Best Sugar Cookie Recipe EVER
ShareThis is the BEST sugar cookie recipe- no chilling the dough, cookies keep their shape when baked, soft and flavorful, perfect for decorating.
The baked cookie…Perfect edges every time!
I have so much more to say but let’s cookie-talk for a minute. Throughout the year I have received many emails asking about my sugar cookie recipe so I’m going to lay it all out for you here. I have been using this recipe for over 20 years and it has never failed me. The texture is medium-soft but you can bake them longer if you prefer a crisp cookie. This Best Sugar Cookie Recipe EVER is my absolute favorite and I have spent many years perfecting it on friends and family.
It comes together quickly.
It does NOT need to be chilled.
It can be doubled easily.
It holds its shape with very little expanding when baked.
The recipe I am giving you makes a large batch of dough because I like to bake a lot of cookies. Also I like to roll and cut my cookies fairly thick…to hold a lot of frosting. Incorporating the last cup of flour may make you nervous. It will be dry and look crumbly. Turn out the dough and work with wet hands and/or more flour until the dough is smooth and ready to roll.
Most asked Q and A about this recipe:
The dough is sticky and/or crumbly. What can I do?
- The final dough really comes together and has a texture close to Play-Doh. Wet your hands if you need to. Turn out the dough onto a floured surface. Don’t be afraid to use more flour and incorporate it in while you are “kneading” it into a smooth ball.
- Forget everything you know about sugar cookie dough. Don’t be afraid of sprinkling more flour as you roll it out. Use the scraps! Mix them back into the unused dough and keep going.
Can I chill the dough? I want to chill the dough. Actually I need to make this 3 days in advance, is that okay?
- If you need to make the dough in advance you can chill it. Wrap it tightly with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator. Bring the dough to room temperature before rolling and cutting. You may need to use more flour on the countertop.
The cookies look under-baked. Can I bake them longer?
- I almost always suggest pulling out these cookies and the 8-9 minute mark. They will continue baking on the cookie sheet for a few minutes while they cool and set. After cooling for about 5 minutes I use a spatula to transfer them to a wire rack.
What is your favorite Christmas Cookie Frosting Recipe?
- I’m happy you asked! I like a soft, sweet frosting. Here is my favorite Christmas Cookie Frosting.
- Click here for my Small Batch Royal Icing recipe (it dries hard, and is perfect for holding together gingerbread houses too!).
I hope you love this recipe as much as our family does! Merry Christmas!
Best Sugar Cookie Recipe
PrintYield: 3 dozen cookies
Prep Time:30 minutes
Cook Time:6-8 minutes
Total Time:38 minutes
Soft cut out sugar cookie recipe that keeps its shape and dough does not need to be chilled before baking- perfect edges every time!
Ingredients:
- 1 Cup unsalted butter
- 1 Cup granulated white sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 egg
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3 cups all purpose flour
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350° F.
- In the bowl of your mixer cream butter and sugar until smooth, at least 3 minutes
- Beat in extracts and egg.
- In a separate bowl combine baking powder and salt with flour and add a little at a time to the wet ingredients. The dough will be very stiff. If it becomes too stiff for your mixer turn out the dough onto a countertop surface. Wet your hands and finish off kneading the dough by hand.
- DO NOT CHILL THE DOUGH. Divide into workable batches, roll out onto a floured surface and cut. You want these cookies to be on the thicker side (closer to 1/4 inch rather than 1/8).
- Bake at 350 for 6-8 minutes. Let cool on the cookie sheet until firm enough to transfer to a cooling rack.
Notes:
- You can use salted butter (just out the 1/2 teaspoon salt). In the past I've omitted the salt and the recipe is fine. It is more bland but these cookies are made for frosting.
- If you must chill the dough just leave it on the counter top for 10 minutes before rolling or work the dough with your hands for a few minutes.
- You can omit the almond extract if you do not have it available, however the taste is really fantastic with the hint of almond.
- Keep in mind that the recipe yield will vary according to how thick you roll your cookies and how large or small your cutters are.
- Bake for 6 minutes to test. They should be soft. Leave them on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to cool completely. If you reach 7-8 minutes and the edges turn brown your cookie will be crisper.
Original recipe and images © In Katrina's Kitchen
This giveaway is closed.
Congratulations to: Patricia #2026 “Thanks. I want to make Snickerdoodles.” I was not compensated in any way for this giveaway and as always opinions expressed are 100% my own. Good luck!
Items used in this recipe:
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Would love to win a KitchenAid mixer =D I have always wanted one
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Is there a recommended amount of cocoa powder I could add to convert these to chocolate sugar cookies?
Been trying to win one for so long. As I cannot afford one myself. Thanks for the chance.
Wow What a Giveaway!! Thank you!
I love KitchenAid
Wow, great giveaway and thank you for the chance!
A great new year present! I love kitchenaid and do need a new one.
Would love to win a kitchenaid.
This past Christmas, my room mate made 15lbs of mashed potatoes for our dinner party. This would have TOTALLY been useful! What a great giveaway 🙂
That is a great cookie recipe !!! Thank you. I can see how having that mixer would be helpful. ~ giggles!
My sister in law would love this
Would really like to win a stand mixer, have wanted one for a while now.
Love sugar cookies and have always wanted one of these mixers. It'd be nice to try out that recipe myself with my new mixer. 🙂
I would be the most loved mommy if I win this and start doing more baking for my boys!!!!!
I tweet about it!!!!
Dang wanted to make sugar cookies for santa. O well I guess he will get them next yr. Good luck every1.
I can't wait to make these!
Awesome giveaway!!!
Thank you for sharing your cookie recipe. I can never make good sugar cookies! Maybe now, eh? TY so much for all of the recipes and inspiration this season! and Tired of Cookies? NEVER!
This is awesome. Thank you for doing this!
I'd love to win this!! Those cookies look great- I need a good sugar cookie recipe. 🙂
My recent post Irish Cream Chocolate Chip Parfaits and a Handmade Keepsake Ornament
Oh wow the cookies look perfect! Thanks for the recipe and the chance to win that beautiful mixer!
Oh wow the cookies look perfect! Thanks for the recipe and the chance to win that beautiful mixer!
My recent post Christmas Highlights at the Hillberrys
Oh how I would love a K.A. mixer!
Thank you for the chance to win that gorgeous KitchenAid Mixer. Someone is going to be very happy! And thank you also for sharing your sugar cookie recipe. I remember making sugar cookies with my great aunt when I was a kid. We didn't have a nice powerful mixer to do the work for us
Can you freeze the cookies to decorate a week later?
What a great giveaway! And what a gorgeous mixer!!
I REALLY REALLY need a stand mixer!!!!
How FABULOUS! I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to win that amzing kitchen tool!!
Your sugar cookie recipe is very close to mine and I have been doing mine by hand! How I would love to have a mixer that could do that and my bread…(gummed up the hand held).
Hope I win, so I can make wonderful cookies like you do Katrina. Ginger
This is too awesome for words – Best of luck to everyone!
I would love to win a kitchenaid mixer! And thank you for the cookie recipe. Sugar cookies are the bane of my existence. I can never get them to turn out right. I will give this recipe a shot.
Going to have to try your recipe. COOL giveaway,
Susie
I would love to win the Mixer! Such a great giveaway!
Making these tonight for a dear friend and her family . We are having a decorating party tomorrow!!
Thank you for organizing this! I made 2 of the cookies so far and they're family favorites now
I just tried this recipe and the dough is super thin!! I followed the measurements exactly. Did you have this issue?
Broke my old mixer mixing royal icing. Would love a Kitchen Aid!
I would love this beautiful piece of kitchen equipment! :). Thanks for the awesome giveaway!!!
I would feel very lucky/blessed to have a chance to win this mixer. I've been salivating over this mixer for a while now and would love to win it so I can make all kinds of wonderful meals with it. Thank you for sharing your cookie recipe it looks awesome!
I would Love to win this mixer!
Seriously – what a great giveaway, thank you so much! (the cookies look and sound awesome, btw!) 😉
love, love, love! The cookies and the mixer look great!
My recent post Merry Christmas from Hawaii
KitchenAid is the best! Can't wait to try your sugar cookie recipe. The cookies look fabulous!
Thanks for the giveaway!
Perfect giveaway! For the new years I'm dying to try out some major recipes and this would definitely make it a lot easier! 🙂
Emily Benziger
Oh how I would love this new mixer 🙂
drooling over the red mixer right now!!
an awesome giveaway
Pretty AND practical! 🙂
Sugar cookies are my husband's favorite – yours are so pretty!
Awesome giveaway…a mixer this big would be super!!
I bake a lot and my husband is a chef, I am not sure who wants one more. Him or me! Awesome prize thanks for the chance.
I would love to win this mixer! I love to bake
Great giveaway—thanks for the opportunity to win!
Thanks. I want to make Snickerdoodles.
Wonderful mixer….
I would love, Love, LOVE to win this beauty! I'm like many others…want one badly but don't have the money to spend. Thanks for the fab contest!
Fantastic! Thank you for offering this giveaway!
I would love to win!
What an awesome contest. Thanks for hosting it!
What an amazing giveaway!
My recent post Flourless Chocolate Peppermint Cake
Awesome giveaway!
I would love a kitchen aid!!
I am so excited to get an opportunity to win. Thank you so much.
Awesome give away! Would love to win this and make some fabulous cookies. 🙂
Would love to win this mixer. Love this giveaway, thanks!
I would love that mixer!! I've been hand mixing for years and it would make my life a little easier!
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It's so pretty! Fingers crossed!
I would absolutely LOVE this mixer!! I think it would make me bake more often!!
PLEASE…PLEASE…PLEASE…let me win this beauty!
OH MY GOODNESS I WANT A KITCHEN AID MIXER SOOOOO BAD!!!!!
this is an amazing giveaway 🙂
Holy cow, that's a giveaway alright!
The dough looks great, no cookie bowl is complete without a few classics 🙂
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My dream! Actually 2 dreams-my sugar cookies expanded again -looked awful so will be trying your recipe.
What an amazing giveaway…. I am hoping and praying!!
I'd love to win this mixer. I have to modify your recipe to be gluten free, but I'm always looking for fun edible things for my kids! Thanks!
I cannot win, but I want one of those mixers so badly, my little kitchen aid is great, but to be able to make larger batches would be amazing.
My recent post Chocolate Covered Bacon
I would love to win a kitchenaid mixer. I've been trying for a long time 🙂
Bookmarking this recipe for next year!! Those cookies look really pretty!
My recent post Molasses Cookies
winning this would be a dream come true!
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Awesome giveaway!
The recipe is neat! I really like the no chilling part about it and that it includes almond extract. I always think that sugar cookies need a little extract or lemon zest or something.
That's a mighty pretty mixer! Thanks for giving us the chance to win it.
Would love to have this! Thanks for the opportunity!
im so excited for this giveaway! i CANT WAIT!! I hope i win one. My house was broken into during the summer and it was stollen!! haven't been able to afford one since then!! FINGERS CROSSED!! =)
Wow – I'd love to win this bigger mixer.
We are just starting out and this would complete our kitchen appliances.
This is amazing! How generous. I've never won anything in my life, and while I doubt I will this time, thank you for the opportunity!
that mixer is by far one of the sexiest kitchen appliances i think i've ever seen… 🙂
I would love to have a bright red Kitchen Aid Mixer… Great way to start the new year and ya can't go wrong with Kitchen Aid for sure!!!
Thanks for this amazing giveaway
I love sugar cookies and my son, nieces and nephews enjoy frosting them. Thanks for the recipe!
YOUR GREAT!!!
This is such a great giveaway!!
Love this giveaway!
Thank you so much for the chance to win this! My fiance and I are in the process of shopping for our first place! This would be so amazing to win!
avalenti6936 at yahoo dot com
Amanda Valenti
Thank you for the chance to win!! Love this mixer!!
WHAT A GREAT GIVEAWAY–THANKS!!!
seriously awesome giveaway!
I want one of these soooooooooo bad!
Thanks for hosting this giveaway. A really wonderful mixer.
Winning this will be a dream come true!!
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Happy New Years!
I am definitely trying this recipe!
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Great giveaway! I'm dying for the larger mixer.
