The best, SOFT cut out sugar cookie I've ever made! Customizable for any occasion, these soft & thick cut out sugar cookies are perfect for Christmas, Valentines, and birthday cookies! I'll walk you through tips on how to roll out the dough to avoid spreading & sticking, as well as give you my favorite, easy frosting recipes.
Update: Be sure to watch my in-depth VIDEO tutorial below where I walk through the crucial steps in preventing your cookies from spreading. It's a longer form video, but one where I share it ALL!
Save this Recipe!
Enter your email below and I'll send this recipe to you.
Over four years ago, I shared a post on my family's favorite cut out sugar cookies and by some miracle, that post went viral and continues to be the most popular recipe on the site. It uses powdered sugar, is soft, and has a delicious flavor to boot. But as time has gone on and I've tested TONS more sugar cookie recipes, I ended up concocting a new cut out sugar recipe that has become my new favorite.
The original recipe is still delicious and loved by many of you (so I didn't want to overwrite that one!), but I have found this one to spread even less, which allows us to get them really THICK.
- Original: All powdered sugar, more butter = a buttery, slightly flakey texture.
- This New Recipe: Granulated Sugar, Less Butter = a thicker, softer, more moist texture.
Before we dive into the recipe, I want to talk about what you can do to make a perfect cut out sugar cookie. Because believe it or not, there's more to it than just the recipe.
- Soft Butter: You need room temperature, softened butter. If you use butter that is too melted, your cookies will not roll out very well and will almost always spread in the oven.
- Properly Roll The Dough: Over kneading or rolling the dough will result in more spreading (because the heat of your hands will soften the butter as you roll.) Before starting, hop on over to my post on how to roll sugar cookies and read the tips (trust me, it will save you some frustration!).
- Roll Them Thick: I'm talking โ " to ยฝ" thick.
- Do Not Overbake: You need to pull them out of the oven before you see any brown around the edges. I'll go into more detail on this below, but essentially, the trick to soft and moist cut out sugar cookies is to ever so slightly underbake them and allow them to finish baking on the hot baking sheet outside of the oven.
What You Need to Make Cut Out Sugar Cookies:
- Softened Butter, Granulated Sugar, Egg, Vanilla Extract & Almond Extract, Baking Powder, Salt, Flour
- Cookie Cutters
- Rolling Pin with Thickness Guides (read more about my favorite rolling pin here)
- Parchment Paper
- Frosting / Pairs well with:
- Easy Sugar Cookie Icing = Great for one-color designs
- Royal Icing = Great for intricate designs, where you want the icing to fully harden
- Buttercream Frosting = Great for spreading or piping swirls (for less fluffy frosting, don't whip as long)
Be sure to check out my Christmas Cookie Frosting Guide for my favorite recipe, food coloring tips, and piping tips! And for EASY decorating ideas, check out myย 5 EASY Christmas Cookies for Kids!
Watch my video for tips & tricks!
How to Make Cut Out Sugar Cookies:
Step 1: Mix Dough
Follow instructions in recipe card below to mix dough. Be sure to measure your flour properly, as adding too much can result in dry cookies.
Once the dough is mixed, scrape down the sides of the bowl to form dough into a rough ball, then transfer to the piece of floured parchment paper. When poked with your finger, the dough should be a tiny bit sticky and still hold it shape (but it should not stick to your fingers).
Step 2: Prepare Surface & Dough
Sprinkle the ball of dough with about 1 teaspoon of flour then use your hands to gently knead the dough into a smooth ball. You should only do this for about 10 seconds, as overkneading the dough will cause the butter to soften too much and will cause spreading.
Once formed into a ball, use your hands to gently press the dough into a 2" thick disc. This will help flatten the dough so that when you use the rolling pin, the dough doesn't break apart.
Step 3: Set Rolling Pin to Correct Thickness
For fool-proof, thick cut out sugar cookies, I highly recommend using a rolling pin with thickness guides and setting it to a โ " or ยฝ" thickness. This is the thickness I have found results in the softest sugar cookies.
The rolling pin I use only goes up to โ ", so that's the thickness I use most frequently. If I'm really looking to impress for holiday cookie gifts, I will use the ยฝ" guides from this set (these are also great to attach to your current rolling pin.)
Step 4: Roll Dough
Sprinkle a tiny bit of flour on top of the dough disc and coat the rolling pin in flour. Now that your dough is prepped, gently start rolling the pin over the dough, making sure you're not pressing down very hard at first.
The goal is to slowly "inch your way" to the correct thickness. This is where a rolling pin with rings or thickness guides comes in very handy, as it will allow for an even thickness throughout.
