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Cut Out Sugar Cookies

Cut Out Sugar Cookies are a favorite for holidays and celebrations. The dough is easy to roll out and cut into your favorite shapes and perfect for icing and sprinkles! Always a fun cooking project for the whole family. 

My Grandma’s Best Ever Sugar Cookies are my go-to cookie for every occasion but they are not the kind that can be decorated. So we also make cut out sugar cookies for Christmas.

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This year we made a version that came from my husband’s grandma along with her boiled icing. They are the most delicious frosted sugar cookies that I’ve ever made.

Cut Out Sugar Cookies with icing and sprinkles on a gray plate- text overlay

Ingredients for Cut Out Sugar Cookies:

  • Butter
  • Sugar
  • Eggs
  • Vanilla
  • All Purpose Flour
  • Baking Powder
  • Kosher Salt

Iced and Sprinkled Sugar Cookies for Christmas

How to Make Cut Out Sugar Cookies:

Mixer bowl with butter, sugar, vanilla & eggs, bowl of egg whites to the side

  • Add butter, sugar, one whole egg plus two egg yolks (reserve the egg whites for the icing) and vanilla to a mixer bowl. 

Mixer bowl of creamed butter, sugar and eggs

  • Beat until creamy, about 2 minutes. 

Mixer bowl with flour added for cookie dough

  • Add flour, baking powder and salt.

Sugar Cookie Dough in a mixer bowl

  • Mix until combined. Don’t over mix. 

2 rounds of sugar cookie dough wrapped in plastic wrap

  • Divide dough in half and wrap in plastic wrap. 
  • Chill for about 30 minutes. If you are in a hurry and do not have time to chill the dough, it will still roll out just fine but it will be a little harder to handle after cutting into shapes. 

Rolling pin rolling sugar cookie dough on a well floured board

  • Remove from refrigerator, unwrap and place on a flour dusted cutting board. 
  • Roll dough to about 1/4 inch thickness with a rolling pin, add more flour if your dough sticks to the rolling pin or cutting board. 

Cookie dough rolled out cutting out with a star cookie cutter

  • Use cookie cutters to cut cookies into desired shapes. 

Cookie sheet lined with a silpat. Tree, snowmen and star cut out cookies ready to bake.

  • Place about 2 inches apart on a silpat or parchment lined baking sheet. 

Baked Cut out sugar cookies on a baking sheet. Stars, snowmen and trees.

  • Bake for about 10- 12 minutes. Edges should be lightly browned.

Wire rack of cut out sugar cookies. Trees, snowmen, stars.

  • Remove to a wire rack to cool completely. 
  • Store cookies in an airtight container up to 7 days. 

Tray of cut out sugar cookies stacked. Stars and tree shapes.

Cookies can be served plain or topped with icing and sprinkles. 

Tips for Rolling Sugar Cookie Dough:

  • After cutting the shapes from the dough, you can take the scraps and press them back together to roll again. I only recommend doing this once. More flour is incorporated into the dough and will become dry and tough with too much flour added in. 
  • The cookie dough will last in the refrigerator up to 4 days before baking, so you can make it ahead if needed. 

Overhead view of platter of decorated sugar cookies with a glass of milk

Grandma’s iced sugar cookies are legendary. There are a few steps to creating the boiled icing but it is incredibly delicious and sets up well, making these cookies perfect to bake and share.

If you are in a hurry, our Easy Sugar Cookie Icing is also great for cut out sugar cookies. It’s ready in about 5 minutes and tastes amazing. 

Ingredients for Boiled Icing:

  • Egg Whites
  • Cream of Tartar
  • Water
  • Sugar

How to Make Boiled Icing:

Mixer bowl with egg whites & cream of tartar for making icing

  • Place reserved egg whites in an electric mixer bowl with cream of tartar.

Mixer wire whisk with whipped egg whites

  • Beat at high speed until stiff peaks form. 

Pan with sugar and water for making boiled icing

  • Add cold water and sugar to a heavy bottom saucepan and place over medium heat. Bring the mixture to a boil, scraping any sugar from the sides of the pan.

Pouring boiling syrup into mixer bowl of egg whites for icing

  • Cook at a boil until mixture reaches 235°.
  • Remove from heat and slowly pour syrup into the egg whites with the mixer running on high speed. 

Boiled Sugar Cookie Icing with a spatula

  • Continue mixing for about 5 – 7  minutes until icing is fluffy. 

