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!
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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 ⅜" to ½" 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 my 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 ⅜" or ½" thickness. This is the thickness I have found results in the softest sugar cookies.
The rolling pin I use only goes up to ⅜", so that's the thickness I use most frequently. If I'm really looking to impress for holiday cookie gifts, I will use the ½" 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 ½ 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 my 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:
- Easy Sugar Cookie Icing = Great for one-color designs
- Royal Icing = Great for intricate designs, where you want the icing to fully harden. If using royal icing, flip the cookies upside down on a paper towel for about 1 hour before applying icing. This will allow an excess oils to be soaked up, so that they don't interfere with the royal icing. This is a tip I learned from my friend Sweet Sugarbelle.
- Buttercream Frosting = Great for spreading or piping swirls
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 my 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 ⅜" 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 ½" 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
- ¾ cup unsalted butter (softened at room temperature)
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon almond extract (nut allergy? you can substitute this with extra vanilla!)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 - 2¼ cups all-purpose flour *see note section below
Frosting
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Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. 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 (¾ cup; i.e. 1½ sticks) and granulated sugar (¾ cup) on medium speed for 20-30 seconds.
- While mixer is still on medium speed, add in egg (1 large), vanilla extract (1½ teaspoons) and almond extract (½ teaspoon).
- Once mixed, add in baking powder (1 teaspoon), salt (½ teaspoon), and all-purpose flour (2 - 2¼ cups), ½ 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 ⅜" to ½" thick.
- Use cookie cutters to cut out and transfer to a parchment baking sheet.
- Bake at 350°F 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 ½" 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 ¼ 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
Danika
These are literally THE best sugar cookies you’ll ever have. I made them and friends & family said they’re better than any bakery. Melissa’s tips on how to roll the dough, etc were great. If you follow her directions, you’ll nail this recipe!
Also, if you’re not allergic, I def recommend doing the almond extract as she recommends - don’t skip it! That taste is part of what makes these soooo delicious!
Ashley
Everyone I give these to loves them and asks for the recipe!
Andee
My husband and I are obsessed with these!! They are so soft and delicious. We did experience some spreading but we work slow and aren’t professionals, so that’s 100% user error. Can’t recommend this recipe enough!!
Gina Keating
Hi, Melissa! Not only are you a gifted baker, but a teacher! I made these cookies successfully - for the very first time in my life- after reading through your blog and following your instructions.
My family said they honestly did not expect to eat a moist and flavorful cookie, and they LOVED them! I also made your frosting recipe with cream cheese and it was perfect for decorating the cookies.
Thank you for helping me overcome my intimidation with cutouts! Sincerely, Gina
Melissa
Wow you truly made my day with your sweet comment, Gina! I am so glad they turned out so well for you & that your family loved them. Sugar cookies are so much fun once you learn all the little tricks!
Kaisha
Hi Melissa. Can you add flavoring to this recipe? For example if I wanted to make Lemon sugar cookies?
Melissa
Yes you can! We've done that before instead of the almond. I'd suggest starting with an equal substitute but then test it out to see if you like it (usually I'll end up more lemon extract for a stronger flavor).
Cindy Ward
Your recipe was the first I tried for decorating cookies. They were delicious, but I was having a little trouble with spreading (I wasn’t using enough flour, I figured out) so I tried a few other recipes. I have to say these are by far the best tasting cookies, and you give so many tips on how to troubleshoot! Thank you so much for this!
sonny
hi melissa! just curious, if i leave out baking powder, would that make a major difference? i don’t want them puffing at all for the cut outs i need to make. ty ;)
Melissa
Hi Sonny! You can definitely try it out; I've seen some cut out recipes that don't use it at all. I have tried cutting back the baking powder on these and felt like the texture was a little dense but you're welcome to try.
What you can do as a test is to mix the dough without it, pull out a small amount to test bake and then if you don't like the texture, add some baking powder and remix. It's not the "technical" time to add the baking powder after it's all mixed but would work for a test, especially if you have a stand mixer.
Hope that helps! If you try it, be sure to report back!
Elizabeth
These are delicious but almost too soft! Mine practically fall apart even after cooled. I added extra time and still they break when picking up. Any advice?
Melissa
I haven’t had that issue brought up before but my best guess is that they needed more time baking. Do you use a oven thermometer? My ovens have always been over 100 degrees off when they say they are preheated.
If you’re sure that’s not the issue, my next questions would be what type of pan you used and how the dough felt before rolling? Was it sticky/hard to roll and needed more flour?
