Like a cross between classic sugar cookies and gingerbread cookies, these brown sugar cut-out cookies are made with butter, dark brown sugar, and a touch of cozy spices. Perfect for the holidays or anytime you crave sugar cookies with a little extra flavor! Make them any shape you like and have fun decorating with your choice of icing.
One reader, Haley, commented: “I baked these cookies this weekend, and this is by far the best sugar cookie recipe I’ve ever used! The cookies were so moist and did not turn out hard and crispy. I used Sally’s royal icing recipe, and it piped divinely on the cookies. The flavor itself is so delicious, and I really enjoyed the cross between a classic sugar cookie and a gingerbread cookie. Great recipeโI definitely recommend! โ โ โ โ โ “
Call them a compromise cookie. Maybe you want to decorate Christmas cookies, but you can’t decide between making sugar cookies and gingerbread cookies, and only have the time/energy/ingredients to make just one…
…or maybe you love the festive spiced flavor of gingerbread cookies but can’t find molasses where you live…
…or maybe you love sugar cookies, but crave something with a little more flavor…
Meet the solution that’s sure to please everyone: brown sugar cut-out cookies.
(Now, deciding whether to top them with royal icing, easy glaze icing, or cookie decorating buttercream… you’re on your own for that one!)
Brown Sugar Cut-Out Cookies Recipe Snapshot
- Texture: These cookies have soft, thick centers with slightly crisp edges, just like classic sugar cookies and Christmas sugar cookies.
- Flavor: Buttery and sweet with comforting brown sugar and cozy spice flavors. If you prefer a plain brown sugar cookie, you can omit the spices.
- Ease: If you have an electric mixer and a rolling pin, you can definitely make these cookies.
- Time: This dough needs to chill for at least 1โ2 hours, but the time it takes to make the dough and bake the cookies is pretty short. How you decide to decorate the cookies will account for adding more or less time.
Key Ingredients You Need
- Brown Sugar: Like these pecan sugar cookies, using all brown sugar in place of white sugar gives these cookies a deeper, more complex flavor. I recommend dark brown sugar here for the most flavor, but light brown sugar is fine if that’s all you have.
- Spice: Cinnamon, allspice, ginger, and nutmeg are the flavor power players here. If you want to keep these cookies as plain brown sugar cookies, you can simply leave out the spices.
- Everything Nice: You also need flour, baking powder, butter, an egg, salt, and vanilla extract. Cookie baking basics!
Here’s the lineup:
How to Keep Brown Sugar Moist
I typically use Domino brand sugar. I’m not sponsored by or working with the brandโI just like the quality of their products for baking! But even buying a name-brand brown sugar at a higher price point doesn’t guarantee the sugar will be (or stay) perfectly soft and moist.
To keep brown sugar soft, store it in an airtight container in a cool, dry place, like a pantry, drawer, or cupboard. I store my flours and sugars in these containers, and have done so for years.
If your brown sugar becomes hard and crumbly, all is not lost! You can soften it up again by adding something that absorbs moisture, such as a slice of bread or a marshmallow, to the container and letting it sit overnight. Just remember to remove the (now-stale) bread the next day, before it turns moldy.
For a more permanent solution, use a terracotta sugar saver. Terracotta absorbs moisture (and doesn’t go bad), and you can buy a brown sugar-saver bear or disc that’s specifically designed for this purpose. You can even buy brown sugar storage containers that include a terracotta piece right in the lid, like this one. They’re really handy.
This brown sugar cookie dough comes together quickly with an electric mixer. Once all your ingredients are combined, it’s time to roll out and chill the dough.
My #1 Tip for Making Cut-Out Cookies
Roll the dough out before chilling. I’ll explain why this is so successful. Divide the dough in half, roll out each portion, and then chill:
Most sugar cookie doughs require chilling so the cookies hold their cookie cutter shape in the oven. But if you’ve ever tried rolling out chilled sugar cookie dough, you may remember how difficult it is to flatten cold, stiff dough. So, roll out the dough while it’s still soft (right after making it), and then chill the rolled-out dough. Here’s my exact method, and it works for chocolate sugar cookies, too:
- Divide the dough in half because smaller sections are easier to roll out.
- Roll out the cookie dough directly on a silicone baking mat or parchment paper so you can easily transfer it to the refrigerator.
- Pick the whole thing up, set it on a baking sheet, and place it in the refrigerator. Remember, you have 2 slabs of dough. If you don’t have enough room for 2 baking sheets in your refrigerator, simply stack the pieces of rolled-out dough on top of each other, with parchment paper or silicone baking mat in between.
After the rolled-out dough chills for at least 1โ2 hours, use cookie cutters to cut out shapes. Be sure to re-roll the dough scraps as needed.
The cookies are done when the edges are set and the middles still look slightly soft. These cookies hold their shape nicely in the oven, and bake up with a nice flat surface that’s perfect for decorating.
Now, for everyone’s favorite part!
