Best Soft Cut Out Sugar Cookie Recipe for Christmas
This soft cut out sugar cookie recipe is the one our family has baked every Christmas since the late 1950s. It makes about 36 cookies, bakes in just 9 minutes, and works with every cookie cutter in your drawer.
It is a simple roll out sugar cookie recipe for classic cut-out sugar cookies that bake up soft and buttery.
If you want a Christmas cut out cookie recipe the kids can help with, this is the one. Roll the dough, cut your favorite shapes, and add sprinkles before baking or frosting after. It is a fun way to get the family excited for Christmas, especially when everyone is staying over and you need something to do together.
Play your favorite Christmas music and grab the kids to make cutout cookies in all the Christmas shapes. The laughter and the sweet smell of baking will fill your house, and that is how memories get made.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- The cookies bake up soft with a buttery vanilla taste.
- The dough uses 7 simple ingredients you probably have on hand.
- One batch makes about 36 cookies, plenty for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
- They bake in only 9 minutes.
- The kids can roll, cut, and decorate right alongside you.
- They have the classic taste of Christmas and are a welcome addition to your family gatherings and Christmas parties.
Our Family’s Tradition of Christmas Sugar Cookies
Some of the sweetest and most tender moments of Christmas are the ones you share with your kids. They are memories that last a lifetime. For me, they happen in my kitchen, surrounded by my mother’s old rolling pin, sprinkles, frosting, and flour all over the floor.
When the smell of cut out cookies baking fills the house, I am transported to my mother’s kitchen. I can see every detail of the room, and I can hear her gently reminding me not to touch until the cookies cool.
Almost every family has a Christmas sugar cookie recipe they have made for years. I know you have one too.
I have been making this recipe for years from our church’s Women’s Guild Cookbook, and I have so many wonderful memories of making cutout cookies with my mom. I love the Christmas shapes, the buttery frosting, the sprinkles, and most of all eating them. Special thanks to Mrs. Mildred Hubach from our church in Aurora.
I started making cut out sugar cookies when my girls were little. They were one of our desserts at Thanksgiving because I could not wait for Christmas, and then we made a big batch for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
Every year I see more and more Christmas cookie cutters and cannot stop myself from adding to my collection. I have so many classic cutters from my mom, but I cannot pass up a new look on Santa or a gingerbread boy. This year I gathered them all and organized them, and I have so many I cannot even tell you how many.
Our family loves this original recipe from my mother and grandmother, and it has been used for several generations. We use it for Christmas cookies most of all.
We also make hearts for Valentine’s Day, bunnies at Easter, chicks and flowers for spring, and turkeys and woodland creatures for fall and Thanksgiving.
Baking Cut Out Sugar Cookies With Family and Friends
Making sugar cookies from scratch can be a lot of work, just like decorating the tree alone can feel overwhelming. I have found that the more people involved, the faster time flies and the less it feels like work.
Grab the kids, the grandparents, and even the neighbors. Clear off the kitchen counters and get all your supplies ready before you start.
I even make it a two-day process. I make the dough one day and put it in the refrigerator, then I do the baking on the second day.
How to Set Up Your Kitchen
- Clear off all of your counters.
- The day before, shop for extra of all your basic ingredients so you have them on hand.
- Make sure you have plenty of cookie sheets and cooling racks.
- Buy any new cookie cutters to add to the favorites in your collection.
- Have a step stool or sturdy chair for your little ones.
- Set up a safe place for decorating cookies, away from the hot baking pans.
- Have plenty of clean towels.
- Empty the dishwasher before you start.
Ingredients You’ll Need
For the cookie dough
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
For the buttery frosting
- 6 tablespoons butter, softened
- 2 cups confectioners sugar
- 2 tablespoons milk, added a little at a time
Pro tip: Use room temperature butter so it creams up light and fluffy with the sugar.
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Equipment Needed
- Stand mixer or hand mixer
- Mixing bowls and a Sifter
- Rolling pin
- Your favorite Christmas cookie cutters
- Baking sheets lined with parchment paper
- Cooling rack
- Plastic wrap
How to Make Soft Cut Out Sugar Cookies
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- In a stand mixer or with a hand mixer, cream the room temperature butter and sugar until fluffy.
Tip: Take your time here, since this is what keeps the cookies soft. - Add the eggs and vanilla to the butter and sugar.
- Sift together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Mix the flour mixture into the butter mixture.