Wow! And you were able to keep THIS quiet. Woman, you have much, much more resolve than I do. This is absolutely gorgeous – drool worthy even! Thank you for even thinking of us and going out of your way to offer the KA 7 qt! Blessings!!
Would love to have one of these with all the baking we do.
I thought I had the ultimate dough………now I'm going to have to try this! Happy New Year to you!
What a great giveaway! Love to bake cookies – plain sugar are the best.
I would love this in my kitchen!
My recent post Cinnamon M&M Oatmeal Cookies
These look good and it does look easy. I avoid most sugar cookie doughs because I don't want to chill it. I'll definitely be trying these out with my kids. I think they'll love it.
Awesome blog, cookies and what an amazing mixer.
This would be a great way to start the new year. Glad I found your blog through this giveaway. Following you on twitter now.
My recent post Top 5 of 2011 and a Happy New Year!
I NEED a new mixer. Mine has completely had it.
I would really love to win this! It would match my dream kitchen! (:
so exciting!
I have major mixer envy!!! Thanks for the opportunity to win!
Great recipe, and great giveaway! I'm a winner already, can't wait to make some cookies 🙂 Thanks for the chance!
Thank you for the chance to win!
This cookie recipe is fantastic and work great for all the last minute baking I did! I bet it would be even better with a 7 quart mixer 🙂
Great Giveaway!
I would love to replace my tiny garage sale kitchen aid with a shiny new one. I could pass mine on to a sweet newlywed I know.
My recent post Close the Books on Another Year
oops…forgot to say, "stopping by from SITS…" So…"stopping by from SITS"
My recent post Close the Books on Another Year
I need to practice my sugar cookie loving. I made some this year and it wasn't nearly as difficult as I thought. Now I just have to get better. 🙂
I really Love This giveaway… Hope I Will be the Lucy One!
DESPERATELY SEEKING KITCHENAID!!!!!!! Would love to use one for cookies with my little ones who love your blog and pics. we use it for recipes frequently =)
Got 9 hungry ones in this household who love cookies! And my mixer has been broken for some time now! Thanks for the chance to win!
I would love to win this to give away as a birthday gift!! I hope you have a great new years!!
I would LOVE to win this mixer! I am in need of a new mixer very badly! 🙂 Mine is a regular hand mixer and I'm down to using just one of the two beaters- needless to say that doesn't work too well. 🙂 THanks for the chance!!!! 🙂
This would make a great gift for my mom!
Oh wow, this would be an amazing win!!! My hand mixer broke during the holidays and I have been wanting to upgrade to a Kitchen Aid for years!!! I think it is fate;-)
Winning a KitchenAid may NEVER get me out of the kitchen…. just sayin' 😉
I would love to start my New Year off with the FANTASTIC kitchen appliance. Thanks for the chance to win. Happy New Year.
I would love to win this Kitchen Aid Mixer! Thanks for the chance!
What a great giveaway!
My wife always follów you
It Will be a nice and perfect gift
Beautiful machine.
Great way to start off the New Year!! Thanks Katrina
still hoping I win!!! could really use this KitchenAid mixer
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Lovely mixer.
I would love to make those sugar cookies in that mixer! thanks for the opportunity!
7 qt KitchenAid Stand Mixer…let me think about that… YES PLEASE!
Wow – these cookies look perfect and I can't believe they don't have to be chilled, that is why I never want to make sugar cookies!
Would so love to win the mixer. I am currently without one and did my cookie swap cookies by hand. Btw I also love youyour blog.
I would love to win this beauty of a mixer ! I love Kitchenaid !
I would so so so love to win this bad boy!!!!
I want to win SO BAD!!!
Woohoo! I can't decide if I'm more excited to have a chance to win a kitchen aid or have access to the wonderful sugar cookie recipe!!! (This is the one of those delicious ABC cookies you made for the alphabet party, right?!) I have made my sister haul her kitchen aid to my house when we make cookies here while the girls nap!!! 😀
Thank you for the chance to win this beauty ! Keeping my fingers crossed! Happy new year!
Love your blog!! Especially the cookie monster cookies. Which my girls loved!! Thanks for posting so many great recipes. And a big thanks for giving us a chance to win that beautiful red mixer!! Happy New Year.
Jonni Hecker
I would love to win this mixer for my wife!
That's a gorgeous little machine!
Fabulous giveaway. I am so excited to enter and will me even more excited if I win. I am in desperate need of a new stand mixer!!!
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I would love to win this cameo!!
would this be a good recipe for making cookies on a stick??
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Hi, how many cookies approximately does your sweet recipe make? Thank you.
Hi Terri- I hesitate to put a yield on this recipe because cookie cutters vary so much in size. My cutters are medium to large and I get about 2-3 dozen.
Yes- sorry I am just now seeing this. I don't know how you got stuck in my spam folder?!
can I use freshly ground flour (I have a Nutrimill that I put grain through), if so what would I need to add to make it all purpose flour?
I'm sorry Priscilla I don't know the answer. I've only ever used store-bought flour, and I've only tested this recipe with all-purpose flour. Good luck! Thanks for stopping by!
would be nice to hav one mine is on its last mix …….makes a badddd noise .
Fantastic recipe! I love the fact that it doesn’t need to be refrigerated, as usually the kids want to cut out cookies immediately after the dough’s made. I added a little cocoa powder as my youngest wanted chocolate biscuits and they turned out great! Thanks!
I am famous for deciding to make cookies at 10:00pm so I’m glad I have a recipe that doesn’t need to be chilled too! 🙂 So glad your family enjoyed it!
I definitely need to try making these cookies sometime, because they sound like a miracle! No chilling and no spreading?! That is PERFECT. And I like your style w/ thick cookie for lots of frosting. 🙂
Did you used brown sugar or white sugar?
Hi! Sugar Cookie recipe looks great…just wondering if the sugar is regular sugar? or confectioner’s? Thanks! I look forward to trying it out this holiday season. 🙂
I’m lusting after the mixer too! 🙂
The cookie recipe is delicious, however, they crumble VERY easily. 🙁 We made them for our 3 & 5 year old boys to decorate tonight and it didn’t work very well. Tastes yummy though!
Thanks for writing, Heidi. I’m sorry that they were a bit crumbly for your liking. These cookies are very soft and so they do break easily. I like to make a pretty thick cookie so that way it can hold up to the weight of the icing. Thanks again!
I just made these a few minutes ago!! They are so yummy and super easy to make!
I’m so happy you love them as much as we do, Jennie! Thanks for letting me know!
Hi there! I’m going to be making these cookies this afternoon, and was wondering if you could please share your icing recipe for them?
Thanks!
Hi Christina! I’m glad you’re trying our family’s favorite sugar cookie! We like to use buttercream: https://www.inkatrinaskitchen.com/2011/04/cookie-monster-cookies.html
You could also use royal icing (dries hard): https://www.inkatrinaskitchen.com/2012/06/small-batch-royal-icing.html
Could you pls share the eggless version of this recipe too????
Thanks a ton…..
Hi Nisha, thank you for writing. I have never tried an eggless version of this recipe. I hope you find a recipe that works for you!
Woo Hooo Would love to have that Kitchen Aid Mixer. The color is perfect too
I found your recipe on Pinterest and am making this today! You mentioned that the baked cookies would freeze well. Does the dough freeze well too?
I have not frozen the dough but there are others who have successfully. https://livlifetoo.blogspot.com/2013/11/best-ever-sugar-cookies.html
Hi, amazing recipe!
just one question, since I am from Belgium I was wondering if you put the degrees in celcius or in farenheit?
Sorry that was not clear in the original recipe Laura. My recipes are in Fahrenheit. Thank you for writing!
WOULD LOVE TO WIN THE MIXER OF MY DREAMS!!! THANKS FOR ALL OF THE GREAT RECIPES!!!OX
My mixer is probably 25 years old and on its last limb. I’m going to attempt to make your sugar cookies with it today, without the mixer dying
I would so love to have this mixer! I have a very large family (5 kids just to start) and the capacity would make life so much easier!! Especially when holiday cooking and cookie making starts!! Your cookie recipe will certainly be being tried at my house this year as well!
These look amazing! AND SO EASY! Can’t wait to try them!! light blue snowflakes…. beautiful!
Will these work with rolled/spiral slice cookies? I have a recipe idea to make swirly, sprinkles encrusted cookies that you roll into a tube and then slice and am looking for a good, firm dough to die and roll without spreading out as it bakes. Thanks!
I have never tried using this dough with the spiral cookies but there are a lot of tutorials out there for that particular cookie. Let me know if you try it.
Wow, wouldn’t I love to have this! Besides cookies, my husband and I make Lefse (a Norwegian flat bread) at Christmas time every year. It starts with 10 pounds of potatoes, which pushes my current mixer pretty hard, even though it is a Kitchenaid, the littlest model. It is just great!
Thanks for the cookie recipe, sounds delicious. I like mine thick also…
These cookies are brilliant. I will be giving these a try for sure. Pinned.
Thanks for pinning, Jennie!
Fantastic recipe!! Thanks for sharing <3
Thank you! I’m glad you like it.
hello,
i would like to know if i can make houses (like gingerbread houses) with this dough?
thank you.
This produced a pretty soft and chewy cookie so I don’t think it would be best for cookie houses. Perhaps if you baked them for 10 minutes+ they could get firm enough but they would brown considerably.
I would be so excited to win this mixer. I have a problem with not being able to mix large batches of bread with my stand mixer because the bowl is too small. I would be in my kitchen all day baking if I won this mixer.
I often look at these and think what a blessing it would be to have something that would mix for me. Not my little hand mixer that works but not that well. My arms are usually too pooped to participate so I no longer bake much. I used to love to bake and cook but then I got sick. When I saw what this baby can do at one time I nearly fell over. For me that would take forever. In fact, I give up after reading the recipe. 🙂 This would be an awesome mixer to have. I would love to be able to enjoy baking again.
I had a 6 quart Kitchen Aid, but stripped a gear after 10 + years of hard use. A new one would be wonderful!
I was wondering if you had any advice on how to make them not crumble? I can’t get the dough to stick together much less roll it out. Please help… Thanks.
Never mind, I found my mistake.
Did you wet your hands to work in the last bit? 🙂 That is the best thing I know to do 🙂
Made these tonight – easy recipe…a bit tricky to handle the shapes and only slight…i m talking tiny bit of spreading. Taste is good!!
Thank you Silvia. That is my favorite part about this recipe- that it doesn’t spread.
thank you for the opportunity to try and win a kitchen aide. anyone know the date of the drawing
These cookie look so good and just love the cookie monster cookies.
Best sugar cookies ever!! I made them this morning and they turned out great, I love that you don’t have to chill them and they rolled out like a dream. Thank you so much for sharing!
I’m so happy that you love our family recipe as much as we do!
Delicious and soft! The cookies cut cleanly even with plastic cookie cutters. Thank you for sharing! This will now be my go-to sugar cookie recipe.
I could really use one. I have a really hard time mixing stuff with my back problems and this would make it a lot easier. Thanks you
Hi, cant wait to try this recipe,. We dont have cup measures here in the UK, can you post in grams please? Lovely mixer too :))
Hi Vera- Thank you! I don’t post my recipes in grams. There are many cups-to-grams conversion tables and websites listed online. With a quick Google search you can find something that works for you. Thanks again!
I would like to pin/share this recipe on Pinterest, but don’t want to post it with an expired contest and people have to wade thru all that just to get to the recipe. Is the recipe itself posted separately on your site, without the contest information? I looked, can’t seem to find it. Thanks.
This is where the recipe is located. I have removed the giveaway widget and it clearly states that the giveaway is closed and a winner is announced. I hope you enjoy the recipe!
Tried these cookies today and the dough never stiffened up…trying to put them in the fridge to see if that helps…I know you said not to but the dough is still really wet
I hope things worked out for you. There isn’t a problem putting the dough in to chill, it just isn’t a necessary step. I’m sorry to hear that you had trouble. Perhaps a bit more flour would do the trick next time?
God bless you for this recipe. It is very similar to one my fav Auntie gave me when I was a wee child. We made them together all the time. Over the years & through many moves, it got displaced. What a joy to find this. Thank you so much. I am looking forward to baking up a batch. Merry Christmas!
I am so happy! Merry Christmas to you too!
