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Rolled Cookies 101

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Hey guys! Today I’m back with another post in my serious of – Let’s talk about – baking basics, sugar cookies! Which just so happens to be my fav cookie. Not only are sugar cookies my favorite on the yumminess scale, I really have fun making them. They are so popular this time of year, so I thought this would be a good time to share.

I’ve spent the past few years experimenting with my process and getting them just right. I know I’m not alone here because sugar cookies are always at the very top of my most asked questions, everybody wants to know how I get them to keep their shape, and how they are so soft and light in color. The answer is a routine of little tricks, and a great sugar cookie recipe! Once you’ve got it down, it doesn’t take much extra time, and it’s not hard at all. It’s just a matter of combining a great cookie dough with a few special steps and attention to detail. Of course there are lot’s of different variations of how to get great sugar cookies, this is just how I do of course. Alright now let’s get rolling…(cheesy pun intended). ;)

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First we’ll start with a great recipe. I’ve tried a lot of rolled sugar cookie recipes. And I use a few different depending on what I am doing…but my all time favorite rolled sugar cookie recipe is from Glorious treats found here. It’s sweet, but not too sweet, and light, rolls perfectly, bakes nicely, stays soft, freezes well, decorates great,…and of course it’s pretty easy!

**UPDATE! While I’ve gotten many many successful comments from these cookies, I’ve received a handful of comments stating their cookie dough was super dry or crumbly. No bueno! I have made these cookies for years, in multiple states, and dozens of ovens…without a single problem so I was a little puzzled! So I did a little playing around to see what could be the problem. I believe the biggest culprit is properly measuring flour! Technically speaking, flour should be “scooped” into a measuring cup with a spoon and then leveled off. I have found however, many bakers are packing it in or using the cup to scoop out the flour getting far more flour then is needed. It really can make a BIG difference!**

Here’s what you will need:
3 cups flour (do not firmly pack)
1 tsp. baking powder
1 cup unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract (I use clear)

**I GENERALLY AM ABLE TO MAKE 18-24 COOKIES PER BATCH OF DOUGH. HOWEVER, THIS VARIES WITH EACH PERSON DEPENDING ON THE THICKNESS  OF DOUGH THEY USED AND THE SIZE OF THE CUTTER**

**THIS RECIPE WORKS BEST MADE IN A KITCHEN MIXER, BUT CAN BE MADE WITHOUT**

About a half hour before I pull out my butter and egg and let them sit on the counter. You don’t want to over soften your butter. If you forget do not stick it in the microwave. Just chop it up in several little pieces before starting…because I tend to not plan my baking, I do this a lot :).

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Step 1: In a separate mixing bowl whisk together flour and baking powder.

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Step 2:  In the bowl of a kitchen mixer, beat together unsalted butter and sugar. Once mixed well, add in egg. Mix again, then add in vanilla. I like to use my Kitchen aid and paddle.

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Step 3: Slowly add in flour mixture about a cup at a time. Mix until dough forms and begins to clump together. If your dough is still crumbly, keep mixing! My dough starts out crumbly and then comes together to form a really nice dough!

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Step 4: Gather up dough and knead it with hands until it’s nice and smooth (if needed). Roll it into a ball, wrap with plastic wrap, and place in fridge to chill. I like to let min chill about 20 minutes. You will want it to be kind of firm but not hard. If it’s too hard…just leave it out on the counter for just a little bit until it softens up. Then you can work it a little bit to soften it back up. Even if it’s rock hard it will come back to a nice workable dough – you can speed up the process by breaking it in two and kneading it until it gets softer.

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Now that you have your dough it’s time for the fun part!

Step 1: Preheat your oven to 350 and line a large cookie sheet(s) with parchment paper. Another option is to use the silicone baking mats made especially for treats like this! I personally have had them on my list forever, but just haven’t baked with them yet! Many bakers I know swear by theirs…but parchment paper will do the trick. Maybe santa will bring me some this year ;). **update- I santa did bring me one! I do use it and it works great, but since I only have one I also rely on my good old parchment paper!**

Step 2: Roll out the dough. I like to do so in between a lightly flour dusted sheet of parchment paper (on bottom) and wax paper (on top). You can use two sheet of wax paper or parchment paper if you would like. The purpose of the papers is it keeps the dough very smooth, leaving no marks from the rolling pin. The reason why I use one of each is I like the flexibility of the wax paper on top and I like the parchment paper on bottom because it’s heavier and if I am cutting a difficult shape I can bake right on the paper that it was cut on after removing excess dough.

The other thing you will notice is my rolling pin. I adore this rolling pin. The spacers allow my dough to roll perfectly even, and there are three different thicknesses to chose from. Before I bought this rolling pin however, I simply laid two dowel rods on each side of the dough and rolled the rolling pin over them to make a guide, cheap and works like a charm. If I want a thick cookies (like these) I use the 3/8 guide (or dowel rods) or for a bit thinner cookie I use the 1/4 guide (or dowel rods).

Just one more thing. The wax paper can wrinkle and leave marks on the dough. When I first lay my ball of dough down I use my hands and push it flat just a bit, then lay my wax paper over, so my rolling pin can then roll it out smooth. Whew…did you catch all that?

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Step 3: Cut out cookies. Once my dough is rolled out I use my cookie cutters to cut out the shapes. If the cookies are sticking in the cutter you can lightly dust it with flour to help. For the most part the cookies will stay right in the dough where you cut them. Once your done cutting all the cookies, tear away the excess dough. Then you can gently lift the cookies by pulling up the edge of the parchment paper and gently transferring the cookie from the paper to your lined baking sheet with my hand. Another way of doing this is simply cutting the shapes out where they will need to be to bake, then remove the dough and bake right on the sheet. This keeps the cookies from stretching at all BUT it limits the amount of dough you can use the first round. And the less times a dough has been rolled the better. So unless I’m cutting a really delicate cookie, I just carefully transfer them.

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Step 4: Once cut out and laid on a cookie sheet place the cookie sheet in the freezer for about 2-4 minutes depending on the size. This really helps the cookies keep their shape. Once they have chilled for a few pop them in the oven. Baking times really really depend on size of cookie. These cookies were about 2.5 inches and baked perfectly at 7 minutes. Simply turn your oven light on and start the timer for six minutes. Check them then and add a minute or two as needed. I like my cookies to be really soft so I pull them about just when I notice the very the “moist” look of the dough is gone on top or if I notice any bit of golden on the bottom. I am a burn-a-phob so I like to pull them out when they are just baked.

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Step 5: After removing them from the oven I let them sit on the warm pan for a minute or two. This gives them a minute to firm up and bakes just a bit more…which helps since I pull them out so soon!  Then I carefully grab the edges of the parchment paper and slide them off, parchment paper and all, onto wire cooling racks. It helps SO much to pull them off still on the parchment paper. Using a spatula often squishes them, or even breaks them.

Step 6: Once the cookies are cool I use a spatula and gently stack them as I bake more.

