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
Hi Sally,
I just made this recipe for your sugar cookies and they are not as soft on the inside as i thought they would be. Can you let me know maybe i kept them in to long. Also , they taste plain. I used vanilla and almond extract.
Any suggestions would be great.
Thanks
Hi Karen, try baking for a few less minutes next time to ensure a soft center and also be careful to spoon and level your flour when measuring. These are a great base recipe for sugar cookies, feel free to add additional flavors (see recipe notes) and icings!
Hi Sally, I love this recipe SO much it’s my go to cookie recipe but I did have a question about the icing. I am planning to make these cookies for my brothers birthday and wanted to dip them rather than pipe the icing on so the icing would need to be much thinner. How would I do that would I add more water or less powdered sugar? Thanks, Ray
By the way I am planning to use your easy royal icing recipe
Hi Ray, you can add a bit more water until the icing the the consistency you’re looking for.
Ok thank you
How much butter is needed. Amd what temp do we cook them
Hi!! Love all the recipes I’ve tried so far but i couldn’t help but notice that the amount in cups isn’t the same as in grams.
Sorry to bother
Hi Mau! You can read more about properly measuring baking ingredients in this post – be careful to spoon and level your flour when measuring to avoid packing too much in!
The flavor of these cookies are great! However, they turned out a little hard, dry and crumbly. I baked them for 11 minutes on convection. Any suggestions on what to do differently next time to make them softer?
Hi Emily! How are you measuring your flour? Make sure to spoon and level to avoid packing in too much flour (which would lead to dry cookies). Also, your convection oven could be playing a role as well – All of the recipes on this site are written for conventional settings. Convection ovens are fantastic for cooking and roasting. If you have the choice, we recommend conventional settings when baking cakes, breads, etc. The flow of air from convection heat can cause baked goods to rise and bake unevenly and it also pulls moisture out of the oven. If you do use convection settings for baking, lower your temperature by 25 degrees F and keep in mind that things may still take less time to bake.
Such a great sugar cookie recipe!! They are great! I made dough earlier in the month, froze it and then let it thaw in the refrigerator overnight a couple of days ago. Life got busy and I ran out of time to actually make roll out the dough and bake the cookies. How long is the dough still good for after it has been frozen and thawed in the refrigerator? Thanks so much!!
Hi Carrie! We would let the dough sit in the fridge for up to 2 days.
I made theses cookies and the associated recipe for royal icing – they turned our incredible. I am know for being a good Baker, however, even my friends thought they had been purchased from a bakery! I will definitely be making these again in the very near future.
This has been my go-to recipe for sugar cookies for the last 10 years! It’s fool-proof, and I now use it every November and freeze the cut out cookies for my annual Christmas bake-a-thon. The dough works perfectly even for my more complicated cookie cutters that imprint details, and especially if I cut them out and then chill them in the freezer before baking! I have so many fun photos of fun cookies I’ve made with this recipe that I’d love to share with you and wish I could include in the reviews!
Hello!! Love this cookie recipe!!! Would it still work if you substituted apple sauce for the eggs??
Hi Brittany, we don’t recommend it. Eggs are a key binder in this sugar cookie recipe and we haven’t tested any replacements. For best taste and texture (and so you don’t waste your time trying to adapt this recipe since it may not work properly), it may be more useful to find a recipe that is specifically formulated for an egg substitute like apple sauce. Thank you!
I’ve never been able to make cut out cookies, till now! I followed the recipe to a T and they came out amazing. My husband even likes them (he’s not big on sweets) thank you so much for sharing this great recipe.
First time making a successful sugar cookie from this recipe and all thanks to the reviews (and feedback from the baker)
1) Read the reviews
2) measure your cutters to determine the outcome of your qty! – I used a variety of a bat, a pumpkin and a ghost. While they all measured at their widest about 3″, they’re still a bulky shape, unlike a heart.
3) I doubled my recipe because of my cutters and I got 31 cookies. With a quarter size excess I couldn’t use.
4) I used a measuring tape to make sure my cookies were the exact 1/4 thickness
5) keep dough chilled at all times, except the batch you’re cutting
6) If they get too warm when cutting, pop them in the fridge for several minutes.
PS the almond extract is a must!
How long can the dough sit in the fridge? Wanting to make the dough tonight, bake Friday, serve Saturday…Or will that dry it out for raw dough to sit?
Hi Lindsey! The dough can chill up to 2 days
Hi Sally,
this is the best sugar cookie recipe!
This is the first time my sugar cookies turned out correctly. I used your idea of shaping first then putting them in the refrigerator. I also added in the almond extract!
Made these cookies for the first time, they have a really nice flavour and beautiful texture. I had no problems with the cookies spreading at all. I rolled the dough out prior to refrigerating and then also placed the cut out cookies back into the fridge prior to baking. They kept their shape nicely. Would definitely use this recipe again!
Hi, can I freeze the dough if I already shaped it into the shapes I want it to be when cooked?
Sure can!
Incredible, I followed the recipe exactly and got award winning cookies. Well written recipe with clear directions
If you were to use a cookie stamp with this recipe (without icing) would you chill the dough ball, roll into smaller balls and stamp, and chill again? Other suggestions?
Hi Sachia, yes, we’d recommend rolling them into balls and then stamping. If you stamp the cookie dough, then chill the stamped cookie dough shapes right before baking – they’ll definitely hold their shape. We suggest chilling the shaped cookies for 1 hour prior to baking. We’ve used this recipe to make stamped cookies before and they came out beautifully!
