The BEST cookie decorating recipe ever! This cut-out sugar cookie recipe has just a few ingredients, never spreads, and is crazy delicious. Pair with perfect royal icing for easy, beautiful decorated cookies. Scroll to the end for printable recipe and how-to video.
best cut-out sugar cookie recipe
You won’t get far in cookie decorating without a perfect canvas: The cut-out sugar cookie recipe. For veterans of my blog and books, you already know this recipe, so forgive the repetition of these cookie decorating recipes. But it’s buried on my recipe page, and I feel it deserves a bit of spotlight.
My favoritest ever, most super duper cut-out cookie recipe made it into both of my cookbooks (Sugarlicious) because I’ll never use another.
Not only does it taste so good that I’ve seen people at parties hide these cookies in their pockets before the stash disappeared (really, their pockets), but this recipe
- has only six ingredients
- holds the cookie cutter shape flawlessly, and
- bakes beautifully
The cookies are thick with an interesting texture, not too crunchy, not too soft. No spreading, no burned bottoms, no poofs or bubbles.
It’s freezable, roll-able, bake-able. Paired with my favoritest ever, most super duper royal icing recipe, you get decorated cookie perfection. Am I being a tad overdramatic about my cookie recipe? Nope. Not one bit.
Instead of royal icing (which uses meringue powder), you can also decorate cookies with this shortcut, easy sugar cookie icing.
Scroll to the end for a printable sugar cookie recipe AND video.
This post was originally published in September 2012 and updated in May 2019.
cookie decorating basics
And if you want to learn how to decorate cookies like a pro in less than an hour of video how-tos (and with 27 pages of printables), be sure to check out my cookie decorating for beginners course at The Sugar Academy! You can also learn cookie decorating basics HERE.
cookie decorating ideas
.Check out my whole collection of decorated cookies from this blog.
cut-out sugar cookie recipe
ingredients
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened (1 cup or 226 grams)
- 1 cup confectioner’s sugar (icing sugar/114 grams)
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (300 grams)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Optional: 1 1/2 teaspoons of flavored extract (I highly recommend almond extract)
how to make the dough
- Briefly sift together the flour and salt in a bowl and set aside.
- In the bowl of a standing mixer with the flat beater, or in a large bowl with a handheld mixer, blend the butter and sugar together on medium speed until fluffy. Add the egg and blend well. Mix in the vanilla extract and optional flavored extract, if using. Gradually blend in the flour mixture on low speed.
- Cover the dough or transfer to a gallon-size Ziploc bag and flatten evenly. Chill the dough for about two hours.
- When chilled, work with about one-third of the batch at a time. Briefly knead the dough and roll it out 1/4-inch thick, or 3/8 inch if inserting sticks for cookie pops on a floured surface. Cut out your cookies and place one-inch apart on a good quality baking tray lined with a piece of parchment paper.
- Bake in an oven preheated to 375 degrees F for 12 to 14 minutes. Thicker or large cookies may need up to 20 minutes. Cookies are done when the edges are golden brown.
Yields: 25 to 30 cookies (2 to 4-inches), 65 to 70 mini cookies (1 to 2-inches) or about a dozen large cookies (6-inch).
tips on making cut-out sugar cookies
- You can make this dough the night before you bake with it. Just take it out of the fridge and let sit at room temperature until it’s still chilled, but pliable.
- You can also freeze this dough. After mixing, put the dough in a gallon size Freezer ziploc bag (or wrap well) and freeze. Thaw overnight or for at least a few hours in the refrigerator in the ziploc bag. If the dough is too chilled to handle, let it sit at room temperature for about 1/2 hour to 1 hour until it’s workable. Chilled is good, though, don’t let it get too mushy.
- If you’re short on time, I’ve been known to put the dough in the freezer for 30 minutes instead of chilling for 2 hours.
How long do sugar cookies last?
