Cut Out Sugar Cookie Recipe
Use this recipe to make cut-out cookies. This great-tasting cookie recipe is excellent, plain, or decorated with royal icing/glaze chocolate or fondant. It's a cross between sugar and shortbread cookies. Makes 15 3-inch cookies, 1/4 inch thick.
Servings: 15
Calories: 270kcal
Ingredients
Sugar Cookie Dough
- 3 cups all-purpose flour 430 grams
- 1 tsp baking powder (optional - check the notes)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup room temperature unsalted butter 2 sticks, 226 grams
- 1 cup granulated sugar 200 grams
- 1 large egg
- 1 tbsp Vanilla Extract
- 1/2 tsp Almond Extract (optional)
- 1/2 tsp Lemon Extract (optional)
Instructions
Dry Ingredients
- Sift together flour (3 cups/430 grams), baking powder (1 teaspoon), add salt (1/2 teaspoon), set aside.TIP: If you are experiencing excessive spreading, use 1/4tsp baking powder or omit it.
Cream Butter and Sugar
- In a mixing bowl, cream room-temperature butter (1 cup/ 226 grams) and sugar (1 cup/200 grams) for about 3-5 minutes, scraping the bowl twice. Butter creamed with sugar should be light and pale in color.
- In a small dish, whisk together room-temperature egg (1 large egg), vanilla extract(1 tablespoon), almond (1/2 teaspoon), and lemon extract(1/2 teaspoon), then set aside.TIP: Almond and Lemon Extracts are optional.
- Gradually add the egg mixture to the butter mixture. Beat well till well combined, about a minute.
Cookie Dough
- On low speed, gradually add the flour mixture, in 3 additions. Scrape the bowl well after the last addition and beat slowly until the flour is mixed in. At this stage, you'll see chunks of cookie dough.Gather the dough into a ball, flatten it, and shape it into a disk.TIP: If the dough appears too wet, you can add 1 to 2 tablespoons of flour.
Roll and Chill
- Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or for at least 2-4 hours. This is great when you don't have time to make the cookies on the same day, and plan to make them within 3 days.Or speed up the chilling process by placing it in the freezer for 30 minutes to an hour. Or you can roll out freshly made cookie dough between two sheets of parchment or silicone mats and chill for an hour. I don't recommend leaving rolled cookie dough in the fridge for too long as after 12-24 hours, it tends to dry out around the edges.
How to Roll Out Hard Chilled Cookie Disk
- If your chilled dough feels hard as a rock, don’t panic—it just needs a little warming up. Cut the dough into quarters and microwave one piece on high for 5–8 seconds, just until it softens slightly. You don’t want it super soft, only pliable enough to roll out with a little pressure still needed.Cut the remaining dough into smaller pieces and set them aside. Place the softened dough between rolling guides and roll it out either between two sheets of parchment paper or on a large silicone mat. For rolling guides, you can use painter’s sticks glued together on each side or two ¼-inch wooden rods. Both work beautifully for even thickness.
- Cut out as many cookies as you can from the rolled dough. Gather the scraps and combine them with one of the chilled dough pieces you set aside earlier. Re-roll the dough and repeat the process until all the dough is used. Transfer the cookies onto a light-colored baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a perforated baking mat. Before baking, chill the cutouts in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes or in the freezer for 5 minutes to help them keep their shape.
Bake
- Preheat oven to 350℉-375℃(180℃-190℃) If your oven runs too hot, bake at 350℉(180℃).
- Bake for 10-11 minutes, depending on the oven, turn the sheet once halfway through the baking.Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, and transfer them to a cooling rack.
Storage
- Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks or freeze undecorated cookies between pieces of wax paper in a large freeze safe container, for up to 3 months.
- Decorate cookies as desired with royal icing or other medium that you use.
Video
Notes
- How long can you keep the dough in the fridge? - You can keep the cookie dough in the fridge for up to 3 days. After that, you can either bake the cookies or freeze the cookie dough for later, for up to 3 months.
- How thick do you roll out cookies for decorating?- I roll the dough 1/4 inch thick.
- I don't have granulated sugar; can I use powdered sugar? Sure, you can use powdered sugar; use about 1 1/4 cups. A cookie made with powdered sugar has a tender crumb.
- How to tell if cookies are baked? - Cookies, when baked, have puffy centers. If you see a spot that appears wet and shiny, usually in the middle of the cookie, continue baking for another minute or 2. If a baked, cooled cookie has a darker spot in the center, it is most likely underbaked.
- Lemon / Orange Zest Cookies - use one tablespoon fresh lemon zest, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and 1 teaspoon lemon extract
- Chocolate Chip Cut-Out Cookies - Use ¼ cup granulated sugar, ¾ cup brown sugar, micro chocolate chips (add these with flour), 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- Almond Sugar Cookies - Add 1 teaspoon vanilla and 1 teaspoon almond extract. I find the almond flavor very strong, and 1 teaspoon does the trick for me, but if you'd like to add even more extract, you can. Almond cookies pair really nicely with my Fresh lemon royal icing.
- Spices - For a seasonal twist, you can use dry spices like cinnamon, cardamom, or pumpkin spice. Use 1/2 to 1 1/2 teaspoons