Once you’ve got this process down it won’t seem complicated at all. Those extra steps are completely routine for me now. It’s important to get a “grove” down if your baking lots and lots of them. This past week I baked over 12 dozen sugar cookies. When doing this many I bake while the kiddos are sleeping of course and I find a rhythm. When the timer on the oven hits 2 minutes I would pop the next tray of cookies in the freezer. Then when the time went off I would pull the baked cookies out, let them sit on the stove a minute to firm up, pull the cookies out of the freezer, place them in the over, reset the timer, arrange the previously cooled cookies on the cooling rack to make more room, pull the hot cookies off the pan and onto the cooling rack…..then I would go back to rolling out cookies and placing them on cookie sheets. Until the timer hit 2 minutes…then I would start the process again. It might seem a little crazy to read but it’s really not that complicated. Like I said just a few extra steps and a routine. Soon you’ll be cranking out beautiful perfectly shaped sugar cookies. This time around every single cookie in my 12 dozen turned out, no over baking, no breaks, not even a kind of misshapen one. My husband, quality control, was devastated. Poor guy. You should have seen his face when he learned they were all going straight to the freezer…oh man.

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A few more things.

Bake similar sized cookies together. If you have a tiny cookie and a large cookie the smaller one is sure to over bake.
Less flour is better. With this process there is really no need to go crazy on flour (yay!) just dust your parchment paper/wax paper lightly and your good to go.

If you have a cutter that’s sticking especially due to small parts, rub a little bit of flour on it.

If your in a time pinch, you can let the dough chill in the freezer for about 5 minutes.

New dough is best. Try to cut out as many as you can each time you roll the dough out.

It’s best to wait a day after they are baked, as sometimes oil leaks through to the icing.

Store cookies in an airtight container, and decorate within a week.

To freeze cookies simply stack in an airtight container and freeze for up to a month.

There are many awesome cookie decorators out there, for more information and lot’s of help decorating visit some of these sites:

Sugarbelle
Munchkin Munchies
Glorious Treats
The Decorated Cookie

If you have any awesome tricks that work for you, please share…I’d love to give them a try!

Rolled Sugar Cookies

Ingredients

  • 3 cups flour (gently leveled NOT packed firm)
  • 1 tsp. baking powder
  • 1 cup unsalted butter
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Instructions

  1. In a separate bowl whisk together flour and baking powder.
  2. Beat together unsalted butter and sugar. Once mixed well, add in egg. Mix again, then add in vanilla. I like to use my Kitchen aid and dough hook.
  3. Slowly add in flour mixture about a cup at a time. Mix until dough forms and begins to clump together.
  4. Gather up dough and knead it with hands until it's nice and smooth. Roll it into a ball, wrap with plastic wrap, and place in fridge to chill. I like to let min chill about 20-40 minutes. You will want it to be kind of firm but not hard. If it's too hard...just leave it out on the counter for just a little bit until it softens up. Then you can work it a little bit to soften it back up.
  5. Bake at 350, time will depend on cookies size and thickness. Normally between 7-11 minutes.
https://makebakecelebrate.com/lets-talk-about-rolled-sugar-cookies/

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Comments

  1. I’m going to try this. I cannot make this type of rolled cookie to save my soul. I usually make a “cake style” cookie (Banana Chocolate Chip). But decorated sugar cookies just says Christmas to me!

  2. Good day! Does the rate of your posting depend on something or you compose blog articles when you have an inspiration or free time on that? Waiting forward to hear from you.

  3. Thank you so much for this amazing recipe. You explain clearly and well. I appreciate your sharing your expertise with us.

  4. I’m just getting into cookie decorating – mostly for my 6 grandkids. I have read thru many blogs and they all say that you can freeze the cookies for decorating later. Have you or anyone had any experience freezing the dough and then baking the cookies? I prefer the cookies to be freshly baked but I wanted to know if anyone found this to be successful.

    • Hello there! I honestly have never froze the dough to bake at a later date. I did a little googling and it seems that people have great success freezing cooie dough! (http://baking.about.com/od/cookies/qt/freezingdough.htm) I can tell you however, with this particular recipe I have had fantastic experience freezing the baked cookies! I just recently froze dozens and dozens of these cookies over Christmas, and every time I would pull some out I would I would always taste test. Each time I was totally amazed at how fresh they tasted! I couldn’t tell a difference at all! I have also been playing around with freezing decorated cookies. I know a lot of people complain about spots forming once thawed. This last time I left the cookies out to dry a bit longer then normal then froze loose in a container, layered with wax paper. When I pulled them out I laid them on a paper towel and they were perfect! Hope that helps a bit, sorry I didn’t have better info on freezing the dough myself.

      • Thanks Toni! I wish I had tons of freezer space to bake the cookies in advance – it would certainly be a time saver to cook a couple of pans each evening. Unfortunately I just don’t have the space to layer the cookies in the containers and then freeze them, whereas a couple of “pillows” of frozen dough can be stuffed in pretty easily.
        I think I will clean out the freezer tho!

        • hi crystal just wanted to share that i made sugar cookie wedding dresses for my daughters wedding, i froze decorated cookies and undecorated cookies for two months in zip lock bags and the boxed them. guest at the wedding commented that they were the best sugar cookies and the softest they had ever tasted.

          • Fantastic! Thanks of sharing :).

          • Hi, I used to work at McDonald’s as a teenager. Every one of their cookies is actually frozen as dough in the cookie form and taken straight from the freezer, plopped onto a baking sheet and then baked. I believe that their temp is a little lower and they bake an extra minute but the dough is good to go from freezer to oven. I myself would test it out with a cookie or two until I got the right temp and time, but it does for sure work.

    • I have a sugar cookie business and I have frozen my dough a lot. But be sure to freeze it right away to preserve the baking soda/powder (Whichever you use) chemistry. If you leave it in your fridge for very long (I found about 4 days max), that the chemistry’s purpose tends to wear off and you will end up with really dense sugar cookies. I would probably say the dough in the freezer will be fine for about 2 months. Hope that helps!
      And I also freeze already baked cookies a lot as well. That is a HUGE time saver!

  5. Thank you for the recipe. I baked these today. The baking time should be 10 minutes if baking at 350 degrees and in a conventional oven else the outside crust is done but inside is unbaked. :(

    • Hi there! Thanks for stopping by! The amount of time each cookie needs to be baked will vary greatly depending on your oven, cookie sheets, liner, cookie thickness, ect. ect. In this scenarios I baked mine for about 7 minutes and they were perfectly cooked inside and out. Since this post was featuring the technique and tricks of baking great rolled cookies I did not give it a set time. Step 4 will give you a little more info on adjusting your time to get the cookies just right! Happy baking :).

  6. TIP:
    If you use powdered sugar instead of flour for dusting surfaces it doesn’t dry out your cookies. Thanks for this recipe!! I can’t wait to try it!!

