Best Cutout Sugar Cookies Recipes

CHRISTMAS CUTOUT SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a bowl, stir together flour and baking powder. In another bowl, beat butter with sugar until fluffy and light. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in flour mixture, a third at a time to make a stiff dough. Divide dough into 4 pieces. Roll out a portion of cookie dough to 1/4 inch thick. Cut out shapes using cookie cutters. Place on lightly greased or nonstick cookie sheets. Bake until lightly golden, about 10 minute, rotating baking sheet halfway through cooking time. Cool completely on pans about 5 minutes, transfer to cooling racks and cool completely before decorating.
• In a small bowl, mix sugar and water to form a thick, smooth icing. Stir in food coloring to reach desired shade. Drop icing onto cookies using a small teaspoon and smooth with the back of the spoon. Make additional bowls for additional colors.
• Additional multi-colored sprinkles can be added on top of icing before it dries for more decorative cookies, if desired.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS SUGAR CUTOUT COOKIES

Steps:

• Sift together flour and baking powder in separate bowl.
• In second bowl, beat together sugar and egg until it becomes lemon-colored.
• Add butter, orange juice and vanilla.
• Mix until thoroughly incorporated.
• Slowly begin adding flour mixture (about 1/2 cup at a time) and blend; continue until all flour is used.
• Form into 2 flattened rectangles, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill for at least 1 hour.
• When ready to roll, set oven to 400 deg F.
• Cover baking sheets with parchment paper (can be reused from batch to batch).
• Sprinkle powdered sugar onto rolling surface as you would flour.
• Roll out one rectangle into desired thickness and cut out; place on baking sheet, making sure not to let cookies touch.
• Re-form scraps and roll again (may have to add more powdered sugar for rolling); continue until all dough is used.
• Once baking sheet is full, place into oven and set timer for 6 minutes.
• Depending on cookie thickness, baking time can range from 6-10 minutes, so check at the 6-minute mark to determine whether you need to bake longer.
• When light golden in color, remove cookies from baking sheet and place on cooling racks or flat surface covered with parchment.
• Cool to room temperature and frost with favorite frosting.
• If decorating, I recommend the following frosting (also appears in recipezaar under "Cutout Cookie Decorator Icing":.
• 1 cup confectioners sugar.
• 2 tsp milk.
• 2 tsp light corn syrup.
• 1/4 tsp vanilla.
• food coloring.

CUTOUT SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and extracts. Combine the flour, baking soda and cream of tartar; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Cover and chill for 2-3 hours or until easy to handle. , On a floured surface, roll out dough to 1/4-in. thickness. Cut into desired shapes. Place 1 in. apart on greased baking sheets. Bake at 375° for 6-8 minutes or until the edges begin to brown. Remove to wire racks to cool completely. , For icing, cream the butter and shortening in a bowl. Add vanilla and salt. Gradually add the sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition. Add milk; beat until light and fluffy. Tint icing with desired colors of food coloring; decorate the cookies.

GRANDMA'S CUTOUT SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer in a large bowl until smooth. Add first egg while continuing to beat, incorporating the egg fully before adding the second and beating fully into the mixture. Beat vanilla extract and almond extract into the mixture with the third egg.
• Stir flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt together in a separate bowl; add to the wet mixture and beat just until the wet and dry combine into a cookie dough. Shape dough into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate until chilled, at least 3 hours.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Roll dough out onto a flour-dusted surface and cut with cookie cutters. Arrange cut cookies onto baking sheets.
• Bake cookies in preheated oven until beginning to brown around edges, 6 to 8 minutes.

GRANDMA'S CHRISTMAS SUGAR CUTOUT COOKIES

Steps:

• Sift dry ingredients together.
• Add shortening or margarine using a fork to combine with dry ingredients.
• Add unbeaten eggs and vanilla.
• Mix well.
• Add ground pecans for added flavor. (This is how Grandma always mixed hers).
• Whisk the dry ingredients together, add alternately with the eggs and vanilla.
• Mix well.
• Roll out thin on floured board and cut with floured cookie cutters.
• Decorate with sugar.
• Bake at 375°F for 8 minutes.
• Makes about 6 dozen.