Tip: Do not overwork the dough, stop as soon as it comes together. - Cover the dough with plastic wrap and chill for 20 minutes.
- When the dough is firm but not too firm, roll it out on a lightly floured surface to 1/8 inch thick. Cut with your favorite cookie cutters.
- Gently transfer the cookies to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, about 1 inch apart.
- If you are making cookies with sprinkles, add the sprinkles before baking.
- Bake for 9 minutes, until lightly brown.
Tip: Do not overbake. Our family likes them a little undercooked. - Place the baked cookies on a cooling rack and cool completely.
- For the frosting, beat the softened butter and confectioners’ sugar in a mixer until fluffy. Add the milk a little at a time to get the right consistency. Make sure the cookies are completely cool before you frost them.
What to Serve with Soft Cut Out Sugar Cookies
- 20 of Our Best Christmas Cookies, Easy Holiday Favorites
- Easy Christmas Spritz Cookies
- Easy Snowball Cookies with Pecans
- Grinch Crinkle Cookies
- Soft Gingerbread Cutout Cookies
- Raspberry Sherbet Party Punch
- Ninja Creami Peppermint Ice Cream
Frequently Asked Questions
Spreading usually comes from warm dough or too little flour. Use room temperature butter, not melted, and spoon the flour into the measuring cup and level it off.
Chill the dough before you roll it, then bake the cookies on parchment paper about 1 inch apart.
Yes. We cover the dough with plastic wrap and chill it for 20 minutes, until it is firm but not too firm to roll.
Roll the dough to 1/8 inch thick on a lightly floured surface, and mix only until the dough comes together.
Bake at 350°F for 9 minutes, until lightly brown. Our family likes them a little undercooked, so do not overbake.
You can. I often make the dough on one day and refrigerate it, then roll, cut, and bake on the second day.
If the dough feels too firm, let it sit on the counter for a few minutes before rolling.
You can freeze the baked cookies too. Let them cool completely first.
Smaller cutters bake faster, so start checking at 7 minutes. Take them out when they are lightly brown, and let them cool on the rack.
Best Soft Cut Out Sugar Cookie Recipe for Christmas
A soft vanilla butter cookie that is perfect for any roll and cut out cookie. Our family has used this recipe from our church cookbook since the late 1950s.
Special thanks to Mrs. Mildred Hubach from our church in Aurora.
- Total Time: 34 minutes
- Yield: 36 cookies 1x
Ingredients
- Cookie Recipe:
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 cup of sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 2 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- Frosting Recipe:
- 6 tablespoons of butter
- 2 cups of confectioner sugar
- 2 tablespoons of milk
Get Recipe Ingredients
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°
- In a stand mixer or with a hand mixer cream together room temperature butter & sugar until fluffy.
- Add the eggs, and vanilla to the butter & sugar.
- Sift together the all-purpose flour, baking powder & salt.
- Mix together the flour mixture with the butter mixture. Do not overwork.
- When the sugar cookie dough has come together cover with plastic wrap and chil for 20 minutes.
- When the sugar cookie dough is firm but not too firm, on a lightly floured surface, use a rolling pin to roll out the dough to 1/8 thickness, and cut with your favorite cookie cutters.
- Gently transfer the cookies to a prepared baking sheet that has been lined with a sheet of parchment paper.
- If you are making with sprinkles, decorate with sprinkles before baking.
- Place cookies about 1 inch apart and bake for 9 minutes. Do not overbake but bake until they are lightly brown. (our family likes them a little undercooked)
- Place the baked cookies on a Cooling Rack and cool completely.
- If using frosting, cool completely before frosting.
- For Frosting:
- Placed softened 6 tablespoons of butter in a mixer with 2 cups of confectioners sugar and beat until fluffy. Add milk a little at a time as needed to get the correct consistency.
Notes
- Update on 12-11-22: Flour is 2 & 1/2 cup of flour
-
Chill the dough for 20 minutes, until it is firm but not too firm to roll.
-
You can make the dough a day ahead and refrigerate it, then roll, cut, and bake the next day.
-
Cool the cookies completely before frosting.
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 9 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 146
- Sugar: 12.2 g
- Sodium: 38.2 mg
- Fat: 7.4 g
- Carbohydrates: 19 g
- Fiber: 0.2 g
- Protein: 1.3 g
- Cholesterol: 29 mg