  7. Like many people, I’m always looking for that perfect roll out cookie and keep trying recipes. This one is easy to make, and roll out. The flavor, when baked, is excellent! I made jelly sandwich cookies, cutting a little heart shape into the top cookie, where the raspberry jam showed through. I wanted to send a pic but couldn’t find your email address.

    • Hi Annie! I’m glad you enjoyed the cookies, I really love this recipe. I would love to see a picture, just click on the “say hello” link on the sidebar to the right and it will pop up for you to send a message :)

      • I have been looking for a recipe that keeps its shape better without jeopardizing taste. I normally use the Wilton recipe because I LOVE the flavor. These cookies were great at shape and color however I don’t believe the taste is as great as Wilton’s (my opinion of course). I thought they were a little too floury tasting. But your tips and guidance were fantastic. Thanks for sharing!!!

        • Hi Isa,

          I was reading your post and would like to try the Wilton cookie recipe you spoke of. Can you send it to me or tell me where I can find it. We love sugar cookies and want to see which one we like better.

          Thanks

          • Hi Sasha, you can fine the Wilton sugar cookie recipe on Pinterest. Just search Wilton sugar cookie recipe and it will come right up.

          • Hi, I haven’t try any of the recipes, but I think this one is kind of easy to remember since it’s basically “1” TSP or “1” cup and the only thing that’s different is the flour which is “3”. So… it;s like the three one recipe ;)
            One questions though, how many cookies can you make?

          • The amount of cookies you can make vary by the thickness you are rolling out and the size of the cookie cutter you are using, so there’s no real “perfect answer” but I normally get a good 18- 24 cookies out of each batch. Hope that helps!

      • What about for high altitude does it change the recipe?

        • I am currently living in a high altitude and have experienced no difference from living in a lower altitude state. :)

  8. Where did you get the stickers “{flour}” for your jar? I have those jars and would love to have stickers for them. :)

    • if you look up flour vinyl on etsy.com there are many different options for vinyl stickers.

    • Hey Stacey! I actually cut the wording out in Vinyl with my Cricut cutting machine and then used it as a stencil to paint it on. :)

  9. That rolling pin is awesome. I’m in the market for a new one.

    My friends always ask me how I get my cookies so perfectly shaped. I roll my dough between a couple a couple sheets of parchement paper and use dowels I picked up at Home Depot for a few cents in order to get the perfect thickness. The only thing I do differently is I roll my dough out while it’s still soft, then put the rolled dough in the freezer, then cut my cookies out. This works well for little tiny shapes, like the kind that are supposed to be used for fondant. Just wanted to throw that out there.

  10. These cookie look delicious! I want to make them so bad because my husband loves sugar cookies. Unfortunately I don’t have parchment paper or silicon baking sheets. Is there another alternative? I have dark pans that are supposedly non stick but you never know. And I have lighter pans. I usually end up using Pam but I’m worried about ruining the integrity of the cookies? I don’t know I’m new to this whole baking thing :) let me know!

  11. What kind of flour should I use? All-purpose?

  12. Do you have to use unsalted butter? What would the results be if i used salted butter?
    Thanks :)

  13. How many cookies does one batch of dough make?
    Thanks!

    • Hi Cathy! This is a really tricky question to answer because every batch will make a different amount depending on how thick you roll your cookies and how big the cutter is.I can generally get 2-3 dozen out of this recipe with a average size cutter. Sorry I couldn’t be more specific!

  14. PlanoCook says:

    Nice recipe. Very similar to Wilton’s Vanilla Sugar Cookie On A Stick, yum.

  15. I made this cookie recipe to try it out this week and was wondering why there was no salt listed in the ingredients. I find salt tends to balance out the sweetness in other recipes and although this recipe didn’t seem overly sweet, I was just curious if the salt was removed to keep the chemistry of the batter from changing or if it was just for flavor. Thanks for the info.

    • Hi Clarissa! I do not think that a small amount of salt would change this recipe at all! Also, you can use regular salted butter if you would like. I personally feel that this sugar cookie is not too sweet and has a nice soft flavor so I prefer it without the salt :)

  16. I just mixed up some of this dough! I don’t have a great mixer- so I ended up finishing it off by hand- but I love the way it turned out! I even colored it red (using gel colors) for Valentine’s Day. I’m going to cut them into heart shapes to make sandwich cookies. It’s so hard to do it with regular rolled cookie dough sometimes because they have a tendency to spread a bit (even if they aren’t supposed to!). I added more vanilla than it called for because I wanted them to have a strong vanilla flavor- but I think they’re going to turn out fantastic. Thank you so much for sharing your recipe!

    • Awesome! Glad to hear you like it as much as me, don’t forget to send me pictures of your cute cookies! Love seeing other’s work :).

  17. I made these cookies on Saturday night so the kids could decorate them for Valentine’s Day. I got three dozen out of the recipe, but they were way too thin. I thought they needed to be a little sweeter as well, but don’t dare adding sugar next time as the dough was VERY crumbly and it took about 5 minutes to put it all together into one big piece to put in the fridge. I think more sugar would make the dough even more crumbly. The cookies also have a weird smell to me – a playdough like smell. I could kind of taste the smell too. Does that even make sense? Haha! Anyways, I will try this recipe again, but might try a few different things to make the dough not so crumbly.

    • Hi Kayleigh! I am so sorry you’re having a bad experience with the recipe :(. You can sweeten the cookies up a bit by adding more vanilla to strengthen the flavor. For the thickness in this photo I used a 3/8in guide, but 1/2in works well too. I honestly can’t imagine they would bake well at higher then a half inch. I’m really stumped on the crumbly part…I have honestly made this recipe over 100 times in several different part of the country even, and I have never had anything other then a great rolling dough and it has never smelled funny either. I wonder if maybe one of your ingredients was pasted it date or expirations? This dough should a very soft but sweet smell. The only thing I can think of that it might have been crumbly is maybe it wasn’t left to mix long enough? Also leaving it chill for longer in the fridge also helps with dry dough. Again, I am sorry you had complications with the dough and if you try it again let me know if it works out!

    • Hello, I know this is a late reply but I have a tip, next time you make these cookies try softening one stick of butter so that it is a little runny but not completely water like. Hope that helps

  18. Are there any adjustments I need to make for high altitude? I’m at about 5,000 ft above sea level. Thanks!

    • Hi Marisa! I am so sorry but I honestly do not have a credible answer for you. I do not have experience with this particular recipe at that altitude. Due to our military status I can tell you we have moved around lots in the last few years and I have baked these same cookies all over the US without a problem! We are currently only 1,700 feet above sea level right now, so we are no where near you guys! If I can find a better answer I will be sure to let you know.

    • I live at about 5,000 ft and make a very similar recipe to this often. I never have an issue. I even make them without eggs sometime because I have kids who are allergic and they turn out beautifully.