FROSTED CUTOUT SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Combine flour, granulated sugar, baking soda and salt. Cut in shortening and butter until crumbly. In another bowl, whisk eggs, milk and vanilla; add to flour mixture and mix well. Divide dough into three balls; cover and refrigerate until easy to handle, about 2 hours., Preheat oven to 325°. Remove one portion of dough from the refrigerator at a time. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to 1/4-in. thickness. Cut with a floured 2-in. cookie cutter. Place 1 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Repeat with remaining dough., Bake until edges are lightly browned, 8-10 minutes. Cool 1 minute before removing to wire racks to cool completely. , For frosting, cream butter, confectioners' sugar, vanilla and enough cream to achieve spreading consistency. If desired, tint with food coloring. Frost cookies. Decorate with colored sugar and candies if desired.

BROWN SUGAR CUTOUT COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, water, oil and vanilla. In another bowl, whisk flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt; gradually beat into creamed mixture., Divide dough into four portions. Shape each into a disk; wrap in plastic. Refrigerate 2 hours or until firm enough to roll., Preheat oven to 350°. On a lightly floured surface, roll each portion of dough to 1/8-in. thickness. Cut with a floured 2-1/4-in. fluted square cookie cutter. Place 1 in. apart on greased baking sheets., Bake 7-9 minutes or until bottoms are light brown. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool completely., For icing, in a small bowl, beat butter, meringue powder, cream of tartar and salt until blended. Beat in confectioners' sugar alternately with enough water to reach a spreading consistency. Spread over cookies. Let stand until set.

ORANGE SUGAR CUTOUT COOKIES

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt.
• In a large bowl, with an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter and granulated sugar for 3 minutes, or until light and fluffy.
• Beat in the eggs, orange juice, orange peel, and orange extract.
• Beat in the flour mixture, a little at a time, until well-blended.
• Divide the dough into thirds, wrap each portion in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 3 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease baking sheets or use silpats.
• Place one-third of the dough on a lightly floured surface, leaving the remaining two-thirds in the refrigerator.
• Using a floured rolling pin, roll to 1/8 inch thickness.
• Using floured cookie cutters, cut into shapes.
• Arrange on the prepared baking sheets and repeat until all the dough has been used.
• Bake for 11 minutes, or until lightly browned.
• Cool on a rack for 2 minutes- Remove to the rack to cool completely.
• (If you want, before baking and after cutting out shapes, mix 1 egg white and 2 Tablespoons water, then brush each cookie with this mixture and sprinkle on colored sugar for holidays).

CUTOUT SUGAR COOKIES WITH BUTTER ICING

Steps:

• Thoroughly cream butter and sugar.
• Add egg and beat well.
• Add dry ingredients alternately with milk and vanilla and mix thoroughly.
• Roll on lightly floured surface and cut with floured cookie cutter.
• Bake on greased cookie sheets at 375 for 5 minutes or until firm. Cool dough before icing.
• For icing, cream all ingredients. Add enough milk to make icing spread easily. Add food coloring if desired.

HOLIDAY DOG CUTOUT SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a medium bowl; set aside. Beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until incorporated. Reduce the mixer speed to low and beat in the flour mixture in 2 batches until just incorporated. Divide the dough between 2 pieces of plastic wrap; shape into disks. Wrap and refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour. (The dough can be frozen for up to 1 month; thaw overnight in the refrigerator before rolling.)
• Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Working with 1 disk at a time, roll out the dough on a floured surface, dusting with flour as needed, until about 1/8 inch thick. Cut out shapes with 2- to 4-inch dog-shaped cookie cutters and arrange 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. (If the dough becomes too soft as you work, return it to the refrigerator until firm.) Gather the scraps and refrigerate until firm; reroll once to cut out more cookies. Chill the cutouts 30 minutes.
• Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Bake the cookies, switching the pans halfway through, until slightly puffed and just golden, 13 to 15 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer to racks to cool completely before icing.
• To decorate the cookies, divide the Basic Royal Icing into bowls and tint as desired with food coloring. The thicker icing will be used to outline your decorations.
• To make the flood icing for filling, remove three-quarters of the desired color icing to a small bowl and stir in a few drops of water until flooding consistency is achieved -- you can run a knife through it and it flows back to where it was in 10 seconds. Transfer the flood icing to a piping bag fitted with a number 2 round tip. Transfer the remaining thick icing to a piping bag fitted with a number 1 round tip. Use additional piping bags and tips for different colors of icing.
• Draw outlines of your decorations with the thicker royal icing, then pipe a generous amount of the same-colored flood icing inside the border of each design.
• Using a toothpick, spread the icing to cover the cookie. If making a design, decorate with more colored icing while the flood icing is still wet, using a toothpick to swirl to colors together as desired. Decorate with sugar pearls if using. Let the cookies set at room temperature, at least 1 hour.
• Whisk the confectioners' sugar and meringue powder in a large bowl. Add 5 tablespoons water and beat with a mixer on medium-high speed until soft glossy peaks form, adding up to 1 more tablespoon water if necessary, about 5 minutes. Cover the bowl with a damp paper towel and plastic wrap until ready to use to prevent the icing from drying out.