Step 5: Dip Cutter In Flour
Ever use cookie cutters and have the dough constantly get stuck inside of them? The fix to that is by dipping your cookie cutter in flour between each cut. To do this, scoop about ยฝ cup of flour on a plate or bowl and then dip the cookie cutter into it each time you cut.
Step 6: Immediately Cut Dough
As you're cutting the dough, you want to cut from the outside in (aka. don't start cutting from the center). The reason for this is that you want to get the most cookies out of each sheet of dough, as the less you re-roll the dough, the less the cookies will spread in the oven.
A big reason cookies will spread is because you kneaded and rolled out the dough too many times. Every time you do this, the butter in the dough gets warmer and will cause spreading. If you can manage to cut all your cookies in 2 roll-outs, that is ideal.
Be sure to check out my Christmas Cookie Frosting Guide for my favorite recipe, food coloring tips, and piping tips! And for EASY decorating ideas, check out myย 5 EASY Christmas Cookies for Kids!
Along those lines, you also want to start cutting out the shapes immediately after rolling out. This is good for two reasons:
- If your house is warm/humid and you wait too long to roll out, the dough will soften, be harder to handle, and will be more likely to spread.
- If you wait too long to roll out, the dough can become dry causing the cookies to crumble when cutting and baking.
Tip: Want to make the dough ahead of time and roll out later? Learn all about How to Freeze Sugar Cookie Dough.
Step 7: Lift Dough With Offset Spatula
After cutting out the cookies, carefully pull away the excess dough and use an offset spatula to help lift the cut cookies up and onto the parchment-lined baking sheet. While you're lifting it up with the spatula, use your other hand to support the bottom of the cookie so that it doesn't break then gently slide it onto the baking sheet.
Tip: Unlike a regular spatula, offset spatulas are great because they are skinny and will allow your hand to get under the cookie to help guide it to the baking sheet.
Step 8: Bake
Once all your cookies are cut and onto the baking sheet, it's time to bake! Just like I mentioned before, you want to bake the cookies immediately after cutting so that they don't become soft and warm.
Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes (8 for smaller cookies, 10 for larger cookies). Do not overbake. Cookies may look underdone at 11 minutes, but I recommend removing them from the oven before seeing any brown on the edges.
Once baked, remove from oven and place pan on a cooling rack. Do not remove cookies from hot pan. Let them rest on the hot pan for about 10 minutes to finish baking before removing from the pan.
Tip: If you're using the same baking sheet for all the cookies, you want to make sure it's not too hot as you place on the next batch. Because if you put dough on a hot baking sheet, it will start to melt down and cause the cookies so spread even before baking.)
Step 9: Allow To Cool Then Frost
Once the cookies are fully cooled, it's time to frost! Below are some of my favorite icings and frostings for sugar cookies.
Sugar Cookie Frosting Recipes:
Halloween Decorating Idea! Making these for Halloween? Turn these into the easiest Halloween pumpkin cookies!
Frequently Asked Questions:
Do you have to chill dough for sugar cookies?
I don't personally chill the dough when I use this recipe. I have found that if you work fast and don't knead and roll out the dough more than 2 times, then the cookies will hold their shape.
If you have rolled out the dough too many times and it looks soft and buttery, then I would recommend chilling the cut shapes on the baking tray for 20-30 minutes before baking.
Be sure to check out my Christmas Cookie Frosting Guide for my favorite recipe, food coloring tips, and piping tips! And for EASY decorating ideas, check out myย 5 EASY Christmas Cookies for Kids!
Why do my sugar cookies spread and lose their shape?
There are several main reasons I have found that cause cookies to spread.
- You have kneaded and rolled out your dough too many times, leaving the butter melted and soft.
- You're using a recipe with too much leavening.
- Altitude. If you live in a high elevation, you may want to experiment with decreasing the leavener (baking powder or baking soda). When I lived in Utah, I often had issues with cookies spreading and had to cut back on the baking powder/baking soda.
Can you freeze homemade sugar cookie dough?
Yes you can! I wrote an entire post on How to Freeze Sugar Cookie Dough. In this, I go over how you can freeze the dough before or after you roll it out and cut it, as well as how you can freeze baked sugar cookies.
Can sugar cookie dough be refrigerated overnight?
Yes it can. If you're going to do this, I recommend pressing it into the disc (like Step 4 above), placing in a gallon-sized plastic bag, and laying it on a flat surface in the refrigerator. When you're ready to cut and bake, let the dough thaw to room temperature then roll out.
How thick should dough be for cookie cutters?
