Cut Out Sugar Cookie Recipe

Who says you need to wait 2 hours to chill sugar cookie dough before cutting? This recipe and simple method proves that old method wrong. The simple technique to speed up the process, which also happens to be less of a mess as well, is to roll the dough between two sheets of parchment paper and freeze for just 15 minutes it to firm it up. From there the dough is easy to work with and ready to go to cut into various shapes. It’s a process I use in my gingerbread men recipe and it works amazingly well here also. You end with cookies that hold there shape nicely, that have crisp edges, chewy centers and a deliciously buttery flavor.

Decorating Suggestion

Then to keep the simplified method going I would suggest trying the cheater icing option like I’ve done here.

Make one recipe of icing found here. Pipe an outline of the cookie with the icing. Then drizzle back and forth within the shape leaving some space uncoated, it’s a quick rough fill. Immediately cover with sprinkles and shake off the excess.

Cut out sugar cookies really don’t get any easier than this, and that’s without sacrificing flavor or texture either.

All-purpose flour Baking powder Salt Unsalted butter Granulated sugar Egg Vanilla extract Almond extract

How to Roll Cut and Bake Sugar Cookies

Storage

Store cookies in an airtight container. They stack well. These should keep well for up to 5 days at room temperature, 2 weeks in the fridge, and 3 months in the freezer (check your icing recipe for shelf life though if iced).

Helpful Tips

Most cookie recipes don’t need butter and sugar whipped until pale and fluffy, that includes this one. It works great for cakes but in cookies it creates more air bubbles and therefore more spreading. Don’t skip chilling or dough is difficult to work with when transferring shapes to baking sheet and cookies will spread more if not cold to begin with. Work quickly when cutting shapes and transfer to baking sheet, you want them to go into the oven cold. If needed you can freeze again for 5 minutes. Let cookies cool mostly on baking sheet so they don’t break when you transfer them. Don’t waste the scraps. You can use up most of the dough, working with it over and over by compressing, re-rolling and cutting (just don’t forget to chill again).

Icing for Sugar Cookies

Here is my recipe for sugar cookie icing to pair with these cookies. It can be left white and sprinkles can be added (as shown above) or tinted (as shown down below) and you can also add sprinkles. Be sure to add sprinkles before icing sets (immediately after icing each individual cookie).