The Best Cut Out Sugar Cookies

Learn how to make the best cut-out sugar cookies that can hold their shapes during baking. They are full of delicate vanilla flavor, easy to make and perfect for holidays!

Today I am bringing these old-but-gold classic cookies that you will love: Sugar cookies. Have all your cookies ever ended up spreading in the oven? Have you wished the dough could be easier to work with? If the answer is yes then welcome to the right place, where I can walk you through the tips and tricks for making these sugar-cookies-that-don’t-spread-in-the-oven. 

To the best of my memory, these sugar cookies, along with my mom’s snickerdoodle cookies and gingerbread, have never been missing from our kitchen table on traditional holidays. To bring Christmas spirit to cookies, Mom usually added royal icing on top. These cookies are good without icing and telling you a truth, I am too impatient to wait until these cookies completely cool down as mom told me so. Instead, I would sneak one as soon as they are out of the oven and then enjoy eating that in my room without mom seeing. 

SUGAR COOKIES INGREDIENTS

These sugar cookies are one of the easiest cookies to whip up any time you want because they don’t require any crazy ingredients. In fact, this recipe calls for what’s in your kitchen right now. 

• Flour
• Baking powder
• Granulated sugar
• Chilled Butter
• Egg
• Vanilla extract

CHILL OR NOT CHILL THE DOUGH?

The dough will be easier to work with if it is cold. With that being said, if you work fast enough, cookies will hold their shape without being chilled in the fridge. If the dough gets warm while you’re working with it, put it back in the fridge until it’s cool again. The rule for cookies to hold their shape: cool it before going to bake. Dough can get warm if you’ve worked with it for a while, so try to work as fast as possible.

To prevent cookies from spreading and losing their shape, I recommend that you roll the dough one or two times. The more you play, the more likely the cookies are to spread. If you have more dough to work with, divide into smaller batches. Work with each one at a time, which means the other batch should stay in the fridge until their turn. 

HOW TO ROLL THE DOUGH

Once the dough is good enough, use your hands to dust a flat surface and evenly coat the rolling pin with flour. Roll out the dough to your desired thickness level, preferably 1/4-inch thickness. Use a cookie cutter to cut out shapes then place them on prepared baking sheets lined with parchment paper. If you take the chilled dough out of the fridge you may need to let it sit for a few moments before it is soft enough to roll out. One useful tip is you can dip your cookie cutter in flour before cutting so the cookies can have their neat edges.

More Cookie Recipes:

• Classic Sugar Cookies
• Snickerdoodle Cookies
• Matcha Green Tea Cookies
• Peanut Butter Cookies

The Best Cut Out Sugar Cookies

Learn how to make the  best cut-out sugar cookies that can hold their shapes during baking. They are full of delicate vanilla flavor, easy to make and perfect for holidays!

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Course: Dessert

Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes minutes

Servings: 24 cookies

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups (325g) all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon (3g) baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon (1.25g) salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks/226g) unsalted butter softened to room temperature
• 3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar
• 1 large egg room temperature
• 2 teaspoons (10ml) vanilla extract

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350F/175° C. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• In a medium bowl, sift together flour, salt, and baking powder. Set aside.
• In a medium bowl, use a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar on medium speed for 1 minute until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla extract just until combined. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom as needed. Reduce to low speed. Add dry mixture and beat just until combined. Do not overmix. Dough will be soft enough to work with. If the dough is too sticky to handle, try to mix in a little more flour. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1-2 hours until it’s firm enough for rolling. In this step, if you work as quickly as possible, you do not need to chill the dough.
• Slightly soften the dough after you take the dough out of the fridge if using. On a lightly floured surface ( or between 2 lightly floured parchment papers), roll the dough to a 1/4-inch thickness. Cut out shapes using a cookie cutter and place them on prepared baking sheets. Re-roll the remaining scraps into a ball and roll back out to cut the remaining cookies. 
• Bake cookies for 10-11 minutes, or until the edges begin to turn brown. Baking time may vary depending on the thickness of the cookies. Remove from the oven and allow cookies to cool on the baking sheets for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
• Store cookies at room temperature in an airtight container for up to a week or in the freezer for up to 2 months.

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