Soft Sugar Cookies

Looking for the recipe on Soft Sugar Cookies? This is our absolute favorite cut out sugar cookie recipe. We have used this same recipe for years!

Light and tender sugar cookies that are frosted and melt in your mouth from the buttery sweet flavor. Learn how to make sugar cookies that are so easy to work with.

Roll out sugar cookies are so fun to make around the holidays. Whether it is a classic heart for Valentine’s day or candy canes and Christmas trees for a Christmas cookie. This recipe here works for any and every occasion.

Why This Is The Recipe we Always Use

• These are the cookie cutter sugar cookies as they hold their shape nicely
• Easy steps to get that soft and flaky cookie dough
• Mix, roll, chill, bake
• Simple ingredients
• Freezer friendly cookies

Main Ingredients

Flour & Powdered Sugar – The combination of the two offer the sugar cookies to have a light and fluffy texture.

Butter – You don’t want to reach for margarine, butter is the only way to go with this sugar cookie recipe. You get that golden buttery taste.

More Sugar Cookie Ingredients – Eggs, cream of tartar, baking soda, vanilla and almond extract!

How to Make

Once the dough is formed scrape down the sides. Then wrap up the dough and place in the fridge for 2 hours.

We prefer to roll the dough out when it is warm, cover in plastic wrap on a baking tray and refrigerate that way. It is SO much easier to cookie cut the flat chilled dough.

When the dough has been chilled you can then roll out the dough, use your cookie cutters and create shaped cookies.

Lay on a greased pan or lined with a silicone baking mat, and bake as directed. Then place on a cooling rack to cool.

After the cookies are cooled, then frost with your favorite frosting!

Trick To Refrigerating The Cookie Dough

Like we mentioned above, we split our cookie dough into two sections. Roll out the dough into a flat section. Place it on a silicone mat baking sheet, and repeat.

Then we stack both cookie sheets on top of each other, cover well and store in in the fridge. Then when we go to using the cookies cutters, we get to work cutting.

What Thickness Do we Want Sugar Cookie Dough

We aim to do 1/4 inch thick or slightly less. If you want that soft tender cookie this is the best thickness. No need to get out a measuring stick, eyeball it the best you can.

Expert Tips

Freezing Cookies | You can easily freeze the pre-cooked and frosted cookies for up to three months.

Or you can freeze the raw dough. Whether you freeze it in a ball or rolled out on a baking sheet. Either route works for this cookie dough.

To Frost Or Not To Frost | The choice is yours in terms of frosting the cookies. If you don’t want to frost the cookies you can add a colored sugar on top of the dough before baking if you don’t want a frosted cookie.

Storing | If you don’t use a buttercream or cream cheese style frosting you can store your cookies on the counter. If your frosting is a buttercream style it will need to have the cookies be refrigerated to keep the frosting from going bad.

Rolling Dough Tip | we like to put the dough between two layers of wax paper. This will keep the rolling pin clean and keep your cookie dough right where you want it, without sticking.

Sugar Cookie Baking Tools

• Cookie Cutters
• Baking Sheet
• Silicone Baking Mat
• Stand Mixer or Hand Mixer

Recipe FAQs

How do you keep sugar cookies soft?

To keep the sugar cookies soft, store the cooled cookies in an airtight container. One trick many use, is putting a slice of bread in the container. The soft bread will help extend the shelf life of the sugar cookies.

Why don’t our sugar cookies keep their shape?

Chilled dough is key to having sugar cookies that hold their shape. Another factor is making sure your cookie dough is measured and mixed according to the recipe.

How to get soft sugar cookies?

Make sure you don’t overcook the sugar cookies. If you allow them to cook too long you will end up with a crunchy sugar cookie. Pull them out when they are pale in color and don’t allow them to turn golden on top like other cookies.

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Ingredients

Makes 35 -40 cookies

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Frosting, optional

Equipment

• Cookie Sheet
• KitchenAid Mixer
• Measuring Spoons

Method

1. In a stand mixer or hand mixer you will start by creaming your butter and eggs together.
2. Then slowly add in the flour, powdered sugar, salt, cream of tartar and both extracts.
3. Once the cookie dough is creamed and mixed well. You can refrigerate the dough for 2 hours.
4. Roll in a ball and wrap up or roll out the dough like we mentioned in post so you can remove and go right to cookie cutting.
5. After the 2 hours take your cookie dough and have it around 1/4 inch thick. Make your shapes and place them on a greased or silicone mat lined baking sheet.
6. Place in a preheated oven at 375 degees and bake for 8-10 minutes or until the cookies just turn a pale color and are cooked. Remove and place on a cooling rack.
7. Once cooled you can frost your soft sugar cookies or eat them plain.

Kitchen notes