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
Just made these last night after i came across your recipe, OMG i followed your recipe and they were perfect and so easy! Thanks for the recipe and tips, this is my new favourite recipe
Is it ok to stack and refrigerate the cookies after using the royal icing? Should I put parchment paper in between while stacking them?
Hi Lorrie, if the icing is totally dry, it shouldn’t be an issue, but a layer of parchment never hurts for extra insurance!
My cookie dough seemed dry
Hi Diane, How did you measure the flour? Make sure to spoon and level (instead of scooping) to avoid packing in too much flour into your measuring cups – or use a kitchen scale. You can read more about properly measuring baking ingredients in this post.
Best ever
Is this recipe easy to double? Or best to just make two separate batches?
Hi Emily, this dough recipe doubles well as long your your mixer can handle the added volume. Enjoy!
I love this recipe! However, I always have the same problem: the dough is in a creamy consistency, so I can’t really roll it before it chills. Does anyone know what I could be doing wrong and how I can fix it? Thanks!
Hi Melissa, it’s possible that your butter may be a bit too warm. Here’s more on what room temperature butter really means — it may be cooler than you think! If you need to, feel free to pop your dough in the refrigerator for just a few minutes before rolling to see if that helps. So glad these are a favorite for you!
What I do is, I put the door between two pieces of baking paper then I roll it out without the rolling pin, touching the dough. It’s really helps!
I’ve used this recipe numerous times before and they’ve turned out amazing. Any suggestions on how to make them vegan friendly?
Hi Amanda, we haven’t tested a vegan version of this recipe, but let us know if you decide to do any experimenting. We’d love to know how it goes! And if you’re interested, here are all of our naturally vegan recipes.
I want to have the dough prepared for my grands when they come this weekend…Is it ok to flatten dough into discs and freeze, then roll out?! My kids like to do the rolling pin action!
Hi Sue! You can absolutely freeze dough disks, then thaw, roll out the dough, and continue with the recipe. You’ll want to chill the dough again after rolling out to ensure the cookies don’t spread too much when baking.
Hello, I just want to know what are the nutrition facts for this recipe
We don’t usually include nutrition information as it can vary between different brands of the same ingredients. Plus, many recipes have ingredient substitutions or optional ingredients listed. However, there are many handy online calculators where you can plug in and customize your exact ingredients/brands. Readers have found this one especially helpful: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076
This recipe actually works! Beautiful taste but most importantly it’s easy to work with kids making the cookie shapes. Thank you!
this is my go to recipe for sure and have made it multiple times with consistent result! I just wish it had a bit sweeter taste? is it possible to add more sugar or how would you recommend making it more tasteful? It’s a little plain (but tastes amazing using your royal icing recipe!)
Hi Katie, they aren’t meant to be super sweet, but you can certainly increase the sugar to 1 cup. Or try using homemade vanilla sugar as the sugar in the recipe.
I love all of your recipes and always come here first for a new recipe. I have a question for you regrading cream of tarter and baking soda Vs baking powder; that is virtually the only difference between your recipe and my aunt’s favorite I expect you will have a scientific view as usual. Thank you so much for your lessons in your recipes.
Hi Anne, if the amounts are appropriate for this amount of flour, you won’t notice much a different taste and texture-wise when using baking soda and cream of tartar. (You’ll likely only need a very small amount.) The cookies may brown a little more with the baking soda. I prefer baking powder.
The dough was very stiff and the only thing I changed was I used sugar in the raw which I use for most everything. Cookies didn’t flatten at all and were a bit dry bit still tasted good. Definitely not the best recipe.
Hi Maggie, How did you measure the flour? Make sure to spoon and level (instead of scooping) to avoid packing in too much flour into your measuring cups – or use a kitchen scale. You can read more about properly measuring baking ingredients in this post.
Came out rock hard for me. The only thing i didnt follow exactly was not using unsalted butter. Maybe it had a bigger effect than I anticipated..
This is the ONLY sugar cookie recipe you’ll ever need! I use the weights and my cookies always come out perfectly. The texture is amazing—perfect blend of crunch and softness. Thanks so much!
I made these with coconut oil and they did not make anymore than 2 dozen cookies. Nor would they roll well. I know it’s not your recipe, it was my substitution. I’m playing around a bit with non dairy. I wonder if lard would be a better alternative. Not sure, the cookies still look and taste great so thank you.
I make these cookies at every chance I can. They’re phenomenal. I notice that with the “cookie icing” recipe, it can still be very soft even after a day and can mush up if another cookie is placed lightly on top for too long. Is there something I can do about that? (Eg more corn syrup or less corn syrup)? Still amazing cookies though!
Hi Liz! That icing usually dries in about 24 hours. You can speed up the drying process by refrigerating the cookies.
These are the only sugar cookies I make! My husband doesn’t like iced/frosted cookies, so I sprinkle colored sugar on before baking and they’re fabulous with that little extra crunch on top.
Great recipe! Have made it once and the cookies were perfect. Quick question – can this recipe be doubled?
Hi Pallavi, this dough recipe doubles well as long your your mixer can handle the added volume. Enjoy!
My only sugar cookie recipe. This is the mother of all ones! I do have a question though. If I freeze the dough, thaw then bake and decorate, can Ifreeze them again and thaw them as directed? I always make them and freeze them so I’m not rushing before a party to make them, but I was curious if I could make the dough in advance and just always have some in the freezer and still freeze once finished. I make these a lot haha
Hi Briana, yes, you can absolutely freeze the baked cookies.
can I use salted butter in place of unsalted butter?
Hi Cathy, if using salted butter you can reduce the added salt in the cookie dough from 1/4 teaspoon to 1/8 teaspoon. Happy baking!
Sally, I have been using your recipes for years and all I have to say is….AMAZING! Thank you for sharing!!! Also my family always loves these cookies! I’m making them as we speak.
Loved making these for Valentine’s Day. If I use orange or lemon extract, do I also include the vanilla?
Hi Connie, yes, you should still include the 2 tsp of vanilla. You can add 1/4 to 1/2 tsp of another flavor extract too. Enjoy!
Are these cookies “chewy” or “soft”?
Hi Amy, they’re not chewy, they’re just a nice soft texture rather than being too hard or crispy.
Thank you!!!
Great recipe, great teacher/video and notes. Turn out beautiful
These cookies taste great and hold their shape while baking. I didn’t have the almond extract but will definitely get some to add next time. Only had an hour to let the dough chill and it worked fine. Had a Valentine’s Day cookie decorating and the kids said they tasted great! Btw I am not a baker by any means and did all the mixing by hand with a spatula because I don’t have a mixer, hope that helps anyone who is winging it.
Hi I want to make these as Disney Princess characters using the cookie cutter but do I place the top piece of the design onto the icing while wet or do I wait till it starts drying abit this is my first time ever making these
Hi Kirsty, are you talking about decorating with royal icing? There are a lot of detailed instructions in that post to help you your first time.
Can’t go wrong with Sally’s recipes!!!
This is my go to sugar cookie recipe!
This my go to recipe for sugar cookies I love it. They are delicious and hold their shape perfect. I make these two ways. One I follow the recipe, and other I sub 1/4 dark brown sugar and do 1/2 white sugar, 3/4 teaspoon almond extract and 3 tsp of vanilla.
I am looking forward to making this — slightly different from my 50+ yr recipe. How many cookies does it make?
Hi Julie, This recipe yields approximately twenty four 3-4 inch cookies.
Thank you, this is such a great recipe. Just wanted to ask about thawing process if the dough has already been cut into the cookie shapes and then frozen?