Cut-Out Sugar Cookies

If you are building a delicious dessert spread you have to include the perfect sugar cookies. This recipe for Cut-Out Sugar Cookies makes a sweet treat that is ready for any event!

Everyone loves the fun shapes and colorful decorations of the perfect sugar cookie. They’re a sugary sweet treat that makes any event brighter and this easy recipe for Cut-Out Sugar Cookies is perfect! If you want an easy and beautiful treat for your next big party cookie this recipe is for you!

Jump to:

• What You’ll Love About Cut-Out Sugar Cookies
• Ingredients
• Equipment
• How to Make Cut-Out Sugar Cookies
• How to Make the Frosting
• How to Serve the Cut-Out Sugar Cookies
• How to Store Cut-Out Sugar Cookies
• Delicious Variations
• Cut-Out Sugar Cookies

What You’ll Love About Cut-Out Sugar Cookies

Great for Any Occasion!

Cut-Out Sugar cookies can liven up any party with their fun shapes and colors. With this tasty and easy-to-follow recipe, you can make cookies in any shape you can imagine so you can brighten up a bachelorette party, beautify a birthday, or make Christmas even merrier!

Beyond the shape, you can customize the icing in this recipe to suit your tastes and colorful needs.

Fun for the Whole Family!

This amazing Cut-Out Sugar Cookie Recipe is a great way to get the whole family cooking! Little ones can help mix, roll, and cut these cookies with ease. It's a great way to build positive family memories with the bonus reward of a deliciously sweet batch of cookies.

Simply Sweet!

These delightful cookies are so sweet and wonderful that they can satisfy even the strongest sugar cravings! Their texture is soft and meltable like the sweetest dream! Even if you don’t normally love sugar cookies, these Cut-Out Cookies are ready to change your mind!

Ingredients

Sugar Cookies:

All-Purpose Flour

This type of flour has the right texture for making a perfectly soft and delicious sugar cookie. Do not substitute this ingredient because it will alter the texture of the cookie.

Powdered Sugar

This ingredient is sometimes known as confectioner’s sugar, but by any name, it's wonderfully a soft and airy version of sugar. Using this ingredient makes the sugar cookies so sensationally soft that they practically melt in your mouth!

Unsalted Butter

Unsalted butter is the fat of choice for most bakers. It gives the cookies structure and a wonderfully buttery flavor. In a pinch, you can swap this ingredient with salted butter, but then you should also short the added salt to balance it out.

Egg

The egg acts as a binder in cookies. It also adds a lovely airy texture to the dough.

Salt

Everything that is sweet needs a little salt for balance. Use fine-grain kosher or sea salt for these cookies.

Baking Soda

This ingredient acts as a leavening agent to help give rise to this delicious dough.

Cream of Tartar

Adding cream of tartar to the dough helps activate the eggs so the cookies can rise to delicious heights!

Vanilla Extract

Vanilla extract is the signature flavor of classic sugar cookies. High-quality vanilla extract is always the best choice for a true vanilla flavor, but in a pinch, imitation works just fine.

Almond Extract

Almond extract is an optional ingredient that has the potential to add a lot of wonderful flavors. If you love nuttiness, opt to add this extract.

Frosting:

Powdered Sugar

Powdered sugar makes up the sweet body of this frosting.

Unsalted Butter

When butter and powdered sugar meet magic happens! This creamy ingredient is whipped into an airy icing. You can optionally swap this ingredient with salted butter as an even substitute.

Vanilla Extract

Vanilla gives the frosting a little flavor. You can get creative and swap this ingredient with another flavor extract like lemon or even cotton candy!

Milk

Dairy helps thin out the frosting and adds a touch of creamy flavor. You can use any fat content of milk in this recipe. If you want an extra creamy frosting, swap the milk for heavy cream.

Food Coloring

Optionally add some food color to brighten up the frosting. If you need more than one color, divide the frosting into batches and color them separately.

Equipment

Stand Mixer

In this recipe, you want to introduce a lot of air, so it is really best to let a machine do all the work! Choose a stand mixer that is fitted with the paddle attachment or use an eclectic hand mixer and a large flat-bottom mixing bowl.

You will need the mixer again to make the frosting.

Wax Paper

The wax paper helps make rolling the dough easy. Normally cookie rolling can cause a big mess, but with a little wax paper, everything stays much neater!

Rolling Pin

A rolling pin is the key to getting the dough to a nice uniform thickness. If you don't have a rolling pin try using a clean wine bottle.

