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    Home » Dessert Recipes » Cookie Recipes

    Sugar Cookie Cutouts Recipe

    Published: Dec 9, 2008 Last updated: Dec 16, 2021 by Shelby Law Ruttan · As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

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    A classic sugar cookie recipe that tastes delicious and is easily decorated for any type of event!
    Jump to Recipe
    Snowflake Christmas Cookies

    Sugar Cookie Cutouts are a fun cookie recipe to make with the family. Everyone loves delicious, classic sugar cookies with icing. And they are perfect to decorate for any holiday theme or event! The cookie is lightly browned and crisp around the edges, while softer yet still crisp on the inside.

    These sugar cookie snowflake are the biggest hit on a holiday cooking tray. Not only are they eye appealing, these crisp and buttery cookies are absolutely delicious with or without icing.

    Sugar Cookie Cutouts decorated with blue and white glace
    Jump to:
    • Why I Love This Recipe
    • Top Tips
    • Chilling and cutting the sugar cookie dough
    • Icing Variations
    • Flavor Variations
    • Equipment
    • Must-Do Steps
    • Related Recipes
    • Add Fudge to the Cookie Tray!
    • Your Favorite Cookie Recipe
    • 📖 Recipe
    • 💬 Comments

    As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases from affiliate links.

    Why I Love This Recipe

    Making the sugar cookie cutouts are easy. It's the decorating that can be tedious. However, while decorating sugar cookies with icing can be tedious, it is also very rewarding! The look of happiness on the faces of your children when they see a prettily decorated sugar cookie is so heartwarming!

    These are one of the most popular sugar cookies with icing on my cookie platter and they disappear fast! I had friends and family asking if I would make these cookies for them! They loved the snowflake design. Needless to say, they are everything I hoped they would be in taste and appearance!

    Top Tips

    • Sugar cookie dough should be slightly firm yet pliable. When sugar cookie dough is too soft, it will tend to stick to the cookie cutters and easily fall apart. Below are some tips on what is most important when making cookie dough for cutouts.
    • Be sure the butter is at room temperature. I do not recommend softening the butter in the microwave. Doing so, could cause it to become too soft. Instead, take the butter out at least 30 minutes to an hour prior to mixing the dough.
    • Test the butter for softness. Lightly press press on the stick of butter and feel it give. If your finger goes into the butter, it is too soft. If your butter is too melty, it can lend to a chewier cookie rather than a crisp one.

    Chilling and cutting the sugar cookie dough

    Sugar cookie dough needs to be chilled prior to rolling out and cutting the dough. Doing this aids in the ease of rolling and cutting of the cookie dough. It also lends to a crisper cookie around the edges. If the dough is too soft, it is not easy to handle.

    Important: Be sure to chill the scraps from cutting the dough if they become too soft to handle.

    Icing Variations

    There are a few different ways you can frost sugar cookies with icing. Many times, when I don't want to take the time to decorate a cookie, I will leave the icing off. Below are some icing recipes that you may like to try to frost this sugar cookie recipe.

    Glace Icing is what I used on this particular cookie you see pictured. Glace is similar to royal icing with the exception it doesn't get as hard. This softer icing still will hold its shape and flood a cookie. The magic ingredient in this icing is corn syrup.

    A Royal Icing recipe will be a hard and dry surfaced icing. This uses meringue powder or egg white which is the ingredient that keeps the icing dry and firm.

    Frostings can be used instead of icing. Where icings are used to intricately decorate a cookie, a frosting can just be spread over the cookie with a knife. My favorite frosting recipes are caramel frosting and butter rum frosting.

    Food Coloring can make a difference in the texture of your colored icing. My preference are gel food colorings over the liquid. Gel doesn't thin the icing out like a liquid icing would tend to do.

    Flavor Variations

    • Instead of flavoring the cookie with vanilla extract, try using other flavors. Some of our favorites are almond and lemon.
    • Add a ½ teaspoon of cinnamon and ¼ teaspoon nutmeg for a lightly spiced sugar cookie cutout.
    • Make them chocolate! Replace ½ cup of flour with ½ cup of baking cocoa.
    • Instead of frosting the sugar cookie cutout, dip half of it in melted chocolate and sprinkle with colored sprinkles.
    snowflake sugar cookies with icing

    Equipment

    •  This Baking sheet is my very favorite!
    • Parchment Paper or Silpat for lining the baking sheet.
    • Cooling Rack
    • Wax Paper (used to prevent stacked cookies from sticking together)

    Must-Do Steps

    • Be sure your butter is softened before hand and do not microwave to soften.
    • Bring your egg to room temperature before adding to the ingredients.
      If cookie dough gets to soft when making cut outs, return to chill another 15-30 minutes.
    • Flour the cookie cutters before cutting the sugar cookie. This will prevent cookie dough from sticking to the cookie cutter.

