Cut Out Sugar Cookies
Cut Out Sugar Cookies are a favorite for holidays and celebrations. The dough is easy to roll out and cut into your favorite shapes and perfect for icing and sprinkles! Always a fun cooking project for the whole family.
My Grandma’s Best Ever Sugar Cookies are my go-to cookie for every occasion but they are not the kind that can be decorated. So we also make cut out sugar cookies for Christmas.
This year we made a version that came from my husband’s grandma along with her boiled icing. They are the most delicious frosted sugar cookies that I’ve ever made.
Ingredients for Cut Out Sugar Cookies:
- Butter
- Sugar
- Eggs
- Vanilla
- All Purpose Flour
- Baking Powder
- Kosher Salt
How to Make Cut Out Sugar Cookies:
- Add butter, sugar, one whole egg plus two egg yolks (reserve the egg whites for the icing) and vanilla to a mixer bowl.
- Beat until creamy, about 2 minutes.
- Add flour, baking powder and salt.
- Mix until combined. Don’t over mix.
- Divide dough in half and wrap in plastic wrap.
- Chill for about 30 minutes. If you are in a hurry and do not have time to chill the dough, it will still roll out just fine but it will be a little harder to handle after cutting into shapes.
- Remove from refrigerator, unwrap and place on a flour dusted cutting board.
- Roll dough to about 1/4 inch thickness with a rolling pin, add more flour if your dough sticks to the rolling pin or cutting board.
- Use cookie cutters to cut cookies into desired shapes.
- Place about 2 inches apart on a silpat or parchment lined baking sheet.
- Bake for about 10- 12 minutes. Edges should be lightly browned.
- Remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Store cookies in an airtight container up to 7 days.
Cookies can be served plain or topped with icing and sprinkles.
Tips for Rolling Sugar Cookie Dough:
- After cutting the shapes from the dough, you can take the scraps and press them back together to roll again. I only recommend doing this once. More flour is incorporated into the dough and will become dry and tough with too much flour added in.
- The cookie dough will last in the refrigerator up to 4 days before baking, so you can make it ahead if needed.
Grandma’s iced sugar cookies are legendary. There are a few steps to creating the boiled icing but it is incredibly delicious and sets up well, making these cookies perfect to bake and share.
If you are in a hurry, our Easy Sugar Cookie Icing is also great for cut out sugar cookies. It’s ready in about 5 minutes and tastes amazing.
Ingredients for Boiled Icing:
- Egg Whites
- Cream of Tartar
- Water
- Sugar
How to Make Boiled Icing:
- Place reserved egg whites in an electric mixer bowl with cream of tartar.
- Beat at high speed until stiff peaks form.
- Add cold water and sugar to a heavy bottom saucepan and place over medium heat. Bring the mixture to a boil, scraping any sugar from the sides of the pan.
- Cook at a boil until mixture reaches 235°.
- Remove from heat and slowly pour syrup into the egg whites with the mixer running on high speed.
- Continue mixing for about 5 – 7 minutes until icing is fluffy.
- Spread onto baked sugar cookies and lay in a single layer.
- Add sprinkles if desired.
- Allow cookies to dry completely. This can take an hour or more but the icing will dry completely and then cookies can be stacked. Store iced sugar cookies in an airtight container up to 7 days.
Decorating sugar cookies is a great tradition to enjoy with your family during the holidays. My kids are growing up but I will be continuing on with the grandkids and I love that we have family recipes to share.
You might also like these simple Brown Sugar Shortbread cookies for your holiday cookie exchange.
I love these sugar cookies for adding to my holiday cookie baskets, they hold up well and they are so buttery and delicious. They can be adapted for any holiday using your favorite cookie cutters or just use a round cutter or biscuit cutter for every day cookies.
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Cut Out Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup of butter 2 sticks, softened
- 1 1/2 cups of sugar
- 1 whole egg plus 2 egg yolks reserve the whites for icing
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- Boiled Icing recipe below
- Sprinkles if desired
Instructions
- Add butter, sugar, egg, egg yolks and vanilla to a mixer bowl and beat until creamy about 2 minutes.
- Next, add flour, baking powder and salt.
- Mix just until combined.
- Divide dough in half and wrap in plastic wrap.
- Chill for about 30 minutes. If you are in a hurry and do not have time to chill the dough, it will still roll out just fine but it will be a little harder to handle after cutting into shapes.
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- Remove from refrigerator, unwrap and place on a flour dusted cutting board.
- Roll dough to about 1/4 inch thickness with a rolling pin.
- Use cookie cutters to cut cookies into desired shapes.
- Place about 2 inches apart on a silpat or parchment lined baking sheet.
- Bake for about 10- 12 minutes.
- Remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
Nutrition
Boiled Icing
Ingredients
- 2 egg whites
- 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1 1/4 cup sugar
- 7 tablespoons of cold water
Instructions
- Place reserved egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer with cream of tartar and beat at high speed until stiff peaks form.
- Add cold water and sugar to a heavy bottom saucepan and place over medium heat. Bring the mixture to a boil, scraping any sugar from the sides of the pan.
- Cook at a boil until mixture reaches 235°.
- Remove from heat and slowly pour syrup into the egg whites with the mixer running on high speed.
- Continue mixing for about 5 - 7 minutes until icing is fluffy.
- Spread onto baked sugar cookies and add sprinkles if desired.
- Place iced sugar cookies in a single layer on a wire rack or baking sheet to dry completely. This can take an hour or more but the icing will dry completely and then cookies can be stacked.