The Easiest Cutout Sugar Cookie Recipe with The Perfect Buttercream Icing. You won’t need another recipe after trying this one!
If I make these Easy Cutout Sugar Cookies with the most perfect buttercream icing too early, they definitely won’t be here for Christmas! They are so good!
If you’re looking for more Christmas Cookies, you have to try my favorites! Peanut Butter Blossoms, No-Bake Christmas Crunch Cookies, and Christmas M&M Cookies!
Sugar Cookie Recipe
These are my absolute FAVORITE cutout sugar cookie recipe I’ve ever made AND eaten!
They come out perfect every time – no fail. These cookies have a nice crust on the outside yet are soft and chewy on the inside which makes them perfect for decorating and eating.
(Looking for a soft sugar cookie recipe? I have a Lofthouse-style version here: Homemade Frosted Sugar Cookies.)
Ingredients
- Butter
- Sugar
- Eggs
- Vanilla
- Flour
- Baking Powder
- Salt
How to Make Rolled Sugar Cookies
Step 1: Preheat
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. (when you are ready to bake the cooking AFTER you chill the dough)
Step 2: Mix the ingredients
In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth.
Step 3: Mix in eggs
Beat in eggs one at a time. Then add vanilla only until mixed.
Step 4: Mix in the flour
Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Next, add into the dough mixture just until combined.
Step 5: Chill the dough
Step 6: Roll the dough
Roll out dough on floured surface 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into shapes.
Step 7: Place on the cookie sheet
Place cookies 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
Step 8: Bake in the oven
Bake 6 to 8 minutes in preheated oven.
Step 9: Cool
Cool completely before frosting
Tips For Making Cutout Sugar Cookies
- While making rolled sugar cookies may seem a little intimidating, I promise that it’s not!
- The key is to chill your dough completely before rolling it out.
- Then, make sure you flour your surface AND rolling pin before trying to roll the dough.
- Flip and roll. Flip and roll. Continue to do this while getting the dough to about 1/4″ all the way around. Easy, right?! It is!
- Next, you’ll be ready to cut out the shapes. Use your favorite cookie cutter and go to town.
- Remember to not crowd the dough on the cookie sheet.
- Make sure to leave a good 2 inches or so in-between the cookies because they will spread out.
- Next, bake for only 6-8 minutes for a chewy cookie. Allow to cool completely before frosting.
The great thing about the icing is that it doesn’t completely harden like royal icing, but forms a little crust on the top so that you can stack them easily in a container without messing them up. It’s perfect!!
Soft Sugar Cookie FAQS
Do you cut sugar cookies before or after baking?
They are so much easier to cut before baking! You can always clean them up a bit after they’re done baking if you’d like but make sure to cut the dough before it’s baked.
Why do my sugar cookies crack on top?
Believe it or not, you may not have added the exact correct amount of flour to the cookies. If there is too little flour, cracks can emerge. If you’re overly worried about the cracks, this is where frosting comes into play!
Should you chill sugar cookie dough?
Yes, you should chill the cookie dough. Chilling the dough is what keeps it together and helps it cut out into the shapes that you’re wanting to make.
Make sure to save some to deliver to your friends and family. They will LOVE you for it!
Looking for more cookie recipes? Check out these delicious desserts!
The Best Easy Cutout Sugar Cookie Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups butter softened
- 2 cups white sugar
- 4 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 5 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. (when you are ready to bake the cooking AFTER you chill the dough)
- In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth.
- Beat in eggs one at a time. Then add vanilla only until mixed.
- Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Next, add into the dough mixture just until combined.
- Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour (or overnight if you have time).
- Roll out dough on floured surface 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into shapes.
- Place cookies 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
- Bake 6 to 8 minutes in preheated oven.
- Cool completely before frosting
Video
The Best Sugar Cookie Frosting
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter softened
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tbs vanilla extract
- 5-6 tbs of milk
- food coloring optional
- 1/8 tsp salt
Instructions
- Soften butter to room temperature
- Place the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and beat on medium speed until smooth, about 1 minute.
- Reduce the speed to low, slowly add confectioners, and beat until fully incorporated and smooth, about 3 minutes. Stop the mixer and scrape down the paddle and sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
- Add vanilla and salt. Mixing completely.
- Add milk one tablespoon at a time until it's a smooth consistency. Turn mixer to high and beat until light and fluffy.
Nutrition
Need to alter a recipe for other measurements? Try this free printable that shows you How Many Cups in a Quart, Pint or Gallon and other valuable ways to translate while you cook.
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Jeri Kaufman
So sorry! Found it!!
Jeri Kaufman
You list the ingredients but, not the amounts!!
Would love to try but,….
April
Can you double this recipe.
Gina
Do we use unsalted butter or salted?
Judy P
So glad you added the frosting recipe! I’ve never been able to frost cookies without it staying sticky!
Ruth Pockert
These were the best I have ever made!!! Thank you
Amy Holman
I made this for the first time and it is a great cookie. It was simple to make. I chilled the dough for an hour in the fridge before making these and I had no problems with the dough being too sticky. I used flour on the counter and on the rolling pin as well as floured my hands. I tried rolling the dough on parchment paper first as I saw suggested, but that did not work for me. The parchment paper just kept moving around and I wasn’t able to spread the dough so I could use the cookie cutters. It worked much better when I put the dough directly on the counter. I used smaller cookie cutters as the dough does expand when cooked, so I made a lot of cookies. I mixed the flour mix by hand, not because I wanted to but because my largest Kitchen Aid mixer bowl was too small to handle all of the flour that I had to add without making a huge mess. It wasn’t the easiest to combine all of that flour and butter together by hand – it was hard stirring it at the end, but I got it done. I decorated most of the cookies with sugar crystals, but did keep 2 trays worth to ice with frosting. I am new to making frosting so I thought that was the worst part of this recipe. I think these are my new favorite sugar cookie – meaning the recipe I’ve used for the last 30 years is going to move to the back of my cookbook and this one will go right up front.
Amanda
What do I do if the dough is too sticky. I chilled it for over an hour already!
Amy
You need to use a little bit of flour on your hands and on the counter top to help with the stickiness.
Cheryl
Do I chill the dough before I cut them or cut them first then chill?
Amy
You chill the dough before rolling out the dough and using your cookie cutters.
Courtney
I tried 3 doughs before this one. This truly is THE BEST! My boys and I now use this amazing recipe to make cookies once a month. I am grateful for this recipe because of the great baking memories I now have with my boys.
JustineLee
Wow, we are so happy to hear of a new tradition with your family through this recipe. We hope you all will keep enjoying them 🙂
-From the All Things Mamma Team