Hope the cookies are better than the kitchen aid. NOT a user friendly machine must of been designed by someone who likes to look at machines but never uses it. Does not mix to the bottom, hard to add ingredients. Worse purchase I ever made!!!
can i make this cookies with lemon flavor?
I have not tried them that way but I see no reason why not.
to make those cookies vegan you can easily change the butter for a vegan option and use some apple butter instead of the egg. I just made a third of your recipe and used 70 g of apple butter for it. thus, that would make 210 g for your whole batch.
can i use this recipe with cookies for my cookie stamp? or do you have a recipe that i can use with my cookie stamp.
I used 6 cups of flour, but it’s more like 8
I have to compliment you on seriously the BEST sugar cookie recipe ever. They baked perfectly. I hate making sugar cookies because the crumble or cook uneven, but these were awesome! They came together fast, no waiting. I added 1 tablespoon to a half batch and it was perfect. Thank you for posting this.
Katrina, I have to tell you, I have been using a family sugar cookie recipe for (way too many) years and I happened upon this recipe a month or two ago. Always had to chill the dough overnight and it really cut into my baking schedule. I tried your recipe and let me just say, they really ARE the BEST sugar cookies ever! (Sorry mom, lol) I really appreciate that they do not need chilling, a real time saver. I’ve used different flavorings and each time they came out wonderful!!! Thank you so much, you have a new fan!!!
These are exactly what I was looking for. These taste exactly like the ones a bakery here would make many years ago. I glaze mine with a vanilla butter glaze and a chocolate glaze. Yummo! This is my new favorite cookie. 🙂
Just saw this recipe …. although would have loved to be in raffle (day late dollar short) I have owned my kitchen aid 15 yrs ( have 4 kids 2 Have dibs if I replace it ) I love it!!!!
Hi Katrina,
I was so excited about this recipe: quick (no chilling) and perfect shapes! Unfortunately, it didn’t work out for me at all. I just tried it and my cookies spread out a lot. Maybe that’s due to differences in my German ingredients …
We tried this recipe and it was like sugar sand. Much too crumbly. We had to add two more eggs. Is it normal for the dough to be so dry?
I’m sorry to hear that, Julie. I have never heard of anyone having to add more eggs to the recipe.
I wonder what I did wrong. I did try to combine the remaining flour at the end with my hands, and I did make sure to wet them. :/ I will try again and hopefully I just messed something up. The added eggs only made the cookies really puff out, which wasn’t so bad, actually. But your cookies looked so perfect, I’d like to at least try to get it right, lol.
Do you use unsalted or sweet cream butter?
made this recipe tonight & it was the BEST! True to it’s recipe, soft cookie dough that rolls out so easy & cuts beautifully! It is a recipe that I will use many more times in the future! I must say that I was skeptic when you said “wet your hands and complete the kneading” but I see that was what kept it soft & pliable. Thank you for sharing & Merry Christmas!
Have been looking for a Cookie recipe. Thank you for sharing. Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Hi there
I have been making your cookies since I found them and have loved how they have turned out! The last time I made them was this past Saturday, and the ratios included 6 cups of flour, etc. I pulled the recipe up again tonight and noticed you had adjusted some of the ratios, but some, for instance the amount of butter, had remained the same. I’m nervous they won’t turn out as perfectly since the ratios seem to not add up. Is there anyway I could get back to the original recipe you had posted? I’m eager to have these for Christmas!! Thanks 🙂
I gound your recipe just in time. These year I wanted to start my litle family traditions for my kids, like baking cookies together, the elf on the shelf, and other fun things.. I have baked before for them but not with the use of cutters. This is the first time. I have search all over for a recipe that will not give me much trouble and also one that I didnt have to chill over night or for two hours. Your recipe is simply great. I had not problem making the cookies and I didnt even have to wet my hands to mix the flour. Everything worked out perfectly and cookies were so delicious. Thanks for the great recipe, I will be back to your blog for more ideas. Merry Christmas to you and your family and once again thanks 🙂
Tried your recipe this Christmas and LOVED the way they turned out. I have a tough time gauging baking time bc I am used to lightly browned everything lol, but I was able to see, taste, feel the difference when over baking. I also love the flavor w/ almond extract but wondering if other flavors would work? Thanks for sharing your Best Sugar Cookie recipe…it was the best I’ve tried so far! 🙂
Do you have a recipe if I wanted to make them as chocolate cutouts? Or maybe what I could substitute in this recipe to make them chocolate. Thanx
I used my favorite chocolate cut out cookie recipe from a blog called LilaLoa. You can find a link to it here on this post: https://www.inkatrinaskitchen.com/2012/05/hand-stamped-cookies-and-sprinkle-bakes.html
This recipe is THE BEST and so delicious!! I now have 3 dozen footballs for tonight’s Super Bowl party! Here’s hoping that I can decorate them and do the recipe justice!
That’s awesome! I hope you guys enjoyed the cookies… and the game!
These cookies are the best ever, so easy to make and the dough doesn’t still when rolling out so no flour mess. Made a batch for desert while cooking dinner, they are that easy, Made early Valentines!
So glad you enjoyed the recipe!
I am so anxious to try these. My mom has been making the same sugar cookie recipe for as long as I can recall. Hers uses shortening and produces a very thin, light and crisp cookie, which is good if that’s what you’re going for. I am wanting to load these bad boys up with some yummy butter cream icing, and thin cookies won’t exactly cut it. Your recipe sounds perfect! My one question/concern, however, is the almond extract. My 3-year-old is allergic to nuts, soooo… would you suggest replacing the 1/2t almond with the same amount vanilla (for a total of 1.5t vanilla) OR just omit the almond altogether? Thanks so much in advance 🙂
Can we make these without a mixer? I would love to try making them tonight so I can give them out on valentine’s day tomorrow!
These are the perfect sugar cookie! Didn’t lose shape at all. They didn’t look cooked enough after 8 minutes so I almost baked them longer but then decided to follow directions for once and they were perfect! People at work loved them.
Ended up mixing the dough by hand after about half the flour was added as my mixer wasn’t cutting it. So perfect for rolling and cutting.
So glad you enjoyed the recipe- yes I agree that the cookie looks a tad underdone at 8 minutes, but truly they are soft and delicious if you pull them out. I just let them cool on the baking sheet for 2-3 minutes before removing them so they have time to set up a bit. Thanks again for writing, and for trying one of my favorite recipes!
Quick ? – do you use the paddle or dough hook on your kitchen aid mixer when mixing up this dough? Looking forward to making thesthis week! Thanks!
I use the paddle attachment. But sometimes it is helpful for the last bit of flour to turn it out of the bowl and mix with your hands until the dough is smooth.
I want to know if i can decorate with fondant!
I was wondering how long can you freeze them..have a wedding in july and have to make 200 cookiee wanted to see how far ahead we could make these and if so decorate them after they defrost? Your thoughts?
I never have has an issue with freezing then defrosting cookies. I would just suggest trying to freeze a small test batch here soon and seeing how you like the texture/flavor after it has been frozen. Trial run! 🙂 I hope the wedding is wonderful!
I have made these cookies several times… And I always make a double batch! 🙂 The only change I make is to nix the almond flavoring and use lemon instead. It is SO yummy! Tomorrow I will be making them with the almond, I’m sure they will be just as delicious! Thanks for the recipe!
Oh I love lemon! And have you ever tried Princess Bakery Emulsion? Amazing!
I tried this recipe and had quite a time with it. Yes the dough was very stiff so I wet my hands but it still was not easy to work with. When rolling out the dough I had to wet the dough again because it kept cracking on me. I think I will go back to my old recipe where you chill the dough before rolling.
Sorry! I hope that you find your perfect recipe that your family loves too!
I’m actually responding in similar fashion to Rebekah. I see you have many comments, so hoping you will give me a reply. I am writing a post about my sugar cookie adventures on http://www.ibakeit.wordpress.com and was going to include a favorable comment and link to your recipe. I pinned and made it last year, but never printed the recipe out. It looks like it’s been edited since then and for my sake and the sake of anyone who reads my recipe (credibility) I, too, am wondering if the new proportions will turn out as delicious and reliable as the originally posted recipe. On a side note, I make big batches of sugar cookies on a regular basis and would love the original recipe if you’re willing to email it!
This recipe has been edited to make a smaller batch than originally published to accommodate the size of stand mixer that most people own. The original recipe was this exact recipe just doubled proportions.
Hi,
going to try this recipe, sounds perfect for the easter party. Will adding melted chocolate be a good idea for a chocolate version of the cookies?
Thank you.
I would not suggest it. I would suggest a Google search for chocolate cut out cookies.
can i omit the almond extract? i dont really like it. how did you measure your flour? did you scoop it or spoon the flour into a measuring cup? and are these chewy?
You can omit the flavor if you want. I always spoon and level my flour. and yes these are chewy when baked as noted but if you need them crispy just about 1 minute longer will do it (I’ve made them both ways but I prefer chewy).
This is the same recipe as No Fail Sugar Cookies. Be warned, they are very good the day they are made but get dry thereafter. I would cut back on the flour for sure, even if it means chilling the dough. The trade off for using so much flour and not having to chill it equals a drier cookie in my opinion…
Thanks for your opinion, Kristen. And thanks for trying my recipes. I always love hearing from readers. Have a great week!
This recipe is great. Very easy to follow, I didn’t have cookie cutters so I just rolled them into dough balls and it turned out great! I think next time I’ll add a citrus extract along with the vanilla..
My oven doesn’t go upto 350 🙁 any suggestions?
I’ve never made them at a lower temperature.
Do you mean 350 degrees Fahrenheit? I’m an Aussie 🙂
Yes- thanks for clarifying.
A++! Great cookies, Katrina! This is officially my go-to recipe 🙂
Thank you SO much Rachel! Our family favorite too 🙂
Hi, can I make the dough in advance one week before the party then frozen? Then just take it out , roll and bake ! If , yes how long I can keep the dough in freezer ? Also, for how long baked cookies are good ?
Hello,
Thanks for sharing your recipe. How come there is no “chilling” required? I guess what I wanted to know is…what makes it retain its shape? I have an order of batman decorated sugar cookies to do and want to make sure they come out as perfect as the picture! Thanks.
You are correct- no chilling the dough and very little spread. Have fun!
HELP! I just threw this recipe together for the first time. The dough is in crumbs! How am I suppose to be able to roll out cookies with crumbs? I thought the dough was going to be to hard to mix and now its not? I followed the exact instructions. What’s a quick fix?? Please help, I don’t want to throw it all away.
Hi Jen. If you wet your hands and knead the dough like a bread dough it will come together perfectly in just a few minutes.
I used this recipe to make iced ghost cookies for Halloween. The cookies were perfect–soft, dissolved in your mouth, and definitely held their shape. I am certainly keeping this recipe for future baking endeavors 🙂 Thank you!
Thank you Lauren! I’m glad you were happy with the results!
Hi! I’m planning on making a batch as Christmas gifts, and I was wondering, by any chance, can I make them into a chocolate-sugar cookies? If what I’m planning is possible, do you have any suggestion on how I can achieve that? Thank you! So far, I feel like this recipe won’t be as hard as most of the sugar cookies I’ve tried (which is great). Thanks in advance! 🙂
Hi Jenn. This is my favorite chocolate cut out cookie recipe https://www.lilaloa.com/2011/03/end-all-for-chocolate-cookies-recipe.html
Have you used this recipe in high altitude? If not do you know any necessary adjustments that will need to be made?
I was going to do these as Christmas gifts, how long with they keep for? Thanks and Merry Christmas
Thank you SO much! this is such an awesome recipe. I found a new sugar cookie recipe a few years ago that i thought could not be topped – but yours did! love that it does not have to be chilled.
Hi. I used this recipe last christmas for my decorated cookies and it was fantastic. Just wondering if you have ever used this and decorated the cookies with fondant?
Hi. I’m going to be making these soon and I wanted to know how hard it would be to make them without a stand mixer. Would I do the creaming with a hand held electric mixer or could I do it all by hand with a wooden spoon? Could I use a food processor?
Hello there, I’m not sure if this has been asked or not but I would like to slpit this recipe in half but im not sure how to split 1 egg into two eqaul parts. Do you have any suggustions on doing so? Also if I cant split the egg in half can I freeze half of the dough and use later?
