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Soft Cut-Out Sugar Cookies Recipe

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★★★★★

5 from 137 reviews

These Soft Cut-Out Sugar Cookies are delightfully tender with just the right amount of sweetness, perfect for decorating with royal icing, glaze, or buttercream. With a simple yet rich dough that benefits from chilling, these cookies hold their shape beautifully and bake up with soft edges and a delicate crumb, making them ideal for festive occasions or everyday treats.

Ingredients

Scale

Dry 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

Wet Ingredients

  • 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

  1. Combine dry ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside for later.
  2. Cream butter and sugar: In a large bowl, use a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment to beat the softened butter and granulated sugar on high speed until light and creamy, about 3 minutes. This step ensures a fluffy texture.
  3. Add eggs and extracts: Beat in the egg, pure vanilla extract, and almond extract (if using) on high speed until fully combined, about 1 minute. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed to mix evenly.
  4. Incorporate dry ingredients: Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix on low speed until just combined and a soft dough forms. If the dough feels too sticky to roll, beat in an additional tablespoon of flour to stabilize it.
  5. Divide and roll dough: Split the dough in half and place each portion on lightly floured parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll each portion out evenly to about 1/4-inch thickness. Use flour as needed if dough is sticky.
  6. Chill the dough: Dust one rolled dough portion lightly with flour, then place the second portion (with parchment) on top of the first. Cover tightly and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 2 days to firm up the dough, aiding ease of cutting and better cookie texture.
  7. Preheat oven and prepare pans: Heat your oven to 350°F (177°C) and line large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
  8. Cut cookies: Remove the dough from the fridge. Gently peel apart the two dough sheets. Using cookie cutters, cut out shapes, gathering scraps to reroll and cut more shapes until all dough is used. Place cookies onto baking sheets spaced about 3 inches apart.
  9. Bake: Bake the cookies for 11–12 minutes or until the edges are very lightly browned and set. Rotate pans halfway through if your oven has hot spots. Remove cookies and let cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
  10. Decorate: Once cooled, decorate cookies using your choice of royal icing, glaze, or cookie buttercream. You can tint icings with gel food coloring and apply sprinkles. Decorating directly on a baking sheet helps for easy refrigeration to set icing.
  11. Store and enjoy: Enjoy the cookies immediately or allow the icing to set first. Store plain or iced cookies covered at room temperature up to 5 days, or refrigerated up to 10 days. Cookie buttercream-decorated cookies can be stored at room temperature for 1 day or refrigerated for up to 5 days.

Notes

  • If dough is too sticky for rolling, add an extra tablespoon of flour cautiously to avoid tough cookies.
  • Chilling the dough for at least 2 hours is essential for clean cut shapes and better texture.
  • Use gel food coloring for vibrant cookie icing colors without altering icing consistency.
  • Decorating directly on baking sheets allows easier transfer to the fridge to speed up icing setting.
  • Cookies are best stored in airtight containers to maintain softness.
  • Almond extract is optional but highly recommended for enhanced flavor depth.
  • For longer storage, refrigerate iced cookies and bring to room temperature before serving.

Keywords: soft sugar cookies, cut-out cookies, sugar cookie recipe, holiday cookies, decorated cookies, vanilla sugar cookies

Find it online: https://recipeswithria.com/soft-cut-out-sugar-cookies-recipe/