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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!
    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!

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    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. Leslie

      December 11, 2008 at 3:08 am

      Sorry you are not in the holiday spirit 🙁 the cookies still look beautiful!

      Reply
    2. The Food Librarian

      December 11, 2008 at 2:08 am

      Even without a Christmas tree, these cookies should put you in the spirit. THEY ARE BEAUTIFUL!!!

      Reply
    3. Rebecca

      December 11, 2008 at 12:12 am

      Lovely! And I can't wait for that cheese ball recipe. Seeing all these cookies everywhere makes me crave cheese. 😉

      Reply
    4. Veronica

      December 10, 2008 at 11:49 pm

      How cute! Gorgeous cookies.

      Reply
    5. Ingrid

      December 10, 2008 at 9:22 pm

      You did a marvelous job decorating your cookies!!! I love the colors!
      ~ingrid

      Btw, I was wondering if you would mind me adding you to my blogroll? Thx!

      Reply
    6. Apples and Butter

      December 10, 2008 at 7:08 pm

      Those cookies look professional! Beautiful job with the frosting!

      Reply
    7. Debbie

      December 10, 2008 at 6:47 pm

      Woa!!! Those cookies are gorgeous!! You've got skills. I love the snowflake places and tablecloth too. Awesome!!

      Reply
    8. Cami @ Creating Myself

      December 10, 2008 at 6:30 pm

      I am soooo not believing this is your first time decorating a cookie. ;o) They're far too beautiful to be done by an amateur! They may be the prettiest cookies I have ever seen!

      Reply
    9. Patsyk

      December 10, 2008 at 5:39 pm

      Your cookies are so beautiful! I'm very impressed!

      Reply
    10. Katypi

      December 10, 2008 at 3:48 pm

      OH MY GOODNESS! Those are some gawgeous cookies! And I love the cake plate!

      Reply
    11. Peggy

      December 10, 2008 at 3:09 pm

      What lovely cookies. I could never make anything so professional looking. I'm in awe. You spent a lot of time on those and it shows. Great job!

      Reply
    12. Jeni

      December 10, 2008 at 2:18 pm

      These are the most beautifully decorated cookies I think I've ever seen. You should be proud.

      Reply
    13. Christy

      December 10, 2008 at 12:52 pm

      Your cookies are absolutely beautiful! Almost too pretty to eat.

      Reply
    14. Maya

      December 10, 2008 at 12:21 pm

      Whew sounds like you will be busy! Cheese ball is so classic around our house and I hope you post your recipe! Beautiful cookies.

      Reply
    15. once in a blue moon...

      December 10, 2008 at 12:04 pm

      just gorgeous!

      Reply
    16. Natashya

      December 10, 2008 at 10:13 am

      How incredibly beautiful! I want to learn how to decorate cookies like you.

      Reply
    17. Leon Basin

      December 10, 2008 at 9:13 am

      I WANT COOKIESS!!:)

      Reply
    18. Cakelaw

      December 10, 2008 at 9:10 am

      These are absolutely stunning - I love them.

      Reply
    19. Kim

      December 10, 2008 at 8:00 am

      These are absolutely beautiful! i wish those silver balls sprinkles were available here. too bad they're illegal in california (for who knows why?!)! 🙁

      -kim
      http://www.lovintheoven.com

      Reply
    20. noble pig

      December 10, 2008 at 7:41 am

      I love the color, it's so beautiful! These are exquisite!

      Reply
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    Welcome! I'm Shelby Law Ruttan, I'm a mom, grandmother, and cookbook author for HoneyB's Kitchen who started blogging family recipes in 2007 for.... 

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