    • Made these today (living at 4800 ft) and they were a total flop (been making sugar cookies for about 20 years). Ended up smashing the dough into two cake pans and making cookie pizzas out of them- wondered if the elevation had anything to do with it, or maybe the lack of humidity here in the high desert. Anyway, won’t be making them again, and sadly, I don’t have any high altitude tips to share, but thought you might like to hear from someone in the same boat. I have always had good success with the Betty Crocker sugar cookie recipe, and I guess I’ll be returning to that one.

      • Sorry to here you had a bad experience! I am currently living in high altitude as well as in the dessert and made these about 8 times this last month – all came out great! Not sure where the problem is :(.

  19. I just tried this recipe today to make heart shaped cookies for my husband. His favorite is rolled sugar cookies, kind of a big kid.
    The recipe worked out fairly well, however it seemed too dry. When I compared it to other recipes this one was shy on eggs, so I added an additional egg and that helped immensely. The tips for using the thickness guides and rolling between a layer of parchment and waxed paper worked beautifully! I was very pleased with how perfectly they turned out. Thank you for sharing!

    • No problem, I wonder if possibly the humidity in the air might cause that? Mine is always a really great texture, however, if I ever have a problem with dough I have found a bit of chilling int he refrigerator helps out with that a lot! Thanks!

  20. These look awesome! {-smile-} I noticed your photo of ingredients.. have you ever seen of/heard of/tried Nielsen Massey Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla? It’s top of the line. Try it if you haven’t. Yumm.

    • I have heard of it, and I will definitely have to put it on my list to try! I explain a lot in my posts that I often stick with easy to obtain and name brand items, due to the fact that we are military and find ourselves in new locations ever year or two…and my blog’s goal is to help provide easy tasty yet adorable treats for life’s celebrations. So I like to use ingredients I like, that I know my readers can also get their hands on. Thanks for the recommendation!!

  21. As a Brit. I measure by weight – do you melt your butter to get it into a cup? Any chance of also giving ingredients in ounces/grams for your European/British followers?

    • Hi there! 1 cup of butter is equivalent to 8oz, each stick is generally 4oz. You definitely do not want to melt the butter, it will change the entire structure of the dough ;). I am not sure I will always be able to over conversions for my awesome readers across the ocean, but I will see what I can do! Thanks!

    • Donna Ricketts says:

      I’m a Brit too and you can get measuring cups from loads of places. Once you get into using cups it makes baking and cooking much faster! You can, of course, use anything as the “cup” from an egg-cup to a bucket; just be sure to use the same thing every time. :)

  22. What position do you place your oven racks when baking and will baking more than one pan at a time cause the cookies to bake unevenly?

    • I am super picky so I only bake one cookie sheet at a time, just in case! lol. I do keep my racks in the very center of the oven. If both oven racks are close tot he center of the oven it should not have an uneven effect on your cookies. What you do want to watch out for is baking different size cookies at the same time. I always bake same size cookies with each other to insure they will all bake the same amount! Hope that helps :).

  23. Hi, how many cookies does this recipe make?

    • Anna Sullivan says:

      I made two batches of these cookies and used a rather big cookie cutter and got about fifty cookies. They were thinner than how the pictures above show but thats how I like them! Hope this helps!

  24. Thanks so much for sharing this. I had signed up to provide sugar cookies for my girl’s preschool class to decorate for their Valentine’s party – these were perfect!

  25. Irene McLendon says:

    Made these tonight for my oldest son and his sweetie for Valentine’s day. I will gift them with the cutter I used, a Valentine kitchen towel along with a copy of your recipie. They look delish. Sad I cannot taste, eating low carb these days but the smell wonderful! :-)

  26. Oh my goodness!! This really is the best sugar cookie recipe!! Thank you so much for sharing! I just got done making 30 heart shaped for my daughters kindergarten class =)

  27. Thank you for the great recipe! I live in Thailand and cookies NEVER turn out right here due to the high humidity. I was worried, but decided to give these a try. I wasn’t able to follow all your techniques (my freezer is way to small to hold a tray of cookies – even a plate of cookies!) but popping them in and out of the fridge and rolling between sheets of parchment were great ideas. I also didn’t have any dowels (or the cool rolling pin that you have!) but I do have MANY pens for crafts. I used a couple of triangle shaped pens for height and the cookies were PERFECT! Thank you for letting me give beautiful valentine cookie for a change!

  28. Christi Roberts says:

    Where did you find your rolling pin?

    Thanks,
    Christi

    • Hello Christi! I actually purchased this rolling pin and Country Sweetart Kitchen. The link located within the post :).

  29. This recipe is great! Thanks for sharing it! Only one problem… I followed the instructions and used only a teaspoon of baking powder but my cookies are not as flat as yours, they raised a bit which is a concern when I will try to decorate them. Any tip would be much appreciate! Thanks again!

  30. redjanfan says:

    Easter is around the corner, I bought the cutest little rabbit cutter and the Grandkids are here so it’s Cookie Time! I pinned your recipe a while back and now I’m giving it a go with the kids, we’ll decorate with coloured sugar and enjoy all week. Hopefully there’s some left when their Dad comes to pick them up! lol

  31. Michelle says:

    I simply cannot *wait* to try your cookie recipe. When I saw your photo, I was reminded that, depending upon the circumference of your finished cookies, a thoroughly cleaned Pringles canister makes a great container/gift presentation for round cookies. Just wrap the outside of the container with some really cute scrapbook paper and transform it into a wonderful gift! I will, for sure, be making these soon! Thanks again for sharing!! =)

  32. I made these cookies today and they turned out beautifully. Thanks for the awesome recipe. My kids are decorating them for Easter. The taste is great without icing.

  33. Is it a tablespoon or teaspoon? They taste great, just a touch flat!

  34. I used this recipe as a base for our fruit pizzas this mothers day. Thanks for a great recipe http://katescreativekitchen.blogspot.ca/2013/05/mini-fruit-pizza.html

    • Awesome we LOVE fruit pizzas in the summer and I have been wanting to try mini ones for awhile now – they look great, awesome job!

  35. Thank you so much for the recipe… I am pinning!

  36. dahlia brown says:

    I was never satisfied with past sugar cookies recipes that I have tried, however this recipes is one of the BEST! thank you for sharing this very delicious sugar cookie recipe!

  37. Ellie Farlow says:

    Could you bake these cookies with salted butter?

  38. kalohilani says:

    I’m planning my daughters birthday and found a company on Etsy to have my cookies made…3 dozen for $144/plus shipping. OUCH!

    I thought…I can do this! So I started looking around Pinterest and came upon your recipe.

    I just made 30 cookies from your recipe and they turned out perfectly. I did have to cook up to 11 minutes (surprised on how different ranges can be). I also couldn’t find clear vanilla…but did find Powdered vanilla that offers a light color.

    I’m so happy that I found this…and practiced early (her party is in October).

    Thank you for a great tutorial!

    • Awesome! That’s exactly how I got started! I paid a fortune for my twins 1st party. Did you see my tutorial for making royal icing an decorating?

