The Best Cutout Sugar Cookies

This is definitely the very best recipe for cutout sugar cookies! They are gentle and tender however maintain their form very nicely throughout baking.

I’ve been making this cutout sugar cookie recipe for over fifteen years, and it’s actually the very best of the very best. For the proper sugar cookies, be certain that to comply with all of the tips within the recipe!

The Best Sugar Cookie Dough

This cutout sugar cookie dough is fairly straight ahead. What makes it a little bit bit distinctive (and additional yummy) is the addition of contemporary lemon zest to the batter.

That refined trace of lemon taste is completely phenomenal and will change your sugar cookie recreation ceaselessly.

However, if you happen to don’t have a contemporary lemon hanging round, you’ll be able to depart it out. (Just promise me you’ll attempt it will definitely!)

The cookie dough additionally requires granulated sugar AND powdered sugar. This helps make the cookies extremely gentle and completely candy.

To Chill or Not to Chill

This sugar cookie dough advantages from a couple of hours of chilling within the fridge. Not solely will it’s infinitely simpler to roll out and lower into shapes, however the taste of the cookies will style higher, too.

However, you can roll and lower the sugar cookies straight away. The dough will probably be sticky, so be certain that the counter and rolling pin are adequately floured so the dough doesn’t stick.

The Key to Perfect Sugar Cookies

For the very best sugar cookies ever, roll the dough no less than 1/4-inch thick (barely thicker is even higher).

If the dough is rolled too skinny, the cookies can simply over bake within the oven, which implies they’ll be dry-tasting and type of crispy.

And whereas I firmly subscribe to the “you do you” perception, I’m going to should put my foot down with regards to sugar cookies. We need buttery gentle, fluffy, ultra-tender sugar cookies.

For that motive, err on the facet of rolling the dough thicker than you suppose it’s best to.

Trust the Baking Temperature

You might discover that the baking temperature on this recipe is far larger than most “normal” cookie recipes.

I promise that there’s a technique to this insanity! Because sugar cookies already go into the oven a lot thinner than, say, a ball of chocolate chip cookie dough, they profit from a shorter baking time.

Using a high temperature completely bakes the surface of the cookies rapidly and leaves the within of the cookies tremendous tremendous gentle. Pull the cookies out of the oven earlier than you suppose it’s best to. A barely underdone center is simply tremendous. The cookies will arrange as they cool.

Frosting for Sugar Cookies

These cookies work very nicely frosted with:

When this recipe was initially printed, I included a recipe for probably the most superb whipped cream cheese frosting. It’s the last word in tremendous gentle, simply spreadable cookie frostings.

If you might be on the lookout for that frosting recipe, it’s in a recipe field all its personal beneath the sugar cookie recipe…so maintain scrolling and also you’ll discover it. 🙂

A Favorite of Many

My Favorite Sugar Cookies

Yield: 24 -36 cookies

Prep Time: 1 hour hr 25 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 8 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hr 33 minutes minutes

Sugar Cookies:

• 1 ½ cups (340 g) butter, softened to chill room temperature
• 1 ½ cups (318 g) granulated sugar
• ½ cup (57 g) powdered sugar
• 4 massive eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• ½ teaspoon almond extract, non-obligatory
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest, from about 1 lemon
• 5 cups (710 g) all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt

• In a big bowl, cream collectively the butter, granulated sugar and powdered sugar for 3-4 minutes, till the combination is gentle and fluffy.

• Add the eggs, vanilla extract, almond extract (if utilizing) and lemon zest; combine till totally mixed, scraping down the perimeters of the bowl as wanted.

• Add the flour, baking powder and salt. Mix simply till flour is included and the dough is clean and gentle.

• Press the dough right into a thick disc on a sheet of plastic wrap. Wrap till absolutely coated and refrigerate for a number of hours (or as much as 2 days). *The dough can be rolled out straight away; nevertheless the cookies will not maintain their form fairly as nicely within the oven – if doing so, you may want to make use of fairly a bit extra flour on the counter to verify the dough would not stick.*

• When able to bake, preheat the oven to 400 levels F. If your oven bakes sizzling, scale back the temperature to 375 levels F.

• Lightly mud a counter with powdered sugar or flour and roll the dough to 1/4-inch or barely thicker.

• Cut the dough into shapes. Place the cookies a number of inches aside on parchment-lined baking sheets.

• Bake for 7-8 minutes. DO NOT OVER BAKE! There ought to be no browning on the perimeters or the underside of the cookies and the middle of the cookies might look simply barely underdone.

• Let the cookies relaxation on the baking pans for two to three minutes earlier than eradicating them to a wire rack to chill fully.

• Frost and sprinkle as desired.

Baking Temp: the baking temperature for this recipe could appear high however I imagine it is without doubt one of the keys to success. The cookies nonetheless stay gentle and light-weight as a result of they bake for such a short while (they usually maintain their form very well!). If your oven bakes sizzling, scale back the oven temperature to 375 levels F. 

Serving: 1 cookie, Calories: 267kcal, Carbohydrates: 35g, Protein: 4g, Fat: 13g, Saturated Fat: 8g, Cholesterol: 62mg, Sodium: 236mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 15g

Follow @MelsKitchenCafe on Instagram and present me the recipes you’re making from my weblog utilizing the hashtag #melskitchencafe. I like seeing all of the goodness you might be whipping up in your kitchens!

Recipe Source: from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe
Recipe initially printed October 2010; up to date February 2024 with new pictures, recipe notes, and so forth

Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting for Sugar Cookies

• 8-ounce (227 g) bundle cream cheese, softened
• 1 ½ cups (171 g) powdered sugar
• ⅛ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 ½ cups heavy whipping cream

• In a big bowl with a handheld electrical mixer or in an electrical stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the softened cream cheese, powdered sugar, salt and vanilla.

• Mix till very clean and light-weight and no lumps stay, scraping down the perimeters of the bowl as wanted.

• In a separate bowl, beat the cream to stiff peaks. Add the whipped cream to the cream cheese combination. Mix till nicely mixed and clean. Store within the fridge for as much as one week.

Follow @MelsKitchenCafe on Instagram and present me the recipes you’re making from my weblog utilizing the hashtag #melskitchencafe. I like seeing all of the goodness you might be whipping up in your kitchens!