How to Make Sugar Cookies (Soft or Cut-Out)

Have you always wondered how to make sugar cookies that will wow your whole family for the holiday season? This easy sugar cookies recipe takes under 45 minutes to make and is incredibly adaptable, so you can create any shape or style you want this year. Whether you’re looking for soft sugar cookies with chewy centers or perfectly crisp cut-outs for decorating, this sugar cookie recipe delivers foolproof results every single time.

❤️ Why You’ll Love These Sugar Cookies

• Super Easy: This recipe is simple to follow and can be ready in just 45 minutes from start to finish.
• Two Methods in One: Make drop cookies for soft centers or cut-outs for decorating because both work with this base recipe.
• Hold Their Shape: Cut-out cookies maintain clean edges without spreading, so your shapes stay perfect.
• Infinitely Customizable: Decorate with any icing, sprinkles, or toppings your heart desires.

🍲 Ingredients

Butter and Oil Combination – This recipe uses both softened butter and a small amount of oil because butter provides rich flavor while oil keeps cookies tender and prevents them from becoming too crispy. The butter should be at room temperature so it creams properly with the sugar, creating tiny air pockets that make cookies light and fluffy. This combination ensures your cookies stay soft for days without becoming hard or dry.

Granulated and Powdered Sugar – Using both types of sugar creates the perfect texture because granulated sugar helps cookies spread and caramelize while powdered sugar (with its cornstarch) keeps them tender and soft. The combination gives you cookies with slightly crispy edges and soft, chewy centers, so you get the best of both worlds in texture and sweetness.

👩‍🍳 How to Make Sugar Cookies

Make the Dough:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, beat butter and oil with a hand mixer for 2 minutes until smooth and combined. Add granulated sugar gradually, beating on medium-high until light and fluffy, because proper creaming creates tender cookies.
4. Add powdered sugar and mix until combined and pale. Then, add egg, vanilla, and milk, beating just until incorporated.
5. Add flour mixture and mix just until no streaks remain, but don’t overmix or cookies become tough.

For Soft Drop Cookies:

6. Cover bowl and refrigerate 20-30 minutes, so dough firms up slightly. Scoop tablespoon-sized portions onto baking sheets 2-3 inches apart because they spread during baking.
7. Bake 8-10 minutes until edges are barely set but centers still look soft. Let cool on pans 5 minutes because they firm up as they cool.

For Cut-Out Cookies:

8. Cover and refrigerate dough 30-45 minutes until firm. Roll on a floured surface to ¼-inch thickness, so cookies bake evenly and hold their shape.
9. Cut shapes with cookie cutters and place on a parchment-lined sheet. Refrigerate cut cookies 20-30 minutes before baking because this prevents spreading.
10. Arrange cookies 2 inches apart and bake 10-12 minutes until edges are barely golden. Cool on pans 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack.

Simple Royal Icing (Alternative to Buttercream):

11. Whisk 2 cups powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons milk, and ½ teaspoon vanilla until smooth. Add more milk if too thick or more sugar if too thin. This dries hard and glossy in 2-4 hours, so it’s perfect for stacking.

Swiss Buttercream (From Original Recipe):

12. Heat egg whites and sugar in a double boiler to 120°F, whisking constantly. Transfer to a mixer and whip on high until stiff peaks form and bowl is cool, about 8-10 minutes.
13. Add softened butter gradually while mixing, and continue whipping until fluffy. Add vanilla and divide into bowls for coloring.

Decorate:

14. Use piping bags with small round tips for detailed work, or spread with an offset spatula for simple designs. Add sprinkles while icing is still wet, so they stick properly.

🪄 Tips and Tricks

• Measure Flour Correctly: Spoon flour into measuring cups and level off because scooping packs in too much, making cookies dry.
• Chill Before Baking: Cold dough spreads less and holds shapes better, so don’t skip refrigerating cut-outs.
• Light-Colored Pans: Use light aluminum sheets because dark pans cause over-browning on the bottoms.
• Don’t Overbake: Remove cookies when edges barely set and centers look soft because they continue cooking on the hot pan.

🗒 Variations

• Sprinkle Sugar Cookies: Roll dough balls in colored sugar or sprinkles before baking for sparkly, festive cookies.
• Lemon Sugar Cookies: Add 2 tablespoons lemon zest to the dough and use lemon extract instead of vanilla.
• Almond Sugar Cookies: Replace vanilla with almond extract and press a sliced almond on top before baking.
• Sandwich Cookies: Make small cut-outs and sandwich with buttercream or jam filling after cooling completely.

🗒 Substitutions

• Gluten-Free: Use 1¾ cups Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 GF flour blend, but add 2 extra tablespoons because GF flour absorbs more liquid.
• Dairy-Free: Replace butter with vegan butter and use plant-based milk, though cookies may spread slightly more.
• Flavor Variations: Add ½ teaspoon almond extract instead of vanilla, or fold in 1 tablespoon lemon zest for citrus flavor.
• Egg-Free: Use 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed mixed with 3 tablespoons water, but texture will be slightly denser.

🍽️ Best served with

• Barista Blend Oat Milk
• Fresh Fruit Salad
• Bougatsa
• Frozen Greek Yogurt

👝 How to Store Leftovers

Store baked cookies at room temperature in an airtight container for 4-5 days, or refrigerate for up to 1 week. Unbaked dough can be refrigerated for 2-3 days or frozen as logs or flat discs for up to 3 months, so you can bake fresh cookies anytime. Wrap dough tightly in plastic wrap and foil before freezing. Thaw overnight in the fridge before rolling and cutting because frozen dough is too hard to work with.