      • kalohilani says:

        I did! I’m waiting for the ingredients (Amazon) to come to try out my steady hand :)

        Love that you have twins and can make all this happen. I have 8 month old twins too. Their 1st party is in November……so tired! LOL!!

    • You can find clear vanilla, (Wilton’s Imitation Clear Vanilla Extract, $4.99 for a 8oz. bottle), at Hobby Lobby or Michael’s or at most Cake, Candy, Cupcake & Cookie Supply stores. Check your Yellow Pages. Hope this helps.

  39. So i have my sisters bridal shower this weekend and was wondering if you think these cookies would work to make mini sugar cookie fruit pizzas? I hate making the big one and haven’t found a recipe i like. Has anyone tried this?

    • Yes they do! They make great mini fruit pizzas! I’ve done so before but never got around to posting about them. Hope the shower is wonderful!

  40. can you make it with oil instead of butter?

  41. Hey there,
    I tried these and LOVE them. Also did some variations that are really delicious! Try adding 1/2 cup sugar, 5 drops essential oil of lemon and zest of 1 lemon. GREAT!!!! For tea cookies I added the same extra sugar and 1 Tbsp. ground Earl Grey tea leaves. That one was the best! BTW, the extra sugar was to make up for no frosting.

  42. I baked mine on a silpat and it crinkled up in the oven so the cookies are not flat but slightly rumpled. I made 4 in hearts so…… kinda big cookies. What can I do so that doesn’t happen again besides using parchment paper??

  43. When making your sugar cookies, do you use unbleached white flour or regular? Does it make a difference?

    Thanks

  44. just wondering how they come out using cookie cutters , do they hold there shape ?

    • These cookies hold their shape very well! Especially if you follow the same baking process. Sticking the entire tray in the freezer for a few before baking helps a ton with holding shape.

  45. I tried this recipe exactly how you suggested however, I found that the paddle attachment on the KitchenAid rather than the dough hook worked much better. With the dough hook it was way too crumbly but with the paddle it was perfect. These cookies are light and fluffy, not too sweet but they will soon by iced so that will add a bit more sweetness to it. Overall, I’m very excited that I have a great cookie recipe for my daughter’s first birthday party! Thank you for sharing!

  46. Hello, Toni! Today I made my first batch of sugar cookies following this recipe. They look adorable and taste good! I’m letting them settle today. And tomorrow I’m starting to decorate! I had to adjust the recipe to grams because we don’t use cups as a usual measurement in Argentina. I’ll send photos of the cookies once decorated. Thank you for sharing! Gracias!! Greetings from Buenos Aires!!

  47. i was interested in all the kneading in this recipe… that doesn’t develop the gluten and make them tough?

  48. Instead of putting dough in a ball, shape it into disc before freezing – makes it easier to start rolling, especially if a little too hard.

  49. Does this dough hold its shape while baking?

    • It hold it’s shape very well. If you follow the process in the post it will get you about as close to cookie cutter shape as possible. :)

  50. Hey! I was wondering if anyone has tried these without eggs…..Have a lot of friends who cannot eat egg…. Or else can anyone suggest a good alternate eggless recipe i can try?

    • Trying Them Right Now! I Have Used Ener-G Replacer In The Pat And Hated It… But Baking Is Tough For Replacement. So I’m Giving It Another Go. I Couldn’t Get The Crumbly Texture To Knead Out, So I Tossed In About A Tsp Of OJ (For Flavor Enhancement) And A Tbs Of Buttermilk. It Came Together Beautifully, And Kneaded Well. Its Chilling Now, But I Expect Good Results!

    • Just Wanted To Share Some Of My Egg Replacing Tips, Too! I Make The BEST Brownies Now That I Use Pumpkin Puree To Replace Eggs! The Texture Is Better Than Conventional Recipes, And Chocolate Totally Masks Any Flavor. Just A Heaping Tbs For Each Egg. This Is Great For Pancakes, Too! :)

  51. I was wondering is it a teaspoon or tablespoon for the baking powder and vanilla? The big letters in the recipe TSP is throwing me off. I am used to teaspoon being lowercase letters. Thanks, can’t wait to try.

  52. Hey Toni, I don’t think I’ve seen this before. Thanks so much for the shout out, especially among such awesome cookie decorators! <3

  53. i did it and it was delicious. This cookies are soft and the level of sugar is perfect. Thanks for the recipe.

  54. Hi,
    This will be my first time making sugar cookies, and I’m very excited to try this recipe (I’m actually baking it as I type lol) I just had a question in regards to freezing. If you freeze them after baking, do you just thaw them out and decorate when you are ready to use them?

    • Yep! Just let them come back to room temp and you’re ready to decorate! Make sure you let them completely come to room temp though because if it is still frozen when decorated eventually as it thaws that moisture may soak into your icing.

  55. I found them dry, difficult to roll, and they tasted very floury. Is there something I did wrong? I followed the recipe closely.

    • Is it possible you under mixed them? The dough will by dry and clumpy at first but if you continue to let it mixes it comes together to a really nice dough! :)

  56. Marguerite says:

    I am using a pumpkin cookie cutter and want to use something other than vanilla for flavoring. What about maple or cinnamon? Any others you might recommend? How much would I substitute?
    Thanks!

    • I make cookies similar to these and I like to add a little almond flavoring, in addition to the vanilla flavor. It adds a little extra flavor that everyone loves.

  57. My cookies turned out amazing!! Hoping my icing turns out as beautiful as yours! Thank you!

  58. Hey Toni
    Thank you so much for taking the time to write down these instructions. I’ve never made sugar cookies before cause they seemed so hit n miss as to whether or not they would turn out. I followed your recipe to the letter and bingo….perfect. So thanks again. Oh, one question….how many times do you think would be too many times to reroll out the dough after you’ve cut out a batch?

    • Honestly, as long as you aren’t using too much flour on your wax paper (I often don’t use any at all anymore!) and keep your dough from getting too warm…you should be good to roll until the dough it used up!

  59. Just wanted to send a kudos on an excellent recipe! This is the only recipe I’ve found that I haven’t had to alter to get a good tasting cookie. I almost hate to share it with my girl friends.

  60. Has anyone ever tested them with gluten free flour? Unfortunately i have no experience with it :-(

  61. Made these, colored them red and cutout apples! Decorated leaves with icing and green sugar and iced bottoms with beige icing and gold sugar so they looked like caramel apples! Love this easy recipe for cut outs!

  62. Just wanted to comment on your rolling pin. I found rolling pin guide rings, they slide onto the ends on your rolling pin. There are three different sizes. Great alternative to purchasing a new rolling pin. I bought mine at A.C. Moore also saw them at Sur la Table. Cost about $5.00.

  63. Finally found a good sugar cookie that everyone loves~ So I had to post a comment, thanks!! :)

  64. This may be a dumb question but when you write TSP do you mean teaspoon or tablespoon. I grew up with tsp or t being teaspoon and TBSP or T being tablespoon.

