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Cutout sugar cookies rolled to tender perfection and cut into any shape, then topped with smooth royal icing swirls. One bite and you’ll be hooked on their buttery sweetness!
Why I Love Cutout Sugar Cookies
I love a delicious cutout sugar cookie. But oftentimes, we only make them during the Christmas season or for some type of holiday. While this recipe is great as Christmas cookies or for Valentine’s Day, it’s time to change that!
With the perfect level of sweetness and texture, this recipe for cutout sugar cookies is fantastic at any time of the year. They’re great to make with kids and friends, or let the perfectionist in you take over and make beautiful pieces of art. I’m never patient enough to spend too much time decorating cookies, so I usually keep things pretty simple with tinted royal icing and a few sprinkles on top.
You can decorate these and frost them any way you wish, which makes them perfect for birthdays, special occasions, or just a regular weekday. They’ll taste amazing no matter what’s on them.
Make these cookies once, and you will put this recipe in your stash to use time after time!
Cutout Sugar Cookie Ingredients
All of the ingredients in these sugar cookies are customary in any pantry. There is one ingredient that may not be as common, but let’s go over why some of these ingredients are important:
- Flour is an essential ingredient in pretty much any cookie because it adds structure. To make things simple, we’re using all-purpose flour in this recipe.
- Baking powder gives the cookie some lift while controlling the amount it spreads.
- Cream cheese has the ability to add a delicious, tangy yet sweet flavor while also giving these sugar cookies an even softer texture.
- Almond extract adds a bit of additional nutty flavor to these sugar cookies, but a little bit goes a long way, so only a small amount is needed.
- Meringue powder, which is used in the royal icing, adds the binding properties of a raw egg white, but in a safer and shelf-stable form.
The full amount of each ingredient can be found in the recipe card below.
How to Make Cutout Sugar Cookies
The best cutout sugar cookies of your life are 4 simple steps away! Here’s how to make these cookies:
Step 1: Prepare the dough. In a bowl, cream the butter and cream cheese. Then, add the sugar and combine. Mix in the egg, vanilla extract, and almond extract. Finish by adding the flour, baking powder, and salt. Divide the dough into two discs and chill, wrapped, in the refrigerator.
Step 2: Cut out and bake the cookies. Roll out the dough on a well-floured surface to ¼- to ½-inch thick. Cut out the cookies in any desired shapes. Bake in a preheated 350°F oven for 10 to 14 minutes.
Step 3: Prepare the icing. In a bowl, combine the meringue powder, powdered sugar, and water. Tint the icing with drops of food color, if desired.
Step 4: Frost the cookies. Spread an even layer of royal icing on top of each cookie and decorate as desired.
Serving and Storage + Tips
To serve: As soon as the cookies have cooled fully, they can be decorated however you choose! The included royal icing is the perfect way to add a bit of additional sweetness to each cookie, and the icing can be tinted to any color (gel food coloring works great for this). To ice, simply outline the cookie and then flood the interior with icing. Before the icing hardens, you can sprinkle the top with decorating sugar, sprinkles, or dragées.
To store: These cookies will stay fresh at room temperature if placed in an airtight container for 3 to 5 days. They can also be placed directly in the freezer and should last for 1 to 2 months when frozen. To thaw, remove however many cookies are needed and let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
Freezing hack: This dough can be placed in the freezer in discs wrapped in plastic wrap (or placed in a freezer-safe bag) to be pulled out and baked whenever cookies are needed. To use, simply thaw the dough, then roll it out like normal, following the recipe from Step 3 (in the recipe card below).
Watch How to Make These Sugar Cookies
Have I Convinced You to Make This Recipe?
I hope you make this recipe and put some food on your table. Leave a comment and share a star rating so you can let others know how much you love this recipe. This helps show others that this is a recipe they, too, can make, enjoy, and love!
Cutout Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
For the cookies
- 16 tbsp (2 sticks) unsalted butter room temperature
- 2 oz cream cheese room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp almond extract
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp kosher salt
For the royal icing
- 2 tbsp meringue powder
- 1 ½ – 2 cups sifted powdered sugar
- 2-4 tbsp water
Instructions
- Prepare the dough. Cream butter and cream cheese until light, fluffy, and well combined. Add sugar and beat to combine. Mix in egg, orange zest, orange juice, vanilla, and almond extract. Add flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix well and scrape the bowl to ensure everything is incorporated. Divide the dough into two disks and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Chill for at least 30 minutes or overnight (dough may also be frozen for up to one month).16 tbsp (2 sticks) unsalted butter, 2 oz cream cheese, 1 cup granulated sugar, 1 large egg, 1 tsp vanilla extract, ½ tsp almond extract, 3 cups all-purpose flour, 1 ½ tsp baking powder, ½ tsp kosher salt
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Cut out and bake. Once well chilled, roll out dough on a lightly floured surface to ¼- to ½-inch thick and cut with desired cookie cutters. Place the cookies on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven for 10-14 minutes.
- Prepare the royal icing. Mix the meringue powder, powdered sugar, and water, adjusting the water and powdered sugar to create a thick consistency. It should run off the back of a spoon like a thick ribbon. Separate into bowls (if you want different colors) and tint with food coloring, as desired.1 ½ – 2 cups sifted powdered sugar, 2-4 tbsp water, 2 tbsp meringue powder
- Frost the cookies. When the cookies have cooled fully, use pastry bags or a plastic cookie decorating bottle to decorate the cookies.
Nutrition
Styling: Addelyn Evans / Photography: Dera Burreson
They are not only beautiful but so yummy with a cup of coffee or tea…….Have a blessed Easter!
I’m kind of a nut about measuring when I bake. Given that oranges come in so many different sizes, how much orange juice should I use… 3 tablespoons maybe?
Very good sugar cookie recipe.
I made for my grandkids Easter cookies follow your recipe and all of them are perfectly in shape as well as all of them becomes very soft .
I used your Royal icing recipe as well .
Thank you
they are sooo yummy, thank you Keleb for sharing.i don’t usually leave comment ,but I had to ,cause they are sooo good
Super delicious made this recipe yesterday and shared with my grandkids of course. Thank you, your the best!