Best Easy Cut-Out Sugar Cookies Recipe (With Icing)

These are truly the Best Easy Cut-Out Sugar Cookies for the holidays! Soft in the center with crisp, buttery edges, they hold their shape perfectly for decorating with royal icing that shines beautifully on any Christmas cookie tray. A classic holiday sugar cookie recipe that’s fun to bake, decorate, and share all season long.

Try my jumbo sugar recipes, funfetti sugar cookies, or Hershey’s kiss sugar cookies next!

this recipe!

Soft and Buttery Christmas Sugar Cookies – Classic Christmas Cookie Recipe

These holiday cut-out sugar cookies with Royal icing are one the of ultimate signs of the holiday season approaching.

Decorated with shiny royal icing, these holiday sugar cookies are perfect for showing off your festive designs and adding sparkle to any holiday cookie tray!

I have cherished holiday memories of making easy cut-out sugar cookies with my Mom and my aunts in the kitchen growing up.

Why you’ll love these cookies

• Must-bake family tradition holiday classic cookie
• Show off your decorating skills for a show-stopper holiday cookie
• So fun to decorate with the kids during the holidays
• Best sugar cookie recipe to save time make-ahead during the holidays
• Perfect sugar cookie recipe for holiday cookie exchanges and gift giving

Ingredients

• Butter softened at room temperature
• Granulated sugar
• Vanilla extract not almond extract
• All purpose flour
• Baking powder

Substitutions

This is one favorite recipe I do not recommend any substitutions as the measurements for sugar cookie recipes are exact for success. Once you start changing the ingredients or ratios, things can go wrong in a hurry.

Step by step instructions

Make the sugar cookie dough

STEP ONE – Add the butter and sugar to a mixing bowl and beat until smooth and creamy.

STEP TWO – Add the egg, vanilla extract and almond extract and beat until combined.

STEP THREE – In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, corn starch and salt.

STEP FOUR – Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir together until combined into a smooth dough.

STEP FIVE – Shape the dough into a ball with your hands, cover in plastic wrap and place in the fridge to chill for 1 hour.

STEP SIX – Preheat the oven to 350F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Roll out the dough to approx. ¼” thickness and cut out shapes using Christmas themed cookie cutters of your choice.  

STEP SEVEN – Place the cookie shapes on the prepared baking sheets and bake for 10 minutes or until just starting to go golden around the edges.

STEP EIGHT – Leave on the baking sheets for about 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

STEP NINE – MAKE THE ICING – Mix together the powdered sugar and milk until you have a smooth icing. It should be thick enough to pipe but still pourable. To make the different colors, split between a few bowls and mix through a few drops of the food colorings.

STEP TEN – Using a piping bag and narrow nozzle, pipe lines around the edge of each cookie.

STEP ELEVEN – Using a wider nozzle, flood the middle of the lines to fill them in. If you need to make the icing a little runnier, add a few more drops of milk. 

STEP TWELVE – If adding a second layer of icing, allow the cookies to dry for at least 30 minutes first. 

STEP THIRDTEEN – Leave the cookies to dry in the open air at room temperature for at least 6 hours or preferably overnight before touching or stacking.

Variations

Change up the sugar cookie icing with Buttercream frosting instead of the royal icing if you prefer. The zest from citrus fruit would be terrific and also adding in your favorite spices to the cookie dough.

If you do not want to decorate with any icing you can still decorate before baking with your favorite holiday sprinkles or sanding sugar by giving the cookies a milk or cream wash with a pastry brush.

Sandra’s tips for no-spread sugar cookies cut outs

• Pure vanilla extract will give the cookies the best flavor
• Do not overwork the dough
• Keep the dough cold until you bake them
• You can make thicker sugar cookies by rolling them a bit thicker and adding a few minutes to the cooking time, watching closely for the golden brown bottoms
• Know your oven if it bakes high or low adjust accordingly
• Leftover scrap dough after cutting out the sugar cookies can be re-rolled to use again 2 times. You really want to handle the dough as little as possible and not have it get warm.
• Allowing the decorated cookies with icing to harden is very important. If you touch the cookies before they harden you will have fingerprints all over the cookies and the icing will not be as shiny.
• You can put them in the fridge to help make them harden faster

How long should I chill the sugar cookie dough?

Chill for 1 hour.

Storage

Decorated cut out sugar cookies stored in an airtight container can stay fresh for 7 to 10 days. Separating the layers with pieces of parchment paper helps them not too sick to one another for easy serving.

Can you freeze sugar cookie dough?

Yes can, this is a best practice for making these cut our sugar cookies ahead of time to save time during the holidays.

Place the sugar cookie dough in a freezer-safe container for 2 to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight when ready to then roll, bake and decorate.

To freeze cut out sugar cookies wrap the baking sheet with the cookies in plastic wrap and aluminum foil tightly and place in the freezer. Thaw in the fridge or at room temperature then bake and decorate.

Can you make the sugar cookie dough ahead of time?

Yes you can! If you are going to bake them within 5 days you can also wrap the cookie dough in plastic wrap or using an airtight container then place in the fridge for 3 to 5 days until ready to bake.

Can you freeze decorated sugar cookies?

Yes you can. Freeze in a freezer-safe container for 2 to 3 months. Separate any sugar cookie layers with parchment paper. Thaw in the fridge or at room temperature before serving at Christmas time.