Soft and thick sugar cookies, perfect for rolling out and cutting into fun cookie shapes! Not only will these sugar cookies be pretty, they will also taste amazing! These cookies are quick and simple to make and only need an hour of chill time before they are oven ready. Plus three different ways to top them!
So I don’t normally like all the fuss when it comes to baking some stuff….like decorated sugar cookies. It just seems like A LOT of work to me. RIGHT?! But this sugar cookie recipe is easy-peasy with my helpful tips and topping choices! I used my favorite Vanilla Extract from Rodelle and quality granulated sugar from Dixie Crystals. In simple recipes like this one, it’s important to use quality ingredients. You can taste the difference…
So go ahead and make your cookie dough. Dump the cookie dough out on a piece of parchment paper sprinkled with flour. Top it with another equal sized piece of parchment paper. Roll your soft dough out to your desired thickness. 1/2-inch to 1/4 inch thick. Pop that into the refrigerator for an hour (or longer if ya want!) and then you are ready to start cutting out your cookies without having to roll out a cold, hard cookie dough ball.
Use any cookie cutter you want. Bake time will depend on the thickness of your cookies and how large they are.
Soft and Thick Sugar Cookie Cut Outs
Print RecipeIngredients
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 3/4 cup white granulated sugar
- 1 egg, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract (I used Rodelle Gourmet Vanilla Extract)
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
- 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- pinch of salt
Instructions
In the bowl of an electric mixer, affixed with the paddle attachment, add the butter and beat on medium-high speed until pale and glossy. Add the sugar to the butter and mix on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the egg to the mixture. Mix until incorporated. Add the vanilla extract and almond extract to the mixture, and mix until incorporated.
Change the mixer speed to low and slowly add the nutmeg, flour, baking powder and salt to the wet ingredients. Mix on medium-low until just combined. Remove the bowl from the mixer and use a rubber scraper to ensure all the ingredients are thoroughly incorporated.
Dump the cookie dough onto a piece of parchment paper and flatten out into a disk (approximately 1/4-inch thickness), and chill in the refrigerator for one hour. If leaving the cookie dough in the fridge for longer than a couple hours, then wrap with plastic wrap.
Once dough has chilled, preheat oven to 350-degrees and line 2-3 baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside. Use desired cookie cutters to cut out your cookies. Re-roll leftover dough out and continue to cut out cookies until all dough is used.
Bake cookies, one cookie sheet at a time, in 350-degree oven for 8-14 minutes. Bake time will depend on the size of your cookies, but cookies are done when the cookies are very lightly colored on top and around the edges. Allow cookies to cool on cookie sheet for 5-minutes, before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
I like super soft cookies, so I tend to under bake mine. These cookies baked for 12-minutes. If you like yours with a little crunch to them, then bake until the sides are a light golden brown. Also, the type of cookie sheet you use will make a difference in the baking time. I made two batches of these cookies, one using the dark non-stick cookie sheet you see in the picture above and then another batch on my Williams-Sonoma Goldtouch Nonstick Cookie Sheet. The cookies on my gold cookie sheet had a golden hue on the bottom and sides, which the cookies I baked on the dark pan did not have with that same baking time.
Now for your cookie topping options. Want to keep it SUPER easy? Just add sprinkles to the tops of your cookies before baking. Or ice them using royal icing. Frost them with a dollop of my favorite BEST Vanilla Buttercream Frosting. Or do what I did with these cookies and make a batch of my Homemade Vanilla Marshmallow Fondant. Think you don’t like the taste of fondant? Then you HAVE to make my recipe!
Easiest way to decorate sugar cookies (in my opinion…..) is to top with fondant and use gel food coloring to paint the cookies! It’s so fun and something the kids would have fun doing too.
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11 Comments
Kelsie | the itsy-bitsy kitchen
June 19, 2019 at 8:03 AMThese look like the sugar cookies from a bakery in my hometown; the bakery went out of business years ago but I still think about those cookies all the time. I have to try these!
Kelly
June 21, 2019 at 7:15 AMAwww thanks Kelsie!! That’s quite the compliment 🙂 These are super yummy….you definitely need to try em! XOXO
Audrey
June 19, 2019 at 11:08 AMNothing like a good sugar cookie! Love the tip about rolling them between parchment paper before putting them in the fridge. It really is all about worker smarter, not harder. Have a great day!
Kelly
June 21, 2019 at 7:15 AMThanks Audrey!! I am always all about working smarter not harder hehehe. Have a great weekend! XOXO
Katherine | Love In My Oven
June 20, 2019 at 2:45 PMI can’t believe how soft and thick these cookies look, Kelly!!! I would love to make a batch and decorate them with my boys!
Kelly
June 21, 2019 at 7:16 AMThank you Katherine! Your boys would definitely have fun decorating these 🙂
Kim Lange
June 21, 2019 at 1:13 PMThese look so yummy Kelly! Happy Summer & Pinning! xo
crumbtopbaking
June 24, 2019 at 5:51 AMThey look delicious Kelly! Perfect texture and great for decorating! I’ll have to remember this recipe for Christmastime and our cookie decorating projects!
Maria | kitchenathoskins
June 24, 2019 at 9:14 PMThese sugar cookies are P-E-R-F-E-C-T-I-O-N!!! Beautiful pale color, perfect thickness these cookies look absolutely delicious. Fun summer project for the kids.
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