Like I mentioned above, I have found that a minimum of โ " thickness is the best when using cookie cutters.
This will not only give the cookies nice stability as you're cutting and lifting them off the countertop, but it will also result in softer baked cookies.
When I'm trying to impress, I will go as thick as ยฝ" for super soft cookies but I don't recommend going any thicker than that or you will have a hard time getting the cookies to evenly bake through.
Can you roll out dough on parchment paper?
Absolutely! Like I showed above, I recommend cutting around 2 feet of parchment and then using masking or regular tape to adhere each corner to the counter. This will help the parchment from slipping around as you're rolling.
How do you keep cookie dough from sticking to the rolling pin?
Before rolling, you'll want to use your hands to evenly coat the rolling pin with flour. If your dough is sticky, you'll also want to sprinkle a bit of flour on top of the dough before rolling.
Use the photo guides in this post to see how much flour is necessary, as you don't want to use too much flour or your dough will become dry and crumbly.
Cut Out Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
- ยพ cup unsalted butter (softened at room temperature)
- ยพ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 ยฝ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ยฝ teaspoon almond extract (nut allergy? you can substitute this with extra vanilla!)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ยฝ teaspoon salt
- 2 - 2ยผ cups all-purpose flour *see note section below
Frosting
Before you begin! If you make this, will you do me a huge favor and leave a review and rating letting me know how you liked this recipe? This helps my small business thrive so I can continue providing free recipes and high-quality content for you.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ยฐF. To prep for rolling, lay a piece of parchment on the counter and sprinkle with about 1 teaspoon of flour.
- In a large bowl, cream together unsalted butter (ยพ cup; i.e. 1ยฝ sticks) and granulated sugar (ยพ cup) on medium speed for 20-30 seconds.
- While mixer is still on medium speed, add in egg (1 large), vanilla extract (1ยฝ teaspoons) and almond extract (ยฝ teaspoon).
- Once mixed, add in baking powder (1 teaspoon), salt (ยฝ teaspoon), and all-purpose flour (2 - 2ยผ cups), ยฝ cup at a time, on low speed.
- Once mixture is combined and all the flour disappears, transfer dough to the piece of floured parchment paper. Press mixture into large ball so that it is all incorporated and any loose floury pieces are pressed in. Knead dough for 5-10 seconds until it becomes a smooth ball, then press into 2" thick disc (see photo guides above in post).Use a rolling pin to roll dough โ " to ยฝ" thick.
- Use cookie cutters to cut out and transfer to a parchment baking sheet.
- Bake at 350ยฐF for 8-10 minutes. Do not overbake. Depending on size, cookies may look underdone at 10 minutes, but I recommend removing them from the oven before seeing any brown on the edges. If you've used a medium/large cutter and made them ยฝ" thick, you may need to bake for a few extra minutes.
- Once baked, remove from oven and place pan on a cooling rack. Do not remove cookies from hot pan. Let them rest on the hot pan for 10-15 minutes to finish baking before removing from the pan.
- Once completely cooled, top with frosting. See notes section below for frosting ideas.
- Store in airtight container for 2-3 days or freeze for later.
Last Step! Please leave a review and rating letting me know how you liked this recipe! This helps my small business thrive so I can continue providing free recipes and high-quality content for you.
Notes
- Flour amounts: Since the pandemic, some butter companies have added more palm oil to their butter resulting in changes to how cookies spread. While I still prefer 2 cups of flour for a super soft, slightly underbaked texture, I recommend using 2 ยผ cups if you are using intricate shapes and want the sharpest edges. They are a little more firm with more flour but still soft & delicious.
- Yield: Depending on size/thickness of cookies, you can typically get 12-24 cookies.
- Easy Sugar Cookie Icing = Great for one-color designs
- Royal Icing = Great for intricate designs, where you want the icing to fully harden.
- Buttercream Frosting = Great for spreading or piping swirls
Jenna North
This is my favorite cut out cookie recipe!
Melissa
Yay! I'm so glad you love these sugar cookies, Jenna! Thanks for taking time to leave a review!
Victoria
This is my go to! They turn out perfect and delicious every time.
Melissa
Thank you so much for leaving a review, Victoria!
Andrea
Iโm using this for my daughterโs wedding and they are delicious. I did add lemon zest to them for the occasion but recipe is good without as well. All the hints to avoid spreading was essential. I also used one of those baking mats with tiny holes which reduced the spread as well.
Melissa
So glad to hear you enjoyed the recipe, Andrea! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review!