Thank you for you help!!!
-Angela
My Compliments Katrina! This is by far the best sugar cookie recipe ever!! I have been looking for years for the perfect sugar cookie recipe, and I think I just found it. Thank you for sharing. 🙂
Katrina, Katrina, Katrina!! For absolutely the first time EVER, I enjoyed mixing and rolling sugar cookie dough. I have an inexpensive stand mixer and the dough came together PERFECTLY. There was no kneading needed after mixing. It rolled out with no problem and cookies baked to perfection. The ingredients were exact on. For those complaining about crumbling, I don’t know if this makes a difference or not, but I allowed the butter to completely come to room temperature before starting, maybe that’s why I had no crumbling. So incredibly easy to make, I made two batches, back to back!. Thank you so much for sharing the best sugar cookie recipe EVER!!
I have to admit that I was very skeptical of what this recipe promised. BUT, I was pleasantly surprised! I have never made cut out sugar cookies so fast! And they are delicious! This will now be my new go-to recipe for the holidays!
this is my recipe! I love it and it is perfect. I even put less baking powder – 1 tap to ensure no spreading. Gets rave reviews for taste every time!
Katrina!! Hello!!
Could you tell me the recipe en grams?? Please!!
Thank you!!!
Yum! These were so easy to make and delicious. My son asked for Christmas cookies after school today and I was in dread because any other recipe I’ve found you had to refrigerate for hours.
In the past anytime, I’ve made cutout sugar cookies they have had a flour taste to them. These taste a little bit like shortbread. I think I squeezed out about 2 doz. I used different sizes of cookie cutters and not sure if they were 1/4″. 😉
They did take a little longer to bake in my oven so for any newbies – bake according to the directions, but keep an eye on them. I added a couple of min each time and watched until I could see a slight browning on the edges.
I followed the directions exactly (except maybe the thicknes – but I like a thicker cookie).
Thanks for sharing!
Can I freeze these after baked and frosted? If so, will they taste just as good?
Hi there!
I just tried this recipe yesterday and sadlly the dough wouldnt stick together and it was soo flaky!! I did wet my hands and so on. Even once baked the cookies would fall apart.
What can i do to correct it? Add baking soda? Or extra eggs?
Thank you!
Hello, im wondering if you can freeze the dough?
Hi Katrina, I made these cookies only a few days ago as a test batch and they turned out perfectly. I am now ready for my non-test batch and made them last night but they didn’t hold like the original one. Is there something I can do to stop the spreading? I keep going through my mind – what I might have done wrong – did I over mix? Should I lower the baking powder? Your response would be greatly appreciated as I need these today
These are AMAZING! I just made them for my daughters 3rd birthday. It was a FROZEN birthday party and I cut them into beautiful snowflakes and died the dough light blue. I’ve never seen cookies hold their shape this well. Also on a side note- They also tasted phenomenal!
I have always wished I had a mixer like this one, it would make cookie making so much easier
Hi Katrina! I just wanted to let you know that I made this cookie dough last week and it was, by far, the easiest cut out cookie dough I’ve ever worked with! The dough was absolutely delicious and will definitely be my go-to sugar cookie dough from now on! The cookies received rave reviews! Thank you so much!
I can’t remember if I commented on this already, but this is my go to recipe now. I tried with my boys last year for Christmas and they were perfect. Came to this again this year and it’s just perfect. Thank you so much for sharing. So easy, so good and perfectly cut! 🙂
These are absolutely the best sugar cookies !! Your recipe is amazing, it works wonderfully. I have always loved sugar cookies and like most, was stuck with the recipes that required hours of “chilling” and resulted in cookies with no shape. These cookies TASTE good and keep their pretty little shapes, just as you said. Anyway, thank you for sharing. This is great !!!
Just made two batches of these cookies in the past 2 days…absolutely perfect! I I didn’t even need to wet my hands to bring the dough together…it came together on its own in the mixer! Didn’t have the almond extract, so I used vanilla and WIlton butter flavor and it tasted great. The second batch I added a dash of cinnamon, and it livened them just a bit more. this has become my sugar cookie go-to recipe! Thanks so much!
Do you have any vegan sugar cookie recipies? thank you
Thank you for this excellent recipe! Easy to make, no wasted time and ready to roll!!!
Merry christmass from Canada
Francine Lafleur
Montreal, Canada
fraisiperles.com
My first time making sugar cookies, they turned out great! Thanks for the great recipe!!
I tried this recipe today, and there are NO words good enough to explain what a wonderful recipe this is! I’ve been baking for almost 50 years, and have ALWAYS been intimidated by roll out sugar cookies – I could never make a dough that was easy to handle, easy to roll out, easy to pick up with a spatula and transfer to a baking sheet. This dough not only was ALL of these characteristics, but it also tastes delicious! My KitchenAid mixed the dough up to perfection in no time, and I was done with making the dough, dividing it into thirds, rolling each portion out and cutting the shapes, and baking them all in under 90 minutes – AMAZING! Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for sharing this perfect recipe. I may make cut out cookies once a week, now that I finally have a trusted recipe to use! Sally
These cookies needed to be refridgeateed and they did expanded a lot after cooking however the tast was so good I can look pass these flaws
I tried this recipe and it was absolutely amazing. This will definitely be my go-too sugar cookie recipe from now on. Thanks so much!
Perfect cookies!! This recipe is a keeper! They baked exactly as stated. Not sure why people always have such different results! Follow the recipe, and you won’t have any problems!
Can I use self raising flower?
And than leave the bakingpowder out?
Thanks
I made one batch of these today to put on goody trays. I did them by hand because I don’t have a stand mixer and the dough came together perfectly. No crumbling, didn’t have to wet my hands, and easy to transfer to the baking sheet with a cookie spatula. They were so easy and they taste like my “perfect” recipe I lost years ago. I think I’ll try less baking powder next time to cut down the puffiness, as I like my sugar cookies a little crisp, but the taste is outstanding. I’m making more on Christmas Eve to take to a family dinner on Christmas. Thanks!
Hello all.
Came upon this recipe on Pinterest. Was needing one to make cookies with my 4&7 yr old boys for Santa. I mixed the dough up in my Ninja blender thing. Worked wonderfully. I did have to add more flour it was so wet and sticky. Only made 22 cookies. We used good size cutters. The dough taste good let’s see how they turn out. Then the hard part decorating them with 2 kids. Sigh Merry Christmas every one.
I just made this recipe and they are to DIE FORE!!! These are the best sugar cookies ever for so many reasons!!
1- Super easy to make
2- Cooks so fast
3- They hold their shape PERFECTLY
4- The slight almond shape is amazing!!!
5- They are SO SOFT!
6- They are delicious!!!
Seriously. Everyone needs to make these cookies RIGHT NOW. Thank you for the recipe!!!!
Can I add food coloring to this dough?
Thank you so much for this recipe! I just made these with my kids and they turned out perfect! I LOVE that this dough holds it’s shape and doesn’t have to be refrigerated! The kids raved about the taste and declared our Christmas cookie day “a success”!
So I made these cookies for the first time and was really excited. I was able to get about a dozen and a half out of them before the dough just wouldn’t stick together any longer. I would try to roll it out and it oils literally fall apart. I would knead the dough in my hand and then try to roll it and it would do the same thing. After about 45 mins of not making any progress I decided to shelf about a little under half of the dough. I wrapped it in plastic wrap and placed it in the fridge. The next day I let it sit out (for longer than 10 mins because at this point the dough was hard as rock) for about 2 hours. It was soft enough to try. I was again having the hardest time with the dough crumbling. I would try to roll balls it would literally crumble in my hand. I put water on my hands and worked it into the dough and it seemed like it would stick with some added flour. But that only got me so far. I ended up with a little over 2 dozen of cookies and they’re absolutely delicious but I don’t think I’ll be using this recipe again.
I was hopeful in trying a different sugar cookie recipe. These still got puffy. :/
i am so so happy I came across this recipe on Pinterest! I have been using a different recipe for years but always hated the fact you had to chill the dough. These cookies came out absolutely PERFECT!!! I will never make another sugar cookie recipe ever again. It was so great for my daughter and I to just be able to mix up the dough and get straight into rolling out the dough and cutting our Christmas cookies. I have made sugar cookies with her for years and these are the absolute BEST!! The edges were just perfect. Can’t stop raving about how wonderful they look and taste. Thank you so much for sharing such wonderful recipe!! Merry Christmas and happy holidays
I made these in Ireland today and brought them to my in-laws for Christmas dinner. The dough seemed crumbly at first, but once I started kneading, it came together quickly and easily. This will be my go to sugar cookie recipe from now on. I didn’t have enough time today, so we’re going to use your royal icing recipe and decorate the leftover cookies tomorrow. Thanks for sharing a great recipe!
Thank you for this great recipe! I made a few dozen beautiful mini cookies for our family Christmas party and painted them with buttercream icing and they were GONE within a couple minutes. This will be my go to sugar cookie recipe from now on.
I am looking forward to trying these tonight , hope they are a keeper.
Looks like there might be varying results bases on quantity, ambient temp, etc. – any chance you could publish based on weight of ingredients, both metric and imperial? Might make it a bit more accurate on my part!
In Australia butter is packaged in 250g or 500g packages which is just a bit bigger than the 1 or 2 American ‘sticks’ of butter, I think. I guess any extra butter might make them likely to lose their shape so will try to follow your quantities to the letter. Many thanks.
Oh they are brilliant – quite rich! But very easy to make and perfectly easy to cook, do everything that you promised! Thanks
Great! I just made so many cookies! They are great and the dough was very easy to make (did all by hand). There was so much dough, couldn’t see the end of it 😉 One thing was very hard though: to stop my kids from eating the whole cookies ! :p
I was really disappointed by this recipe. I love sugar cookies and wanted to try someone else’s cookies. Made them last night and as soon as they cool they are hard crunchy cookies. The flavor was really bland. Definitely not making them again…
Right???? Needs salt!!
I make these cookies for my dad, he loves them thin, hard and crunchy. He (and everyone else) absolutely LOVES them, they don’t lose their shape and I love that you don’t have to chill them. Thin cookies I got 30-50, honestly I don’t know maybe more. The one thing I noticed is that the dough is kind of dry, I have had to add some liquid the past few times I’ve made them. Thanks for the recipe!
Hello from France! Just made these with my almost 3yr old. Thank you for posting an excellent, quick and easy recipe. It works well with a regular mixing bowl and a wooden spoon too 😉 We cooked them at 180°C and it was perfect. Instead of vanilla (didn’t have any in the pantry) we put orange flower water with the almond extract. Lovely flavour. We often use it in crêpe recipes. Thank you once again for helping us with a fun baking afternoon.
I cut the recipe in half (beat the egg in a mixing cup and used half). The cookies came out PERFECT texture, shape, color, taste, fantastic! My butter wasn’t completely softened so it looked a bit crumbly but once I turned it out and kneaded it, it came together beautifully. I made royal icing but had no food coloring so I put some frozen blueberries in the microwave and substituted their juice for the water. It was only a light color purple but tasted great on the cookie! Thanks for sharing this great recipe it’s a keeper!
I just made these as an “I’m sorry, I love you” gift for my girlfriend. I tested one and these are definitely the best sugar cookies I have ever made and quite possibly the best I have ever eaten in my life. Thank you, Katrina for sharing this lovely recipe! She will love these, for sure!
These turned out perfect and delicious. Thanks!
I feel silly asking this because it appears many people have used the recipe with no problem. But if your butter salted or unsalted?
I made these today, for a dear friend’s pregnancy announcement picture shoot tomorrow. I have a go to cutout cookie recipe that requires chilling, but tried yours because my friend wanted to learn how to make cutouts, and because we had a limited amount of time. We only got a 14 cookies, but it’s ok because they had to be big enough to write on and we rolled them thick. The one lonely little bite I got of a cookie that cracked on its way to the cooling rack was delicious! And, I’m so excited to see that they really do keep their shape!!! They’re supposed to look like Valentine’s conversation heart candies, and the clean edges made them perfect ! I made your buttercream recipe using half shortening and half butter and it was perfect, too! Next time I think I’ll try the dough hook for the last bit of flour…kneading it in worked but was hard on my hands and wrists. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
This is an excellent dough to work with. I reworked the dough 4 times doing cutouts with my kids. It never once stuck to the table. They do expand a bit in the oven. I added a pinch of salt which made them salty. This will be my new cutout recipe for sure! Thank you! Wondering if those who had trouble omitted the almond extract altogether. We subbed it with vanilla.
this recipe is great! I love the texture and flavor! This will be my all time recipe for sugar cookies from now on. Thank you so much for this site.
