There’s something undeniably delightful about the aroma of freshly baked sugar cookies wafting through the house. These classic treats are not only delicious, but they also bring joy to both the baker and the lucky recipients of these sweet treats. We’ll share a sugar cookie recipe that allows you to cut shapes and bake them so that they keep their shape. So, let’s preheat the oven, gather our ingredients and embark on a scrumptious baking adventure!
Baking the Perfect Sugar Cookies
Ok, with about 5,000 sugar cookie recipes on the internet, is there really a perfect sugar cookie recipe? No, probably not, but this is the recipe that I found to be perfect for me, for creating sugar cookie cut-out shapes.
Sugar Cookie Recipe
Makes ~16 cookies
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened at room temp
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
Mixing the Dough
1. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
2. In a separate large bowl, cream together the softened butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
It is VERY important that your butter is softened at room temperature. Don’t try to take a shortcut by softening it in the microwave, the butter will not incorporate well.
3. Add the egg, vanilla and almond extracts to the butter-sugar mixture and beat until well combined.
4. Gradually incorporate the dry ingredient mixture into the wet mixture JUST until it’s all mixed in. Do not over mix.
Rolling and Chilling the Dough
- Divide the dough into two equal portions. Place each portion onto a separate piece of floured parchment paper. Shape each into a 2″ thick disc.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
3. Sprinkle flour on top of each disc & roll out until each is 1/4″ thick.
4. Transfer the parchment paper with rolled dough into the freezer for 5-10 minutes. Freezing the dough helps the cut outs to maintain their shape while baking.
5. Remove rolled dough from freezer, then cut out desired shapes using cookie cutters and transfer them onto the prepared baking sheets.
Baking and Cooling
- Bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes. Pull the cookies JUST BEFORE the edges start to golden. If you are unable to cook both trays of cookies at the same time, place your frozen cut out shapes into the refrigerator while you wait to bake them. If you only have 1 baking pan, make sure to cool the pan COMPLETELY before placing your next batch of cut-outs on it. If you put them on a hot baking pan, the butter in the dough will start to melt too quickly and your cut outs will lose their shape when baked.
- Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring them to wire racks to cool completely.
By following these simple steps, you can create delicious sugar cookies that are perfect for any occasion.
Looking for some cute cookie cutters? We like Ann Clark Cookie Cutters which are made in the USA.
Author: Nicole Bolin
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