Cut-out sugar cookies for cookie decorating last a good bit longer than drop cookies (such as chocolate chip cookies). If you keep the cookies in an air-tight container in a cool area away from sunlight (a refrigerator isn’t necessary) they can last up to 3 weeks.
For optimal freshness, I would make and give the cookies within the first few days, however. Also note, the decorated royal icing may start to fade or the colors may bleed a bit after a week or two.
useful cookie decorating links:
How-tos on making cookie pops.
Basic cookie decorating how-tos.
Tips on supplies and where to find them.
How to build a cookie cutter collection.
how to decorate swirl cookies
To decorate these cookies… I originally made these swirly, sparkly cookie pops way back almost three years ago, HERE. You’ll find the link to the decorated instructions in that post.
Using sprinkles makes cookie decorating so very easy, because sprinkles have the magic power of covering any mistakes. To decorate, divide your royal icing and tint your preferred colors, including white, using Americolor Soft Gel Pastes (Red Red, Orange, Egg Yellow, Electric Green and Sky Blue used here).
Then, prepare decorating bags with couplers and size “5” tips, fill with icing, and close tightly with rubber bands. Pipe a swirl on a cookie with one of the icing colors, and immediately coat with a coordinating color of sprinkles. Turn over to remove excess, then pipe a swirl of white on the cookie. Let the cookies dry overnight before handling or packaging.
sugar cookie recipe video
printable recipe for the best cut-out sugar cookie recipe
best cut-out sugar cookie recipe
The BEST cut-out sugar cookie recipe with only six ingredients. It bakes perfectly, holds its shape, is easy to make, and delicious.
Ingredients
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened (1 cup or 226 grams)
- 1 cup confectioner's sugar (icing sugar/114 grams)
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (320 grams)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Optional: 1 1/2 teaspoons of flavored extract (I highly recommend almond extract)
Instructions
- Briefly whisk together the flour and salt in a bowl and set aside.
- In the bowl of a standing mixer with the flat beater, or in a large bowl with a handheld mixer, blend the butter and sugar together on medium speed until fluffy. Add the egg and blend well. Mix in the vanilla extract and optional flavored extract, if using. Gradually blend in the flour mixture on low speed.
- Cover the dough or transfer to a gallon-size Ziploc bag and flatten evenly. Chill the dough for about two hours.
- When chilled, work with about one-third of the batch at a time. Briefly knead the dough and roll it out 1/4-inch thick, or 3/8 inch if inserting sticks for cookie pops on a floured surface. Cut out your cookies and place one-inch apart on a good quality baking tray lined with a piece of parchment paper.
- Bake in an oven preheated to 375 degrees F for 12 to 14 minutes. Thicker or large cookies may need up to 20 minutes. Cookies are done when the edges are golden brown.
Notes
- You can make this dough the night before you bake with it. Just take it out of the fridge and let sit at room temperature until it's still chilled, but pliable.
- You can also freeze this dough. After mixing, put the dough in a gallon size Freezer ziploc bag (or wrap well) and freeze. Thaw overnight or for at least a few hours in the refrigerator in the ziploc bag. If the dough is too chilled to handle, let it sit at room temperature for about 1/2 hour to 1 hour until it’s workable. Chilled is good, though, don’t let it get too mushy.
- If you're short on time, I've been known to put the dough in the freezer for 30 minutes instead of chilling for 2 hours.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
30Serving Size:
1 cookieAmount Per Serving: Calories: 83
baking conversions
UPDATE: Conversions for the rest of the known world!!!!
Because I’ve had some requests from those masses that live outside the US (wherein we stubbornly reject the switch to metric), I’m including some UNofficial conversions. I came up with this list ages ago based on what is printed on the ingredients’ packaging and some internet research.