  65. I finally found a sugar cookie recipe that actually works! Thanks so much!

  66. I HAD to leave a comment on this because this recipe is AMAZING! The reason I am SO overly happy with it is because I am intolerant to gluten so usually when I substitute gluten-free flower into a recipe everything falls apart, but these cookies not only stayed together but they taste amazing too ( which is also sometimes a challenge)!!!! Thank you for sharing! (P.s. for any other celiac/G-free folk out there I used 3 different flowers; 1/3 parts bobs red mills GF, 1/3 parts coconut flower, 1/3 parts almond flower)

  67. I was wondering if you have a good cookie frosting. More like a glaze for these cookies. They look amazing by the way!

  68. Hi Toni! I just tried your sugar cookie recipe, I have been baking for many years,and never came across this particular sugar cookie, they are so tender and soft! I decorated them
    For Christmas and they look just awesome! Thanks for sharing!

  69. I followed this recipe and it was way to dry….. and no flavor even after I added almond flavoring. Will never make them again

  70. Thank you for the recipe!
    I just made mine today and will decorate next week. ;)
    http://love-homemade.blogspot.com/2013/12/rolled-sugar-cookies.html

  71. Wish I had seen this site yesterday before I made all my sugar cookie dough and froze it.

  72. Would adding more sugar make them a little sweeter tasting?

    • Yes, it would, but it would also make the top of your cookie crack if you use too much. The recipe I normally use, calls for 2 cups and I actually add an extra 1/2. They taste just like the cookie bouquet cookies, but the tops always crack. It doesn”t really matter though if you are icing them.

  73. The dough was never uncrumby! I mixed it forever! I even walked away to go do something else while it continued. I finally added some water and it came out cookie-like anyway. I was icing them, so the taste was fine, I guess.

  74. If i dont have parchment paper.. would wax paper work the same with baking and what not?

    • Sorry but parchment is key here! Wax paper can not be used in the oven. However, there are times where I have ran out and used foil! The cookies brown a little more and the foil is much more fragile so you have to be a little more careful but it can be done.

  75. This is a great recipe and works brilliantly thank for all the great tips as well :)

  76. Thank you so much for the recipe. I made these tonight in lieu of my regular recipe that I love. This one was so much better as my tops stayed nice and flat. No cracking! I do wish they were sweeter, however, I’m thinking once I ice them they will be perfect!

  77. Toni, Thanks so much for the great sugar cookie recipe. They are great tasting and easy to put together. But mine did spread beyond there orginal shape, any suggestion?

  78. Amber Hoekstra says:

    Hello!
    I love the cookies, just wondering how long before can you prep the royal icing?
    I am making cookies saturday. Do I have to make the icing the day of, or can I make it tonight and put in the fridge?
    Thanks,
    Amber

  79. Janice MacMillan says:

    Always on the lookout for a good rolled sugar cookies recipe. The flavor was good on these but were a tad on the dry side. Any suggestions?

  80. I made these with my 3 girls today (ages 3, 6, and 10). They turned out better than any sugar cookie recipe I’ve ever tried! Thanks so much!

  81. they do look perfect!

  82. Hi

    Have you ever had spots appear on your cookies after they have been flooded? I flooded them 1 day and then the next day went to decorate them and there were spots on the flooding (looks like icing color changed in different areas). I have been making cookies for many years but have never had this happen. Any ideas what I can do to prevent this from ever happening again?

  83. It’s 6:30 AM on a Wednesday morning. School is out for mid-winter break. Snow is falling like heavy cotton balls. My kindergartener and toddler boys are begging to make and decorate cookies (yes, at 6:30 AM…why sleep in during vacation?). Anyhow, since the Christmas baking season, these have been our “go to” recipe… THANK YOU! Though on this particular morning I found myself out of eggs AND vanilla. There is no way we are leaving the house this cold, snowing, early morning. I used 1 tablespoon corn starch + 2 tablespoons water to replace the egg. I used 1/2 teaspoon almond extract + 1/2 water to replace the vanilla. The result? Not quite the same, but successful! The dough was a little more difficult to roll without cracking on the edges. The cookies: just as soft and perfectly shaped as usual. The cookies puffed a bit more in baking and the flavor of the butter stands out a bit more. So for egg allergy folks: it works to go egg-less.

  84. Dear Toni,

    I tried this recipe for valentines day and have been making them EVERY weekend since! These are the absolute best cookie I’ve ever tasted. Thank YOU for sharing I will be making these cookies for years to come.. The frosting I used was from another sugar cookie post on Pinterest that had to many ingredients for my preference,. But the frosting….. YUM.

    Your cookies, this frosting and lots of sprinkles make this cookie a 1st place winner at a place cookie contest ;). I’m serious, everyone I’ve shared these with (my family) couldn’t believe how good they were. Even my daughter in law wants the recipe.! The cookies never make it until Monday for me to share with friends or coworkers. LOL.

    So thanks again and anyone who says they want to try this recipe really should. You WILL NOT be disappointed

    BUTTERCREAM FROSTING
    1 cup butter – room temp
    4 cups powdered sugar
    1/4 tsp salt
    1 tsp almond extract
    1/3 cup heavy whipping cream

    Mix the butter until well blended. Then add powdered sugar a little at a time. Once mixed add the remaining ingrediants. Separate onto small bowls and add a drop or two of food coloring mix well and now your ready to frost!!

    Lori Federman
    Montgomery IL

  85. are these best frosted or iced? and do i bake them with parchment paper or wax paper on the baking sheet in the oven?

    • Always parchment paper! Wax paper can not be put in the oven. :) These cookies are best with frosting/icing they are not as sweet as a sugar cookie that’s meant to be left “naked”.

  86. cecilia says:

    Does the butter have to be at room temperature?

    • No! Here’s a little trick for that. If your butter is not at room temp just just it into little chunks and then beat. I do this alllll the time. I’m kinda of known for forgetting to leave the butter out, and in this case I think it works better cool! :).

  87. I made these today and they were perfect. This will definitely be my “go-to” rolled cookie from now on. Thanks so much for sharing!!

  88. Finally a perfect recipe! And the parchment paper and wax paper for rolling is GENIUS!!!!

  89. Hey there would you mind stating which blog platform you’re
    working with? I’m looking to start my own blog in the near future but I’m having a difficult time making a decision between BlogEngine/Wordpress/B2evolution and Drupal.

    The reason I ask is because your layout seems different then most blogs and I’m looking for something unique.
    P.S My apologies for getting off-topic but I had to
    ask!

