I’ve been missing for a few weeks but December is in full swing! I make cutout sugar cookies every holiday season and these are by far the best recipe. The cookies hold their shape, no chilling required, and are super soft! The royal icing is so easy and will make you feel like a professional.
1. In the bowl of your mixer cream butter and sugar until smooth, at least 3 minutes.
2. Beat in extracts and egg.
3. In a separate bowl combine baking powder with flour and add a little at a time to the wet ingredients. The dough will be very stiff. If it becomes too stiff for your mixer turn out the dough onto a countertop surface. Wet your hands and finish off kneading the dough by hand.
The final dough really comes together and has a texture close to Play-Doh. (If it is too dry add small amounts of water until is becomes play-doh texture). Wet your hands if you need to. Turn out the dough onto a floured surface. Don’t be afraid to use more flour and incorporate it in while you are “kneading” it into a smooth ball.
4. DO NOT CHILL THE DOUGH. Divide into workable batches, roll out onto a floured surface and cut. You want these cookies to be on the thicker side (closer to 1/4 inch rather than 1/8).
5. Bake at 350 degrees for 6-8 minutes. Let cool on the cookie sheet until firm enough to transfer to a cooling rack.They may look not done, but they are!
Frosting & Decorating
For royal icing, I totally cheat and its so worth it. I buy this Wilton premade royal icing from Michaels ( I think its around $8).
These decoarting bulbs are the best thing I own for decorating cookies. They are so easy to use and leave less mess than pastry bags. Get them here-> Prepworks by Progressive 8-Piece Frosting Bulb Decorating Kit
Prep your sprinkles!
First you need to outline the cookie.
Then you will “Flood” the cookie. To flood you will add a small amount of water to the icing mixture so its a thick liquid. Pre-make this and add to one of your decorating bulbs (you can add food coloring to any of this for multiple colors). Once flooded use a toothpick or small spatula to spread to corners of cookie.
Add sprinkles and decorate! You can add additional frosting accents once icing has set. 
NOTE: It will take approx. 4-5 hours to set and up to 8 hours to dry completely! Return to cooling rack and let set overnight.
Make Ahead
If you need to make the dough in advance you can chill it. Wrap it tightly with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator. Bring the dough to room temperature before rolling and cutting. You may need to use more flour on the countertop.
This is a great idea if you have children and have a tradition of decorating Christmas cookies for Santa!
Recipe yields approx. 3 dozen cookies. Keep in mind that the recipe yield will vary according to how thick you roll your cookies and how large or small your cutters are.
Cutout Sugar Cookies
- V
Nutrition per portion
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup granulated white sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp almond extract
- 1 egg
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
Method
- Preheat oven to 350° F.
- In the bowl of your mixer cream butter and sugar until smooth, at least 3 minutes.
- Beat in extracts and egg.
- In a separate bowl combine baking powder with flour and add a little at a time to the wet ingredients. The dough will be very stiff. If it becomes too stiff for your mixer turn out the dough onto a countertop surface. Wet your hands and finish off kneading the dough by hand.
- DO NOT CHILL THE DOUGH. Divide into workable batches, roll out onto a floured surface and cut. You want these cookies to be on the thicker side (closer to 1/4 inch rather than 1/8).
- Bake at 350 for 6-8 minutes. Let cool on the cookie sheet until firm enough to transfer to a cooling rack.
Those are gorgeous! Almost too pretty to eat! I’m giving these a try 🙂 so nice that you don’t have to chill the dough