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
I made this in my culinary class and my cookies were flat what went wrong?
Did you refrigerate the dough?
Can I triple this recipe?
Hi Nathan, if you have a mixer that can handle the volume, this recipe multiplies well. Otherwise, it may be best to make separate batches.
This recipe is amazing and very easy to follow! This was my first time using a recipe here and it worked very well!! I made these for a party and it was a hit!! Do you have any recipes for cookie icing (preferably royal icing)?
Very good recipe. The taste is good, I got scared of the almond extract and only put a little wish I put in more than a quarter teaspoon cuz it was really good. Will be making again.
This is the best cut sugar cookie recipe in existence! I have been using it since you first posted it. Last year, I was out of cream cheese and made a different sugar cookie recipe. Everyone let me know it was not as good. LOL I learned my lesson and will never use any sugar cookie recipe but this one!!
Hi Deb! Are you talking about our cream cheese sugar cookies? Either way, we’re so glad you love the recipe! Both sugar cookie recipes are favorites.
How exactly do you wrap parchment paper in plastic wrap when nothing sticks to parchment paper and the rolled out dough is so large and flat, nearly impossible
Hi Mb! Just cover it – don’t wrap it. You can lay it on top of the cookie dough.
This is my favorite recipe that I use yearly! However I now have a kid I have to make gluten free stuff for. I tried other gluten free recipes and they are not delicious. I was going to try to use this recipe but add more liquid. Has anyone done that and added more butter and an extra egg to keep them soft and not grainy?
Hi Shelby, we haven’t tested a gluten free version of this recipe, but some readers report success using a 1:1 gluten free flour blend without any other changes. If you give it a try, let us know how it goes!
Can I bake these in mounded pans?
Hi Bonnie, do you mean molded pan? I’m sure you could.
They taste like egg, do you need the egg in the recipe?
Hi Talia, it is strange that these would have an eggy flavor, with just 1 egg for 24 cookies. We haven’t tested any egg substitutes, but let us know if you try anything.
This is the ONLY SUGAR COOKIE RECIPE that I have used for the past four years! Easy, delicious & fool-proof.
Love this recipe. I want to make 2 flavors. Cranberry and orange. And chai. Can I just add those extra ingredients to this recipe?
Hi Ami, see the recipe Note. You can add a variety of flavors and extracts.
I have tried to make sugar cookie cut outs for years and they’re never soft and hold their shape…until I found this recipe! It’s not even just the recipe itself but the detailed explanations provided throughout that made it the best.
Hi! I usually use the almond extract but wanted to add some lemon this year. Can I use the almond extract and also add some lemon zest? Or would I need to replace the almond extract with lemon extract?
Hi Grace, we recommend adding 1 tsp of lemon extract instead of the almond.
Delicious sugar cookies (I did add the almond extract). Rolling out the dough then refrigerating was an excellent step. Will keep this recipe and make from now on. The perfect recipe!
I have used this recipe for several years now to make roll out sugar cookies at Christmas time, and every time I do, people rave about them! They taste incredible, with just the right amount of soft chew and crispy edges. When I mix up this dough, there is always this point where the dough looks dry, but with a bit more mixing, it starts to come together and look like clumps of wet sand. That’s what you want; you do not want to over mix it so that it looks like one homogenous dough because that makes the cookies tough ( and not in a good way). I like to turn it out onto plastic wrap at this stage and wrap it up tightly into a rectangular package and chill it in the refrigerator. I have found that the key to getting the perfect cookies is to follow Sally’s advice about rolling between parchment paper, after chilling the wrapped up dough in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes to an hour. I freeze the cut-outs just until solid to help the shapes maintain a cleaner edge for decorating. And critically, don’t roll the dough too thinly. These cookies are more time-consuming to make than other kinds of drop cookies, but the results are well worth it. The tender cookies are the stuff of holiday traditions and my family is so grateful to have stumbled upon this recipe!
I’m really tempted to make extra and freeze. I’ve never done that..Do they taste the same as freshly baked?