CUTOUT SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Combine sugar and butter in a mixing bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer.
• Using the paddle attachment of the mixer, or a wooden spoon if you are doing this by hand, blend butter and sugar until no granules of sugar show. Lightly stir in salt, egg and vanilla.
• Stir in flour in thirds. Add just enough to make a dough that forms a mass and that is very soft but not sticky. It should be pale yellow in color.
• Gather dough in a ball, wrap in wax paper or plastic wrap and chill for at least 1 hour, and preferably 3 or 4 hours or overnight.
• Heat oven to 350 degrees. On a floured surface, roll chilled dough to a thickness of about 1/8 inch. Dust rolling pin and dough with cake flour as needed. Using cookie cutters, make shapes and transfer to baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
• Bake for 7 to 9 minutes, depending on the size of the cookie. The bottoms should be just beginning to turn golden. If they're brown, you've cooked the batch too long.
• Transfer cookies to cooling rack. Let cool completely, then decorate with icing, sprinkles and dusting sugars.

APPLE CUTOUT SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the first seven ingredients in order given and mix well. Chill dough 2-3 hours or until easy to handle. , Roll out on a lightly floured surface to 1/4-in. thickness. Cut with an apple-shaped cookie cutter dipped in flour. Place on greased baking sheets. Bake at 375° for 7-8 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on wire racks. , For frosting, combine sugar, corn syrup and water in a small bowl. Transfer three fourths of the frosting into another bowl; add red food coloring for apples. Add green food coloring to remaining frosting for stems. Frost cookies. Allow to sit overnight for frosting to harden.

MAKEOVER CUTOUT SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, beat butter and sugars until creamy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Beat in oil and corn syrup. Combine the flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt. Add to creamed mixture just until blended. Divide in half; wrap each portion in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours., On a lightly floured surface, roll dough out to 1/4-in. thickness. Cut out dough with lightly floured 2-1/2-in. cookie cutters. Place 2 in. apart on baking sheets coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle each cutout with 2 teaspoons colored sugar. Bake at 350° for 7-9 minutes or until set and bottoms are lightly browned. Cool for 2 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely.

CUTOUT SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
• In a large mixing bowl, cream together shortning, butter, and sugar.
• Add eggs, one one at a time, beating well after each addition.
• Add vanilla, beat until light and fluffy.
• Aleternately, add flour mixture and milk in halves, folding after each addition until just blended.
• Divide dough into thirds, wrap each third in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 325°F
• Preferred method to baking - use parchment paper! Measure and cut pieces to fit on your cookie sheets. No need to grease cookie sheets. If not using parchment, lightly grease cookie sheets.
• Remove one package of dough. Place on a precut, lightly floured parchment paper, or a well floured surface, and roll out using a floured rolling pin to 1/8th inch thickness.
• Cut cookies with shaped cutters, dipping cutter into flour between each cut. Clean excess dough off as needed. Cut cookies with at least 1 inch space between.
• After cutting all the dough, pull away excess dough. Gather into a ball, rewrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate.
• Carefully slide parchment onto cookie sheet.
• Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until just set in middle. Time will depend greatlyon the size and shape of your cutters. Edges of cookies should not change color. Bottoms should be a VERY pale golden color.
• Let cookies cool on baking sheet for a few minutes. Carefully slide parchment off of cookie sheet and onto wire rack or clean counter to cool completely. Use thin spatula, and line counter with paper, if not using parchment.
• Repeat process with remaining packages of dough. Then combine all the excess dough from the original 3 packages and continue making cookies until all dough is used.
• Decorate when cooled, and store in an airtight container.

HIGH ALTITUDE SUGAR CUTOUT COOKIES

Steps:

• 1.Beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in egg and vanilla.
• 2.Add flour and baking powder in intervals. (Dough will seem too dry but it will improve when chilled.).
• 3.Divide dough into four equal parts and refrigerate about an hour.
• 4.Roll out dough between 2 sheets of waxed paper, 1/4 inch thick for crisp cookies or 1/3 inch thick for soft cookies.
• 5.Cut out shapes with cookie cutters and and bake for 7-8 minutes @ 375°F.