My easy sugar cookie recipe is a must-try! The dough is easy to mix together with 7 simple ingredients, plus it’s firm enough to cut into whatever shapes you like: classic rounds, hearts, Christmas trees, bunnies…the limit is your imagination!
I’ve tested this recipe several times over the years to develop sugar cookies that hold their shape when cut and baked. And I’ve nailed the ratios! The dough has a balanced sugar-to-fat ratio, so it is firm enough to hold a clean edge, but tender enough to be enjoyable to eat (which is always my #1 priority when developing a recipe). The result is a soft cookie that doesn’t spread, so your special shapes look exactly how you pictured when you pull them out of the oven.
A reader, Mary, says: “I made these cookies for Christmas and they were wonderful! They kept their shapes perfectly and tasted great! I’ve never had success with cut-out sugar cookies before. Thank you.” ★★★★★
Table of Contents
Key Ingredients & Flavorings
These are the main ingredients you need to make roll out sugar cookies. You can find the full list of ingredients and measurements in the recipe card below.
Butter — unsalted butter is your best bet, so you have total control over the amount of salt in the recipe. If you only have salted butter, reduce the added salt by ½ teaspoon (so use ¼ teaspoon only).
Sugar — use white granulated sugar for firm sugar cookies, perfect for decorating. White sugar adds sweetness, blends smoothly with the butter, and helps the sugar cookies turn lightly golden brown. If you want chewy sugar cookies, swap half of the granulated sugar for brown sugar. The additional moisture in the brown sugar creates a chewier cookie. If you make this swap, the cookies may puff or spread slightly, so keep that in mind.
Eggs — large eggs help to bind the dough and give it structure.
Baking powder — baking powder helps the cookies rise just a little, while creating light, not cakey, soft sugar cookies.
Flavorings — the classic cut-out sugar cookies are flavored simply with vanilla, but you can easily adjust this! Flavor the dough with spices like cinnamon, ginger, or pumpkin pie spice by adding a teaspoon or so to the flour mixture. You can replace half of the vanilla extract with different extracts like orange, lemon, almond, or peppermint. Or beat in 2 to 3 teaspoons of citrus zest with the butter and sugar (orange, lemon, and lime would all be delicious!).
Scale The Recipe Based On Cookie Size
Keep the size of your cookie cutter in mind when figuring out the cookie yield. Larger cookie cutters will yield a smaller total number of sugar cookies, while you’ll be able to get more cookies using a smaller cookie cutter.
I used 2½” and 3″ cutters for this recipe and was able to get about 36 cookies. For smaller 2″ to 2¼” cutters, you should get 36 to 48 cookies. For larger 3¼” to 4″ cutters, you should get 18 to 26 cookies. If you have larger cookie cutters, it might be worth making a double batch of dough based on the number of cookies you need.
Tips For Cutting Out Shapes
Sugar cookie dough can be cut into any shape or size with fun cookie cutters. If you decide to use a variety of cutters, like I did in the image below for my batch of Christmas sugar cookies, be sure to bake similar-sized cookies together so that they bake at the same rate and smaller cookies don’t burn. Here are some quick tips for the best results when using a cookie cutter to cut out shapes:
- Dip the cookie cutter in flour before cutting the dough. This prevents the cutter from sticking to the dough, making the shape easier to remove after cutting it.
- Cut out the shapes as close together as you can to help maximize the number of cookies you can get from one batch of dough. It will also save you time as you don’t need to reroll scraps too many times.
- Make sure the dough stays cold. The butter fat in the dough firms up when it’s cold, making the dough easier to cut. As it warms up, the fat softens or melts, and the dough becomes soft and sticky. The shapes will also stay intact better if the dough is cold. If the sugar cookie dough seems to be warming up faster than you’re able to cut it, simply pop it into the fridge for 5 to 10 minutes to firm up.
Options For Decorating Sugar Cookies
There are various options for decorating sugar cookies depending on your skill level and how much time you have. Remember that decorations will adhere best to cooled cookies, while they are likely to slide off or melt into warm sugar cookies. Here are a few decorating ideas:
- Most Intricate: Use royal icing to pipe all kinds of intricate designs on the cookies, perfect if you want to create professional-looking, bakery-style sugar cookies for holidays or themed events. You will want two different icing textures (thick for piping and thinner for flooding). This type of sugar cookie decoration will take the longest to dry into a hard, crisp coating — up to 24 hours. So keep that in mind in your planning process.
- Easier Icing: My sugar cookie icing is a super-easy option that just whisks together in 5 minutes. It sets up softer than royal icing and is dry enough to handle in about 2 hours, making it a great option if you want to add decoration but don’t have enough time to wait for royal icing to set. While you can’t do as much detailed decorating with this icing, it’s a quick and easy option, and you’ll still get beautiful results. You can also whip up a quick classic buttercream to pipe or spread on top of the cookies.
