Go Back
–+ servings
sugar cookies cut out for different seasons on a wire rack, half frosted
Recipes
No primary category found.

Cut Out Sugar Cookies

4.50 from 2 votes
prep 1 hour
cook 10 minutes
1 hour
total 2 hours 10 minutes
Serves 24 cookies
Cut out sugar cookies that actually taste good and look good! They’re soft and fluffy but still hold their shape well. They’re flavorful, not too sweet and can be frosted with whatever type of icing you want! I included recipes for Royal Icing & American Buttercream.
Servings 24 cookies

Equipment

Ingredients

  • 113 grams salted butter, room temperature
  • 200 grams granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg, room temperature
  • 113 grams greek yogurt*, or sour cream or butter
  • 2 tsp vanilla bean paste
  • 1/2 tsp almond extract
  • 360 grams cake flour, spooned and leveled
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp fine sea salt

Royal Icing

  • 90 grams powdered sugar
  • 1 Tbsp meringue powder
  • 1 tsp vanilla bean paste, or vanilla extract
  • 60 mL water

American Buttercream

  • 113 grams unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 240 grams powdered sugar, spooned and leveled
  • 30 mL heavy cream
  • 2 tsp vanilla bean paste, or extract
  • tiny pinch fine sea salt

Method

Sugar Cookies

  1. Place the butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer (or large bowl with a hand mixer).
    113 grams salted butter room temperature, 200 grams granulated sugar
  2. Use a flat beater to beat the butter with the sugar they’re super pale and fluffy.
  3. Add in the egg, beating until it’s well combined.
    1 large egg room temperature
  4. Add in the yogurt, vanilla and almond extract, mixing until they’re well combined. The batter may split here, that’s ok.
    113 grams greek yogurt* or sour cream or butter, 2 tsp vanilla bean paste, 1/2 tsp almond extract
  5. Mix all dry ingredients together & then add them into wet mixture. Beating until fully combined.
    360 grams cake flour spooned and leveled, 1 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
  6. Split dough in half, place each half between two sheets of wax/parchment paper. Roll them both out evenly to about 1/4" in thickness.
  7. Chill for at least 30 minutes (I use the freezer but you can refrigerate for longer), or until the dough feels firm and you’re able to cut out shapes.
  8. Remove from wax paper & cut out shapes for cookies, work quickly so that the dough doesn’t soften before you’re done.
  9. Place the cut out cookies on a lined cookie sheet and chill again while the oven preheats. Preheat oven to 350F.
  10. Refold scraps of dough to make more (chill again after rolling it out - I only refold scraps once or the dough will get overworked and the cookies will be too tough).
  11. Cookies should feel firm, not squishy, before going in to the oven. Bake for 8-10 minutes, just until the tops no longer look wet and the edges feel BARELY set. They will seem slightly underbaked at this time but they’ll be perfect once they’ve cooled.
  12. Let them cool on pan for a couple minutes, until you can move them to a wire rack without them falling apart. Cool completely before decorating.

Royal Icing

  1. Clean mixing bowl & all utensils with a little vinegar/lemon (don't skip this friends).
  2. Using the whisk attachment, combine powdered sugar & meringue powder in the mixing bowl.
    90 grams powdered sugar, 1 Tbsp meringue powder
  3. With mixer on low speed, add in the vanilla and the water, a little at a time, just until it's your icing is fully wet & silky.
    60 mL water, 1 tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
  4. Beat for 10 minutes on low speed, until the mixture holds a soft peak (if it's too soft, add more sugar).
  5. Use a piping bag with a tiny round tip to pipe all the borders on your cookies. It should be thin enough to pipe smoothly but thick enough not too run off the edge of your cookie.
  6. After you've piped all your borders onto the cookies, add a little more water, 1 tsp at a time, until the consistency is soft & runny for 'flooding' your cookies.
  7. Use a small spoon or another piping bag to fill the centers of your cookies. You want the icing to be thin enough to spread throughout the cookie but not run past your border.
  8. Dip them in sprinkles or sprinkle some one top if you want. Let them set for a few hours (preferably overnight) before stacking. Store in airtight container.

American Buttercream

  1. Once the cookies have cooled, beat the butter at full speed for 2-3 minutes, until it's pale and fluffy.
    113 grams unsalted butter room temperature
  2. Add the powdered sugar, vanilla and salt and mix on low speed just until the sugar is combined.
    240 grams powdered sugar spooned and leveled, 2 tsp vanilla bean paste or extract, tiny pinch fine sea salt
  3. Increase the speed to high and beat for 1-2 minutes, scraping the edge of the bowl a couple times, to get all the sugar dissolved.
  4. Stream in the heavy cream in 2-3 increments, mixing well between each addition.
    30 mL heavy cream
  5. Pipe on top of cookies and decorate with sprinkles/glitter as desired before the frosting dries on top.

Notes

* I wanted a very soft and delicious sugar cookie which I believe is hard to come by. Using yogurt or sour cream balances the sweetness so well and makes the cookies so nice and soft. That said, they do hold their shape but it's not a "sharp" shape, they do puff up a little. If you're wanting them to be a little more firm and hold a sharper shape (and be slightly easier to work with the dough) then you can sub that 1/2 cup of yogurt/sour cream for an additional half cup of butter. Just use double the butter in the first step and skip adding in the yogurt/sour cream. 

Nutrition

Calories: 143kcalCarbohydrates: 24gProtein: 3gFat: 4gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.3gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0.2gCholesterol: 17mgSodium: 77mgPotassium: 26mgFiber: 0.4gSugar: 13gVitamin A: 128IUCalcium: 20mgIron: 0.2mg
Course: Cookies
Cuisine: American
Keyword: cut out cookies, sugar cookies