Decorating Brown Sugar Cut-Out Cookies
For the cookies you see pictured here, my team and I used royal icing to decorate the cookies shaped like reindeer, trees, candy canes, and gingerbread people. And we used cookie decorating buttercream to decorate the snowflake cookies.
If you’re new to decorating with royal icing, it may help to watch my video tutorial on how to decorate sugar cookies. Iโll walk you through 4 simple and approachable techniques that are a great place to start if youโre new to cookie decorating. For the pictured cookies, I used Wilton piping tip #4 for outlining and flooding with icing. This is a wonderful basic piping tip to have in your collection.
I also have an easy cookie icing glaze you could try instead. It takes longer to dry than royal icing, but it’s quick and easy to make, it doesn’t require piping bags/tips. I use squeeze bottles for it! It’s wonderful if you have young bakers eager to help decorate.
And, of course, don’t forget the sprinkles. If you plan to dedicate a whole day to cookie-baking, here’s how How to Host a Cookie Decorating Day guide. ๐
Sally’s Cookie Palooza
This recipe is part of my annual cookie countdown called Sally’s Cookie Palooza. It’s the biggest, most delicious event of the year! Browse dozens of cookie recipes over on the Sally’s Cookie Palooza page including:
Brown Sugar Cut-Out Cookies
- Prep Time: 2 hours, 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours, 45 minutes
- Yield: 24 3-inch cookies
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
These brown sugar cut-out cookies are perfect for the holidays or anytime you crave sugar cookies with a little extra flavor. Make them any shape you like and have fun decorating with your choice of icing. 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.
Ingredients
- 2 and 1/4 cups (281g) all-purpose flourย (spooned & leveled), plus more as needed
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
- pinch each: ground ginger & ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup (170g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 3/4 cup (150g) (packed) dark brownย sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
For Decorating
- Royal Icing, Easy Glaze Icing, or Cookie Buttercream
- Assorted sprinkles (like these or these)
Instructions
- Whisk the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, allspice, ginger, nutmeg, and salt together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- In a large bowl using a handheld or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and brown sugar together on high speed until completely smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes. (Hereโs a helpful tutorial if you need guidance onย how to cream butter and sugar.) Add the egg and vanilla, 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. Dough will be a bit soft. If the dough seems too soft and sticky for rolling, add more flour, 1 Tablespoon at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Divide the dough in half. Place each portion onto a piece of lightly floured parchment paper or a lightly floured silicone baking mat. With a lightly floured rolling pin, roll the dough out to about 1/4-inch thickness. Use 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 doughs with flour. Place a piece of parchment on top. (This prevents sticking.) Place the 2nd rolled-out dough on top. Cover with plastic wrap or aluminum foil, then refrigerate for at least 1โ2 hours, or up to 2 days.
- Once chilled, preheat oven to 350ยฐF (177ยฐC). Line large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Carefully remove the top dough piece 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. Re-roll the dough scraps and continue cutting until all is used. Repeat with 2nd piece of dough. (Note: It doesn’t seem like a lot of dough, but you get a lot of cookies from the dough scraps you re-roll.)
- Arrange cookies on baking sheets 3 inches apart. Bake for 11โ12 minutes or until lightly browned around the edges. Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5โ10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before decorating.
- Decorate the cooled cookies with royal icing, cookie buttercream, or easy cookie icing; top with sprinkles, if using. Feel free to tint any of these icings with gel food coloring. For decorating inspiration, my How to Decorate Sugar Cookies tutorial is helpful.
- Enjoy cookies right away or wait until the icing sets to serve them. Plain or decorated cookies stay soft for about 5 days when covered tightly at room temperature. 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 1 day, or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: 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. You can also freeze the cookie dough for up to 3 months before rolling it out. Prepare the dough through step 3, divide in half, flatten both halves into a disc as we do withย pie crust, wrap each in plastic wrap, then freeze. To thaw, thaw the discs in the refrigerator, then bring to room temperature for about 1 hour. Roll out the dough as directed in step 4, then chill rolled-out dough in the refrigerator for 45 minutesโ1 hour before cutting into shapes and baking. See this post on how to freeze cookie dough for a video tutorial.
- Special Toolsย (affiliate links):ย Electric Mixer (Handheldย orย Stand Mixer) |ย Baking Sheetsย |ย Silicone Baking Matsย orย Parchment Paperย |ย Wooden Rolling Pin or Adjustable Rolling Pin |ย Holiday Cookie Cutter Set | Cooling Rack | Piping Bags (Disposableย orย Reusable) | Couplers | Piping Tips Set | Assorted Sprinkles (Like These or These)
- Can I Skip the Spices? Yes. If you want a plain brown sugar cookie, you can omit the spices with no other changes to the recipe.
- 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 it’s quickly and evenly mixed into the cookie dough.
- 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 sections in step 4.
- 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
I am making these cookies for a party in a few weeks. I have never frozen cookies before. Is it better to make them a few days before the party or will they still taste good if I make them ahead of time and freeze them? IF freezing is ok, is it better to 1) bake the cookies and frost them later closer to the party or 2) make the cookies, frost them with Royal icing and then freeze them? Do they stay crisp after you freeze them? Thank you.