Tatiana
I am not joking when I tell you these are the best cookies I have ever made. This recipe is so simple, yet gives off an end product that will blow your mind. If you like thick and chewy cookies, this is the recipe for you. If I were to give any advice, it'd be to mix the dry ingredients very well. This was totally on me, but I didn't mix it well enough and there were chunks of baking powder, which was very unpleasant. I personally did not have any almond extract, so I omitted it and the cookies still came out perfectly. Thank you so much for this recipe! I will definitely be using it again!
Melissa
I am so glad you loved them, Tatiana! They are my favorite cookie to make year round!
Thanks so much for taking the time to leave your feedback!
Tammy B
My son has a nut allergy so I am unable to add almond extract. Can I just add an additional 1/2 tsp of vanilla or is there a better choice? Thanks!
Melissa
You sure can - vanilla is a great substitution!
Catherine Paterson
I find volume measurements tricky. What is the weight of your cup of flour?
Melissa
Hi Catherine! Here's a great conversion chart from King Arthur.
Amy
My son is allergic to almond. So I use all vanilla and I also add a pinch of nutmeg. Yummy! This is my new favorite to go recipe for cookie cut outs!
Melissa
So glad you loved them! I never thought to add nutmeg, but that’s a great tip for those looking to substitute out the almond extract - thanks for mentioning that!
Mariangelica
Hi! I made the recipe but it spread what can I do?
Melissa
There's a lot of factors that can cause spreading. I outline most of them in the post, but a big one can be putting the cookies in the oven before it's truly preheated (most ovens aren't actually preheated when they say they are; mine is only at 150 when it beeps to say it's at 350). If you've followed all the tips in the post & they still spread, let me know and I can try and help diagnose!
Katie
These came out perfect! I did a little less almond extract because I’m always worried about using too much and ruining the recipe lol. Super easy to make and cut and everything. I just used Betty Crocker decorating frosting which tasted great with these. I put them out for a birthday party and got so many compliments. They really are delicious. I’m going to make some just for home now. Thanks for the recipe!
Melissa
So glad you loved them, Katie!
Susan Mary Bowman
I have been searching for the perfect sugar cookie recipe for years and I mean years! This is now my fave! I made them yesterday to top a cake with and they were perfect. I was in a bit of a hurry so I did have a little teany bit of a spread. I made butterflies on pop sticks. My royal icing piping technique still needs tons of practice but it will do on the fly. Thank you for this amazing recipe!!!
Melissa
I'm so glad you loved them, Susan! I just looked on your IG and the butterfly pops look SO cute! Thanks so much for sharing!
Tisha
Can you double this recipe
Melissa
Yes! If you have a stand mixer, it's easy to double it in one batch. If you have a hand mixer, I'd recommend doing it in two batches :)
Rose Gonzales
Can you please use weight measurements in this recipe ?
Melissa
Hi! I'm sorry, I don't have those available now. But I will try to work on getting those inputted.
Robbie Hawkins
I absolutely love this recipe. It is my “go to” for any and all sugar cookies. Have you tried making a chocolate version of these sugar cookies? I want to do some chocolate sugar cookies for Halloween this year.
Melissa
I have been testing a chocolate version over the last year but haven't mastered the recipe yet! Hopefully soon!
Miranda
How early in advance can you make these and then still taste good and fresh?
Melissa
For the best texture/taste, I'd say 1-2 days before is fine. If you're doing 2+ days, I would freeze the unfrosted cookies and then frost the day before. They stay soft for a while (around 5 days) but I find that after 2 days the texture starts to change and not be as tasty.
Stephanie
The first time I made these they came out great but I rolled them to a random thickness. The next couple of times I made them I used the same rolling pin that you used and they came out undercooked. Why is that? They tasted so good :(
Melissa
Hey Stephanie! Definitely want to help you figure this out. My first thought is that you probably just need to bake them an extra few minutes since some ovens bake cooler/hotter. How long did you bake the thicker ones? Unless you already use an oven thermometer, the other thing that could have happened is that the oven wasn't actually at 350 when you put them in. For my oven, it says it's preheated after like 5 minutes but it *actually* takes about 15 minutes to get up to 350 (which is more common than you might think!). So if put the thicker ones in at a lower temperature, they could take an extra 5-6 minutes to actually bake.
Report back, as I'd love to help see what's going to!
stephanie
I made them again and they came out great again. I just needed to also let it sit on the hot pan until the pan is cold