Best Cut Out Sugar Cookie Recipe

When I say this is the best cut-out sugar cookie recipe, I don’t mean to exaggerate. It’s just that it’s truly how I feel about these cookies, which in my opinion, are perfectly sweet, buttery, and delicious, crisp yet tender, with a soft interior that melts in your mouth. Most importantly, the dough holds its shape incredibly well as it bakes, whether you’re making Christmas cookies or everyday sugar cookies for fun.

Sugar Cookies Recipe

You know those rolls of sugar cookie dough you can buy at the store? I won’t mention any brands, but there are a couple that come to mind.

The cookies taste decent enough. I know because I spent many years of my youth buying those rolls of cookie dough with my mom and sister and baking them for the holidays.

We’d use our favorite cookie cutters and end up laughing at the results, because while they’d start out as perfect cut-out stockings and Christmas trees, they’d puff up in the oven and look like big blobs by the time they cooled on the wire rack.

We’d smother them in frosting and sprinkles to make them look festive, but I’d always think, why don’t our cookies look like the ones in magazines?

How do you make cut out cookies keep their shape?

I eventually learned that this had everything to do with the ratio of dry ingredients, things like all purpose flour, powdered sugar, and salt, to the wet ingredients like unsalted butter and eggs.

Too much butter and sugar can make your cookies spread, especially if the dough isn’t kept cold in the refrigerator before baking.

Most people bake sugar cookies when they’re looking to create beautiful cut-out shapes for a special occasion, so it’s a real bummer when you roll out the sugar cookie dough, chill it, carefully cut each shape, and then bake cookies that come out looking like blobs.

So it’s key to have the right recipe, keep your dough cold, and watch your oven temperature.

Best Sugar Cookie Dough for Cutouts

So, I set out on a mission to find the best sugar cookie recipe for rolled sugar cookies that actually hold their shape. After plenty of step-by-step testing, this one became my forever favorite.

Not only does this sugar cookie dough stay true to its cut-out form as it bakes, but it tastes heavenly, a balance of flavor that’s sweet, buttery, and lightly fragrant from the vanilla extract and almond extract. I also add a little zest of lemon or orange for brightness.

You can leave out the zest if you prefer, but it gives your cookies that special from-scratch flavor everyone loves.

I make them for so many festive occasions, especially during Christmas (check out my French Christmas Cookies Recipe), and they never disappoint.

What thickness is best for cut out cookies?

How thick or thin you roll the dough depends on how you like your cookies. Rolling the dough too thin makes it tricky to transfer shapes to your baking sheet (a sharped-edged, flat spatula can help), but more important, they’ll bake up extra crisp.

If you prefer a more tender bite, aim for a medium thickness so the layers bake evenly: crisp on the edges, soft in the center.

Be sure to flour your work surface and rolling pin to prevent sticking, or roll your dough on a silicone mat for easy cleanup.

Best Sugar Cookie Recipe for Decorating

Half the fun of making sugar cookies is decorating them. Once your cookies have cooled to room temperature on a wire rack, you can spread on frosting or use royal icing for more detailed designs.

I love using pastel gel food coloring for soft hues and a squeeze bottle or piping bags to control consistency and precision.

For this batch, I went with pink royal icing and gold sprinkles for an elegant Valentine’s Day vibe, though the same approach with light blue icing and gold sprinkles, or dark red icing and gold sprinkles, works beautifully for Christmas cookies too. The combination of color and shimmer makes every cookie look like a little work of art.

After decorating, I let the cookies dry overnight in an airtight container or under plastic wrap (where the plastic wrap stretches over the plate without touching the cookies), so the icing doesn’t smudge.

When fully set, they’re perfect for gifting. I like to slip them into pastry bags and tie with ribbon.

Tips for Making Cut Out Sugar Cookies

• Chill the dough in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes before rolling. Cold dough keeps the cookies from spreading.
• Flour your work surface, rolling pin, and cookie cutters to prevent sticking.
• Use a silicone baking mat or parchment paper on your baking sheet for even baking.
• For the best results, pop the pan of cut-out cookies into the freezer for 5 minutes before baking.
• Keep an eye on the baking time. Remove cookies as soon as the edges turn slightly golden. Let them rest on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
• Once cooled, decorate with royal icing or frosting, and add sprinkles or edible glitter for extra flair.
• If decorating with kids, set up a cookie decorating station with piping bags, spatulas, and easy cookie icing in squeeze bottles.

These soft cut-out sugar cookies have been my go-to for years; a no-fail, from-scratch recipe that’s as fun to make as it is to eat. Whether you’re baking with kids, prepping for Christmas, or simply craving a buttery sugar cookie, this recipe delivers every time.