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
- Watermelon Sugar 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
Can I use rose water? If so, how much is needed?
Hi Allison, we’d love to help, but have not tested these cookies with rose water, so are unsure what to recommend. If you give it a try, please let us know!
I didn’t have any almond extract but other than that, followed this to a T. I don’t know if there’s some magic associated with this recipe but these are the best cookies i’ve ever made. I’m glad I only did half the recipe because otherwise, all 24 cookies would have been eaten immediately.
Hi Sally,
I made your sugar cookies with royal icing for my daughter’s baby shower today and they were gone in a flash. They are the best sugar cookies and icing that I have ever had. I did add only a 1/4 tsp of almond extract for the baby shower cookies. But next time I will add 1 tsp as my family love the almond flavoring. Thank you so much for ths recipe.
Sally I have not made this recipe yet but was wondering if this recipe or maybe another one of your recipes would hold up to an embossed rolling pin.
Thank you
Hi Penny, Yes! If you stamp/emboss the cookie dough, 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!
Thanks so much for the response! Very excited to try them this weekend!
Hi Sally. This recipe looks great. Cant wait to try it out. How long would I have to wait before applying royal icing and an edible image ?
Hi Mymy, wait until the cookies cool completely, at least half an hour or more on a cooling rack.
Thanks so much for your quick response. How long would I need to wait to package the cookies after the icing dries completely and I’ve applied the image ? Can this be done in the same day?
Hi Sally, which brand meringue powder do you recommend?
Hi Tanya, we use this meringue powder.
Thank you! Also can I freeze decorated cookies and if so for how long? When should the cookies be removed from freeze prior to serving?
Plain or decorated sugar cookies freeze well up to 3 months. Wait for the icing to set completely before layering between sheets of parchment paper in a freezer-friendly container. To thaw, thaw in the refrigerator or at room temperature.
Hello Sally,
I would like to freeze this cookie dough, then cut out the shapes, and bake.
Would that be possible?
Thank you for your expertise.
Donna Fred
Hi Donna, you can do that! See the recipe notes for freezing instructions.
Hi Sally! I love love love these cookies! I bought Spider-Man cookie stamps and I am curious if I should modify the recipe if I am not going to frost the cookies? I normally add almond, but wondering if I should add more spices?
Hi Claire, This recipe should work with a stamp/embosser, as we’ve done something similar with snowflake “stamped” cookie cutters for our sugar plum fairy cupcakes. We recommend chilling the shaped cookies (after cutting them) in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes right before baking. This will help guarantee the stamps come out perfectly.
Sally, I would like to know if one batch of My Favorite Royal Icing recipe is enough or maybe a little more for one batch of your My Favorite Sugar Cookies recipe.
I’m going to make 4 batches of the cookies and wondering if 4 batches of the royal icing is too much.
Hi Evelyn! Usually one batch of royal icing is more than enough for a batch of our sugar cookies. We would make one batch, see how many cookies it ices for you, then make more as needed!
Do you use sifted flour?
Thanks.
Hi Jo Anne, no need to sift the flour here.
Hi Sally,
Would using stamp cookie cutters work with these cookies?
Thanks
Hi Melissa, This recipe should work with a stamp/embosser, as we’ve done something similar with snowflake “stamped” cookie cutters for our sugar plum fairy cupcakes. We recommend chilling the shaped cookies (after cutting them) in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes right before baking. This will help guarantee the stamps come out perfectly.
Hi, Sally
Do I have to refrigerate before shaping or can I shape and put it oven right away?
Hi Erin, we do recommend refrigerating, even just for a few minutes, so that the dough is extra cold going into the oven which will help the cookies keep their shape.
Hi Sally,
I made those cookies once and they are amazing!
I am making them again for a party on Sunday but only have time to make them on Thursday night. Would you keep them in the fridge until Sunday or freeze?
Thanks!
Hi Tamar, so glad you love these! I recommend keeping them covered at room temperature until Sunday.
Super easy recipe and the cookies are delicious! I was asked to make about 100 cookie pops for a graduation party, finding this recipe was a lifesaver. Decorated cookies are currently in the freezer with the party in 2 weeks, I can’t wait to present them!