This is my favorite cookie recipe!! It is so easy to make and has the best flavor.
Hi, I will like to know if I can replace almond extract with pure vanilla extract?
I ABSOLUTELY LOVE, LOVE, LOVE these cookies!! So easy to work with, easy to decorate!! Katrina you are the BEST!! Thank you for sharing this with us!!
I try this recipe…. very nice and easy… i omit the bakibg poweder to keep cookies shape and it was perfect … thank u
Thanks for posting this recipe. For the first time in my 38 years, I finally had great success in making cut-out sugar cookies. Based on reading that the dough may be crumbly, I added a tablespoon of warm water with the egg. My dough was not crumbly at all. I did end up putting half the dough in the fridge (due to a time constraint), but it was just fine when I took it out. I did wet my hands with that second batch and it was perfect. I have tried probably 15 different recipes and they were always mediocre. I agree with cutting them thicker as well. I prefer a thicker, softer sugar cookie. Mine took about 10 minutes to bake. Thanks again!
I made half of this recipe today as a test batch. I followed the directions exactly but instead of a crumbly dough I got a sticky one. I cut about 5 cookies and then kneaded some more flour into it which seemed to fix it. Still not crumbly but better to work with and did not spread. Aside from that, this is a good recipe! Very flavorful and a good texture
Best cookies ever! I tried the recipe and loved it.
I made a batch today and they came out perfect. Though humidity levels are very high these days where we live, I only added more flour on my bench and they cutters did a wonderful job! It is now one more favourite recipe in my book!
Hello ! I’ll be giving this recipe a try this weekend. One question, what ingredient can I replace the Almond Extract with? It´s kind of hard for me to find it in groceries where I live.
Thanks a million!
I would omit it if it’s not available to you.
I just wanted to say that these are the absolute best sugar cookies! I make them all the time and I haven’t had a bad batch yet! I have found that if I roll 1/2 of the dough between two pieces of parchment paper, I don’t have to add any extra flour. No sticking and no mess! I can make an entire batch in 40 minutes…from mixing, to cutting, to baking! Thank you for such a fabulous recipe!
These cookies are the bees knees!! Sooooo delicious! I love to roll them out on the thicker side so they’re nice and soft. Absolutely amazing! Thank you so much for the amazing recipe xx
These cookies are amazing!! Thank you so much for the recipe- absolutely adore these cookies, I roll them thick so that they come out soft
When you updated the recipe to use smaller proportions, did you also change the recipe yield? (i.e. does this smaller recipe yield 3 dozen cookies?)
Everything is altered. However your cookie count may be different depending on what size cutters you use.
Just made these tonight. Love them, thank you so much for posting the recipe! will definitely be making more 🙂
I made these today, I used dairy and soya free spread instead of butter and they are delicious! Thanks for the recipe 🙂
I absolutely love this cookie recipe!! Every time I make it people demand more!!! Thank you for such an easy way to make a normally pain in the butt cookie 🙂
So I had to get up early to make these for an event, and they are totally worth it. I just tried one and they are now my favorite recipe for sugar cookies too. I love that they are easy enough to make even under the dangers of sleep deprivation. Thanks for sharing it.
I made these cookies this week. I had to bake them slightly longer, but they were fantastic. They really held their shape.
Hi, How far in advance can these cookies be made? How should they be stored? I have a birthday party on the weekend and looking to get everything I can done prior to party day. Thanks!
Thank you for this recipe! The cookie holds it shape beautifully and it tastes fantastic!! Thank you!
I have made these sugar cookies twice, and they are the only recipe I have ever tried. They are so easy to work with and I love not having to chill the dough. I use Princess cake and cookie emulsion and they taste awesome. However, I have tried royal icing with two different recipes, was careful to have no grease on bowls or utensils, flavored it with clear vanilla (no oil)… And it won’t harden. It gets a gritty looking sheen after 12 hours or so, and little cracks where it pulls apart. I now wonder if it’s this cookie recipe… It would be great for a simple sugar topping or other frosting but do you have trouble with royal icing on these? What am I doing wrong?
Can I freeze the dough and cook later? Also, can I freeze the cooked cookies and frost later (say like two weeks)?
Yes and yes! I would say you’re safe to freeze baked cookies up to 1 month. I’ve never frozen the dough however I don’t see any reason you couldn’t as long as it’s wrapped tightly.
Just wanted to know if you can substitute the sugar for splenda?
I have never baked with Splenda.
I’m not sure if I’m just doing something wrong, and I can’t really tell if anyone else has had any issues because the comments are all about your giveaway, however, I made these cookies going by the recipe and in my opinion they just tasted like flour. Suggestions? Anything?
I am from New Zealand and have just tried this recipe today. They are sooooooo yummy even without the icing! The recipe is going to be added to my recipe book. 😀
Completely outdated, but I just found this recipe and was hoping i could get advice for bake ahead, shelf life of these cookies. I need 6 dozen for a cookie exchange, so I was hoping to cook them the day before. How will the hold?
You can store these cookies wrapped in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks. You can also freeze them (unfrosted) up 2-3 months in advance. Bring them to room temperature before decorating.
Our sugar cookie recipe has powered sugar. That is the only difference between yours and mine.
These are great cookies!! My husband is not a cookie person, but even he enjoyed these! The kiddos LOVED them too. I tried the original recipe and then I tried a twist, replacing the almond extract with 2 tsp of lemon extract and icing them with lemon icing. SUPER YUMMY!! Thanks for the great recipe!!
Hey Katrina! I stumbled upon your sugar cookie recipe (I honestly don’t know how I got out of culinary school without one) and I’m so glad I made your recipe! They are perfect. Thank you for making this recipe known to the world wide webs!
Do you bring your butter to room temp first or use it cold and firm still? Thanks!
This is the first time I’ve ever made cookies…. They came out great, but the bottom was a little burned…i used Pam spray… What else should I use next time to avoid the crispy bottoms???
Thanks
I would just put them on parchment paper. That’s what I did and they came off the pan perfectly.
Are you able to roll and cut these cookies and then wrap and freeze until needed to bake?
Love the sugar cookie Recipe. Will use again.
Thank you so much for this recipe! The cookies turned out perfect – no spreading, perfect consistency and great flavor – not too sweet (before all of the icing and sugar sprinkles!).
For those with crumbly dough, for sure the trick is wet hand and kneading the rest of the flour into the dough like you would bread dough. Oh, and no need to spray or grease pans – these came right off with a spatula and minimum effort after 5 minutes or so.
Made them with my Grandson Nicco.
Really easy nd they came out WONDERFUL
I just finished baking these cookies and unfortunately I found them to be very disappointing. They tasted very floury (if that is even a word) and for a sugar cookie didn’t seem quite sweet enough. Maybe the intention is to have them paired with a sweet icing but not on their own.
Just baked your sugar cookie recipe with my daughter. The cookies actually kept their cut out shapes and they were delicious. We were very impressed. Thanks so much!
You did not exaggerate, these are the easiest, best setting, Christmas sugar cookies I’ve ever made! Thank you !
This is seriously the best sugar cookie recipe. So easy to work with, rolls out perfectly with no sticking and no breaking apart.
This IS the very best sugar cookie recipe!!! I’ve tried many others. Awesome!!!!
Hi! What adjustments should be made for high altitude?
These cookies have excellent flavor & texture! However I had a very challenging time rolling them out. The dough kept cracking and splitting. Is this normal? Should I have wet me hands? Step by step pictures would be helpful to see dough consistency.
Just made these, turned out good! I am vegan so I substituted earth balance and a flax egg for the butter and egg and it came out fine. The dough was definitely falling apart so I ended up sticking with only 2 1/2 cups of flour and not 3 and they still baked really well 🙂
These were so easy to make. I love not having to chill them, huge time saver! These didnt even make it to the frosting stage….my family devoured them!!!!
Love the cookie recipe its super easy to make and wow very tasty … love that they take hardly anytime to bake, I ended up making 3 batches and dipped one end in chocolate then parceled them as gifts for christmas… Thanks so much
This is floating around FB again. To be honest, I was muttering a LOT about this recipe when my kids were cutting out shapes and we couldn’t pick them up in one solid piece. But I started using a fork to scoop them up and by George it worked like a charm. I baked them for 6 minutes and realized after the fact that probably wasn’t long enough, they were still too soft. We’re going to try again today and bake them at least 8 minutes and roll the dough out a little thinner. This will be my go to for last minute sugar cookies for the no chill part! Thanks for sharing.
I forgot to say.. I was AMAZED these don’t spread at all!! Good thing too, I took your word for it and didn’t space them out very far
This was my first time making sugar cookies. And the title of the recipe is true. The BEST sugar cookies EVER for sure. They turned out perfect. Thank you for sharing!
I haven’t made cut out Christmas cookies since I was in high school – I am now 61. Saw your recipe on the news app on my iPhone. You made it sound so easy, so I thought I’d give it a try. These are the best sugar cookies! I used my kitchenaid stand mixer and the dough came together perfectly. The dough was easy to work with – even the cookies cut from rerolled scraps looked good. I plan on icing the Christmas tree cookies tomorrow – though nothing fancy – just green tinted icing dusted with crunched up candy canes.
Thank you for sharing your recipe.
This is the ONE…. finally. 4 little girls had the best time rolling, cutting, re-rolling and then of course decorating. I appreciate all your helpful comments about how to handle the dough. The girls did get it to play-doh condition and had a great time doing it. The dough tastes great, the cookies even better.
I am tossing all my chill for 2 hrs before rolling out cookie recipes. Love love love. Thanks so much!
We just used this recipe to make cookies for Santa — great recipe! We loved that it didn’t have to be chilled, yet was still easy to roll out. I found the dough easy to transfer using an offset spatula. Thanks!
Okay, I tried this recipe, and I do wonder if I didn’t make them quite thin enough. Mine were really soft and broke easily. Recommendations? Also, I do wish that all the contest comments could be removed so that the actual recipe reviews could be read more easily.
These cookies are AMAZING. I made a test batch a couple weeks ago and dipped them in chocolate and they were so good it was scary. Now I’m making them for Christmas and will be icing them. I used fairly large cookie cutters and left them kind of thick and still got 55 cookies out of a doubled recipe.
They taste amazing with nothing on them, especially because I used vanilla bean paste. They’re sweet and delicious. I keep eating the ones that break.
Thank you for an awesome recipe. I can’t wait for my family to taste them.
I made these yesterday and the dough was extremely sticky and even with added flour on the counter, rolling pin, and hands it stayed too sticky to roll out. I ended up chilling in the freezer for about 20 min which helped. The dough was still very soft which made it hard to transfer the cutout shapes to the baking sheet. They then spread out terribly when baked. ☹️ They do taste good but was disappointed that they didn’t hold their shape as promised. Would love to try again but want some pointers on what might have gone wrong. Thanks in advance.
The dough was very very dry. I had to wet my hands several times in order for the dough to become workable so it could be rolled out. It would make sense to incorporate a teaspoon or tablespoon of wailk into the recipe at the end. I ended up putting too much water on my hands when kneading the last batch and had to throw it out. Otherwise the cookies tasted great. Not too sweet so you can definitely add frosting and sprinkles without over-sweetening the cookies.
These came out amazing! I made exactly as stated- they were our Santa cookies this year. I have never had much luck with sugar cookies. Rolling them always led to frustration. These did not stick to anything and I didn’t have to use a ton of excess flour! The dough did smell very almond-y, but once they were baked, the taste was mild and made the cookies taste better than normal. They kept their shape perfectly. These were amazing! Thank you so much for the recipe. This will be our new recipe- i am truly happy to have a frustration free recipe!
I have made these several times and with this small adjustment they are AMAZING! I double the vanilla and triple the almond. These couldn’t get any better!