Hi Carrie, yes! See recipe notes for make ahead and freezing instructions.
I’m making this recipe in real time, and I put 2 eggs instead of one is that ok?
Hi Jenny, an extra egg may cause the cookies to spread too much.
I’ve only just mixed the dough. It seems very light. However, trying to form it to roll flatter pieces keep breaking off. It seems very dry. Should I add more butter for moistening?
(not sure my previous email went through)
Hi Traci, how are you measuring your flour? Be sure to spoon and level (or use a kitchen scale) to ensure the flour is not over measured, which can dry out the dough. Unfortunately, it is probably best to start a new batch if the ingredients are already mixed together. Hope this helps!
Hi!! I love this recipe so much. I’m wondering though, what are the calories per cookie? Thanks!!
Hi Kathryn, 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
Can these be rolled into balls and baked if you don’t have cookie cutters?
Hi Shannon, these cookies do need to be cut out into a shape — they will spread over so slightly. If you’re looking for a more traditional drop cookie that can be made in balls and spread while baking, we recommend our drop sugar cookies (with or without sprinkles) recipe instead.
Have made this several times & they’re very good!! But making them now for Christmas I doubled the batch & only came up with around 37 cookies instead of 24 per batch as stated. I’m sure it makes a difference the cookie cutters you use but just a heads up…
Hi, just made a double recipe of sugar cookie recipe. I rolled out a small portion on a SIL Pat and used parchment on the top. I refrigerated for an hour or a bit longer and the dough felt firm and ready to cut. I cut a shape out but the dough was so sticky on the bottom that I could not get it off the SIL Pat. My guess is that the dough is too moist. Should I try to blend a bit more flour into the dough? The cookies taste good but are terribly misshapen.
Hi Charlene, Did you lightly dust your baking mat and the top of the dough before rolling it out and stacking it? If not, that should definitely help keep it from sticking next time. You can watch how this is done in the video under the recipe. If the cookies are spreading in the oven the dough may not have been cold enough, so chilling for longer can definitely help also.
I put this in the fridge to chill for 2 and a half hours and the dough was rock hard, I couldn’t even cut shapes without the dough just snapping in half. What did I do wrong?
Hi KH, Was the dough very soft before rolling it out? If your dough seems more like it’s frozen, you can let it sit out at room temperature for a few minutes until you can cut it.
I made these sugar cookies, but cut them first then chilled. Turned out awesome and no scraps. Thank you for the recipe!
Just for your information, the rolling pin you recommended was great until the ends no longer stay in. Right in the middle of rolling my dough they fly off.
so great!
These cookies + your royal icing are now going to be my go-to recipes for all things cookie! Thank you so much!!!!
I’ve made these cookies dozens of times and they’re my favorite. Can I make green and red pinwheel cookies from this cookie dough? Thanks.
Hi Kate, you could try it, but I’d recommend using this recipe for pinwheel cookies, and just keep the dough all vanilla (ignore the steps to turn half the dough chocolate).
These are really good cookies! We accidentally added too much vanilla but it turned really good. Best cookies ever!!!
I’ve made this recipe for years now, it’s such a hit that I’ve had friends and family beg me to make them. Even without icing these are the best sugar cookies by far.
Hey! Can I sub butter for margarine?
Hi Ben, we don’t recommend it. Margarine has a different makeup than butter. If you do want to use margarine, we recommend using a recipe that is specifically formulated to do so. Let us know if you give these cookies a try!
Every year around this time I make a cookie house for each of my kids to decorate. Over the last 10 years I’ve found that most recipes distort too much in the oven making for messy windows and corners that don’t match up. The cookies are usually either too soft and the house falls apart or too hard and not tasty at all. This year I used a combination of this recipe and the rolled chocolate cookie recipe that you have linked on this page. I was a little apprehensive about using 2 kinds of dough but they worked out perfectly. Soft and yummy but structurally sound with crisp clean edges that needed nearly no cleanup. I made 4 batches of each kind and have plenty left over for normal cookies to share and enjoy.
So happy to read this, Jennifer!