- Easiest and Fastest: For a pretty decoration that is simple and effective, sprinkle the cookies with sparkling sugar or sprinkles before baking to create a sweet, crunchy topping. This is a great option if you don’t want to add any icing decorations but still want to jazz up the plain cookies. You can also dip or drizzle the plain baked cookies with melted chocolate after they’ve cooled completely.
Can I Freeze Sugar Cookies And Dough?
Yes! This is a great way to prepare ahead for a cookie decorating party! You can either pre-roll the dough or pre-cut it into shapes before freezing it. Here’s how:
Pre-roll the dough: Divide the dough in half and place each piece on a sheet of parchment paper, pressing it into a square. Add another sheet on top and roll the dough to ¼-inch thick. Stack each sheet on a cookie tray, wrap with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for up to 24 hours or freeze for up to 1 month. When you’re ready, you can just remove the top sheet of parchment and cut the cookies out! (If frozen, thaw the dough in the fridge for about 4 hours before cutting.)
Pre-cut the dough: Cut out the dough into whatever shapes you like and freeze them on a lined baking sheet, tightly wrapped in plastic wrap. When you’re ready to bake them, simply remove the plastic wrap and bake from frozen, adding 2 minutes to the bake time to account for the frozen cookies.
Pro Tips For Making The Best Sugar Cookies
Measure the flour correctly. Flour is one of those ingredients that can make or break a recipe if you accidentally use too much or too little. Too much flour makes dry, crumbly sugar cookies. Too little flour makes a sticky dough that’s very difficult to cut and can cause the cookies to spread. To prevent this, weigh the flour using a scale. If you don’t have one, fluff the flour in its container to aerate it and spoon it into your measuring cup before leveling off the top. This process helps to prevent overpacking the measuring cup.
Use room temperature ingredients. Set the eggs and butter out an hour or so before you start baking. Room temperature ingredients are easiest to blend into a cohesive dough. If you forget, don’t worry! Set the eggs in a bowl of warm water for 5 to 10 minutes, and follow my easy tricks for how to soften butter quickly.
For thinner, crispier sugar cookies: Roll the dough to ⅛-inch thickness. Bake until the edges turn a light golden brown, a little bit darker than what is pictured in this post (I rolled them to ¼-inch for thicker, softer cookies). This will take 8 to 10 minutes.
Adjust baking time if needed. For softer sugar cookies, you want them to bake until they are slightly brown on the bottom edges without much color on top. Watch cookies carefully on your first batch. I recommend checking them at the 8-minute mark in case your oven runs hotter, and remove them once you see the tasty golden brown edges form.
Can I color the dough? Absolutely! Add the food coloring to the creamed butter and sugar to incorporate it without overmixing the dough too much. Use 2 to 4 drops of gel food coloring for lighter shades and 5 to 10 for richer, dark shades.
How To Make Sugar Cookies
Below, I’ve highlighted portions of the best sugar cookie recipe in step-by-step process images, along with instructions for making these cut out sugar cookies. You can find the full set of instructions in the recipe card below.
1. Sift together the dry ingredients in a medium bowl and set them aside while you work on the wet ingredients.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (you can also do this in a large bowl and use an electric hand mixer), beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Keep mixing while you drop in the eggs one at a time, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and add the vanilla extract.
3. With the mixer still running, add the flour mixture into the butter mixture a little at a time until the wet and dry ingredients are properly combined and form a dough.
4. Divide the dough in half, shape it into two disks, and wrap each one tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 2 hours to give the butter a chance to firm up once more, so the dough is easier to cut into shapes later on.
5. Place one disk of dough on a lightly floured surface to prevent sticking and use a rolling pin to roll it to ¼-inch-thickness.
6. Cut out shapes using 2½-inch cookie cutters or whatever size you require. See my Tips For Cutting Out Shapes section for more information. Reroll and cut any scraps of dough to make more cookies.
Place the cookies on parchment paper or silicone mat lined baking sheets with 1 inch of space between them. Bake one sheet at a time at 375°F for 10 to 12 minutes, and let cool on the cookie sheet for a few minutes before transferring the sugar cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Once cool, serve plain or decorate any way you like (see Options For Decorating Sugar Cookies above for ideas and tips).
Sugar Cookie Recipe
Video
Equipment
- Baking Sheet
Ingredients
- 4 cups all-purpose flour (480g)
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened (227g)
- 1 cup granulated sugar (200g)
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, salt, and baking powder.
- In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar together on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, while mixing. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Beat in the vanilla.
- With the mixer running, gradually add in the flour mixture and mix until everything is well incorporated. Divide the dough in half, shape into two disks, and tightly wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 2 hours or up to 2 days. (if chilling longer than 2 hours, let the dough sit at room temperature for 15 to 30 minutes or until slightly softened.)
- Once the dough is chilled and you’re ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375F.
- Roll the dough on a lightly floured surface to ¼-inch-thickness. Cut out shapes using 2½-inch cookie cutters. Re-roll as needed for more cookies.
- Place the cut-outs on non-stick or parchment-lined baking sheets 1 inch apart.
