If you’re looking for an easy rolled sugar cookie recipe, I got you! They’re soft, hold their shape really well, and are simple to make at any skill level. Feel free to decorate with melted chocolates or royal icing!
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❤️ Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- The cookies are slightly crisp, yet soft. They’re delicious, buttery, not-too-sweet, yet really easy to make!
- It’s versatile. Not only can you cut out different shapes, you can add different toppings! Feel free to decorate them with royal icing, or dip/drizzle them with melted chocolates and add add toppings like crushed nuts, candies, sprinkles, etc.
- The cookies hold their shape incredibly well! The dough barely spreads when baked in the oven, which is perfect for cutting out fun shapes. You can even use a cookie stampers on them, too!
Looking for more easy cookie recipes? Try out my cut-out matcha cookies!
Ingredients
To make cut out sugar cookies from scratch, you’ll need the following ingredients:
- You’ll need softened unsalted butter, which you’ll cream with granulated sugar until light and fluffy.
- I’ve been using vanilla paste lately because of all the pretty specks of vanilla beans! But if you don’t have it on hand, you always can swap it 1:1 for vanilla extract.
- Cornstarch helps the cookies hold their shape while baking. It also keeps them soft and tender!
- You can decorate with any toppings of choice, like melted chocolates, royal icing, sprinkles, crushed nuts, etc.!
For the full list of ingredients and measurements, see the recipe card below.
💡 Baking Tips
- Weigh your ingredients! One of my favorite kitchen tools is a kitchen scale because it’s more accurate than measuring by volume. If you use cups, spoon the flour in gently, then level it with a knife or spatula.
- To minimize sticking, lightly flour your cookie cutter before using! I also like to slide an offset spatula underneath the cut-out cookie when transferring to my lined baking tray.
How to Make Rolled Sugar Cookies
Step 1: Cream softened butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Mix in egg and vanilla until combined.
Step 2: Add dry ingredients, mixing until there are no more dry spots.
Step 3: Roll cookie dough out between two pieces of parchment or wax paper until it is about ¼-inch thick. Transfer the entire stack to a baking tray and freeze for about 15 minutes.
Step 4: Remove parchment paper stack from freezer. Remove top layer then lightly stick it back on. This helps loosen the dough when you remove cut-out shapes. Flip entire stack over to completely remove the other layer of parchment paper. Cut out shapes. Re-roll extra dough and repeat.
Step 5: Place cut-out cookies on lined baking tray, about 3 inches apart. Bake at 350°F/177°C for 11-13 minutes, or until edges are set. Allow to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to wire rack to fully cool.
Step 6: Decorate using melted chocolates, frosting, or royal icing. Enjoy!
For full instructions, see the recipe card below.
Storage
- Room temperature: Store cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
- Freezing instructions:
- If you’d like to freeze the raw dough, you can actually freeze the entire parchment stack on a baking tray for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to bake, pull the parchment stack from the freezer, cut out shapes, and bake as usual. You may need to add 2-3 minutes to the baking time. This is a method I used to do as a pastry cook when I made batches of cut-out cookie dough at a time.
- If you’d like to freeze raw cut-out cookies, arrange them in a single layer on a lined baking sheet and freeze or 30 minutes to 1 hour. Once frozen, place them in an airtight container or Ziploc bag. Bake from frozen, adding 2-3 minutes to the baking time.
😋 More Cookie Recipes
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Thank you so much! -Bianca ❤️
📖 Recipe & Video
Rolled Sugar Cookies
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Equipment
- medium mixing bowl for dry ingredients
- large mixing bowl for cookie dough
- cookie cutters I used heart and bear cutters
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients:
- 1 ¾ cup (218.75 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon (8 g) cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon (4 g) baking powder
- ½ teaspoon (3 g) fine sea salt
Wet Ingredients:
- ½ cup (113.5 g) unsalted butter softened
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon (13 g) vanilla extract or paste
- 1 (50 g) egg room temperature
Decoration (optional):
- royal icing or melted chocolates
Instructions
For the cookie dough:
- In a medium bowl, stir together all of the dry ingredients: 1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour, 1 tablespoon cornstarch, 1 teaspoon baking powder, and ½ teaspoon fine sea salt.
- In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to cream the softened ½ cup unsalted butter and ½ cup granulated sugar until light and fluffy.
- Mix in 1 tablespoon vanilla and 1 egg until smooth.
- Dump in all of the dry ingredients. Fold using silicone spatula until no dry spots remains.
Roll out dough:
- Now, you will make a "parchment stack". The bottom layer will be a large piece of parchment paper, the cookie dough in the middle, then parchment paper on top. This will make rolling out the dough much easier + mess free.Lay large piece of parchment paper down on work surface. Plop on all of the cookie dough, then lay another piece of parchment on top of it. Use a rolling pin to roll out the dough into a large rectangle, until dough is about ¼-inch thick.
- Transfer parchment stack to a baking tray and freeze for about 15 minutes. This will make cutting out shapes easier.
Cut out & bake cookies:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F/177°C. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- This step will help loosen the cookie dough from the parchment paper layers. So when you cut out dough pieces, the dough doesn't stick to the paper and is easier to transfer to your lined baking tray.Peel off top parchment paper, then lightly stick it back on. Flip the entire parchment-cookie dough-parchment stack over so you can completely peel off the bottom parchment paper.
- Use cookie cutters to cut out desired shapes. Transfer cookies to baking sheets, about 2-3 inches apart. The cookies will not spread much while baking.Tip: Lightly flour your cookie cutter to minimize any sticking. When transferring cut-out cookies to your lined baking sheet, you can slide an offset spatula underneath the cookie to easily pick it up. If the dough is getting too soft, pop it back in the fridge or even the freezer for a few minutes.
- Knead together any dough scraps, roll out, and cut out more cookies.
- Bake for 11-13 minutes, or until edges are set and very lightly golden. Let cool on pan for about 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack to fully cool.
- Decorate using royal icing or melted chocolates, and enjoy!
Notes
- Room temperature: Store cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
- Freezing instructions:
- If you’d like to freeze the raw dough, you can actually freeze the entire parchment stack on a baking tray for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to bake, pull the parchment stack from the freezer, cut out shapes, and bake as usual. You may need to add 2-3 minutes to the baking time. This is a method I used to do as a pastry cook when I made batches of cut-out cookie dough at a time.
- If you’d like to freeze raw cut-out cookies, arrange them in a single layer on a lined baking sheet and freeze or 30 minutes to 1 hour. Once frozen, place them in an airtight container or Ziploc bag. Bake from frozen, adding 2-3 minutes to the baking time.
