Are you in Search of the Perfect Cutout Sugar Cookie Recipe? I have some Secrets that will help you get the Perfect Sugar Cookies for Christmas, Valentines Day or any day in between along with my Favorite Cutout Sugar Cookie Recipe and Sugar Cookie Royal Icing Recipe that is foolproof! I love a good Sugar Cookie and these tips and tricks are my secret to Perfect Sugar Cookies that everyone will love!
Cutout Sugar Cookie Recipe:
Cream Together:
1 Cup of Sugar
1 tsp. Vanilla
2 Sticks of Unsalted Butter
1 Egg
Slowly Add in:
3 Cups of Flour
2 tsp. Baking Powder
1 tsp. Salt
Mix Well, Roll Out Cookies and Cut with Cookie Cutters. Bake at 350 Degrees for around 10 Minutes or until edges are slightly brown.
Sugar Cookie Royal Icing Recipe:
4 Tbsp. Meringue Powder
1/2 Cup Water
1 lb. Powdered Sugar
1 tsp. Corn Syrup
1 tsp. Vanilla
Americolor Gel Food Colors
Combine Meringue Powder & Water in a Mixer and Beat until Bubbly
Add in Corn Syrup and Vanilla and Mix quickly
Slowly add in Powdered Sugar and beat 3-5 minutes on high until icing forms stiff peaks
Divide & Add in Food Coloring and Stir until well mixed
Sugar Cookie Secrets:
Use the Right Recipe
Know before you start what type of Sugar Cookie you want to make. If you want soft and chewy cookies look for a soft Sour Cream Sugar Cookie Recipe, if you are wanting to Roll and Cut Out Sugar Cookies then use a Cutout Sugar Cookie Recipe like the one I posted above, the dough makes a huge difference.
Soften your Butter don’t Melt it
We have all been in a hurry and put that refrigerated butter in the microwave but then it comes out too melted. Set your butter out an hour or 2 before you plan on making cookies and let it soften naturally, a soft butter will blend better than melted butter.
Cut your Butter into Smaller Pieces
This helps the butter mix well into the dry ingredients. If your butter is soft and sliced it will mix quickly and it won’t be over worked or melted by the time it’s well mixed.
Use a Recipe with a lot of Flour
This goes back to the tip about picking the right recipe, but recipes with more flour tend to work better for Cutout Cookies. They won’t be as moist but they will hold their shape better in baking.
Don’t Stress over Crumbly Dough
It’s easy to think you need more liquid when your dough is crumbly. A good sugar cookie dough for cut out cookies will be crumbly at first, as you knead the dough it should work into a smooth ball over time, but it will take a little work. Don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty!
Refrigerate Your Dough
I like to make Sugar Cookie Dough ahead of time and stick it in the Fridge to chill before cutting out my cookies. This helps them stay together and transfer better from the Flourered surface to the Cookie Sheet. The chilled dough holds it’s shape better so it’s easier to work with especially if your baking with kids.
Cut out the Same Shape all at once
If you are doing multiple shapes, doing the same one all at once will give you more effective use of your dough. For example with this cookie cutter tree shape I was able to flip the cookie cutter over and go the other direction to minimize the amount of dough wasted.
Use Decorating bottles for Flooding Cookies
I like to use a regular decorating bag for the Edges of my icing, but to flood or fill the cookies I use a thinner version of the royal icing listed above (Just add 1 tbsp. of water to thin) and place in a Decorating Bottle, these are much easier for kids to use as well!
Frost Your Cookies in Layers
One of the best ways to get Professional Looking Cookies at home is to frost in layers. This takes extra time but in the long run it’s really worth it. Make sure you plan in time for your First Layer to Dry before you add in the second layer. With the Royal Icing Recipe it really only takes 2-3 hours, but to be really solid allow 12-24 hours.
Add in Details Last
I like to work with a pattern or general idea of what I’m creating. Adding it details after the first layer has dried gives a great effect and really helps your cookies look finished!
Store Your Cookies with a Piece of Bread
This is one of my favorite tips I learned from a friend about 10 years ago. Cookies will stay softer when stored with a Piece of Bread in the bag. I’m not sure why or how it works, but it really does! Try It, it’s a simple trick with an item you probably already have and you just might be surprised at how much longer those cookies stay soft.