  90. I tried the recipe yesterday and is work pretty good for me,
    I divided the dough in 2 balls, I put one in the fridge for few min (around10-20min) and with the other I worked as soon I finished knead it a bit it’s work great without chill in the fridge, I find for me that the one I put in the fridge to chill have a lil bit hard and somehow lil bit dry as well, I cut out 1/4 thick, 24 cookies 2.5 inches and 16 small face graduation cookies ( the face one that SugarBelle’s have in tutorials) so I say 16 small round (idk maybe 1-1.5 in.) plus the diamonds to make the hats…actually the cookies (2.5inches) take about 10-12 min to bake but I know it’s all depends the oven, the cookies were hard but soft enough to eat it and I really like that and they smell pretty good and sweet, unfortunately I have food allergies and can’t tasted, but trust me my worst criticism come from my kids, they don’t sugar coat to tell me the truth thing that I really like and appreciate from them and they eated and love it, they tell me I need to change to this recipe from now on, they said is sweet but no to sweet and taste good LOL….Sorry for the long comment but I want to thank you for sharing this as you I an Army Wife and I work at home as a Baker I make cakes, pastries with our challengin life haha, once again tanks for sharing….

  91. I need your fondant recipe so I can make the veggies for your Garden Cupcakes! Thanks.

  92. misimi says:

    hi, pls when you mix the sugar and better do you cream until the sugar is well incorporated in the butter just like when you are making a cake, or do you just mix together to a crumbly form

  93. Hi, how did you measure the flour? did you scoop it or spoon the flour into the measuring cup? Are these chewy or just soft?

    • I use a large glass Pyrex measuring cup and measure out all three cups at once, then mix my baking powder right in there. Less dishes! As long as they are not over baked, these cookies are nice and soft. :)

  94. Leena B says:

    Hi Toni!!

    Sooo glad I found this recipe. It is awesome!! I followed your directions exactly and my Easter cookies came out perfect.

    If I need to double the recipe, do you know if it will fit in the standard size Kitchen-Aid mixer?

    Thanks!

  95. Love, love this recipe! I have a few questions. First, if you’re making a lot of cookies, can you double or triple the recipe or do you make individual batches. Second, if using a convection oven, how do you adjust. Thanks so much for sharing!!

    • Hi! I double this recipe all the time, no problems! As far as the convection over, I can’t help you there as I don’t own one! But I would imagine it would be a shorter bake time. :)

  96. Hi, I just made the cookies, but I had kind of a problem… the dough was too soft even though I added 3 cups of flour and followed everything exactly like the recipe said. I’m not sure what happened, I tried to add more flour, nothing changed. I left it on the fridge for like 40 min hoping it would be better but i wasn’t. It was great on flavor, though. I baked them for the asylum, but I think I need to bake some more because my friends ate 20! Thanks for sharing the recipe! Even though I had some trouble, I loved it!

    • Is there any chance that your butter was TOO soft? Left out on the counter too long? I actually like to use mine straight from the fridge and chop it up. :)

      • You can also add a tad more smidgen more of flour if its too soft or rolling it on a floured surface has helped too. I’ve tried and succeeded doing both.

  97. This is the only sugar cookie recipe I use and I discovered it years ago on the box of Wilton’s 101 Cookie Cutter set. I found it interesting that someone said they’re too floury. I swear by this recipe and it has never steered me wrong.

    I have found however that if my kitchen is too hot my dough doesn’t always react how I want it. I usually roll/cut my 1st set and refrigerate them while I”ll roll my second batch, then toss the 1st set in the oven while my 2nd set is cooling/setting, I’m rolling my 3rd.It’s sort of like a rotation for me. That has helped my cookies keep shape.

    Thanks for posting and allowing me to share!

  98. Hi!! Thank you for this recipe! I have cut out cookies chilling as we speak, getting ready for the oven. VERRY excited! They came together beautifully and was very easy. My husband will be home just in time to taste

  99. I have used this recipe and your directions about a half a dozen times now and it really truly does make the best sugar cookies. Thanks!!

  100. Hello,
    I made the dough and left it in the fridge (covered) overnight. I tried to make cookies today, but the dough is cracking and the dough is getting out of control :( I let the dough sit until it came to room temperature. Please tell me where did I go wrong?

  101. Tammy Suttles says:

    Hi I have made 4 batches of roll out sugar cookies but have a question. When you put cutout cookies in the freezer ON baking sheet do you put this same COLD baking sheet into the oven

  102. I made these today and for some reason mine wouldn’t turn into dough just a sticky mess.. I live in Florida could it be the humidity?

    • It is possible, did you start with cold cubed butter? I generally find softened butter the culprit of sticky dough, especially in warmer temps. If you did use cold cubed butter to start I would attempt adding a bit more flour to bring it to consistency.

      • It really depends on the weight of the flour and brand you use. Do you mind sharing the brand name of your flour of choice? I had to reduce the flour in my own recipe when costco changed their flour brand. Just reduce the flour each time until you come up with the right result.

        • I tend to use Gold Medal. Being military we move a lot from state to state, so I try to stick with brands I know I can get comfy with and find no matter the location.

  103. I have a question have you ever infused your butter with lavender and lemon? If not would it work in this recipe?

    Thank you,
    Carrie Fuller

  104. So glad a friend of mine Pinned your recipe! Between my 4 year old nephew(who LOVES to bake)and hubby’s clients, can’t wait to give this a go. Is it possible to do a chocolate version of these? If so, what would I need to do? Got a lot of chocolate lovers!
    Thank you for sharing…going to check out the rest of your blog pages.

  105. Michele Taylor says:

    Thank you , thank you, thank you.

    I will absolutely be trying you’re recipe! And you’re instructions were straight forward and actually a pleasure to read.

    Have yourself a merry little Christmas. As for me, I can’t wait to start making cookies!

  106. These came out absolutely perfect!!

  107. I made these today and amount of flour was off for me (too much). It was just crumbly. I had to add a little water.

  108. I’m not sure how everyone has ended up with these perfect cookies. I followed the recipe to a T (although I used the egg that was listed in the ingredients, but not in the instructions) and ended up with a pale yellow powder in my mixer. Even after adding an extra 1/4 cup of butter, the dough was dry and cracked when I cut out the cookies. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

  109. Hi Toni,
    Geez, soooo sorry, just found your recipe under cookies 101!!! I’ll give the recipe a try with the Royal Icing, probably on Tuesday 12/16/14, as I still have about 300 more cookies to make for my baskets. iI’ll make my tried & true cookies first, then make 50 or so of these to start. Happy Holidays to you & yours… Funny, I actually teach private cooking lessons in customers homes!!! Health issues have made me put that on hold until mid-year 2015… This will make a nice addition, although my focus is on main dish recipes. If I do use this recipe, as always, I will alter youroriginal recipe, but mention where I found it to begin with. I’ll post a comment after I’ve tried them. Again, sincere Thanks…

  110. Definitely going to try this! Just in time for Christmas :D

    I was just wondering while I’m commenting if you could tell me who / what you used to make your blog Header / Banner? It looks really fun, and I’m a blogger as well ;) Thanks!

