Best Rolled Sugar Cookies Recipe (2024)

Great for getting the kids involved in some holiday baking...one of my favorite, easy Christmas Cookie Recipes!!

These cookies are required for the holidays, right along with a big plate of old fashioned fudge.

❤️Why you'll love this recipe

• These are simply the best sugar cookie recipe!
• You can re-roll the dough as much as you need to without it getting tough or crumbly. It makes them perfect for cutting out and decorating.
• The edges cut cleanly and the cookies don't spread in the oven. Perfect cookies, full of buttery-sugary-deliciousness every single time!

It makes the best sugar cookies ever -- especially if you are baking with kids because you don't need a stand mixer - you just mix them up by hand!

An adult will need to handle the rolling pin and rolling out the dough. They always come out right - a tender cookie with crisp edges.

If you don't have time for the chilling and cutting you'll definitely want to try these bakery style sugar cookies! Soft and chewy - just waiting for some sprinkles or colored sugar!

🧾 Ingredients

It's amazing that these old fashioned cookies are so delicious with so few ingredients. It's a simple recipe but it's super important to use real butter or the flavor just won't be there.

🔪 Instructions

Note: This is an overview of the instructions. The full instructions are in the green recipe card below.

1. Mix the dry ingredients and set aside.
2. Melt the butter.
3. Whisk in the sugar until smooth and it looses its graininess.
4. Stir in the eggs.
5. Blend in the vanilla.
6. Add the flour mixture.
7. Stir until blended. Dough is very soft.
8. Chill for 30 minutes in the freezer or the refrigerator overnight.
9. Roll the dough out, cut, and bake.

This sugar cookie dough is very soft before you chill it - as in the image above.

🥫 Storage

Store finished cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two weeks or freeze for up to three months.

If you are packaging for shipping pack in layers with parchment paper or wax paper between the layers. Read more about how to ship cookies here.

💭Tips

Expert Tip: I like to cut the dough out in shapes then freeze it unbaked. That way I only have to put them on the cookie sheet and bake - no mess and hardly any time at all!

I don't think it would be a holiday for my kids without a few of these along with some coconut white chocolate chip - especially my older kids who have fond memories of the bake sales.

• The dough is very soft - chill dough in the refrigerator overnight or, if you are in a hurry, pop it in the freezer for 30 minutes to an hour.
• When rolling use just enough flour to keep them from sticking.
• Bake just until the bottoms and edges are light golden brown.
• Use baking soda for soft cookies or baking powder for crunchy cookies.
• The dough keeps for several days in the refrigerator or you can freeze it for longer storage.
• Always bake similar sized cookies together so that they bake evenly.
• Rolling the dough about ⅛-inch thick will give you a crispy sugar cookie while rolling the dough ¼-inch will keep them softer.
• Let cool completely before decorating with icing.

📖Variations

Classic sugar cookies are flavored with vanilla but this recipe is so versatile that you can easily change the flavors.

Here are some ideas to get you started:

• Split a vanilla bean in half and scrape out the seeds into the melted butter before you add the flour
• When melting the butter let it get a golden brown color for a nutty, rich taste
• Use part vanilla and part almond extract instead of just vanilla
• Use lemon extract
• Use a few drops of anise flavoring
• Color the dough with gel or paste food color
• Replace 1 cup of the sugar with brown sugar
• Add a little freshly grated nutmeg
• Add a ½ teaspoon of cinnamon
• Add a pinch of cardamom
• Add a teaspoon of lemon or orange zest

🎥Video

Just click on the image below if you'd like to see the full length video on YouTube. It opens in a new tab so you won't lose your place here.

👩🏻‍🍳 FAQs

Here are the questions I am most frequently asked about this recipe.

🍽 Equipment

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Good cookie sheets make all the difference in the texture of your cookies and whether or not the bottoms burn. I like these heavy dutycookie sheetsfrom Calphalon for this easy recipe. They’re high quality and will last for years.

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This recipe makes easy rolled sugar cookies for your Christmas cookie tray -- but they are beautiful for any occasion from Valentine's Day to Halloween.

Cut them in rounds and put two together with some chocolate ganache in between for sandwich cookies - so good!

What's a holiday assortment without a nice variety of cookies? Here are some of my favorites.

• Best Christmas Cookies Recipes
• Cherry Slice and Bake Cookies
• Chocolate Cherry Bon Bons
• Shaped Cookies
• Old Fashioned Peanut Butter Cookies: Crispy Chewy
• Christmas Brownies Recipe

📞 The last word

These cut out sugar cookies are the ones we use here for everything, all year long. The dough freezes well so I'll make up a bunch of it at once, toss it in a freezer bag, and then just thaw it and use it as needed.

The hardy dough is perfect for cutting into all kinds of cookie shapes and it never seems to get tough from little hands overworking it or a little extra flour. I promise you - this recipe is a keeper.

I generally make a specially decorated batch to give as party favors to our guests during the gingerbread house party.

Next time try these red velvet cut out cookies and these Santa's whiskers cookies, too!

If you click on the number of servings in the recipe card you can adjust the measurements up or down for the exact number of servings you need. Don't forget that you can click on "add to collection" to save it to your own, private recipe box!

If you love this recipe please give it 5 stars!⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

📖 Recipe

First published December 2006. Last updated October 21, 2021 for improved readability.

More Shaped & Rolled Cookies