I was wondering if I could color the dough or would this change the consistency? I’m wanting to do red for Valentines cookies. Thanks
These cookies came together easily and held their shape but this recipe is missing a key ingredient: SALT!! Where is the salt?? It must be a mistake not to include it. Salt must be used to bring out the flavor and sweetness of these cookies (especially since the recipe calls for unsalted butter). I think they would be great with the addition of salt. There is just something missing without it. I’m disappointed I made a double batch and now have to re-do them. Please consider adding salt to the recipe!
Anyone’s recipe not coming out as well as other’s? Be Patient! There many scientific reasons why dough doesn’t always come out the way you wanted. Ask yourself these questions first…
1. Is my oven correctly calibrated? It may actually be baking higher or lower than it’s telling you. Buy an oven safe thermometer and make sure it reads the same temp as your oven.
2. Fluff or sift your dry ingredients before measuring! Compacted flour measures differently than sifted flour so without recipes including weighed amounts, experience making the recipe a few times is usually the only real way you’re going to get it right every time.
3. Don’t let your dough get too warm! Dough should be cool to the touch the whole time, or else the butter starts melting and you finished product won’t work.
4. Do not overwork/over mix your dough! This builds up the gluten/proteins and you’ll have mis shapen or hard, cardboard like finished product.
5. Every time I hear “the cookies had no flavor,” or “boring and bland,” it’s usually because cut out sugar cookies are meant to be iced with roya icing, buttercream, sanding sugar, curds or jams. Since these toppings are so sweet, you don’t want an ultra sweet cookie dough.
6. If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again! You’ll ALWAYS get better at a recipe, each time you make it. If the majority of comments are great and there are just a few bad one’s, chances are it’s not the recipe. So don’t give up on a great recipe, try troubleshooting it and making it your own by playing with flavors. Taste the dough before you bake it and have fun! Food is made from love after all.
Mines came out perfect to the eye then I ate one 😛 they had a horrible bitter after taste. I’m. Im not sure what I did wrong. Any advice. Only change I made was using half white whole wheat flour (1.5c ) and the other half just regular white all purpous flour (1.5c) to equal the 3c callled for.
Thank you so much, my kids love it.
Thank you!
These cookies where so easy and so good, I didn’t use any almond extract because I have none and they turned out perfect !!!
Not very flavorful. I’ll be sticking to Rombauer.
Tried this recipe a few times. Worked like a charm. Last time I substituted third of the flour with teff and half of the sugar with fruit sugar. The kid still loved it 🙂
I made the cookies loved very easy didn’t get crumble was so easy to roll out loved it will make again for Easter thank you
This recipe is delicious. I added 2 TSP of cornstarch to the floor mix. They fixed beautifully and are ready for our Valentine’s cookie decorating party. My husband and I keep sneaking them out of the freezer. I’m going to have to make more!
Delicious and profession-like cookies. Made 14 large, heart-shaped cookies–(7) 4″ and (7) 5.5″. Definitely measure thickness and err on the side of thicker so they don’t break or, bake slightly longer. I baked them 8 min. Thx for the recipe.
Very good
Hi, I want to know if I can use cane or brown sugar with this recipe. And if you think this is the best recipe to use with these cookie cutters for kids birthdays
( like cartoon character’s faces). Thanks!
We made these for our Oscar party this weekend and HOLY CRAP they really were the best sugar cookies ever. Such a hit. We shared the recipe on our blog too and of course linked back to this site. They were such a hit! So good.
Can I make these cookies and freeze them, then put royal icing or can I make them, royal ice them, cool them and freeze? Need to make way ahead wondering if there ok to freeze till day of consumption?
just made ur recipe for the second time this time i marbled the dough to make green shamrocks! must say they turned out great and despite my fear of not chilling all butter cookies the edges were sharp and they didnt spread! thanks for the recipe!
I love this recipe thanks. I find I need to add a couple tbsp water to the batter as it seems too dry. Then it’s perfect texture.
Is there really no salt in this recipe?
Greased or undressed cookie sheet?!
Just tried these tonight – you are right. They are the best cut out cookies ever!!! I have tried so many different recipes over the years and have never been happy with them. Lately I have been resorting to using mixes. This recipe is perfect – love the simplicity of the recipe, the fact that you don’t have to chill them (I never want to wait!), and they roll out and cook like a dream. I used your suggestion of taking them out a bit early and letting them finish baking on the hot baking sheet. Going to decorate tomorrow night with my grandson – fun, fun, fun! Thank you for sharing your recipe!
What a lovely and easy recipe,i have your recipe by half and it tuned out amazing,but is it possible to substitute the butter with canola oil or coconut oil and not adding the egg??
Thanks so much
Nancy
I’m curious how early you could make and decorate these for a party? What would your suggestion be?
Can you freeze already baked cookies and if so for how long?
Lovely recipe and easy to adapt! Will definitely be using it again:)
Best cookies ever. Make them every holiday I can. Easy and perfect every time.
I see a lot of people trying to win kitchen AIDS in this comments section what I don’t see is anybody that is commending this young lady on an amazing cookie recipe that totally pulled my ass out of the fire and completely works 100% my cookies came out just the way I cut them out
Hi, how many grams are in a cup you use? Internet gives different suggestion.
Fabulous recipe, just perfect!! Made exactly according to the directions and they came out perfect. Rolled out beautiful and no need to chill like it says. Very soft and wonderful flavor! and I did reuse all my scraps and you could not tell any difference.
Thank you for this recipe, it’s a keeper! My search is over for a sugar cookie recipe
This is truly the best recipe for sugar cookies that I have ever tried, and I have tried many! They are absolutely delicious, cut cookies transfer easily to the baking sheet, and they KEEP THEIR SHAPE after baking! I have made these for several school events and they have always been a huge hit. I have been asked several times where I bought them. I roll them about 3/8″ thick, but have also made 1/4″ and they both bake up well. All other cookies I’ve made require refrigeration, and after working with the dough for a while, it gets warm and soft and makes it very difficult to move the dough once it’s been cut – they become misshapen, forcing you to put it back in the fridge. Thank you Katrina, for sharing this!
Hey could you substitute shorting for butter in this recipe?! Thanks!
Could you substitute shortening for butter for the cookies? Thanks!
Love this recipe. I had failed a few of sugar cookies recipes before I found yours.
I always return to this recipe when I bake sugar cookies. The best is I do not have to chill the dough. Wonderful!
The cookies are always light and crisp, hard to stop munching.
Thank you so much Katrina!
Has anyone ever tried putting these in a spritz cookies gun?
This recipe was absolutely perfect. I wanted a cookie recipe that would allow my kids to write on them with food-grade edible color markers. The taste is fabulous, the texture is to die for. Follow the directions and don’t make them too thin! The thickness is so yummy. Thank you!
You’re right it’s a perfect recipe. Thanks so much for all the hours saved!
Should the butter be softened first?
I have made these multiple times and they really are fantastic! Very soft and they hold their shape perfectly. Thank you!
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe, I just made 200 cookies with this for a baby shower! I tested a few different recipes but the cookies either spread too much or had a chalky taste from huge amounts of cornstarch. I loved how much easier it was than traditional sugar cookies, and they look and taste amazing.
I just made these cookies using a chili pepper cookie cutter. I followed the directions to a T and cooked them for 7 min. They are unfortunately are falling apart after cooked and are not stiff enough to frost 🙁
My recipe is like yours only not the almond flavoring – you said you have tweeked it to make it better, is that one of your ‘tweeks’?
I’ve been making these cookies for about 65 years now except for a few years when I lost the recipe, was so glad when we found the recipe in an old recipe box that belonged to my Mom. Always loved this because you didn’t have to chill the dough, it has a great taste, and easy to cut out shapes that look like the cookie cutter after baking. My nieces continue to use this recipe and gets raves when they take them to any gathering.
They are great any time of year – different holidays, birthdays, and a friend even made them for her daughter”s wedding..
Unfortunately one of my family members does not like sweets. Great. Thank you. I was able to follow and enjoy it.
This recipe sounds wonderful. I sometimes like to make and freeze my cookie dough. Can this dough be frozen?
I’ve made these cookies several times now over the last 2 years or so and love them! I am prepping to make some for my son’s bday coming up, and I’m not an experienced baker- can I use your icing recipe to ice them and then freeze them iced or would you recommend icing them the day or so before his bday??
These are AMAZING! Truly the first cutout cookie I’ve ever made that 100% kept their shape after baking! Followed the recipe exactly and baked for 6 1/2 minutes and they were perfect. Soft and no brown bottoms/edges. Thanks for a truly awesome recipe! Absolutely my new “go-to” cutout recipe!
OMGoodness! Best cookie cut out recipe I ever tried! Thanks! I followed your tips and they came out perfect.
This recipe was easy, quick, and perfect. This will be my go to sugar cookie recipe.
I’m making these for a cookie decorating craft at my sons school halloween party. How many days in advance can I make them?
Can you freeze it?
Can you freeze uncooked dough?
Hi, can I freeze the dough leftovers and for how long?
LOVE this! Just made them with my 3 year old (we were up at 3:45 this morning for no reason at all so why not make sugar cookies!). 🙂 Turned out perfect and I’m going to post about it on my blog this afternoon. Will link back to you! Thank you!! Great recipe.
This is the best tasting and easiest Sugar Cookie recipe I have ever used! The addition of the almond extract with the vanilla is brilliant. Not having to refrigerate the dough is a time saver and for me it never really helped. Rolling was always a nightmare. Thanks Katrina!
Kisses and hugs for this simple yet delicious cookie recipe. I really appreciate it.
Warm regards
Wendy
I just made your sugar cookies (and they are perfect!) and won’t have a chance to frost them for a couple days, should I put them in the freezer, fridge or just leave them out in the meantime??
My cookies turned out crumbly? What am I doing wrong?
How long will this dough stay good in fridge/freezer?
Have you ever baked these on a Silpat mat? If so, how long to bake them at 350* or do you recommend just baking on the sheet pan as written. Can’t wait to try your recipe out. 😊😊😊
How long can these cookies be stored and how do I store them?
Leaving a reply al the way from South Africa! The recipe is PERFECT and the cookies turned out fantastic. Simple, fast, easy and kid friendly.
I baked mine a little longer to give them a golden brown colour and they taste divine. The kids and I are going to decorate them tomorrow.
Thanks so much!
Leanda
Make a video of this
Sorry after going through all these comments I have a question.I believe you said somewhere in here you rolled these out to 1/4 inch. Will that be thick enough?I have to add you are a patient woman. Happy Holidays. B. Karr
Do you know if you can freeze cookies and decorate a few days later?? Ty
Hi, should the butter be cold or room temperature?
I just made these today to decorate, they are DELICIOUS!! My first batch I took out after 10 mins and they fell apart/were a bit too soft so I was pretty worried, the next 6 trays I left in for a few minutes longer and they were perfect. Thanks for the recipe!!
If I don’t have unsalted butter, can salted butter be used? I always seem to forget things like this when shopping.
If I don’t have unsalted butter, can salted butter be used? I always seem to forget items like this when I go shopping.
tried these cookies and they turned out great! I iced them and everyone loves them.
Can the dough be frozen?
I made these with my ESL students and they loved it. It was really easy. I made these at home for myself.
I love this recipie. I have used it for the last couple of years. I have a question. Can I freeze the dough to use in about 2 weeks? How long does it usually stay good in the refrigerator?
Oh my god. This recipe is awesome. I don’t do reviews of stuff but damn. I made the Fox Run butterfly cutter set with this. They are intricate and all just shy of 1” wingspan and they came out perfectly. I just really can’t believe it. I also used a veiner on some leaf cookies and it held perfectly. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!!!!
The texture is good on these cookies, as long as you’re careful with them while frosting them, but the flavor is terrible. It’s so bland, and I realized, there is no salt in this recipe! If you add in a half teaspoon of salt, the flavor will be so much better!
My husband just declared these cookies the best sugar cookies he has ever eaten. And he has had many different versions. I am definitely keeping this recipe. Thank you!
We tried this recipe tonight and WERE NOT DISAPPOINTED! 😍
Can I use another extract for this? We have a nut allergy in the family?
This is the 4th time I am making this recipe. I will first say that I love this recipe as the cookies always hold their shape and they taste good.
However every year I find I have to chill the dough or else they tear apart very easily when getting them on the tray to bake. I don’t mind chilling it, though.
