decorate sugar cookies

You can make 5 super easy Christmas cookies with this extremely easy sugar cookie dough!

Cookie Cutter Sugar Cookies

baking powder

salt

(12 Tbsp; 170 grams) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

(150 grams) granulated sugar

egg,

vanilla extract

almond extract

royal icing

Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl. Set aside.

In a large bowl using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar together on high speed until completely smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the egg, vanilla, and almond extract (if using) and beat on high speed until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl and beat again as needed to combine.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on low until combined. If the dough seems too soft, you can add 1 Tablespoon more flour until it is a better consistency for rolling.

Divide the dough into 2 equal parts. Roll each portion out onto a piece of parchment paper or a lightly floured silicone baking mat (I prefer the nonstick silicone mat) to about 1/4-inch thickness. The rolled-out dough can be any shape, as long as it is evenly 1/4-inch thick.

Stack the pieces, with parchment paper between the two, onto a baking sheet and refrigerate for at least 1-2 hours and up to 2 days. If chilling for more than a couple hours, cover the top dough piece with a single piece of parchment paper.

Once chilled, preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Remove one of the dough pieces from the refrigerator and cut into shapes with cookie cutter(s). Re-roll the remaining dough and continue cutting until all is used. Repeat with 2nd dough piece.

Arrange cookies on baking sheets 3 inches apart. Bake for 11-12 minutes, until lightly browned around the edges. Make sure you rotate the baking sheet halfway through bake time. Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before decorating. I like to decorate cookies directly on baking sheets so I can stick the entire baking sheet in the refrigerator to help set the icing. So place the cooled cookies back on baking sheets.

Enjoy cookies right away or wait until the icing sets to serve them. Once the icing has set, these cookies are great for gifting or for sending. Plain or decorated cookies stay soft for about 5 days when covered tightly at room temperature. For longer storage, cover and refrigerate for up to 10 days.

The cookies had a great taste although they were rock hard and had about 4 times too much icing ! I will try and bake them for less time and cut down on the icing

My first batch came out rock hard as well. I knew I had done something wrong even though I followed the recipe exactly as it said.  I found that when I used stick butter I didn’t allow the butter to soften enough so I didn’t measure it.  Turns out 3/4 cup of stick butter is not equivalent to 3/4 soften butter.  Second batch excellent!!!

This is by far the best sugar cookie recipe I’ve tried and will be my go-to going forward! I was amazed by how  easy it is to work with and not that messy since I rolled it out following your directions. Thank you so much for all the good tips and instructions!

Fantastic sugar cookie recipe!  I've made it with regular vanilla and with clear artificial vanilla and, dare I say it, I might like the artificial vanilla version best.  Thanks for the great recipes.

Hi 

This recipe and your royal icing recipe is amazing. My question is how to package them. I packaged them into little cellophane bags but found they went more soft and broke easily. Were as ones wrapped in cling film have stayed hard but soft in middle. How long do these last?? 
I'm based in the uk

Thanks

I lovedddd this!!! I added some honey in the batter and some other things that weren’t included and they turned out super good I totally recommend the honey :)

I randomly came across this recipe about 3 years ago when I decided to make cookies to give as Christmas gifts to my co-workers. I had never made sugar cookies from scratch and had definitely never used royal icing or tried decorating cookies before. I followed your recipe for the cookie &amp; royal icing to the letter and they turned out amazing. I was worried about the almond extract, but they gave the cookie a wonderful flavor. I made the cookies again last year and plan on making them again this year for gifts again. I'm so glad I found your site. I plan on making quite a few of your cookies this year.

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