  111. Hi Toni, I was wondering if I can switch the vanilla with vanilla Bean Past. I love the vanilla Bean taste and was wondering what you or anyone else knows. Great recipe, Thanks

  112. Hi,
    I have a convection option on my oven and that is my way to bake! Do you as well or are you baking at 7 minutes with regular bake? I need to know so I may adjust.

    Thanks!

    Rae

  113. i love sugar cookies but I have a child with a milk allergy. I have tried multiple recipes but nothing has tasted that wonderful. I was wondering if you know if I would use a different amount of vegan butter in this recipe? Thanks for sharing your wonderful recipe.

  114. Good day, thank you for such a detailed description. I am from another country, could you please hel me to understand how many grams are in your cup? We are using another metric system. Please advise if you can how many flour ,sugar and butter in grams do you use? THANK YOU

  115. Found this via Pinterest and wanted to drop in to say these cookies are excellent. I followed your directions EXACTLY and they turned out perfectly. I”m not a baker at all and usually shy away from rolled cookies because mine always look like they were made by a child, but your tips to roll the dough between wax paper and parchment paper to keep the dough smooth was so helpful. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!

    Will check out the rest of your website!

  116. Greetings from India!

    When I was literally staring down an empty tray this Christmas due to a series of baking disasters, I had almost completely given up, until I chanced upon this recipe. It worked like a charm and was so simple and easy to make. Thanks to your recipe you now have a fan in me and many more with whom I intend sharing these cookies. Awesome!

  117. Thank you for this simple recipe! I have baked these cookies a handful of times since the middle of this month. Everyone LOVES them and wonders how I get them to be so perfect! I think it is because I keep them nice and thick and don’t overbake them. I love that this is such a basic recipe, and it will be what I use from now on!

  118. if I added a few drops of food colouring would that effect anything?

  119. Thanks so much for sharing your recipe for these sugar cookies…
    I’ve been trying to learn how to make and decorate sugar cookies so that I can make a 50th wedding anniversary gift for my parents….
    I’ve tried 3-4 different recipes…and yours is by far my favorite…I made a few different recipes…..and when I made this one for the 2nd time, we both said they were the BEST….They are THE ones!!

    Just wanted to let you know that your blog & recipe were very helpful~!
    Thank you so much~!

  120. I love this recipe.. I use it a lot for decorated cookies. Its nice and soft and tender. Thank You

  121. Anna Sullivan says:

    I just found your blog and I am totally loving it! This recipe looks fantastic for a engagement party I am catering I can’t wait to try it!

  122. I want to make these but I don’t have any unsalted butter in the house…would it make a huge difference if I use salted butter??

  123. Eleanor McDonie says:

    Perfect recipe, exactly what I was looking for. I just made it for some heart cookies and they came out softer than any sugar cookie I have ever done.

  124. Trying to make these cookies, pretty bummed so far! :( Not sure if it was the flour I used?? It is white whole wheat flour. Don’t have a kitchen aid, so I used my hand mixer. Just ended up as a crumbly mess. It is currently in the fridge and I am in high hopes that it will turn out ok!! It also had a really brown color. The flour isn’t completely white, but not very dark. Lets keep fingers crossed that it comes out ok once they come out of the fridge!!

    • I use white all purpose flour. My dough always starts out crumbly then forms into a really nice ball in the mixer. They will be fine without just may need a little extra work! :)

  125. Hi there! How long can the dough last in the refrigerator before rolling and cutting?

    Thanks!

    • Hi! It can last or up to a week, but I like to use mine fresh. Just remember if you leave it in the fridge for that long it will still harden so you’ll need to let it sit on the counter to soften up a bit before rolling. Hope that helps!

  126. Jeannette says:

    i had made these cookies and with your easy step by step instructions they turned out perfect! I had also decorated with royal icing and sent them to my kids and grandkids in Utah, my daughter said these are seriously the best cookies ever, I gave her your recipe. Thank you for the best recipe ever!!!

    Sincerely Jeannette

  127. This is definitely a crumbly dough, but I found this blog and her technique helps IMMENSELY! Thank you!

  128. Hi! Can this recipe be halved?

    • It can be halved just be careful with the egg. You will need to whip it a bit and split it using a measuring cup. Hope that helps!

  129. thanks so much for the detailed tutorial. You and I are so much alike and I love the recipe and instructions! :) I have a normal go-to sugar cookie recipe, but really wanted something different. Thanks!

    I thought about doing a double batch in my KitchenAid (it’s a professional HD) but was worried it would have been too much. Have you had luck doing a double batch in yours?

    I’m making homemade (Wilton’s recipe) buttercream to frost these with to give to the neighbors. :)

  130. I love cookies. Thanks for sharing this great recipe.

  131. Hi!!!! Excuse me, can i deep the sugar cookies in chocolate??? Thank you

  132. Hi Toni,
    I was just wondering if the sugar cookies would stay soft for a goo amount of time.

    • Hi! It really depends on many factors. If they are airtight and baked soft they will stay soft for several days. If iced with a buttercream and refrigerated for about a week actually! But if they are left out to decorate for a long time and then stored they will not stay soft for long. If I need to prepare these ahead of time I simply bake and freeze to keep them fresh – works like a charm!

  133. These are beautiful, but I make a Soft Molasses cookie and use a small scoop. This makes them all the same size. I do roll them with my palms, however. People are amazed at how uniform they are.

  134. Hi, these cookies turned out great! They are a huge hit, now the question is to you have an equally as awesome recpie for Royal icing? I have been experetmenting with a bunch of others but can’t seem to find the perfect one! Thanks!!

    • Awesome! You can find lots of info on Royal Icing and the recipe under “baking 101”. Happy baking!

  135. Michelle says:

    Thank you for posting this recipe! I baked them earlier today and they turned out perfect! I was amazed at how much dough there was, I managed to make 28 cookies! Some of the nicest cookies I’ve ever baked – will definitely be making them again!

  136. Belinda says:

    Thank you for this recipe, it has worked out well for my classes. I am a Family Consumer Science teacher and we prepared 445 star cookies with icing. I have the cookies in the freezer to thaw next Tuesday. We are in the south with high humidity. Do you have any suggestions on how I can thaw the cookies without them sweating?

    • Yay! Always glad to hear!! I have had the best experience thawing cookies by simply laying them out on a paper towel. Happy baking!

  137. Cherri Fellows says:

    Thank you for this amazing recipee. I made these to sell and make money for Christmas to help families in need. I was able to help 3 families buying 2 children new winter boots and and many gifts for them to have under their trees. They turned out perfectly. I made grinch cookies with green food color, cut out small heart out of center of the circle and added a strawberry flavored red heart in its place and sprinkled with green sugar. I also added cinnamon to another batch and cutout gingerbread shapes and turned them into reindeer cookies, they were all a big it. This is now the only recipe I will use for my cookies. Merry Christmas to you and than you for the gift!!!

  138. Used the recipe this year for Christmas cookies and they turned out amazing! No issues and they held the shape. People loved they where sweet enough without being oversweet like most cookies are. So glad I came across this post on Pinterest!!