Can I make these in chocolate? do you have a recipe?
Do you have to use almond extract? Could I just use a little extra vanilla? Same question for the Christmas cookie frosting.
I doubled this recipe and made it exactly at the recipe says and it was perfect. this is 100% my go to recipe from now on. Thank you.
Trying your recipe tonight! Love your happy energy!! Thank you for sharing with us less talented in the kitchen.
Wonderful recipe with great instructions. Thank you for your hard work in making this so easy for the rest of us out there! Happy holidays to you and your family!
Very good recipe made with my kids yesterday, and made some Christmas cookies this still is very good for cut-out cookies. Harley would recommend this recipe.
This cookie is so good! Instead of frosting, I used melted white chocolate because it sets faster, and it was a hit!
What temperature do you have your butter and egg? Room or out of the refrigerator? Please anyone. I would like to make these now!
Do you use thawed butter..or mix it cold
Greased or ungreased cookie sheet?
I just made these cookies, following your recipe and tips. They turned out perfect! I have tried other recipes before, all required freezing and most of the time they spread! This is now my go to sugar cookies recipe! 🙂 Thank you for sharing.
These were tasty and held shape fabulously! Thanks for the recipe!
This is one of the best recipe i have ever tried. The dough was first a little wet so I add about 50gr all-purpose flour and the everything went smootly. After baking, the surface of cookies was flat. I baked 12 minutes for firmer structure so I could decorate easily. Thanks for awesome recipe 🙂
I have used this recipe for two years now. It is wonderful, easy and delicious. No other recipe I’ve tried holds shapes as well as this one. Sometimes I will sneak in just a little whole wheat flour because I like the flavor, not more than a quarter of the total amount of flour so the texture isn’t messed up.
Love that the shapes are so sharp and defined, but the dough is very crumbly and cookies don’t taste nearly as good as our usual recipe. We always use almond extract so it must be in the amount of sugar.
I have never had success with rolled sugar cookies. Just tried these this morning and am in LOVE with the recipe. Easy, quick and tasty. Thank you.
Thank you for the recipe- to clarify do you use room temp butter or cold? Looking forward to a quick sugar cookie recipe to make with the kiddos!
Make sure you find the right cookie cutters. I used some that were too big, rolled out the dough too thick so it wouldnt break and ended up way underbaking the first batch. I switched to some smaller ones I borrowed and they turned out way better
Can u use mArgerine instead of butter
Would you please share your frosting recipe. Thanks.
I love the recipe, it is very simple and not as sweet. I am making it for older Chinese/ Taiwanese people. They don’t like to eat that much sugar in a recipe. All there recipe always has less sugar or in cakes, only whip creams for the icing and the filling is mostly fruits and whip creams.
These are ridiculously easy and turn out amazing. Thank you!!
This is such an amazing recipe! I decided that I would make sugar cookies for a little friend getogether and they turned out awesome. I would like to say though that all ovens vary so one oven could take 8 minutes to bake to perfection and another 12. I always have and always will bake cookies until golden brown on the edges. I frosted with a family buttercream recipe, rather than a royal icing. I really just think it is a personal preference. I always soften my butter to, and the cookies turn out excellent. I used salted butter, but that was just because it was on hand and I didn’t feel like running 20 minutes to a grocery store to get unsalted butter. Over all, this recipe is AMAZING and would highly suggest it to someone’s else.
(And by the way I rolled out the dough to 1/4 inch thick and I got 29 cookies. But that will always vary depending on cookie cutter size. It would’ve been probably 30 but we probably ate about a cookie of cookie dough.😆)
These cookies suck, idk what ingredient you forgot but doesn’t taste like a sugar cookie.
These cookies are amazing!!!!
Thank you
You saved our Christmas tradition
Moved and packed my moms cookbook she gave me
It has been a nightmare
My recipe I’ve been doing for years can not find
Trying to make Christmas cookies with my granddaughter and i tears because I tried 4 different recipes. None came close to my mine until I found yours on Pinterest!!!!
Thank you for sharing
This is seriously the best cookie dough ever. I’ve been using this recipe for years. I use it all year but double or triple it during the holidays and make cut outs, cookie cups, or add peanut butter, or add mini semi sweet chips, the possibilities are endless. They come out perfect every time, even when I divide the dough to make random cookies.
Every year I make Christmas cookies with my grandchildren. However, this year we are ALL together in Hawai. I packed everything I would need, including cookie cutters and rolling pin! But I needed a recipe that didn’t need chilling. That’s when I found yours! Thank you for the perfect match to this grandmother’s need. A perfect dough, a perfect time making new Christmas memories and a delicious treat to enjoy with everyone afterward! Merry Christmas, Katrina and thank you for sharing!
I am trying to make to sugar cookies but its too crumbly…what can I do to make it so I can roll it and cut it?
Great recipe!
We tried these tonight for Santa’s cookies. They don’t taste like sugar cookies at all, but rather butter/flour cookies. The redemption was that by decorating them, they didn’t end up too sweet on too sweet. Some broke easily, but others didn’t. I’ll keep hunting for our sugar cookie recipe!
Recipe knocked it out of the park! Tried it for first time with my kids tonight Christmas Eve & it worked like a charm. First recipe found when searching for dough that did not require refrigeration. Better, way better than that pillsbury pre made stuff and quick to make. Thanks! Santa will be very pleased this year!
This IS the best no spread cookie recipe ever! Dough was perfect and didn’t need extra flour or water. Kept half a batch in the fridge for 2 days and it was still perfect. I’m no baker but I feel like one with this recipe! Thank you so much!
I just wanted to say I made your sugar cookies for Christmas and they were yummy! Turned out perfectly and were so easy! Thank you so much this will be my life long sugar cookie recipe!
After years of the same recipe, I tried yours. Please note, I am a sugar cookie addict. I loved the cookies. My grandkids loved the cookies. My daughter was skeptical, but ultimately she enjoyed the cookies too. Best of all, my husband really enjoyed the sugar cookies; he was never a fan in the past. The almond extract makes the difference. Simple and quick recipe…I had great results!! I am thankful I found my new “go-to” recipe and that says a lot from a grandma.
Thank you for your recipe, I made these for our annual Santa Cookie tradition. I was very happy with the flavor or the cookie, and they were so easy to cut out. I love how they held their shape! I know Santa loved them, too!
I hosted a Christmas cookie decorating party for friends and neighbors. I used your cookie and frosting recipe. My colors didn’t turn out exactly how I wanted, but I think that was my food colors fault. The cookies still turned out delicious and everyone had so much fun. Thank you for sharing this recipe with us.
These were definitely the best sugar cookies ever! I by chance found your recipe and I’m so glad I did. They were easy to make…its been years since I made a batch of sugar cookies. I don’t like the crispy kind…these were perfect especially with your best cookie icing on top of them! Thank you!!
Hands down, the best sugar cookie recipe I’ve used!!! I reduce the baking powder to 1 1/2 tsp because I was using detailed shapes and wanted the edges to stay extra sharp.
The dough does seem VERY crumbly at first, just keep working it. I rolled my cookies out on parchment, loved that flour wasn’t needed!
If I roll and cut the dough can I freeze the prebaked cookies?
I absolutely LOVE this recipe!! Comes together so easy, not too sticky, almost a play-doh consistency and bakes the softest cookies. Thank you!!
I’ve used this recipe many times and it’s always PERFECT.
I’m wondering though, can I replace part of the flour for cocoa powder to make them chocolate? How much flour would you replace?
Thanks!
YES!! ABSOLUTELY BEST SUGAR COOKIE!!
I’m making Greek Letter cookies for son’s fraternity and daughter’s sorority. 2 separate batches easy to mix up and I have 7 dozen 3” letter cookies! Still have to make 1 more batch (they go to a small school!)
So thrilled w/recipe! Trying your icing tonight. How many high can I stack??
I made these cookies to give to some old friends, and they were quite delectable! Great recipe. I’ll have to make these again some time soon!
HI! Can you freeze and use the dough for another time?
I love this recipe! I just made them and they turned out perfectly and taste really good.
Thank you!!
Tried this after several others and like it the best for cookie making. How do these cookies survive being frozen?
This is my favorite sugar cookie recipe, I stumbled upon your website years ago, (Thanks Pinterest!) and it is now the only sugar cookie recipe I use. I always get amazing reviews, my kids and people who know me request cookies for all special occasions, not just Christmas anymore. I’m about to go decorate my daughter’s unicorn cookies for her birthday party this weekend!!! Thanks a million!
You are right this was the best sugar cookie cut out Joe I’ve ever tried but what happens if you do refrigerate the dough
How long do these stay fresh tasting after baking?
Thanks for the recipe. I must let the dough rest in cool place because they melted in one very BIG cookie 😂 but i don’t mind. Let it cool for 10-20 min ise enough. I have Baker oven, so it IS a little bit slowly cooking, about 15 minuteid until golden edges, after cooling down – nice crispy.
How do you freeze these cookies once they are baked?
I love this recipe ! The cookies tasted amazing ! I do have one quick question though. Even after the cookies completely cooled. Some of them broke very easily when handling them. Is there a way I could make them a little harder perhaps?
How to store the cookies to keep them soft?
Delicious & easy! I added cinnamon sugar and put blueberries mixed with a little sugar, flour, salt and vanilla underneath the cookie dough balls and it was soooo yummy(baked at 375 for about 20 mins)
Making these right now!!!😍
These cookies are the perfect sugar cookie, I’ve been making them for a while. But now I’m vegan so if you could some how make them equally as good vegan that would be even better!
I have made the cookies a few times and they turned out well. Sometimes I have added cinnamon and nutmeg.
Today I made them with an gluten free flour and they were too dry and basically fell apart. Its a shame but I will continue to look for a good gluten free sugar recipe.
Can you explain why the cookies need to be thicker? I’m jumping into the baking scene, and learning to make sugar cookies before my kids birthday…
Me and my roommate just made these and they are such a huge hit
BRAVO! I made both the cookies AND the icing! So, so extremely tasty! The icing tastes like what one gets at a bakery!
Can I use maple flavor in this recipe? Can I use It in place of almond extract? if no, how much do you think i can use for maple flavor?
Do you know what would happen if I used cake and pastry flour?
These cookies were extremely disappointing. They feel apart and were very difficult to decorate. Don’t make if you are going to decorate. I did let them cool completely before trying and they feel apart. Very disappointed kiddies!
This really is the best sugar cookie recipe. I have been free lancing cookie baking for parties for three years now and this is my “go-to” recipe. I have never adjusted the recipe; it is so reliable. The cookies are consistent every single time. Thank you Katrina for posting this awesome recipe! I should have written a reply sooner!
The dough crumbles. Has anyone else had this issue?
I found it looks crumbly at first but it all comes together when you gather it with your hands. The texture is perfect then for rolling
I did too….but i made this batch times 4…i just added more water and kept kneading it until it was the consistency that I wanted. And also worked with smaller portions once it was mostly mixed.
This really is THE BEST sugar cookie recipe! The dough rolled out perfectly, the shapes cut out perfectly, and the cookies baked perfectly. To sum up the recipe in one word…PERFECTION.
I have the Kitchen aid artisan mixer and it is fantastic.Also the Spiralizer
is great for making vegetable noodles.
I always use this recipe for all the holidays and want to take them in for the kids at school, do you think I can replace the almond extract with more vanilla? Thanks for the awesome recipe!
Amazing! This is a perfect recipe! Thank you for perfecting sugar cookies that become whatever the cookie cutter is! Skeleton bones for Halloween!!!!!!
These were hands down the worst sugar cookies I’ve ever made. The dough was difficult to make and knead together because of the overwhelming amount of flour. Once it did, they did bake beautifully and held their shape in the oven. However, they tasted like flour. Not sweet, not buttery, not soft. Floury. I threw the dough out and gave the cooked cookies to my dogs as dog treats.
Truly the best sugar cookie recipe I’ve tried. I replaced the almond extract with lemon extract. I was unsure about not chilling the dough, but it worked! Thank you for sharing your recipe!
This recipe was perfect! I substituted butter vanilla extract for the vanilla, but they came out amazing and so perfect for decorating.
