I’ve always refrained from calling a recipe on here ‘the best’ especially for something more common like a sugar cookie — a simple google search for ‘sugar cookie’ yields about 2,180,000,000 results and no way my little recipe here is beating out 2,179,999,999 other ones. I’ve baked these cookies for family and friends and throughout the years I’ve heard “these are the best sugar cookies” and “these are honestly my favourite sugar cookies” quite a few times… enough times that it boosted my ego enough for me to put that superlative in my recipe title. The original recipe actually belongs to my aunt, a very talented cookie decorator, and she was kind enough to share it with me a few years back. I’ve made some tweaks here and there over the years, but nothing major. I use this cookie recipe throughout the year but it feels extra special during the holidays because that’s when I first learned to decorate sugar cookies from my aunt.
I shared this sugar cookie recipe two or three years ago but have made it a handful (read: over 50) more times that I’m updating it and re-sharing it now. I used my snow globe, Christmas tree, and snowflake cookie cutters for this batch but feel free to use whichever cutter you like. The number of cookies this recipe yields depends on the size and shape of the cookie cutter you use. I’ve also used this sugar cookie recipe as the base for jam-filled linzer cookies and thumbprint cookies. The recipe always yields a cookie that is delicate and tender – it has a crisp exterior but melts in your mouth. It’s very versatile and that’s another reason why it’s a keeper.
I’ve also developed a chocolate version of this sugar cookie recipe. Both vanilla and sugar versions don’t spread too much, making them perfect cut-out cookie recipes! Other great cut-out cookie recipes on the blog include:
Matcha, Black Sesame, Vanilla Shortbread Cookies
Kinako Shortbread Cookies
Pretzel Shortbread (Personal favourite!)
The Best Cut-Out Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
Vanilla Sugar Cookies
- 150 g (2/3 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 50 g (1/4 cup) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg yolk, room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 160 g (1 1/3 cup) all-purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
Chocolate Sugar Cookies
- 150 g (2/3 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 50 g (1/4 cup) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg yolk, room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 135 g (1 1/3 cup) all-purpose flour
- 30 g (5 tbsp_ cocoa powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 315F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together on medium speed butter and granulated sugar, about 1 minute.
- Add in egg yolk and vanilla. Mix until combined.
- Add flour and salt. Add cocoa powder if making chocolate version. Mix on low speed until just combined, about 30 seconds
- Lay down a piece of parchment paper and transfer dough to the parchment.
- Lay a second piece of parchment over the dough and roll out dough to 1/4-inch in thickness. (Using two pieces of parchment eliminates the need to add extra flour to the dough)
- If the dough is too soft at this point, transfer the rolled out dough to firm up in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.
- Using cookie cutters of choice, stamp up cut outs.
- Transfer the cut outs to the lined baking sheet. Transfer baking sheet to refrigerator or freezer to chill cut outs until firm — this will prevent spreading.
- Bake for 12 – 14 minutes, until edges the bottom of each cookie is a light golden brown.
- Wait 10 minutes before transferring cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
Sarah says
Do you have a recipe or instructions for the frosting/icing you use to decorate?
Jenny says
Making these right now and they smell good, but is the oven temperature correct? Because I have them at 315F and this first batch is currently at 18 mins without any golden edges.
Also, the dough was quite sticky for me. It ended up sticking to the two sheets of parchment paper, so I had to cave and use flour to roll them out. But fingers crossed they turn out well! I’ve loved all the other cookie recipes I’ve tried of yours, so I’m excited for these!