Soft, flavorful and deliciously tender, there is something so nostalgic about a thick Sugar Cookie with crispy edges and chewy center. Warm buttery flavors and a strong vanilla tone make these no chill, cut out Sugar Cookies a guaranteed family favorite.
Easy to double, this recipe is great when needing to make larger batches of cookies for decorating for the holidays. These cut out Sugar Cookies hold their shape beautifully when baking and keep their perfect edge lines.
One of the other things I love about this classic Sugar Cookie recipe is that they come together just as fast as a batch of chocolate chip cookies. Because the dough doesn't need to be chilled your Sugar Cookies can be enjoyd that much quicker!
And if you are looking for other quick and easy cookie recipes you've got to give our Birthday Cake Cookies, bakery style Chocolate Chip cookies, or delicious Whoopie Pie cookie sandwiches a try. All are delicious and so easy to pull together.
🥫 Ingredients
Using basic ingredients these no chill, cut out Sugar Cookies come together quickly and easily.
Sugar Cookies
- Salted Butter
- Sugar
- Eggs
- Vanilla Extract
- Baking Powder
- Salt
- Flour
Frosting
- Water
- Butter
- Corn Syrup
- Powdered Sugar
- Extract Flavoring
- Food Coloring
🥣 Step-by-Step Instructions
Prepare the Dough
Firstly, go ahead and pre-heat the oven to 350° F. In a mixing bowl begin to cream your sugar and butter together. You want to be sure to c ream the butter and sugar together completely.
Let them beat together on high until the mixture becomes lighter in color and appears fluffy. Your sugar crystals need to fully break down – if creamed properly the mixture will no longer look grainy but have a smoother consistency.
Then add your eggs to the mixing bowl one at a time, being sure to mix it well in between. After incorporating the eggs to your Sugar Cookies mixture, add the vanilla to the batter and allow it to mix well.
In a separate bowl combine the dry ingredients; your salt, baking powder and flour together. Then slowly begin adding your dry ingredients to the wet Sugar Cookies mixture. Adding roughly a third of the dry ingredients at a time, allow the dough to mix and come together in between.
Roll Out Dough
Once the dough is fully mixed go ahead and flour the counter top where you would like to roll out the dough. Then go ahead and add flour to the top of the dough as well.
Using a rolling pin with thickness rings, go ahead and roll out the dough till it is roughly 10 mil thick. Using a rolling pin like this one takes away any of the guessing and ensures you will get uniform thickness in all your sugar cookies.
Cut the Dough
Afterwards, use a cookie cutter to cut out the cookies in the dough. When the dough is cut transfer the sugar cookies to a baking sheet covered with parchment paper and allow them to bake at 350° F for 8-10 minutes.
Bake the Cookies
You will know your Sugar Cookies are done when the bottom and top of the cookie are about the same shade. Perfectly chewy and soft Sugar Cookies will give a little at the edges and offer no resistance when gently squeezed.
Coloring is also an important indicator of doneness. Be sure to remove the cookies before the edges start to brown. If you see any browning remove them from the oven immediately!
When the Sugar Cookies are baked, remove them from the oven and allow them to cool on the pan for 2 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
Prepare the Frosting
While your Sugar Cookies cool, prepare the frosting by combining the powdered sugar, water, butter, corn syrup and extract flavoring, and food coloring in a mixing bowl. In the frosting, any extract flavoring will work. Our personal favorite is almond extract. Lemon, coconut, vanilla and maple all work well too though.
You will want to beat the frosting till it is smooth, (add any additional water a little at a time as needed to get the right consistency). But keep in mind the frosting should be very thick, with a play-doh like consistency.
Frost the Cookies
When ready apply a glob of frosting to each sugar cookies. Then using water and a moistened finger press and smooth out the frosting. Finished frosting will be a thick layer with a smooth and glossy finish. When done you can top your Sugar Cookies with sprinkles or any other desired topping.
💭 Top Tips
Rolling Out the Dough: When preparing to roll out the Sugar Cookies dough, firstly add some flour to the counter. After putting a scoop of flour down go ahead and drop the dough on top of the flour. Gently press out the dough, flip the dough over in the excess flour, press again and flip.
Repeat this a couple of times until the entire Sugar Cookie dough is coated with flour. Then you are ready to begin rolling out the dough and cutting it as you desire.
Cutting the Cookies: I like to use a biscuit cutter in lieu of an actual cookie cutter. The smallest cutter size makes for a fun bite sized cookie. Plus, it also doubles well for making jack o' lantern or Christmas ornament cookies in the fall and winter.
Frosting the Cookies: Keep in mind this frosting is NOT a royal icing. It should not be a thin or runny glaze. Instead, what makes these cookies so magical is that the frosting is nice and thick. If made correctly your Sugar Cookies frosting will have an almost play-doh like consistency.
To frost the cookies spread a blob onto each cookie and then dab your finger in water to rub over the top of the frosting. The water and pressure from your finger will help smooth the frosting getting it to spread and give a shininess to the frosting!
🍽 Storing
Whatever cookies you might have leftover be sure to place them in an airtight container where they will stay fresh for 3 to 5 days. You can also freeze your cookies after they are baked or as cookie dough for up to 3 months
I would suggest waiting to frost any extra cookies until just before enjoying them however. Frosted cookies are much messier to store than unfrosted ones. Extra frosting can be kept in the fridge and pulled out to warm up slightly and then applied when ready to enjoy!
📖 Recipe
Sugar Cookies
Buttery and warm with hints of vanilla these no chill, cut out cookies are deliciously tender with crispy edges and a chewy center.
Ingredients
Cookies
- 1½ cups sugar
- 1 cup salted butter, softened
- 3 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- 4 cups flour
Frosting
- 6¼ cups powdered sugar
- 5 tablespoons water
- 2½ tablespoons butter, softened
- 2½ tablespoons light corn syrup
- 1¼ teaspoons extract flavoring of choice
- food color of choice, if desired
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 350° F.
- Cream the sugar and butter together until mixture is fluffy and light.
- Add the eggs to the mixing bowl one at a time mixing well in between.
- Add vanilla to the mixture and mix well.
- In a separate bowl combine the dry ingredients, salt, baking powder and flour together. Slowly add your dry ingredients to the wet mixture. Mix well until the dough comes together.
- Flour the counter top where you would like to roll out the dough. Adding flour to the top of the dough as well. Using a rolling pin rollout the dough to roughly 10 mil thick.
- Using a cookie cutter, cut the desired cookie shapes in the dough.
- Bake cookies at 350° F for 8-10 minutes. Allow cookies to cool on the pan for 2 minutes before transferring cookies to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
- While cookies cool prepare the frosting by combining the powdered sugar, water, butter, corn syrup and extract flavoring, and food coloring in a mixing bowl. Beat till frosting is smooth, (add additional water as needed to get the right consistency).
- Frosting should be very thick, like play-doh consistency. Apply layer of frosting to each cookie using a moistened finger to give frosting a smooth and glossy finish. Decorate with sprinkles if desired.
Notes
- Cookies are done baking when the bottom and top of the cookie are about the same shade. Be sure to remove the cookies before the edges start to brown. If you see any browning remove them from the oven immediately.
- In the frosting any extract flavoring will work. Our personal favorite is almond extract. Lemon, coconut, vanilla and maple all work well too.
- Frosting will have a VERY thick, play-doh like consistency. Use water to press out the frosting and give it a smooth and glossy finish.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 24 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 330Total Fat: 10gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 47mgSodium: 207mgCarbohydrates: 59gFiber: 1gSugar: 42gProtein: 3g