Fantastic cookie! Love that you don’t have to chill. I did just under 3 cups of flour just to be sure it wasn’t to dry. I used my dough hook in my kitchenaide and it was super easy. I also added 1 tsp lemon juice and omitted the almond extract as I didn’t have any. Wonderfully light and fluffy. Will be my go to for sure! I will post a pic if I can figure out how. 🙂
These are delicious! I subbed coconut sugar for regular. The taste is AMAZING! Thank you for a no-chill recipe. My 2yo can barely wait for them to bake, let alone chill. 😆 These will be our recipe for holiday sugar cookies. No need to try others. Thank you!
Wow these delicious and easy to make! I’ve been looking for a good recipe that doesnt spread and is easily decorated 🙂 and the hint of almond is the best! Thanks for sharing!
This is by far the best Sugar Cookie Recipe I have ever used!! It’s always my go to for any holiday or event. No fail, best tasting, easy recipe. Thank you for posting this. I have been making this recipe for years now. 😊❤
At first, the batter was powdery almost, but then we added 3 tablespoons of milk and it turned out alright. We didn’t do anything wrong so not sure what happened there.
I love this recipe! Although I used 2 eggs instead of one cuz it was falling apart.
Well it doesn’t look like there are any comments! So I’m going to leave one! I’ve been using this recipe and ONLY this recipe for over 2 years and I absolutely love it! I’m not sure if you’re the one who came up with it or you’re just sharing it but it is fantastic! Always a win!
This is such a great recipe I LOVE IT. Especially with Christmas right around the corner. You have the perfect sugar cookie dough for the perfect Christmas cookies.
P.S. I used lemon extract instead of the almond extract and it was also very good.
I followed the the directions and they are PERFECT.
Thank you SO much for this recipe. It is my Go To recipe now for Christmas Cookies to decorate with the grandkids. They hold their shape, taste delicious and travel beautifully. Such a simple recipe! I am passing it along to my kids so they can keep the tradition going.
Thanks Again!!
I love this so much, these all look so amazing! I have featured this on my holiday tradition roundup.
Just wondering if you can turn this into a gingerbread recipe for a house, or if you have a go to recipe?
This is my go-to gingerbread recipe https://www.inkatrinaskitchen.com/sweetsugarbelles-favorite-gingerbread/
I use this recipe every holiday season!!! It’s my favorite and it’s so nice how they keep the sharp lines and hold their shape.
My mom is highly allergic to almonds, can you leave the almond extract out and they still look and taste good?
Yes
I made these and the dough worked great but they are SUPER crumbly once cooked. I did varying thicknesses (but mostly 1/4 inch) and cooking times and I couldn’t even pick them up off the cookie sheet.. oh well, to another recipe!
Definitely delicious, but mine did not hold shape at all and needed about 13 minutes of cook time
I don’t need a kitchenaid mixer because I have one lol (and I know that the giveaway has passed). I just wanted to comment that my husband who is the king of “I don’t have a sweet tooth” told me these were the best cookies I’ve ever made and to only make these forever! And that I don’t need to frost them! So thank you for this recipe!
Made this sugar cookie recipe and it is fantastic!! The cookies kept their perfect cookie cutter shape after coming out of the oven! Super soft cookies that taste amazing!
These turned out great! The directions are so thorough and easy, except I didn’t see a couple of minor instructions—I softened the butter at room temperature and baked on ungreased cookie sheets. I only have a hand mixer and had to use several different types of sheets. All of the batches baked perfectly—it’s such an foolproof recipe! The cookies truly taste wonderful even plain. I can’t thank you enough for this. It’s a keeper.
Question- do the cookies freeze well? Un frosted or frosted?
Baked, unfrosted is what I suggest for freezing.
Along with the other 400+ comments – I’ve been making this recipe for the last two years and it is amazing!!! I make 7-10 cookie trays every year and people always comment on how great these cookies are! Thank you!!!!
I made the sugar cookie recipe, and the dough turned out dry and gritty. When I rolled it up, I cut it into slices and it looked like pork tenderloin. Lol
Great Recipe! Baked each pan for seven minutes and they came out perfectly. I loved the no refrigeration option! Will definitely use again.
Is the 1cup butter equal to 250g? I don’t really want to try cram butter into a cup to measure it.
We tried this recipe for the first time last night. Very delicious. Can’t wait to decorate them with my toddlers today. ♡
Wow there is no words but to say these are by far the best cookies I have ever made at the age of 50 the dough is easy to handle, they bake perfect at 6 minutes and the taste is absolutely wonderful thank you so much for sharing your cookie recipe absolutely perfect
How do these taste without frosting? I need a sugar cookie for my daughter to take to school for a project but don’t want to frost them and make them messy.
I was looking for a Christmas cookie recipes for my jobs Christmas party bake off and came across this recipe! These cookies look simple to make and very delicious! Thanks for posting this recipe! Looking forward to making these for the party!
I made these and since I like to bake for others I made this batch times 4….sooooo have a tons of cookies!! Everyone loves them and can’t stop at just one 😁 i used buttercream icing. They will be my go to sugar cookie unless someone has an almond allergy. Thanks for sharing. Wish i could post pictures of my creations lol
These worked great! The dough was so easy to roll out. I added a little (1/4) of an extra egg because it was so crumbly and I needed a little more liquid to help it hold together. I was using really small eggs though. A medium or large egg would probably be enough. I left them in for 7 1/2 minutes and they were still very soft, but not too soft. They tasted very good too. Did not lose their shape at all. I will definitely be using this as my go to recipe from now on. Thank you!
I have very little baking experience, and what I do have is sketchy. I volunteered for the cookie exchange at my son’s school, and I came across this recipe to try. Worst case scenario, I have to buy some to bring. I appreciate you letting us know that the salt can be omitted. My husband has an inner ear condition that is severely effected by his sodium intake. I omitted the salt, realized I didn’t have white sugar, and used brown sugar when I googled to see if I could do so. I have to say, I am having an extremely difficult time NOT eating them all as I pull them out of the oven! I’m still figuring out how to roll the dough to the best thickness, and I can’t seem to not mess up the shapes of the cuts outs when transferring to the baking sheet. But they came out very tasty, and I am looking forward to trying your icing recipe shortly and attempting to decorate!
Thank you for a great recipe.
Definitely needs 2 eggs. I didn’t use the almond extract but I can’t imagine that alone would have made the difference between one egg and two. The dough came together right away as soon as the second egg was added. Once I did that it baked well and tasted great.
Just made this recipe today and they did really well and have a great taste.
This recipe is awful. Crumbly mess. Could not roll it out at all. Tried to save it with a tiny bit of water but just became a slimy mess. What a disappointment. I’ve made tons of sugar cookies and used many recipies for variety, never had this kind of issue.
I love these cookies. I make them every Christmas… I think this will be the 5th year now. The only change I ever make is that sometimes I use lemon extract instead of almond. These are super easy to make and hold their shape perfectly.
That sounds great!
These are soo good and easy!! Perfect texture, no dough chilling and great flavor.
The almond extract is key!
Can you freeze the rolled out cookies before baking, or do you recommend baking them first?
I recommend baking them first.
Just made these! Amazing and delicious. Why did it take so long for me to find this recipe?!? Thank you for sharing. This is my new go-to holiday cookie recipe.
I have a sugar cookie recipe we’ve used for years. They tasted great but sometimes the dough was difficult to work with. I’d volunteered to bake some cut-out sugar cookies for our church youth to decorate. I gave this recipe a try and I’m so glad I did! The dough truly reminds me of Play-doh 😉 and was so easy to work with! It re-rolled and re-rolled without ever getting crumbly or yucky. They held their shape, too…My snowflakes were awesome! This will be my new “go-to” cut-out sugar cookie recipe from now on! Thank you so much for sharing!
I love this recipe for sugar cookies
I also would like to share frosting ideas
I use candy oil flavor to add a Christmas order by using wild cherry and color it pink, hot cinnamon and color red, anise color it purple, speriment color green, naturine color orange, etc..
I use 1 tsp of flavoring per two cups of frosting.
Each cook has up to five different frosting colors.
Cake like cookie like candy = Fun
Well, this is it. THE best sugar cookie recipe for rollout cookies. Just to experiment, I tried tweaking a little bit–a little extra sugar once, a little less butter a second time, a little less butter and more sugar a third. Forget it. ANY changes to this original recipe are going to cause your cookies to spread in the oven. The recipe listed here is it–follow it!! I DID have success with replacing the egg–using flax seed & warm water in place of the egg (this substitution was actually necessary as we have a friend with an egg allergy); and it did not affect the recipe. Note–my dough is always crumbly in the bowl, and I just dump it on my counter (I don’t even put flour down), then start kneading it and pushing the crumbles together. They begin to meld like playdoh (I am guessing it is the warmth of my hands interacting with the butter in the dough), and I have no issues with it after kneading.
These cookies were nasty!! Tasted like flour. There was no sweetness to them at all.
Can you use salted butter?
Yes
This is an amazing recipe! The dough is easy to handle without being chilled and BONUS…I used 3 tablespoons of aquafaba instead of the egg. My 3 year-old grandson is allergic and I was so afraid that he would eat the dough with raw egg in it. The cookies turned out so flaky and he was able to nibble at the dough without worry on my part. This is going to be my ‘go to’ recipe for cutouts from now on. If you are looking for an eggless sugar cookie cutout recipe, this is it!
Thank you so much. My Nana made wonderful Xmas cookies, but we never paid attention to the baking and can’t find her recipe. I attempted cookies with store bought sugar cookie rolls I would cut out into holiday shapes (santa, tree, snowman, etc.,) and store bought frosting, LOL. The cookies always came out in a weird, roundish shape and the icing never hardened. I gave up until today!! I am so excited to try again. My husband begs for these and store bought just won’t do!!! PS.We are in our 70’s
Do you also have a recipe for raisin cookies my Nana also made? These were a round and flat pastry on the bottom, the filling had soft. plump raisins in a brown filling. The top pastry had a small hole. Kind of like a pie with raisin filling. I imagined she cooked the raisins to make the gel and used the special green raisins that are large and soft. Thank you, again
This is by far the worst christmas cookie recipe, in facr it is the worst cookie recipe ever. Make them if you want to ruin christmas cookie time with the kids!
Dear “Joe Schmoe,” I would love to have an open dialogue with you about the recipe but it seems like you would rather hide behind your computer screen and throw insults my way. I’m particularly impressed with the time and care you took to create a special email account [email protected]*****.com. Truly I hope this is an account you check regularly and a place where you can receive my most sincere happy holiday greetings. Because to me it seems like you need a little Christmas cheer. Be best- Katrina
LOOOOOVVVVVEEDDD IT!!! Super easy and came out super yummy, only variation I used was Mexican vanilla instead of regular vanilla and almond extract,Thank you!
This really is the best recipe! I’ve made a few times now and people RAVE over them. So easy too!
I think you said something about leaving out the salt and the cookies being a bit bland because they would be frosted.
If you don’t plan on frosting them, how might you alter the recipe so they are not bland?
Thank you!
I tried this recipe this weekend and it was great, however one side note. Don’t try it with air bake cookie sheets…it takes 3 times as long to get them baked. When I used a regular pan it worked perfectly with the timing provided.
This was the easiest and best sugar cookie recipe EVER! I did have to bake them longer than Katrina recommends but they came out perfect regardless. I took 1/2 the dough for regular sugar cookies and than divided the remainder of the dough into to 2. I than dyed 1/2 red and the other green for my Christmas cookies. When I tell you I used every bit of the dough for cookies, believe me, there was no dough left. The very last morsel of dough, no bigger than a 50 cent piece, was my taste tester. My cookies were for a Christmas party and were a huge hit. Thank you, Katrina.
Great cookie. Dough is crumbly but kneads together as instructed. Good flavor. Cookies retain a sharp shape. Will try to cook less to get the soft cookie; afraid to have raw so I tend to overcook. And thanks for the frosting recipe as well.
This is HANDS DOWN the best sugar cookie recipe I’ve ever made. In fact, until I started making these, I just resolved myself to saying I didn’t like sugar cookies. Until I made these. They make the PERFECT cut outs for decorating, everyone loves the texture, the flavor, the perfect shape. If you follow the recipe exactly, you should have no issues. I’ve made these for the past 4 Christmases for my kids to decorate, for cookie exchanges, for Santa, and I’ll never use another one. THANK YOU!