Vanilla sugar cookies are a classic Christmas treat! These cookies are perfectly buttery, soft and chewy, but hold their shape super well - making them great for cutting out both simple and complicated designs. The icing is just made with powdered sugar and water but still pipes like royal icing. All you need is a handful of simple ingredients and a little bit of time to make this easy cookie recipe!
the BEST sugar cookies
Eat's the most wonderful time of the year! And what better way to celebrate than with a Christmas cookie classic: soft and chewy cut out sugar cookies! This was one of the first Christmas recipes I ever created and it hasn't changed since day 1 (it's that good!)
This dough is super easy to whip up and doesn't need any fancy ingredients (you probably already have everything you need to make them!) The dough is easy to work with and can be used for any and all of your sugar cookie making needs. The cookies bake up beautifully soft and chewy but hold their shape really well with very minimal spreading. This is the recipe I always come back to and it's seriously the BEST!
how to make sugar cookies from scratch
As always, the full recipe can be found further down in this post - but here's a quick little look at how these cookies are made:
- Cream together butter and sugar.
- Whisk in egg and vanilla.
- Fold in the dry ingredients. That's all there is to making the dough!
- Roll the dough out on a piece of parchment paper. Rolling out room temperature dough is a lot easier than rolling out chilled dough and it's less prone to cracking!
- Lift the parchment paper and dough onto a baking sheet then chill until firmed up. After rolling the dough out, chilling it helps firm it up and make it easier to cut without misshaping the designs.
- Cut the cookies out and arrange on a parchment lined baking sheet.
- Chill the cookies until solid. I like giving the cookies a quick freeze after cutting them out just to make sure they really keep their shape when it comes time to bake.
- Bake and cool. It's important to allow the cookies to cool completely to room temperature before decorating or the icing will melt all over the place!
- Make the icing: Whisk together the icing ingredients until smooth.
- Decorate! The icing will be wet when it's fresh, but if you let it sit out and dry for a few hours, it'll firm up and make the cookies easier to pack up and store.
how to make sugar cookie icing
Can you believe that these cookies are all decorated with a TWO ingredient icing! It's not buttercream, but it still holds it's shape well enough to create 3D designs (like those tree branches in the photo above!)
To make this simple icing, all you need is powdered sugar and a liquid (water, milk, or heavy cream). I personally love using heavy cream because it keeps the mixture a bit whiter and more opaque than milk or water - so that's just something to keep in mind if you'd like a whiter finish to the design. This doesn't really matter if you plan on adding food coloring, but I love how bright it looks on the snowflakes and candy canes!
The key to making this icing perfect is adding the absolute BARE MINIMUM amount of liquid as possible. Making it thick allows it to hold more of a distinct shape when you pipe with it. If you're going for a loose, glaze consistency, of course then you would need to add more liquid. But for piping more textured designs, keep the icing thick (as you can see in the photo below)!
If you plan on adding food coloring, you may need to add some additional powdered sugar to compensate for the added liquid. If you accidentally add too much liquid, simply mix in more powdered sugar as needed and vice versa. There's really no going wrong with this icing!
decorating sugar cookies
I mentioned above that a thicker icing is best for piping more distinct designs, but it's especially important if you plan on using a piping bag to decorate the cookies. Keep in mind that if you are using a piping bag, the warmth from your hands can cause the sugar to dissolve and will make the icing looser as you work - so making it a bit thicker will account for that. If it gets too soft to work with, stop and pop the bag of icing into the fridge for a bit to allow it to firm up a little before continuing. If it doesn't firm back up, you may need to mix in more powdered sugar.
If you prefer a lighter layer of icing, you can make the icing a bit thinner in consistency and just dip the face of each cookie in it to cover. It's the same way I decorate my chai snowflake cookies - it's super quick and I just think they look so pretty! You could also use vanilla buttercream instead of icing, which is really easy to work with (especially for beginners) and will produce more billowy and 3D decorations.
storing sugar cookies
Sugar cookies keep for a really LONG time and can also be frozen for even longer!
Storing sugar cookies at room temperature:
Keep the cookies in an airtight container or plastic bag to seal in the freshness. Baked sugar cookies can be kept for 1-2 weeks stored at room temperature.
Freezing sugar cookies:
To freeze baked sugar cookies, let them cool completely to room temperature and place them in a freezer bag. Push out as much air as you can and seal. Baked sugar cookies keep in the freezer for up to 3 months. I find it's best to freeze the plain sugar cookies (undecorated) and then frost them after thawing. Decorated sugar cookies don't defrost as well as plain cookies and your designs may be more likely to smear.
storing sugar cookie dough
Sugar cookie dough can be made and kept in the fridge for up to 3 days before baking.
To freeze raw cookie dough, wrap it well with plastic wrap and then place in a freezer bag and seal. Try to get as much air as you can out of the bag before sealing it so you prolong the dough's life.