2 sticks butter = 1 cup = 8 ounces = 227 g
1 cup confectioners (or icing/powdered) sugar = 128 g
1 teaspoon extract = 4.2 g = 5 mL
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour = 312 g
1 teaspoon salt = 4.2 g
4 tablespoon meringue powder = 56 g
1/2 cup water = 4 ounces = 60 mL = 113 g
6 cup confectioners sugar = 768 g
1/4 cup vegetable shortening = 56 g
1 cup granulated sugar = 200 g
2 cup flour = 240 g
1/2 cup cocoa powder = 62.5 g
1/2 teaspoon baking soda = 2.1 g
1/2 teaspoon salt = 2.1 g
375 degree F = 190 degree C
Trish says
Can’t wait to try them! I never make cut-outs because all the recipes I’ve tried just leave me with a bunch of disappointing cookies that sorta-kinda look how they’re supposed to.
Bronwyn says
I need this – thank you for highlighting it. There will always be a new audience so don’t hesitate to revisit oldies but goodies! But can you help those from foriegn climes – what is the measurement you call a “stick” of butter? Can you express it in a weight or volume, please? Thanks.
meaghanmountford says
Oooh, good point. Also, on my to-do list, get a kitchen scale (as I roll my eyes at the US resistance to go metric.) I have these UNtested UNofficial conversions buried on my blog. But these are based on internet research and reading the packages, not tested with an actual scale!!
2 sticks butter = 1 cup = 8 ounces = 227 g
1 cup confectioners (or icing/powdered) sugar = 128 g
1 teaspoon extract = 4.2 g = 5 mL
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour = 312 g
1 teaspoon salt = 4.2 g
4 tablespoon meringue powder = 56 g
1/2 cup water = 4 ounces = 60 mL = 113 g
6 cup confectioners sugar = 768 g
1/4 cup vegetable shortening = 56 g
1 cup granulated sugar = 200 g
2 cup flour = 240 g
1/2 cup cocoa powder = 62.5 g
1/2 teaspoon baking soda = 2.1 g
1/2 teaspoon salt = 2.1 g
375 degree F = 190 degree C
sue @ cakeballs, cookies and more says
I will have to try it, I have one recipe but it is not the best to work with
Sarah says
have you (or anyone else) ever tried (or adapted) this recipe in high altitude?
meaghanmountford says
I haven’t Sarah… low land baking for me. Anyone else out there who has, please feel free to weigh in!
Tracy {Pale Yellow} says
Thanks for sharing and reminding me of this recipe! It’s always good to go back to the basics.
Autumn in Philly says
You are so right! Your recipe has never failed me and I have yet to have a batch go wrong….gives me more time to focus on the actual decorating part 🙂
meaghanmountford says
Exactly, Autumn in Philly…
trisha says
wow, this is the JACKPOT post…IMO! THANKS
Celene says
Tried this recipe. Dough came out too soft for me. Cut outs ripped as I moved them to baking sheet. Someone tell me what I did wrong please -_-
meaghanmountford says
Did you chill the dough for 2 hours? It should be very pliable and definitely shouldn’t rip at all. Or, the butter could have been too soft or melted. (Did you use butter or margarine?)
Pointy says
Tasty cookies are tasty. 🙂 I looked at the icing recipe and have a couple questions though: What is meringue powder? I’ve never heard of this – I thought merring was egg white and sugar. What is crisco?
One question unrelated to the current post – how do you make buttercream white? I’ve been trying to make mine coloured using pastes and gels, but because of the base ‘yellow’ colour, it’s not accepting them very well. Pinks are coming out muddy and reds go orange. I tried to make some purple and ended up with a muddy and unappetising purple colour. Maybe if I can get it white first, it’ll go the colour I want?
kathy wischow says
I used this recipe for graduation cookies and put them in push pop containers. They were fabulous and the frosting was perfect! By far the best recipe I have ever used.
Beth Murray says
I agree, these cookies are the best. Your recipe has completely wiped out my mom’s sugar cookie cut out recipe, but don’t tell her!
meaghanmountford says
High praise to beat out mom!! Aw, thanks, Kathy!!