These are Just a few of the Tips and Tricks I use when creating Sugar Cookies, of course if you are baking with Kids some of these might be too time consuming, but it all depends on what the goal is. The recipes are still perfect if your planning an afternoon of baking with the kids and the Decorating Bottles are also still really great for kids! That’s pretty much the only way I let my kids decorate cookies these days.
What tips and tricks do you have for creating the perfect Sugar Cookies? Be sure to leave a comment and let us know!
I want to prepare the dough a week early will that affect the dough?
Any changes to the recipe needed for high altitude?
Laurie Kisovic Do you mean lemon zest? The rind is very bitter. The zest has all the oils & flavor.
Yes just use the colorful portion of the zest. Once you get to the white part you’ll want to move on to another part of the lemon to get the colorful portion when zesting.
These are so good. They never stick to the counter with a little flour on it. And not too sweet as a plain cookie! Thanks.
What is the longest I can refrigerate my cookies before cutting them out and frosting them? Someone please answer quickly lol. Thanks!
When I plan on decorating cookies with the kids, I make a batch the day before and frost them – first layer. When the kids are involved in the bake, frost and …don’t want to wait for the first layer to dry…I swap out mine from yesterday and they add the second detail layer. They didn’t figure out until they had kids of their own, WHY the recipe we used in their childhood turned out so much better than today. (12 hours dry time)
Hi! I just whipped this recipe together. All the directions and tips made this a smooth process. I do have one question and maybe I missed it somewhere. How many cookies about will this make?
Probably about 2 dozen depending on how large you make them.
After putting my cookies in a container to store them, the top layer of my royal icing was hard and cracked while the next layer wouldn’t dry and never really dried like it should have. Do you have any ideas on why that could of happened?
Make sure the icing completely dries on all the cookies before you store them. Also, make sure the cookies are completely cooled prior to frosting them. Those are the two things that come to mind as to why you had your concern.
I love this so much, these all look so fun! I have featured this on my holiday tradition roundup. You can see it here. https://adollarearned.com/christmas-traditions-that-will-make-your-heart-smile/ Feel free to share!
I also put a slice of bread in my brown sugar and it keeps it soft.
How can I make this work with salted butter?
If you don’t have unsalted butter on hand, just try omitting the salt since you’ll be using salted butter. The consistency should be the same.
How could I adjust this recipe with salted butter?
If you don’t have unsalted butter on hand, just try omitting the salt since you’ll be using salted butter. The consistency should be the same.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIPS IT’S THE FIRST TIME I AM GOING TO MAKE THESE COOKIES.
How long can a person freeze the cookies and that they will be already.
My mother taught me to store the bread in with the cookies. It works wonders for sure! I have noticed if the bread is in there long enough it comes out like toast almost, completely dried out and then your cookies have all the moisture. Also love your tip about the butter, we have all done it. I sometime microwave mine on 1/2 power and it still melts, sticking to leaving it on the counter to melt.
Thank you for your tips!! You have helped me out so much. I have yet to make a decent Sugar cookie and Royal icing! Your the first person that took it step by step…very helpful!! Now, I can’t wait to make them!
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I’m definitely not a Keebler Elf so baking can be a challenge but we do okay. However, after reading this simply FANTASTIC article, I feel confident. My little elves will have a blast making these cookies and I believe Santa is going to be in for a real treat this year. Thanks so much for the guidance.
Great post! I have a question about eggs…..my husband is allergic to egg yolks (not the whites). I am constantly searching for substitutes…it makes baking really difficult and I LOVE to bake! Do have any suggestions, even just for this post on sugar cookies? (But ideas for cakes and cheesecakes sans yolks would also be greatly appreciated! ??). Thank you!
Would live if this could be pinned
Hi there! That became annoying for me too, I love keeping all my recipes together on pinterest. You can install the pinterest add on o browser button on your computer. Just go to your search engine like google and type in “pinterest add on” and one of the first few links will guide you. It’s not a huge toolbar. Just one button that will be located next to your favorite button on your internet browser. You just click it and then select an image from the page to save on pinterest and it saves the link with the picture so it’s just like any other pin. I hope this helps!!
Thanks for receipt and tips. I’ve wanted to try making and decorating cookies. Now I will try
Hi there, thank you for this information. I do a little bit of everything and i don’t have time for experimenting and tweaking and finding out what works and what does not… so lately i have been wishing for this information. thank you very much. i really needed to know this.
i use parchment paper when rolling out my cookies. Put the dough between two pieces. They NEVER stick. Love it
Ours is about the same, only with a little bit of lemon rind added in………been the favorite in our family for 60+ years