    Related Recipes

    I want to share with you some of our long time favorite Christmas Cookie recipes. These are cookies that make it on holiday platters that I give to friends and family every year!

    Chewy Mocha Toffee Chip Cookies are my personal favorite. I love a sweet, chewy cookie with a ton of flavor and this one fits the bill exactly!

    This Italian Christmas Cookie recipe is Grumpy's favorite. He loves this softer cookie and the entire cookie is coated in a delicious sweet confectioners glaze.

    These Poinsettia Ball Cookies are flavored with a hint of nutmeg and rolled in nuts before baking. The green candied cherries are arranged to give the cookie a festive look.

    Santa's Whiskers cookies are a fun cookie to make with the kids! We would leave these out on Christmas Eve for Santa to enjoy before he went on his merry way!

    Raspberry Thumbprint Cookies are a traditional cookie made during the holidays but we enjoy them year round!

    Try these Pecan Pie Thumbprint Cookies instead of a whole pie!

    Add Fudge to the Cookie Tray!

    Friends and family love to receive cookies, but they also love to get candy and fudge recipes! The holidays are the only I make fudge, so it is a real treat for those on the receiving end.

    Creamy Peanut Butter Fudge is Grumpy's favorite fudge. This is the creamiest, most delicious peanut butter fudge ever. And, it's basically a no fail recipe that does not include marshmallows! It is the only recipe I will make and it has 1 special ingredient that makes it the best! This always makes an appearance on our Christmas Cookie tray.

    I grew up loving Nanny's recipe for Brown Sugar Fudge. I wanted to hoard the whole recipe for myself whenever we would receive it on our cookie tray. Because I loved this so much, I wanted others to be successful with the recipe. There is an instructional video on this post for my readers!

    My favorite candy for the holidays is my Great Aunt Helga's Candied Date Recipe. This is a no bake recipe that is so delicious people will not believe its made with dates!

    If you have someone in your life who eats sugar free, they will appreciate this recipe for Raspberry Chocolate Truffles. The first time I ate this, I wasn't sure it was sugar free!

    Your Favorite Cookie Recipe

    Inquiring minds want to know! Do you have a cookie recipe with icing that you love to make every year? Do you like soft and puffy sugar cookie cutouts or light and crispy? Maybe you have a recipe that is completely different. Share it with me in the comments. I would love to your cookie recipe too!

    Don't forget to check out my Amazon storefront for some of my favorite products!

    When you make this recipe, please comment below and let me know what you think. I'd love it if you tag me on Instagram @grumpyshoneybunch or #grumpyshoneybunch so I can see your photos!

    If you love this recipe, please leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating

    📖 Recipe

    Snowflake Christmas Cookies

    Sugar Cookie Cutouts

    Shelby Law Ruttan
    A classic sugar cookie recipe that tastes delicious and is easily decorated for any type of event!
    5 from 1 vote
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe Save Go to Collections
    Prep Time 30 mins
    Cook Time 7 mins
    Chill Time 30 mins
    Total Time 1 hr 7 mins
    Course Desserts
    Cuisine American
    Servings 36
    Calories 74 kcal

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Ingredients
      

    • ⅔ cup butter softened
    • ¾ cup sugar
    • 1 egg room temperature
    • 1 tablespoon milk
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla
    • 2 cups all-purpose flour
    • 1 teaspoon baking powder
    • ¼ teaspoon salt
    • Glace Icing (optional)

    Instructions
     

    • In a large mixing bowl using a hand mixer, mix together butter and sugar until creamy. Add egg, vanilla, and milk, baking powder, and salt. Mix until well combined.
    • Gradually add flour, ½ cup at a time, mixing well with hand mixer after each addition. When the dough becomes too stiff to use the hand mixer, use a wooden spoon to stir in the rest of the flour.
    • Once the flour has been completely mixed in, divide the dough in half.
    • Wrap each half in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at 30 minutes.
    • Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
    • On a lightly floured surface, roll 1 dough ball until ⅛ to ¼ inch thick.
    • Using cookie cutters, cut dough into desired shape. Place on parchment paper lined cookie sheet and bake 7-10 minutes, or until lightly browned around the edges.
    • Transfer baked cookies to cooling rack and let cool completely before icing.
    • Repeat step 6-8 with remaining dough ball.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1cookieCalories: 74kcalCarbohydrates: 10gProtein: 1gFat: 4gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 14mgSodium: 58mgSugar: 4g
    Keyword Sugar Cookie Cutouts
    Tried this recipe?Mention @grumpyshoneybunch or tag #grumpyshoneybunch!