I made these cookies tonight and this was my first time working with flood icing. Watch the videos and follow the instructions – both are excellent and I can’t wait to make more cookies!!! And sorry grandma, this is my new go to sugar cookie
Hi Sally! How would you recommend making these maple flavored?
Hi Julia, for maple flavored cut outs, we’d recommend following the recipe for our Maple Cinnamon Star Cookies. Let us know if you give them a try!
If I am making and shipping cookie kits (undecorated cookies, royal icing made with meringue powder), should there be any issue with not refrigerating the icing?
Hi Amy! Royal icing will last for several days at room temperature (as long as you are using meringue powder like in this recipe) in an airtight container. However, we find it will start to separate after a few hours and need to be stirred again before using, so it’s best not to store it in icing bags until you are ready to use it.
Hi Sally,
I use your receipes alot as your instructions and tips along with the actual recipes always are a favorite with friends and family. Question on these cookies, as I have made them a lot but I have a few very large orders for some friends parties. I have read so many blogs on sugar cookies, I know you state 5 days in containers at room temp or 10 days in fridge. I read alot that say not to put them in the fridge, I assume you testing them and 10 days in fridge works, but do you find they are the same texture and taste keeping them that way? Or should I just make them a day ahead and keep at room temp before decorating?
Hi Kim, they stay wonderfully in the fridge! They also freeze beautifully – see recipe notes for instructions.
Hi! I love your recipes! I’ve been a fan ever since I came across your website. I have a question, I wanna flavor my sugar cookie dough to matcha how much do I have to add and do I have to reduce the amount of flour? Thank you!
We haven’t tested a matcha version of these cookies, but let us know if you do!
Hi! I absolutely LOVE this sugar cookie recipe and it is my go-to every time I make cut-out sugar cookies!! I have to make cut-out sugar cookies for a birthday party for someone who has allergies and cannot have butter. Would this recipe worked if I used coconut oil in place of butter sticks?
Hi Amber, you could try creaming solid coconut oil for this recipe. We’re unsure how well the dough will roll out. Let us know how it goes!
Can I put gel food coloring into the dough to color it? If so, should I adjust anything else?
Hi Katrina, definitely, you can add a few drops of food coloring to this dough if desired. We recommend gel food coloring for best results.
These cookies came out perfectly! My whole family loved them. Instead of chilling the cut out cookies (because I don’t have room in my fridge for a cookie sheet), I chilled the dough ball for about 15 minutes. It worked great! It was easy to roll and the cookies kept their shape and size during baking. I didn’t try your royal icing recipe though.
Does it have to be unsalted butter? If I use salted butter can I just omit the salt?
Hi Marcia, If using salted butter you can reduce the added salt in the cookie dough from 1/4 teaspoon to 1/8 teaspoon. Happy baking!
Hi, Sally! Is it possible to do this recipe as cinnamon cookies? If that’s so, how much cinnamon should I add? Thanks in advance<3
Absolutely! We love adding 1/2 – 1 teaspoon cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, or a combination of nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon, etc.
I chilled these for a day and half, ans now they are too hard. Is that normal? Should I leave them out to get a bit soft?
Hi Michelle, if the dough is too hard when removing from the refrigerator, you can let it sit at room temperature for a short bit to make it more workable for cutting shapes.
These are the best! I found the dough super easy to work with. I rolled it right out and cut the cookies carefully. Then I DID chill the cut shapes on the sheet before baking. No spreading issues. Probably helps to have a chilly kitchen- might not be the best to attempt in the middle of July. I was very impressed with the taste of the cookie alone (the “easy” royal icing worked perfect tho). They are very buttery with a grown up flavor. Not just a “sugar and flour” flavor. The excess scraps I rolled into little balls and put in the freezer- ate them straight out over the next few weeks lol.
This recipe is perfect. I’d like to send some cookies to a loved one. It takes about 2 weeks for him to get deliveries. Would the cookies plus the royal icing recipe be good for up to 2 weeks? If so, Any advise on how to package them so they won’t break?
Hi Lou! Cookies frosted with royal icing usually stay soft for about 5 days at room temperature. They may be a bit stale after two weeks but if that’s your only option it may be worth a try! Is there a way for you to ship them cold? They would stay fresher for longer that way. Here’s our tips for shipping cookies.
I’ve been using your recipe for all my sugar cookies when I started to bake for grandson a couple of years ago. Especially to send some to his daycare. Everyone loves them for Christmas, Easter, Halloween. They even turned out great for Halloween witch’s fingers (rolled each finger, cut off at one end with a fork not a knife, so it’s not a clean cut, use the end of fork (mine have a curve) and press where the nail should be, the little piece that you cut off can be shaped as a fingernail and dab a touch of water to the bottom of “nail” to place on finger before baking. You might like it with no fingernails too.. (would love to send you some pics.)
We’re so glad this recipe has been a success for you, Frankie! We’d love to see your photos. Feel free to send them to us at sally@sallysbakingaddiction.com. Thank you!
Can I make these thicker? Like 1/2 inch?
Hi Lizzy, that should be fine. Just make sure that they are sufficiently chilled so that they don’t spread, and they may take an extra minute or two to bake.
Even after using the right amount of flour and adding the 2 tbps (I had to double the recipe) it’s still way to sticky to even take out of the bowl. Does anyone have any ideas to fix this?
Hi Al, Make sure your butter isn’t too warm. If so, the dough will be too sticky. You can add a little more flour so it’s easier to roll or you can chill the dough for 30 minutes before rolling out and chilling again.