🤔 Common Questions

How to Make Sugar Cookies (Soft or Cut-Out)

5 from 9 votes

🎄 Learn how to make sugar cookies that are soft, buttery, and perfect for decorating! Easy recipe with both drop cookie and cut-out methods in 45 minutes!

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 13 minutes mins

Total Time 42 minutes mins

Course Vegetarian

Cuisine Baked Goods

Servings 22 -24

Calories 112 kcal

Ingredients

  

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• 1/3 cup butter softened
• 3 tbsp sunflower or avocado oil
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 2/3 cup icing sugar
• 1 egg room temperature
• 1 tbsp vanilla
• 1 tbsp almond or plant-based milk
• 2 cups + 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
• ½ tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp salt
• Swiss Meringue Buttercream
• 1 ½ egg whites room temperature
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• ½ cup + 2 tbsp unsalted butter soft
• 1 ½ tsp vanilla

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Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven to 325F, and line 2 baking trays with parchment paper.
• In a medium-sized bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, combine butter and oil, with a hand mixer for 2 minutes until thoroughly combined.
• Add the granulated sugar slowly, with a hand mixer on medium/high speed until light and pale in colour.
• Next, add the icing sugar and whisk until combined and light.
• Slowly mix in the egg, vanilla, and milk, and beat until combined. 
• Add the flour mixture and beat until no streaks or flour clumps remain, creating a smooth and uniform dough. Do not overmix. 
• Cover the bowl in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30-45 minutes.
• Remove the cookie dough from the fridge and place it onto a gently floured surface, roll out to 1/8 – ¼ inch thickness. 
• Use your favourite holiday cookie cutters to cut out your cookies and set them onto the baking trays. Continue these steps until you use all of the dough.
• Refrigerate the cookies for about 20 – 30 minutes prior to baking (you may need to place another sheet of parchment paper onto your baking sheet to layer the cookies for refrigerating).
• Space the cut-out cookies onto your baking sheets 2 inches apart from each other. 
• Evenly space the cookie dough 2-3 inches apart onto the baking trays. 
• Bake for 12 – 13 minutes, until slightly golden on the edges.
• Allow to cool on the baking trays for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack.
• While the cookies are baking, prepare your buttercream. Bring a pot, with a few inches of water, to a strong simmer. 
• In a medium-sized stainless steel or glass bowl, combine egg whites and granulated sugar. Whisk to combine.  Set the bowl on top of the pot with simmering water. The bowl should remain higher than the water level.  Continuously mix and heat the egg whites and granulated sugar, until the sugar has dissolved. This will occur at 120F (50F). Once the sugar has dissolved, remove the bowl from the heat and transfer to a new medium or large-sized bowl. Using a hand or stand mixer, whip the egg whites and sugar on high speed until stiff peaks have formed. The meringue will look shiny. This will take 5 – 10 minutes. At this time, begin to add your soft butter in increments.  Add ¼ cup of butter at a time, until fully incorporated. Continue to whip at high speed, scraping the edges of the bowl in between. Once you have added all OR most of the butter, continue to whip until it forms a light and fluffy icing (During the process of adding butter, it may seem soft OR look like it is curdled- continue adding your butter and whipping on high speed. The buttercream will come together.) Once the buttercream has come together, add the vanilla and whip on medium speed until fully incorporated. Divide your buttercream into small bowls and add your own colours or flavours! Prepare a couple of piping bags with small round piping tips, and add the buttercream to each one. 
• Decorate the cookies as you wish! Add candies, sprinkles, etc.! Have fun and customize your holiday cookies!!
• To decorate your cookies similar to the trees, squeeze a small dot of icing at the top of your tree and gently swipe down to create an upside-down teardrop shape. Next, create another row and overlap more dots, to fill the next row of the cookie and remember to swipe down on the dots. It makes it look gentler. Then add some delicate gold sprinkles!!
• To decorate your cookies similar to the candy canes, Prepare a piping bag with white buttercream and one with red buttercream. Take the red piping bag and squeeze diagonal red lines across the entire cookie BUT leaving a small space (the side of the piping tip) to fill in with white. Pipe white buttercream lines in the empty spaces- in between the red buttercream lines!

Notes

Colour your buttercream with freeze-dried fruit powder, food colouring OR keep it white!

Decorate these cookies with your favourite holiday sprinkles, chocolates, etc.!

Enjoy your cookies plain, if you would like! Press granulated sugar on top for a little extra fun!

Use your favourite plant-based butter and milk in the cookies, and swap the butter in the buttercream with a combo of plant-based butter and shortening.

Use 1 ¾ cup of Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 GF flour blend instead of all-purpose flour!

Add any of your favourite holiday flavours to the icing-make it fun and delicious!

Store cookies at room temperature in an airtight container for 2 – 3 days, 5 – 7 days in the fridge, or in the freezer for 2-3 months. 

ENJOY! These are the perfect cookies to decorate with your loved ones!!

Nutrition

Serving: 24 | Calories: 112kcal | Carbohydrates: 9.1g | Protein: 0.6g | Fat: 8.4g | Saturated Fat: 4.2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.5g | Trans Fat: 0.5g | Cholesterol: 24.7mg | Sodium: 69.9mg | Sugar: 8.9g

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