This is my go to sugar cookie recipe. I love how easy it is to make cutouts. The flavor is delicious, though we have to omit the almond extract when baking for school. Freezes well so I always double it.
I love this recipe! I have tried multiple times to freeze the dough but it never thaws and is always rock hard. I am following the directions and my refrigerator and freezer are fine. So any suggestions on freezing? Thanks for any help!
Hi RE! Are you thawing the dough overnight in the fridge? It will still be quite cold, but should be able to be cut with cookie cutters. You can let it sit at room temperature for 10 minutes or so if needed before cutting.
Yes I did put the frozen dough in the fridge overnight. When I froze it, I wrapped it in Saran Wrap and put it in a ziploc bag. It just dawned on me that it just requires saran wrap. Do you think because I put it in a Ziploc bag that helped trap the moisture and crystallize the dough?
Truly the best you could make. I get nonstop compliments on this recipe and have even started a mini cookie business due to everyone wanting to share them at birthdays and holidays.
skibidi recipe, made in class and ate lots of
Hi I’ve fallen in love with this recipe it comes out perfect everytime. However is there any version of it that doesn’t include eggs? I would love to make for someone special but she can’t eat eggs??? Please help me!!
Hi Marisa, We haven’t tested these cookies with an egg substitute, but there are many out there you could try. Please report back with your results if you try something!
Hey! I love your site. I’ve made lots of cookies for family and friends that love them.
However, the one thing that eludes me is a muffin that used to be made by “my favorite muffin” that closed except, I think just one store remains. Not within driving distance. It was their Cinnamon cheesecake muffin with streusel topping. Moist, very flavorful and my favorite. Do you have any recipe close to something like this?
Thank you for being born!
Hi Jacque, sounds delicious! We you might enjoy these zucchini cream cheese muffins. They lightly spiced with a cheesecake filling. You could use the streusel topping from these muffins. Let us know if you try them!
Love your recipes! Do you think I could use King Arthur’s Gluten Free AP flour and get the same results? Also wondering if I could use cocoa powder to tint the icing brown for decorating.
Hi Michelle, 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!
Hi! I’m looking for the Strawberries and Cream Cookies recipe, but I’m not finding it on the website. Is it still published? Thanks
Hi Kristen, we recently removed that recipe from the website, but feel free to send us an email (sally@sallysbakingaddiction.com) and we’d be happy to share a copy with you. Thank you!
How long should I bake for if I’m rolling them to 3/8 inch? This is my go-to recipe for these cookies. Love love love!
Hi Chelsea, bake time will be just slightly longer. Keep a close eye on them!
Hi do these cookies need to be spread out or will they hold the shape you cut them out in?
Hi Ellie, these cookies hold their shape really well after chilling the dough. If you’re concerned about it, you can chill the cookies again after cutting them before you bake them.
Hi Sally! I made these cookies for a friend’s engagement years back (made them ring shaped and sandwich cookies with jam) they were a hit! I had never found another sugar cookie I liked as much as a childhood memory, but this one joined it.
Did the recipe use to have just a touch of lemon zest?
I seem to remember that was a part of what made them so nice, just a hint of lemon in the predominate sugar cookie flavor.
Thanks so much for the lovely recipe!
I’ve recommended it to others.
Hi Katie, See recipe note about lemon flavor. Enjoy and happy baking!
followed the sugar cookie recipe and got shortbread ♂️
Maravilhoso! Fiz os cookies maiores, e ficaram maravilhosos, uma delícia!
Sally, can I chill the dough before I roll them out? I just don’t have room in my refrig to roll first.
Thank you!
Hi Jane, you can!
Any reason I shouldn’t freeze the cut out cookies?
You absolutely can, Debbie! See recipe Notes for details.
Hey! I want to try these, can I sub half of the sugar for brown sugar?
Hi Sarah, brown sugar adds extra moisture to the dough, we recommend using our brown sugar cut out cookies recipe instead!
Are there any adjustments needed when doubling this recipe?
Hi Rachael, this recipe doubles well – just double all the ingredients!
I absolutely adore this website! I’ve never had a bad outcome with any of the recipes i’ve tried! Thank you for sharing these awesome recipes
These cookies are amazing!!! My grandkids made this recipe for the cookies and icing and made flower cookies last night for their mommy today for Mother’s Day 2025