Sugar cookies are synonymous with the holiday season, but really, they’re great ANYTIME of the year. The key is getting a really good sugar cookie recipe, and this one is the BEST!
Sugar Cookie Ingredients
Any good cookie is a product of good ingredients. Here’s what goes into this recipe.
- Butter: Personally I love using salted butter, but unsalted works also.
- Sugar: You will need granulated sugar for this recipe.
- Egg: room temperature egg is the key to success.
- Vanilla Extract & salt: They just make everything taste better.
- Baking Powder: Helps create a soft cookie that keeps its shape and has just the right amount of rise.
- Flour: All-Purpose flour is what you want for these cookies.
Royal Icing Ingredients
- Powdered Sugar: as with most frostings this is the base of our frosting.
- Meringue Powder: Traditionally royal icing is made with egg whites, but meringue powder is a great substitute to make royal icing without raw egg and shelf stable.
- Vanilla Extract: I love a vanilla icing, but you could also use almond extract, peppermint extract, or any others to create this. I recommend using a non oil based extract.
How to Make Homemade Sugar Cookies
I’ll walk you through my process for making perfect cut-out cookies, and then there is a full printable recipe at the end of this post.
- In a large bowl combine flour, baking powder, and salt.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer combine butter and sugar. Mix to combine to a paste consistency, but not light and fluffy. Add in vanilla extract, milk and egg. Mix to combine. Add in flour and mix to combine.
- Divide dough in half and wrap in saran wrap and place in refrigerator for about 30 minutes. I like to press the dough down while inside the saran wrap instead of leaving in a ball so that it is easier to roll out.
- Take half of the dough and roll out onto a well floured surface. If the dough is super sticky, then you may need to chill the dough for longer.
- Cut into desired shapes and place onto a baking sheet. If you want to prevent too much spreading, Place the baking sheet into the freezer for 10-15 minutes (or refrigerator for 30 minutes).
- Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes.
Sugar Cookies Recipe FAQs
Sugar cookie recipes, while simple, involve a little more work than drop-style cookie recipes.
- Decorating Prep and Storage. If you do not plan to decorate on the day they were baked, move cookies to a an air tight container and layer with parchment paper between layers of cookies. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to a week.
- Can This Sugar Cookie Recipe be Frozen? Yes! As long as they are stored in an air tight container these freeze great!. To thaw, simply let them sit on the counter and come to room temperature.
- Frosting and Icing. I love making a royal icing for a traditional sugar cookie, but buttercream or a plain glaze works great also!
How to Make Homemade Royal Icing
- In a stand mixer bowl, add powdered sugar, meringue powder, vanilla extract. Mix to combine.
- Slowly add in warm water (make sure it is warm this is what helps activate the meringue powder). Mix on speed 1 until fully incorporated and then increase to speed 6 for 5 minutes.
- This will result in a very thick and fluffy royal icing, if you want more of a cookie decorating consistency add in additional water.
- I like to use 10-15 second consistency icing to decorate cookies. This means if I mix up my icing it will take 10-15 seconds before the icing settles back to smooth.
The Perfect Decorating Consistency
Getting the perfect consistency for royal icing is probably the hardest part! This recipe will start with stiff peak consistency royal icing. You will need to add water to get to a good decorating consistency.
One of the easiest ways I’ve learned to gauge frosting consistency is count in seconds. I will stir the frosting and my goal is to have frosting that settles back to smooth in 10-15 seconds. If it takes longer than 15 seconds, add a little water. Do so slowly so that you don’t have to back track. If it smooths out in less than 10 seconds, you can add in more powdered sugar to thicken it back up.
Share Your Experience
I would love to hear about your experience making and enjoying my Vanilla Cutout Sugar Cookie Recipe with Royal Icing! Feel free to tag me on Instagram or leave a review below. Your feedback helps me improve our recipes and provides inspiration to fellow bakers.
Save this recipe for later by simply using the pin button on the recipe card or any of the photos above. Happy cooking!
Cutout Vanilla Sugar Cookie
Ingredients
Cookies
- 3 ½ cups all purpose flour
- ¼ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 cup butter room temperature
- 1 ¼ cup white sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 3 tbsp milk
Royal Icing
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- ¼ cup meringue powder
- ⅓ cup warm water
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
Cookies
- In a large bowl combine flour, baking powder, and salt.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer combine butter and sugar. Mix to combine to a paste consistency, but not light and fluffy. Add in vanilla extract, milk and egg. Mix to combine. Add in flour and mix to combine.
- Divide dough in half and wrap in saran wrap and place in refrigerator for about 30 minutes. I like to press the dough down while inside the saran wrap instead of leaving in a ball so that it is easier to roll out.
- Take half of the dough and roll out onto a well floured surface. If the dough is super sticky, then you may need to chill the dough for longer.
- Cut into desired shapes and place onto a baking sheet. If you want to prevent too much spreading, Place the baking sheet into the freezer for 10-15 minutes (or refrigerator for 30 minutes).
- Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes.
Royal Icing
- In a stand mixer bowl, add powdered sugar, meringue powder, vanilla extract. Mix to combine.
- Slowly add in warm water (make sure it is warm this is what helps activate the meringue powder). Mix on speed 1 until fully incorporated and then increase to speed 6 for 5 minutes.
- This will result in a very thick and fluffy royal icing, if you want more of a cookie decorating consistency add in additional water.
- I like to use 10-15 second consistency icing to decorate cookies. This means if I mix up my icing it will take 10-15 seconds before the icing settles back to smooth.
Leave a Reply