Easy No Chill Cut Out Sugar Cookies
These cut out sugar cookies taste amazing, are super easy to bake (no dough chilling!), and are perfect for decorating! I baked hundreds of cookies to arrive at this recipe! We love making these with our little ones for Christmas, birthday parties and just because it is fun to put frosting on cookies you made yourself! I've included my delicious buttercream icing recipe that is perfect for piping or spreading on your cookies. There are also lots of tips, tricks, and tools to help you bake the most wonderful sugar cookies of your LIFE! The number of cookies you end up with will depend on the size of cookie cutters you use. Check out the "notes" section at the bottom for great tips and tricks.
Servings: 36
Calories: 107kcal
Ingredients
- 1 cup salted butter, softened (can sub unsalted + 1/2 teaspoon salt)
- 1 cup granulated white sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon real vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer use the paddle attachment to beat the butter and sugar together at medium-high speed for 1 minute. (Or beat by hand or use hand held electric mixer.)
- On medium speed, beat in the egg, vanilla, almond extract, baking powder and salt. (Note - if you used salted butter you don't need to add any additional salt here.)
- Measure the flour correctly (see note) and add to the mixer 1 cup at a time, beating until combined after each addition.
- Don't chill the dough!!! Divide it into two balls and roll out to exactly 1/4" thick on a clean piece of parchment paper using just enough flour on your rolling pin to prevent sticking. Scraps of dough can be gathered up, kneaded together until they are a uniform ball and then rolled out again. Repeat as needed until used up.
- When removing cut cookie dough from the parchment paper use a thin, flexible metal spatula. Quickly slide the spatula under each cookie and use the spatula to put the cookie on the baking sheet.
- Line cookie sheets with clean parchment paper. Space out cookies on sheets with enough room to rise. Bake at 350F for 6-8 minutes. The cookies will not be brown at all. They will be dead white but look set. (For crisp cookies instead of soft bake an additional 2-3 minutes until edges start to brown.)
- After removing from the oven let the cookies cool on the sheets for several minutes until firm enough to move without breaking. Use a spatula to put the cookies on a wire rack. Cool completely before frosting.
- Decorate with vanilla buttercream (below) and store tightly covered for up to five days.
Notes
How to Measure Flour: Too much or too little flour makes bad cookies. The correct way to measure flour is to spoon it into the measuring cup and then use the flat edge of a knife to level the cup. This ensures exact measuring.
Doubling The Recipe: This recipe can easily be doubled or even tripled! If you are using a hand held electric mixer only beat one batch at a time. (Same suggestion if beating by hand.)
Saving Dough For Later: Yes, you can refrigerate the dough and roll it out later. You will need to knead the dough a bit until it becomes softer or allow it to come to room temperature by leaving it on the counter for about 20 minutes.
Rolling Out Dough: I have tried multiple ways of doing this. My favorite is to lay a piece of parchment paper on the counter and roll the cookies out on that. Lightly flour the parchment paper and the rolling pin. You can use the same piece of paper for the entire batch of dough.
Freezing Cookies: These generally freeze well for short periods. If you want to freeze them seal them up as soon as they have cooled.
Nutrition
Calories: 107kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 1mg | Potassium: 34mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 6g | Calcium: 11mg | Iron: 1mg