Cookie Cutters

This is where you can let your imagination run wild! These days there is every shape of cookie cutter imaginable available online, so you can make cookies in any shape you want!

You can also cut these cookies with a paring knife to make your own custom shapes.

Lined Baking Sheet

Whenever you’re baking cookies you want to have a few baking sheets lined with parchment or silicone mats ready for baking. Lining the sheets helps to ensure that the bottoms of your cookies don’t stick and it helps insulate them from burning.

Piping Bags or Offset Spatula

To decorate these delicious Cut-Out Cookies you will need some frosting tools. Either opt for a piping bag fitted with your favorite tip or use an offset spatula to spread.

How to Make Cut-Out Sugar Cookies

• In the bowl of the stand mixer, combine all the ingredients.
• Mix on low, scraping the bowl occasionally, until the mixture forms a dough.
• Take the dough from the bowl and divide it in half.
• Place a large sheet of waxed paper on a flat surface. Place half of the cookie dough on the wax paper.
• Place another large sheet of wax paper on top of the cookie dough. Press the dough into a flat disk with the palm of your hand.
• Use a rolling pin to roll the dough between the two pieces of wax paper.
• Every few rolls, flip the dough over and continue rolling until it reaches even thickness.
• Repeat this process with the second half of the dough.
• Tightly wrap each portion of dough and refrigerate.
• When ready to cut cookies, preheat the oven. Line a baking sheet.
• Cut the cookies into the desired shapes and place them on the prepared baking sheet.
• Save the scraps of dough and re-roll them as needed.
• Bake the cookies.

How to Make the Frosting

• In a large bowl, beat the butter until smooth.
• Slowly sift in the powdered sugar and then the vanilla.
• Continue beating and add the milk a little at a time until you reach the desired consistency.
• After cutting the cookies out you can optionally pop them back in the fridge for 5 minutes to help them hold their shape.
• Optionally, color the frosting with a couple drops of food coloring.

Expert Tips

• When you start the mixer always start on low or the dry ingredients explode all over your counter.
• It helps to chill the scraps before re-rolling.
• The cookies will be fairly light in color when they’re done. When the tops are no longer glossy and the edges are starting to brown, they are done.
• Leave the cookies on the sheets for a few minutes before moving them to a cooling rack.

How to Decorate the Cut-Out Sugar Cookies

The decorations make sugar cookies complete! There are two great ways to frost these sugar cookies, with a spatula or with a piping bag.

To frost with a spatula, drop a scoop of the frosting onto the cookies and then use the flat edge of an offset spatula to spread it evenly over the entire cookie.

To frost with a piping bag, fit the piping bag with the desired tip (a star is nice for these cookies) and then transfer the frosting to the bag. Gently squeeze from the top of the bag towards the tip and top each cookie with tasty frosting!

Finish the decoration with sprinkles, candies, or dusting sugar.

How to Serve the Cut-Out Sugar Cookies

One great idea for serving these cookies is as part of a very trendy dessert board. Grab a large cutting board or platter and all your favorite treats.

If using a round board, think of it in sections or slices; place the cookies in the middle and then fill the remaining area with treats like candy, fruit, and other baked goods, so the platter resembles a sweet and fully loaded charcuterie board.

For a square or rectangular board, place the cookies in small stacks in four or five places on top of the board and then fill in the remaining area. Include some frosted Sugar Cookies and some unfrosted then place a few cups of colorful frosting on the board for dipping.

These fun new ways to serve sweets are exciting for sugar lovers of all ages!

How to Store Cut-Out Sugar Cookies

Once the cookies are fully cooled they can be moved to an airtight container and stored for up to 2 weeks at room temperature.

These cookies can also be frozen. For the best results, wrap each individual cookie in plastic wrap and then place them in a freezer-safe bag. Press out the excess air, seal, and label the bag with the date. They can be frozen for up to 1 month.

To thaw the frozen cookies, place them in the refrigerator overnight. Once thawed, they can be moved to an airtight container and kept at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.

Delicious Variations

Lovely Lemon

If you love citrus, try zesting some lemon (or other citrus fruit) into the dough and replacing the extract with lemon, orange, or lime. Prepare as directed.

Crazy for Candy

For a colorful and delicious twist, press a few M&M’s or Reese Pieces into the tops of the cookies immediately after pulling them from the oven. Do not frost so everyone can see the beautiful candies in the cookies.

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