Marta
These were absolutely awesome! I made them with a half batch of the royal icing and they looked fantastic. They were a little puffy and spread out when they came out of the oven, but I just re-cut them out with the cookie cutter when they were still hot and they looked great. Really easy recipe, Iโll definitely be using this again
Melissa
So happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe so much, Marta! Thank you so much for leaving a review!
Sara
Hi, these were great. Used the first option for icing.
I had a request for them to be a little sweeter. Can I just add more sugar to the dough, any suggestions?
your mom
it is goooooooooooooooooooooooooood and awesoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooome and goooda
Sage
I made these with my brother, best cookies ever. Will bake again!
Melissa
So happy to hear that, Sage! Thank you so much for leaving a review!
Denise
Excellent tasting no spread sugar cookie recipe and believe me my family taste tested a lot of different recipes lol.. I made dozens of cutout cookies for my daughter in laws baby shower and they were a huge hit!
Thank you Melissa!!
Emily
I have been searching for this recipe all my life. I have tried countless recipes and have encountered a few really good sugar cookie recipes, but these are the goddess of the sugar cookie world! I am an avid baker (for decades) and I have hoped to replicate a local bakeryโs delicious cookies, dreading the day that bakery might close. These cookies are not only almost identical, they are BETTER. Deceptively easy to make, and NO CHILLING - HALLELUJAH - they bake up soft and a lovely consistent creamy color. No nasty brown crunchy bottoms. They hold their shapes perfectly. Just beautiful - delicious - and they stay fresh for some time. The only sugar cookie recipe anyone needs. (I do not use almond but add extra vanilla, and 2 cups of flour work perfectly for me.) THANK YOU!
Melissa
Ahhh yay, I'm so happy to hear you love this recipe as much as I do! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review, Emily! I appreciate it SO much! :)
Artzwoman
Everyone in our family (10 people) LOVED the cookies. They were soft but held their shape and they had just the right flavor (no almond extract was added). The cookies didn't spread at all even though I didn't refrigerate the dough. I'm definitely saving this recipe!
Melissa
So happy to hear that! Thank you so much for leaving a review, I really appreciate it!
Pat McBirney Kimbrel
This is the most perfect sugar cookie. And Iโve tried a lot. Made it with only 2 cups of flour and they were a rave. They were fabulous and everyone loved them.
I have some Aunt Chick (who was my grandmother) cutters and I did do the recipe with the two and 1/4th cup flour also and I was able to make the inner imprint.
I canโt say more on how perfect these turned out and will continue to use this recipe forever. thank you for figuring this out. You did great!
Melissa
Yay, I am soo glad to hear you loved this recipe! Thank you so much for leaving a review, Pat! I really appreciate it!
Mindy
Love these easy to bake and make soft cut out sugar cookies fantastic
Melissa
So glad you love this recipe, Mindy! Thank you so much for the review!
Tina Wilson
Hello!
I am making these for my son's birthday and want to prepare them ahead. I use your buttercream icing for them (the combo is to die for!) and I'm wondering if I can prepare the whole cookie, with frosting and all and then freeze? Will that cause issues when defrosting? I'm planning on making #5 cookies, frost with the buttercream, and then dip into sprinkles and freeze. This is Monday and his party isn't until Saturday, so I thought that was a little too long to leave in the fridge.
Thanks
Tina :)
Melissa
Hi Tina! You can totally do that! The only issue I've run into before is that some types of sprinkles will bleed their color when they thaw. So if you're using something like white icing, they may bleed a bit. But since you said you are covering them in sprinkles, it's probably not an issue since you won't see any miscolored frosting below. Hope that helps!
Maura
These cookies turned out perfectly. Easy recipe and I received many compliments. I am making more tonight. This recipe is exactly what I was looking for. I tried 3 recipes before this and was so happy these turned out so well. This one is a keeper!!!
Melissa
Yay, I am so happy to hear that! Thank you so much for leaving a review, Maura! I really appreciate it!
Amy
The best Cutout recipe ever! So soft and delicious, but still holds its shape. I'm gonna make these every holiday :)
Deborah Diehl
I loved this recipe. It rolled out so well and the cookies held together very well. Personal preference only, I would leave the almond flavoring out next time and only use vanilla. In choosing to do this would I increase the vanilla to 1-1/2 t.?
Melissa
So glad to hear you enjoyed this recipe, Deborah! If you aren't an almond extract lover, I would definitely recommend substituting for a little more vanilla!
Laurie Serena
Sooo many ads I never did get to find a stupid recipe! This is a scam....
Melissa
There is a pink โjump to recipeโ button at the very top of the post that will take you to the recipe to print.
Sage
There Is a skip recipe button!