    More Christmas Recipes

    • Red Velvet Brownies
    • Sauteed Haricots Verts
    • Mint Chocolate Truffles
    • Cranberry Chocolate Chip Muffins

    About Shelby Law Ruttan

    Shelby is the author/owner of Grumpy's Honeybunch. Established in 2007, she shares and preserves family recipes as well as recipes for cooking light and keto. She has authored the One-Pot Paleo Cookbook and The Pescatarian Keto Cookbook. She is an experienced, self-taught home cook who loves to share recipes with others. She also authors the websites Honeybunch Hunts and The Best Vegetarian Recipes. You can see her work on websites such as Veal Made Easy, Parade, Community Table, SoFab Food, Yummly, and FoodGawker.

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. theUngourmet

      December 15, 2009 at 3:16 am

      The frosting on these is just gorgeous. I love the silver balls! I bought a really cool snowflake cutter at the tree farm but I haven't had a chance to use it yet. Maybe tomorrow. :0)

      Reply
    2. Sam Sotiropoulos

      January 10, 2009 at 12:49 pm

      It's all about the details... these cookies look incredible! What a painstaking decoration job! These cookies are meant to be framed and placed on exhibit and not eaten... Very very nice.

      Reply
    3. The Other Tiger

      January 03, 2009 at 5:54 am

      Gorgeous!

      Reply
    4. Chef E

      December 23, 2008 at 8:23 pm

      I baked yesterday and the cookies for once did not look like cake, but they still get the ugly award...yours however I pass on a beauty award!

      Reply
    5. Aparna

      December 19, 2008 at 2:25 pm

      Shelby, your beautiful cookies inspired me to try and bake some of my own. 🙂
      http://mydiversekitchen.blogspot.com/2008/12/eggless-snowflake-or-star-cookies.html

      Thank you and best wishes for the festive season.

      Reply
    6. leanne

      December 17, 2008 at 4:32 pm

      Beatiful cookies!

      Reply
    7. ostwestwind

      December 15, 2008 at 8:30 am

      Your cookies are wonderful, so elegant

      Thanks for joining TWD and baking with me

      Ulrike from Küchenlatein

      Reply
    8. Everything's Herbed

      December 13, 2008 at 7:36 am

      your cookies are absolutely divine! great job...

      Reply
    9. creative one

      December 13, 2008 at 3:22 am

      Your cookies are beautiful. I love the color that you used. Great job!

      Reply
    10. Kimberly Johnson

      December 12, 2008 at 5:30 pm

      Your cookies are stunning! Beautiful job! I love that plate too.

      Reply
    11. 27Susans

      December 12, 2008 at 2:19 am

      I heard there were some beautiful cookies on your site and had to take a look. Beautiful colors - simple and elegant.

      I had fun decorating my cookies with food gel but everyone had blue teeth !!

      Reply
    12. HoneyB

      December 12, 2008 at 1:48 am

      Thank you EVERYONE for the wonderful compliments. It makes me feel so good! As I was decorating them I was thinking I was making a mess. lol.

      The MIL is still in the hospital. I guess she's going to be there a while. Thanks to those who are asking for thinking of her!

      The food coloring I used was Betty Crocker classic food gel!

      I used Sarah's tutorial on icing (http://www.ourbestbites.com/2008/12/tutorial-glace-icing-and-cookie.html). Check her blog out - she has an awesome blog and I find I'm making quite a few things from there in the near future tonight being one of the nights I'm copycatting her 😉

      Reply
    13. Maris

      December 12, 2008 at 1:24 am

      These are absolutely beautiful! Almost to nice looking to eat! Would you mind sharing your icing recipe?

      Reply
    14. Katie

      December 11, 2008 at 10:34 pm

      These are adorable!

      Reply
    15. Vickie LeBlanc

      December 11, 2008 at 2:51 pm

      Love the pictures, so beautifully taken. And the cookies look so yummy and festive.

      Reply
    16. Tracy

      December 11, 2008 at 12:12 pm

      Gorgeous cookies! Did you know the link you posted is in German? My husband will have to translate...

      Reply
    17. SUGAR B

      December 11, 2008 at 5:16 am

      Wow, those are the best sugar cookies I have ever seen. Show-off! 😉

      Reply
    18. Mari at Once Upon a Plate

      December 11, 2008 at 4:10 am

      Honey, these are some of the PRETTIEST cookies I have ever seen.

      Excellent! 🙂

      Have fun visiting your bro' and family. That will be such a special Christmas treat, I'm sure.

      xo~m.

      Reply
    19. Kevin

      December 11, 2008 at 3:27 am

      Great looking sugar cookies!

      Reply
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    Welcome! I'm Shelby Law Ruttan, author and content creator at Grumpy's Honeybunch. She is self taught in the kitchen and has been sharing keto low carb recipes and family recipes since 2007.

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