CookieD-oh says
How cute are those swirl cookies pops!?!? I bet kids flip for them!
Ann says
These are similar to my favorite sugar cookie. The confectioner’s sugar gives them a velvety melt in your mouth texture and trust me you want to add the almond extract. I’m lazy so I push mine out of a cookie press and bake them like spritz. Delish! The original recipe I use was cut from a newspaper over 40 years ago and later appeared in Betty Crocker cookbooks.
meaghanmountford says
Exactly Ann! I’ve seen similar, too. The original recipe I doctored up just a bit from one my mom had handwritten in a recipe book I found in our cupboard. And that would have been from when I was a kid (so over 30 years ago), and now that you mention it, it would make sense if she got it from a Betty Crocker cookbook. Sheesh, I’d love a job tracing recipes through history.
Sue {munchkin munchies} says
These cookies are classic YOU, Meaghan:) Love them!
Karen @ Sugartown Sweets says
Love these swirly cookies! After all the positive comments I believe I’m going to give this recipe a try. Thanks Meaghan. 🙂
Jenni Price says
I’ve been on the lookout for a good new sugar recipe!
Is this 1tsp vanilla and 1 1/2tsp almond extract added together or is this to pick one or the other?
Thanks,
Jenni
meaghanmountford says
Hi Jenni! Added together. Though the almond is optional. I often just use vanilla, but you can add additional flavoring along WITH the vanilla if you like.
katie says
Have you ever baked these on a stone? (pampered chef?) If so, do you alter the cooking time?
meaghanmountford says
I’ve never tried a stone, Katie, so I have no idea! But if the stone comes with instructions, I’d say do whatever they say for cookies. Often, too, I don’t even time when my cookies are in the oven, I just look until they are done. The edges are golden brown and the surface starts to turn golden brown, then I take them out.
Nina says
I love this recipe! My copy is posted on my fridge with a big note at the top that says “YUMMY! Doesn’t spread at all!”
Kristine says
Has anyone ever tried using cake flour? I am very interested in the texture it would provide.
Lisa says
I am so disappointed with this cookie recipe. I thought surely, after reading all the glowing reviews, that I had finally found a great-tasting recipe that didn’t get all sticky in two seconds. I did everything EXACTLY the way the recipe said, even refrigerating the dough overnight, kneading it gently before rolling between parchment paper. Still, within 5 minutes, the dough was soft and stuck to the paper. It was so difficult to peel away the dough surrounding the cookies that I had to just scrape the whole batch away with a spatula and put it back in the refrigerator to start over in an hour. What am I doing wrong? I was able to get a few cookies out of it but just as much trouble as any other recipe I’ve used. Soooooo disappointing.
meaghanmountford says
Hi Lisa, I’ll email you the same info, too, just in case you don’t check back.
I’m so sorry you had trouble with this recipe! Yikes, I’ve never had that happen to me at all, so I’m afraid I don’t have a good answer. I’ve made this recipe thousands of times and not once has it failed me. There’s no way the dough should have been that soft to start even. If you left it in the fridge overnight, it should have been very hard in the AM, so hard that you’d have to leave it at room temperature until it was pliable enough to knead, and it sounds like it was still soft even after spending the night in the fridge. Also, I roll out chilled dough on a floured surface, not between parchment paper, which could stick. But back to the too-soft from the start thing. Did you substitute margarine? Or was your butter too soft or melted? Did you add only one egg and the full 2 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour? You should then only have to chill about 2 hours before using.
Such a mystery, I’ve never heard of this result. So so sorry for your inconvenience!
Celene says
I think the butter had something to do with mine coming out very soft as well.
Kristen says
Thank you so much for this recipe!!!! I’ve been looking for years to find a recipe that reminded me of cookies I used to make with my aunt when I was a little girl. The dough tastes exactly the same ( cause obviously you have to taste the dough before baking) :D. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!!!!!
meaghanmountford says
Oh my gosh, that’s fantastic, Kristen, thank YOU!