When you want to bake the frozen dough, take it out of the freezer and let it sit in your fridge for a couple of hours until it's fully defrosted. Continue with the dough rolling and cutting normally.
how to freeze raw, cut sugar cookies
To freeze your shaped cookies, arrange them on a baking sheet in a single layer. Cover and freeze until solid then transfer your frozen cookies to a freezer bag. Keep them stored in a single layer or (if you want to stack them) separate layers with wax paper so they don't stick. Store in the freezer for 2-3 months.
When you want to bake the sugar cookies, you can bake them while they're still frozen. To bake frozen cookies, arrange them on a baking sheet, leaving a bit of room for expansion. Bake in a 350°F oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until lightly browned around the edges.
check out these other Christmas recipes!
• Cranberry White Christmas Cake
• Christmas Tree Shortbread Sticks
• Candy Cane Cookies
• Gingerbread Cookie Bars
• Giant Sugar Cookie Cake
• Chewy Snickerdoodle Cookies
Lastly, if you made this or any of my recipes, be sure to leave a comment and review below! I love hearing your thoughts! Also tag me on Instagram @eatsdelightfulblog so I can see what you're making.
Print
Classic Sugar Cookies
- Total Time: 55 minutes + 1 hour chilling
- Yield: 28 cookies (approx.)
Description
Vanilla sugar cookies are a classic Christmas treat! These cookies are perfectly buttery, soft and chewy, but hold their shape super well - making them great for cutting out both simple and complicated designs. The icing is just made with powdered sugar and water but still pipes like royal icing. All you need is a handful of simple ingredients and a little bit of time to make this easy cookie recipe!
Ingredients
For the sugar cookies:
- 2 ¾ cups (355g) all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled (+ more for rolling)
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (225g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- ¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
For the icing:
- 2 cups (220g) powdered sugar
- 2-4 tablespoons water, milk, or heavy cream *see notes
- gel food coloring (optional)
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- 2 ¾ cups (355g) all-purpose flour, ½ teaspoon baking powder, ¼ teaspoon salt
- In a large bowl, combine butter and sugar. Using an electric mixer fitted with the beater attachment or a wooden spoon, cream together until light and fluffy.
- 1 cup (225g) unsalted butter, ¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
- Whisk in the egg and vanilla.
- 1 large egg, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Finally, drop in the dry ingredients and fold together until you have a soft, streak free cookie dough.
- Lay a large sheet of parchment paper down on your table and lightly flour it. Drop the dough onto the parchment paper and lightly flour the top.
- Use a rolling pin to roll the dough out until it's about ¼ inch.
- Lift the parchment paper and dough up and onto a large baking sheet. Cover and chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour or until it feels firm to the touch.
- Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. ** see notes for if you only have one baking sheet
- Take the cookie dough out of the fridge and cut out your desired shapes.
- Arrange the cutout cookies onto your parchment lined baking sheet, leaving about 2 inches of space between each cookie. Gather and reroll the scraps of dough and continue cutting out shapes until all the dough is used. If the dough gets too soft to work with, pause and set it back into the fridge until firm enough to use.
- Place the baking sheet with the cutout dough into the freeze to chill for about 10 minutes or until the cutout cookies feel firm. While it chills, preheat your oven to 350°F.
- Bake the sugar cookies in the center of your preheated 350°F oven for 12 to 15 minutes or until puffed and lightly browned along the edges. The surface of the cookies will be quite pale.
- Cool the cookies for 5 minutes on the baking sheet and then carefully transfer them onto a wire rack to finish cooling. Cool completely to room temperature before decorating.
Make the icing:
- In a medium bowl, whisk together powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons water/milk/cream, and food coloring (if using) until combined. You can leave the icing as thick or thin as you'd like. If it's too thick, add a splash more water, milk, or heavy cream. If it's too thin, whisk in more powdered sugar.
- 2 cups (220g) powdered sugar, 2-4 tablespoons water, milk, or heavy cream, gel food coloring (optional)
- Use the icing to decorate the cooled cookies. Depending on how you choose to decorate the cookies, you may need to make a double batch of icing if it's not enough.
- You can serve the cookies right away (but the icing will be soft and a bit messy) or set them aside at room temperature (uncovered) for a few hours to allow the icing to set and firm up.
Notes
* Water, milk, or heavy cream will work to thin out the icing, but heavy cream will give it a whiter and more opaque appearance. Milk will make the icing slightly more translucent and water will make it the most translucent.
** If you only have one baking sheet to work with, take the chilled cookie dough out of the fridge and lift the parchment paper and dough off and onto your table. Then line that baking sheet with parchment paper and start cutting out and arranging the cookies. To bake multiple batches of cookies on the same baking sheet, make sure it cools completely to room temperature before adding the next round of cookies so they don't overspread.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Cookies
Enjoy!