- Bake one sheet at a time for 10 to 12 minutes or until the bottom edges start to turn brown. Let cool for a few minutes on the pan then transfer to a wire rack and cool completely. Serve plain or decorate with royal icing.
Notes
- Cool cookies before decorating. Whether you are drizzling with chocolate, frosting with sweet buttercream, dusting with powdered sugar, or using royal icing for intricate designs, allow the cookies to cool to room temperature before decorating. Any icing decorations will melt and run off the cookies if added before they are cooled.
Nutrition
FAQs and Troubleshooting
Yes! Simply swap the all-purpose flour for a gluten-free baking flour blend that contains xanthan gum. I recommend adding 1 to 2 tablespoons of milk if the dough feels crumbly when mixed together.
The main culprit is using too little flour, causing the dough to be too moist. Using butter that’s too warm can also lead to a sticky dough. The butter should still feel slightly cold and a little firm; it should be soft enough that you are able to press a finger into it and leave an indentation without going through the stick, nor should the butter be very oily and slippery.
If your dough is too sticky when you roll it, dust the dough generously with flour when rolling it out. Brush off any excess flour on the cut-out cookies before baking. The cookies may spread a bit more in the oven, but they’ll still hold their basic shape.
This usually happens because the dough is too cold and the butter is too firm for the dough to easily roll out. Usually, if you chill the dough for just 2 hours, it doesn’t get cold enough for this to happen. But if you chill it for longer periods, it might. Simply cover the dough and let it rest on the counter for 5 minutes before trying again. The sugar cookie dough just needs to warm up a little.
It can also mean the dough is too dry because too much flour was used. If you let the dough warm up a bit, it should roll out a bit better.
This happens because the dough was not cold enough when the cookies went into the oven. If the dough is too warm, the fat in the butter is not solidified, which will cause the dough to spread and puff up too much. If you notice the dough becoming warm before you’re ready to bake, just pop them in the freezer for 5 to 10 minutes, then bake.
How To Store
Leftover baked cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week. You can also freeze plain baked sugar cookies (undecorated) in an airtight container for up to 2 months. Allow the frozen cookies to reach room temperature before decorating.
How many days ahead can I bake for an event or party?
These cookies keep very well for several days plain or decorated with royal icing. For the best taste and texture, I recommend making them within 2 to 3 days of your event, but they will stay pretty and delicious for up to a week.
More Cookie Recipes To Try
Try these classic cookie recipes next! They’re great for special occasions or just as an everyday treat.
Slightly tangy, very cinnamony snickerdoodle cookies are ready in about 20 minutes since you don’t need to chill the dough! Cream of tartar is a must in this cookie recipe to give them their signature flavor.
Peanut butter lovers need to try my perfect peanut butter cookies! They’re a snap to whip up and have the most incredible soft texture. That’s why it’s so important to rest once you take them out of the oven; they need some time to firm up,
Melt-in-your-mouth shortbread cookies come together with just 5 pantry staple ingredients and very little time and effort. Think of shortbread as a denser, less sweet, more buttery cousin to sugar cookies.
I love baking crisp, chewy gingersnap cookies during the holidays! They’re perfectly sweet, have just the right amount of warming ginger, cinnamon, and cloves, and have a deep, complex flavor thanks to molasses.
Did you know you can make cookies out of cake mix? You only need 3 basic ingredients to make my fluffy cake mix cookies, which you can dress up with chocolate chips, sprinkles, or M&Ms!
If you’ve tried this easy sugar cookie recipe, then don’t forget to rate it and let me know how you got on in the comments below. I love hearing from you!
Chuu says
Thank you for this!!!!!
Elaine says
Easy to make, tastes great, thanks for all the tips on the video. Used a bear shaped cookie cutter and wrapped the “arms” around a mini egg – instant hit at a family gathering this Easter. Also cut them into star shaped, dusted with cinnamon sugar and sandwiched with Dulce de leche. Yum.
Fallon says
This sugar cookie recipe is the best. I use it for any and every occasion that calls for cookies, and everyone loves them. Easy to follow, foolproof recipe.
Magen says
I’ve been baking these for over a year. My kids love them! They request them so often I keep the dough in my freezer.
Helen says
I absolutely love this recipe, it’s my favourite go to…… I make smaller bitesize and larger cookies, Some of them I 1/2 dip in chocolate, milk, plain or white it doesn’t matter they all go well. And some of them I ice with fondant. Very popular with everyone. Thanks for such a perfect recipe
Liz Hopkins says
These cookies are delicious!
Daniela says
Best sugar cookie recipe ever! This is the recipe I use to make cookies for Santa with my kids and they’re so delicious and hard to resist eating before decorating!
Mary Massie says
I made these cookies for Christmas and they were wonderful! They kept their shapes perfectly and taste great! I’ve never had success with cut out cookies before. Thank you.
Mel says
Love the texture and it tastes amazing with fondant on top would definitely recommend
Kimk says
Best cookie recipe!
It is so easy to make and just DELICIOUS!!