Iced Sugar Cookies on a wire rack. Trees, snowmen and stars

  • Spread onto baked sugar cookies and lay in a single layer. 

Sugar Cookies with icing and sprinkles on a wire rack

  • Add sprinkles if desired. 
  • Allow cookies to dry completely. This can take an hour or more but the icing will dry completely and then cookies can be stacked. Store iced sugar cookies in an airtight container up to 7 days. 

Teenage boy decorating sugar cookies for Christmas in a kitchen

Decorating sugar cookies is a great tradition to enjoy with your family during the holidays. My kids are growing up but I will be continuing on with the grandkids and I love that we have family recipes to share. 

You might also like these simple Brown Sugar Shortbread cookies for your holiday cookie exchange.

Platter of iced sugar cookies with sprinkles. Christmas shapes - trees, stars, snowmen

I love these sugar cookies for adding to my holiday cookie baskets, they hold up well and they are so buttery and delicious. They can be adapted for any holiday using your favorite cookie cutters or just use a round cutter or biscuit cutter for every day cookies. 

IF YOU LOVE THIS RECIPE AS MUCH AS I DO, PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT AND A FIVE STAR REVIEW, AND BE SURE TO HELP ME SHARE ON PINTEREST!

Cut out sugar cookies on a platter with Christmas shapes - trees, stars
Print Recipe
4 from 2 votes

Cut Out Sugar Cookies

Cut Out Sugar Cookies are a favorite for holidays and celebrations. The dough is easy to roll out and cut into your favorite shapes and perfect for icing and sprinkles! 
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time10 minutes
Additional Time30 minutes
Total Time50 minutes
Course: Cookies
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Christmas cut out cookies, grandma's old fashioned sugar cookies, rolled sugar cookies
Servings: 6 dozen cookies
Calories: 64kcal
Author: Milisa

Ingredients

  • 1 cup of butter 2 sticks, softened
  • 1 1/2 cups of sugar
  • 1 whole egg plus 2 egg yolks reserve the whites for icing
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • Boiled Icing recipe below
  • Sprinkles if desired

Instructions

  • Add butter, sugar, egg, egg yolks and vanilla to a mixer bowl and beat until creamy about 2 minutes.
  • Next, add flour, baking powder and salt.
  • Mix just until combined.
  • Divide dough in half and wrap in plastic wrap. 
  • Chill for about 30 minutes. If you are in a hurry and do not have time to chill the dough, it will still roll out just fine but it will be a little harder to handle after cutting into shapes. 
  • Preheat oven to 350°.
  • Remove from refrigerator, unwrap and place on a flour dusted cutting board. 
  • Roll dough to about 1/4 inch thickness with a rolling pin. 
  • Use cookie cutters to cut cookies into desired shapes. 
  • Place about 2 inches apart on a silpat or parchment lined baking sheet. 
  • Bake for about 10- 12 minutes. 
  • Remove to a wire rack to cool completely. 

Notes

Store cookies in an airtight container up to 7 days. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 64kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 14mg | Sodium: 57mg | Sugar: 4g
boiled icing in a mixer bowl
Print Recipe
4.67 from 3 votes

Boiled Icing

Boiled icing is incredibly delicious and sets up well. Great for icing cookies to bake and share for the holidays.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time10 minutes
Total Time25 minutes
Course: Desserts
Cuisine: American
Keyword: cooked icing, meringue frosting for cookies, sugar cookie icing
Calories: 14kcal
Author: Milisa

Ingredients

  • 2 egg whites
  • 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
  • 1 1/4 cup sugar
  • 7 tablespoons of cold water

Instructions

  • Place reserved egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer with cream of tartar and beat at high speed until stiff peaks form. 
  • Add cold water and sugar to a heavy bottom saucepan and place over medium heat. Bring the mixture to a boil, scraping any sugar from the sides of the pan.
  • Cook at a boil until mixture reaches 235°.
  • Remove from heat and slowly pour syrup into the egg whites with the mixer running on high speed. 
  • Continue mixing for about 5 - 7  minutes until icing is fluffy. 
  • Spread onto baked sugar cookies and add sprinkles if desired. 
  • Place iced sugar cookies in a single layer on a wire rack or baking sheet to dry completely. This can take an hour or more but the icing will dry completely and then cookies can be stacked. 

Notes

Store iced sugar cookies in an airtight container up to 7 days. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 14kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Sodium: 2mg | Sugar: 3g
4 from 2 votes (2 ratings without comment)

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