The Best Cut Out Sugar Cookies

These soft and fluffy cut out sugar cookies are the perfect cookies to cut out with cookie cutters, frost, and decorate! The perfect cookie if you like your sugar cookies soft and delicious!

three soft sugar cookies stacked on top of each other

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I was just talking the other day about how my son doesn’t like chocolate, so we make a lot of sugar cookies. Well, sugar cookies or lately sugar cookie bites. My kids are kind of addicted to those.

This is my go-to recipe when I want to make cut out sugar cookies for the kids to use to cut out cookies then decorate. We made these cookies with my youngest for the first time ever the other day, and it was hilarious to see him try and decorate the cookies without taking the lids off the sprinkles.

Pound, pound, pound. He just kept trying so hard, couldn’t figure out why they weren’t coming out like they were for my brother.

We eventually gave him some actual sprinkles to decorate and both boys enjoyed their creations. I have yet to find someone who doesn’t like sugar cookies – especially soft fluffy ones like these!

Why you’ll love this recipe

Soft cookies – the addition of sour cream in the recipe keeps these cookies super soft and fluffy.
Perfect to make ahead – you need to chill the dough before cutting out the cookies, so it’s a great option to make the night before then just cut and bake the day of!
Super easy recipe – all you really have to do to make the cookies is combine the ingredients together. Unlike some recipes like these cherry cheesecake cookies that take a few more steps, these cookies are really simple!

Ingredients

Ingredient Notes

Flour – just standard unbleached all-purpose flour works great in this recipe.
Almond extract – the almond extract adds a really nice richness to the flavor of the cookies so don’t skip it!
Butter – make sure it’s unsalted butter that’s been softened so it creams well with the sugar.

You can either use store-bought frosting or make your own to frost and decorate these cookies. I’ll be sharing a sugar cookie icing soon that I personally love!

How to make cut out sugar cookies

To make these yummy sugar cookies start by creaming together sugar, butter and eggs.

Mixing bowl with butter and sugars creamed together

Add all the remaining ingredients to the dough including enough flour to make the dough come together.

Cut out sugar cookie dough in a glass mixing bowl

Wrap dough in plastic wrap (so it won’t stick) and put the refrigerator to chill. Chill dough for at least an hour or you can chill it overnight if you have time.

Cut out sugar cookie dough wrapped in plastic wrap

After dough is chilled, preheat oven to 375°F and line baking sheet with parchment paper.

Remove dough from fridge and roll out to about 1/4″ -1/2″ thick on lightly floured surface. If you doubled the recipe, I recommend leaving half the dough in the fridge and rolling this out in shifts so the dough doesn’t warm up.

Cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters. Place the cookie shapes on the prepared baking sheet.

Remove the extra pieces of sugar cookie dough that are leftover after you remove the shapes, put them back into a ball, and roll out again.

Cut out sugar cookie dough rolled out with cookie cutters

The best thing about this recipe is that you can really use it for any holiday or occasion. Just use different cookie cutters and sprinkles to garnish!

Bake cookies in the preheated oven for eight minutes. Do not brown cookies or they will be over done. They might be a little soft, but they’re finish cooking during the cooling process.

Cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to cooling rack until completely cool.

Plate with heart shaped cut out sugar cookies

Once they are completely cool, frost with your favorite sugar cookie icing, and decorate! I love setting up a little cookie decorating station where my kiddos can pick from their favorite color icing and toppings to make their own personalized sugar cookies!

We typically like to go simple with just icing and sprinkles but you could totally make these super cute with icing and other decorations!

Woman's hand holding a Christmas cut out sugar cookie

Woman's hand holding a cut out sugar cookie with sprinkles

Woman's hand holding a Valentine's Day cut out sugar cookie

Expert Tips

Remove the cookies from the oven earlier than you think you should. Sugar cookies tend to go from done to over done very quickly.

Work with half of your dough at a time, leaving the other half to continue chilling in the fridge until you’re ready to work with it.

If the dough gets warm, put it back in the fridge to chill for a few minutes before you roll it out and bake the cookies.

Recipe FAQs

Can you freeze cut out sugar cookies?

These cookies freeze great! You can freeze the dough by wrapping it in plastic wrap then putting it in an airtight plastic zipper bag with the air squeezed out. Or you can freeze individual cookies once baked but before frosted. To thaw, just put out on the counter for 15-20 minutes or until they are thawed and ready to enjoy.

Why do my cut out cookies lose their shape?

If the dough is too soft and the cookie cutters can’t really cut through the dough well, you may end up with softer shapes as the butter softens again.

How thick should cut out sugar cookies be?

Roll the sugar cookie dough out to about 1/4 inch thick and you’ll end up with soft and fluffy cookies. If you much thicker, you may need an extra minute for the cookies to cook all the way through. If you go thinner, the cookies will end up more crispy than soft.

Stack of decorated cut out sugar cookies

More Easy Cookies

Double chocolate chip pudding cookies – these cookies are a chocolate lover’s dream!
White chocolate cranberry cookies – cranberry cookies meet white chocolate macadamia nut cookies in a holiday favorite!
Chewy molasses cookies – these spicy (in a good way) cookies are soft, chewy, and full of holiday spices!
S’more cookies – chocolate chip cookies, s’more ingredients, and the most amazing cookie sandwich you’ve ever tried!
Trail mix cookies – these yummy breakfast cookies are a healthier way to enjoy dessert for breakfast!

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