Sugar Cookie Recipe

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.

These are my favorite sugar cookies with icing. I shared the recipe on Sally’s Baking Addiction several years ago and published them in my cookbook as well. 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.

Soft Cut-Out Sugar Cookies

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.

Prep: 2h30min

Total: 4h45min

Yield: 24

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 (1.5 sticks or 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 or 1/2 teaspoon almond extract (optional, but makes the flavor outstanding)*
• Royal Icing or Easy Glaze Icing (royal icing is pictured)
• Assorted sprinkles

Instruction:

1. Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
2. 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 completely smooth and creamy, about 2 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 up the bottom of the bowl and beat again as needed to combine.
3. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on low until combined. Dough will be a bit soft. If the dough seems too soft and sticky for rolling, add 1 more Tablespoon of flour.
4. Divide the dough into 2 equal parts. 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.
5. 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 1-2 hours and up to 2 days.
6. Once chilled, preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line 2-3 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—see me do this in the video below. Using a cookie cutter, cut the dough into shapes. Re-roll the remaining dough 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.)
7. Arrange cookies on baking sheets 3 inches apart. Bake for 11-12 minutes or until lightly browned around the edges. If your oven has hot spots, rotate the baking sheet halfway through bake time. Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before decorating.
8. Decorate the cooled cookies with royal icing or easy cookie icing. Feel free to tint either icing 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 stick the entire baking sheet in the refrigerator to help speed up the icing setting.
9. 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 for sending. 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.

Sugar Cookies

Get Alton Brown’s simple Sugar Cookies recipe from Good Eats on Food Network, the perfect base for frosting, sprinkles and other sweet decorations.

Prep: 0 15min0

Total: 0 2h24min0

Yield: about 3 dozen-2 1/2 inch

Serving Size: 1 of 14 servings

Nutrition Facts: servingSize 1 of 14 servings, calories 277, Fat 14g, Saturated Fat 8g, Carbohydrate 36g, Fiber 1g, Sugar 15g, Protein 3g, Cholesterol 46mg, Sodium 68mg

Ingredients:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 tablespoon milk
• Powdered sugar, for rolling out dough

Instruction:

1. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. Place butter and sugar in large bowl of electric stand mixer and beat until light in color. Add egg and milk and beat to combine. Put mixer on low speed, gradually add flour, and beat until mixture pulls away from the side of the bowl. Divide the dough in half, wrap in waxed paper, and refrigerate for 2 hours.
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
3. Sprinkle surface where you will roll out dough with powdered sugar. Remove 1 wrapped pack of dough from refrigerator at a time, sprinkle rolling pin with powdered sugar, and roll out dough to 1/4-inch thick. Move the dough around and check underneath frequently to make sure it is not sticking. If dough has warmed during rolling, place cold cookie sheet on top for 10 minutes to chill. Cut into desired shape, place at least 1-inch apart on greased baking sheet, parchment, or silicone baking mat, and bake for 7 to 9 minutes or until cookies are just beginning to turn brown around the edges, rotating cookie sheet halfway through baking time. Let sit on baking sheet for 2 minutes after removal from oven and then move to complete cooling on wire rack. Serve as is or ice as desired. Store in airtight container for up to 1 week.

Soft and Chewy Sugar Cookies

These classic soft and chewy sugar cookies are so easy and so delicious that they’re bound to be your new favorite cookie. Made with a handful of simple ingredients, they bake up perfectly every time.

Prep: 10min

Total: 22min

Yield: 10

Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 cups (218 g) all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar, plus 1/4 cup (50 g) for rolling
• 1/2 cup (113 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract (optional)

Instruction:

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
2. Add the egg and mix until well combined.
3. Add the vanilla and almond extract, mixing on low speed until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
4. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the butter and egg mixture and mix on low speed for about 20 to 30 seconds just until the dough begins to come together. Do not over mix.
5. Scoop 2-ounce (3 tablespoons) portions of the cookie dough and use your hands to roll the dough into balls. Roll the dough in a small bowl filled with the 1/4 cup granulated sugar and coat all sides.
6. Place the cookie dough balls on a parchment lined baking sheet and chill for 30 minutes. While the dough chills, preheat the oven to 350°F. When the dough is chilled, place the balls on a separate parchment lined baking sheet, spacing them 2 to 3 inches apart.
7. Bake for 11 to 12 minutes or until the edges are set and begin to turn a golden brown. The tops of the cookies should by puffy and cracked. Do not over bake. Remove the cookies from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before using a spatula to transfer the cookies to a wire cooling rack.

Easy No Spread Sugar Cookies

FAQ

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