Desserts, Recipes · November 28, 2022

Easy Cut Out Sugar Cookies Recipe

Name: Easy Cut Out Sugar Cookies Recipe
Prep time: 20 min
Ingredients: 3 cups flour; 2 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature (It MUST be at room temperature.); 1 cup sugar; 1 large egg; 1 Tbsp. vanilla extract; 1/2 tsp. salt; 1/2 tsp. baking powder; 2 cups confectioners sugar; 2 Tbsp. melted butter; 3-4 Tbsp. of milk (Start with 3 and add the 4th if you feel it is too thick. ); 1 tsp. vanilla extract; Optional: Food coloring

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These easy cut out sugar cookies recipe are a family tradition for us at Christmas time. I remember making them with my mom, my aunts and my grandma while I was growing up. It was always one of my favorite times of the year. Stuffed in my grandma’s kitchen or around our round table the little apartment I lived in during my childhood, you could find me with fists full of rainbow sprinkles. Christmas cookie making for me marks togetherness, creativity and irreplaceable memories.

I first made this easy cut out sugar cookies recipe with my daughter at Christmas time when she was 2. One night after a long day at work (a 9-5 job) and dinner, I hastily started throwing together ingredients so she could experience decorating for the first time. It was dark out, I was very early in my pregnancy with my son and I only had two colors of sprinkles – red and green. But still, she loved it. And I loved that she loved it.

Building upon the first recipe

Each year since, we’ve made cut out sugar cookies together at Christmas time. My son joins in now. Friends have even joined in too. Kevin doesn’t usually participate until we get to the eating part. That’s his favorite part and he’s super helpful when it comes to the eating.

Over the years, I perfected that little recipe I threw together back in 2014. I’m excited to share our family’s easy cut out sugar cookies recipe with you.

No chill, easy cut out sugar cookies recipe

If you know me, you know I’m not the most patient person. Being a frantic mom when I started making these – squeezing life in between power points, press releases and marketing strategies – I didn’t want to have to wait for the dough to be ready. When I was ready, I needed the dough to be all set to go too. Not to mention, I had a 2-year-old who had seemed to of inherited my impatience too.

So, this is a no chill, easy cut out sugar cookies recipe. And honestly, they’re so simple to make. You can make these no chill cut out sugar cookies and cut them in about 20 minutes.

Topping the cookies

When it comes to topping the easy cut out sugar cookies recipe, there are several options. My kids have been fond of just simply adding sprinkles to them prior to being baked. You can do that and make them simple and delicious.

Royal icing is also a topping option. However, I have to tell you, I’m not a fan of royal icing. I don’t think it’s tastes all that great. To make it, you need to be comfortable working with raw eggs (which a lot of people aren’t) or use meringue powder, which you usually have to order. You can find it {HERE}.

Instead, I love my sugar icing on cut out sugar cookies. I’ve been working to make this icing for a few years now. I like that it looks like royal icing, but tastes so much better. That’s the recipe I’m giving you below with this easy cut out sugar cookies recipe,

In case you want to know a little more about this icing of mine, here are the pros and cons.

Pros of sugar icing

It looks pretty.
You can put it on with a butter knife.
You can use sprinkles with it so the kids can still have fun.
It tends to be more forgiving with air bubbles and mistakes. (Sometimes you can even wipe it off the cookie.)
It tastes good!

Cons to sugar icing

It’s not as accurate. It’s more liquid-like going on.
It doesn’t dry hard like royal icing. It stays a little soft so it can make transporting tricky.
You can’t layer it like royal icing because it doesn’t dry the same so it limits the decorating a bit.

But still, it tastes better. 🙂

The cookie dough

The easy cut out sugar cookie recipe dough is really your ideal dough for making cut out cookies. Aside from it being no chill cut out sugar cookie dough, the cookie dough doesn’t spread and they don’t puff up too much when baked either.

The dough is rolled out about a 1/4 inch thick and just bakes up so nicely. These cut out sugar cookies will be soft and they stay soft as long as they’re stored in an airtight container.

Shop our Kitchen

To make this easy cut out sugar cookies recipe, there are a few things you will need and a few things I use each time. I always use my KitchenAid Mixer. You can find that {HERE} and they are usually on sale over the holidays. I bought mine on an Amazon Prime Day so I got it for a steal!

If you don’t have a stand mixer and don’t want spend the money, you can use a hand mixer but it will be a bit more difficult.I have this hand mixer {HERE}.

There’s also a few standard pieces that I always use when baking and I wanted to share them with you.

Stoneware Mixing Bowls
Stoneware Batter Bowl
Metal Whisk
Spatula set
3 piece bakeware set that includes cooling rack

Overall, there’s so many things I love about this cut out sugar cookie recipe. But most of all, I love that they’re made with love, memories, a touch of frazzled mom and a bit of Italian girl moxie.

Thank you so much for visiting today, friends! You can find the full, printable recipe below and I hope you’ll come back again to see what else we’re up to at Sugar Maple Farmhouse. For more of our favorite recipes, click {HERE}.