Hi Linda, you can freeze them either with or without icing 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. Hope this helps!
Does this recipe call for salted or unsalted butter?
Hi Victoria, the recipe calls for unsalted butter. If you use salted, you will need to reduce the added salt a bit.
Made these over the holidays and they were excellent! Something different from the usual sugar cookie recipe. They stayed nice and soft too after baking. Delicious!
Where are the amounts of each ingredient? This recipe is so annoying to read when Iโm trying to get it going with an anxious toddler.
Hi LZ, if you hit “jump to recipe,” the page will take you to exactly what you’re looking for. Enjoy!
Never mind! The amounts show up when you look at the ad version of the site. I was using the ad-free version.
We made these today. The spices and brown sugar gave wonderful dimension to these cookies. Next time Iโll make sure to roll them out thinner as I made them thicker than 1/4.
These were a hit and will be making them every year. Soft like a sugar cookie but a slight spice like a gingerbread cookie, with the buttercream frosting were absolutely perfect.
This became an instant family favorite for the holidays! The dough was so easy to roll out and work with- highly recommend. We did go off-script to make a buttercream frosting to decorate- so yummy! ๐
I really like this recipe!! It looks kinda cute and productive, Sally!
I made these with my 5 year old and they turned out perfect! We had a blast decorating them with royal icing. Thanks, Sally, for helping us create some amazing memories โค๏ธ
i usually love sally’s recipes, but this one missed the mark. Crumbly, dry, and bland, even with the spices. I’m an experienced baker and becoming fussier about how cookies turn out, maybe. Hoping the buttercream will improve the outcome…
My new favorite
Hi Sally, I am excited to make these this year but I had a question. Do these rise at all? I want to use an embossed rolling pin but I worry it may rise and lose the pattern definition.
They do a little bit, yes. They may lose a little of that embossed engraving as they bake.
Thank you for your fast reply! Do you think freezing/chilling the cut cookies before baking or reducing the baking powder would help?
These came out perfectly and look just like yours! They didnโt spread and held the shapes. Fun twist on a traditional sugar cookie dough. Canโt wait to decorate them!
Can white chocolate be incorporated into the dough?
Hi Sally! Will light brown sugar still work or will it make the cookies too light?
Hi Brianna! We recommend dark brown sugar here for the most flavor, but light brown sugar is fine if thatโs all you have.
I baked these cookies this weekend, and this is by far the best sugar cookie recipe I’ve ever used! The cookies were so moist and did not turn out hard and crispy. I used Sally’s royal icing recipe and it piped divinely on the cookies. The flavor itself is so delicious, and I really enjoyed the cross between a classic sugar cookie and a gingerbread cookie. Great recipe, I definitely recommend!
Hi Sally! I’m a huge fan of your cream cheese cut out cookies – are there any red flags to adding cream cheese to this recipe??
Hi Mindy, we haven’t tried it, but think you could probably just use brown sugar in the cream cheese cut-out cookies recipe in place of the granulated sugar there. If you try it, let us know how it tastes!
Since I was little, we always cut the cookies out, decorated them with sprinkles, colored sugars, etc, and then baked them. No icing. Have you ever done that? Is it crazy?
No, it’s not crazy at all! I do that often with colored sparkling sugar (sprinkles). A great way to decorate without icing.
This is such a great recipe! Great with some orange zest and nutmeg added to the buttercream frosting as well.
So excited to try! What flavor extract do you recommend for the royal icing with this particular cookie? I normally use vanilla or almond with your โBest sugar cookiesโ.
Vanilla is great here, or you could even try a little maple extract. Enjoy!
This is a great recipe! I baked several dozen for a decorating gathering next week. I froze them already baked in a name brand freezer zip bag. The recipe instructions say “thaw in the refrigerator or at room temperature”. I plan to do room temp, overnight. Would you leave them in the seal zipped bag overnight, leave them in the bag but not zipped, or take them out of the bag while defrosting? I’ve never frozen baked cookies before and wonder about them getting damp or wet from thawing in a container/bag.
Hi MM, I’m glad you tried them already! When I’m thawing cookies, I keep them in the sealed bag/container. There’s no need to take them out or have the container open.
hi sally! iโm so happy you posted this recipe. iโm going to cut out into shapes then freeze to bake at a later day. can i bake from frozen or should i thaw out? if so, how much thaw time or bake from frozen time? thank you ๐
Hi! You do not have to let them thaw. I would add another 2 minutes to the bake time.
Hi, Sally. To keep brown sugar soft, toss 2-3 dried prunes into the bag of sugar. It even softens already-hardened sugar.
Thank you Sally for a gingerb Like cookie that doesnโt require molasses. I can find it easily but I never use up the entire bottle before it goes bad. Your recipes are always easy to follow and delicious Iโm looking forward to baking a batch this weekend. Happy holidays
If I donโt have dark brown sugar can I use light?
Yes.
You can mix molasses in with your white sugar to make brown sugar.