonderful night. Carolyn Garcia.
Hi Sally!
I was wondering if this dough can work to bake big numbers for a cream tart cake. If yes, won’t it get soggy quickly with the whipped cream filling? Thank you!
My first thought would be to use the sugar cookie crust that I use in my fruit pizza. It’s similar to this sugar cookie dough but works well as a “crust” for cream toppings: https://route-span.live/fruit-pizza/%3Cbr /> I recommend topping it the same day you serve it.
Hi Sally, Carolyn Garcia here my question is if I don’t have meringue powder, is there anything else I could use, I know probably egg whites but how would you start off doing it with the egg whites when it comes to making the royal icing, and by the way you have the best recipes and love your site. Also if I didn’t want to use egg whites is there anything else? Thank you Sally. Carolyn Garcia
Hi Carolyn, If you don’t want to use meringue powder or eggs you can make my easy glaze icing recipe. This icing is easier to make, but it’s thinner than royal icing and doesn’t provide the same sharp detail that royal icing decorations do. You can find the recipe in this post: https://route-span.live/christmas-sugar-cookies/%3C/p%3E
Sally,
These look lovely! I have a recipe for sugar cookies but it uses a food processor which I no longer have. Instead of royal icing on top, I sandwich buttercream between two cookies. Yours are rolled out much thicker than my old recipe. Can you roll these out thinner? It would make for a better cookie/frosting ratio.
Thanks!
Hi Amy! Thank you! Yes, you can definitely roll this cookie dough out thinner– closer to 1/8 inch. The bake time will be a little shorter.