The Best Cutout Sugar Cookies {My Favorite Recipe!}
This is easily the best recipe for cutout sugar cookies! They are soft and tender but hold their shape very well during baking.
I’ve been making this cutout sugar cookie recipe for over fifteen years, and it is truly the best of the best. For the perfect sugar cookies, make sure to follow all the tips in the recipe!
The Best Sugar Cookie Dough
This cutout sugar cookie dough is pretty straight forward. What makes it a little bit unique (and extra yummy) is the addition of fresh lemon zest to the batter.
That subtle hint of lemon flavor is absolutely phenomenal and may change your sugar cookie game forever.
However, if you don’t have a fresh lemon hanging around, you can leave it out. (Just promise me you’ll try it eventually!)
The cookie dough also calls for granulated sugar AND powdered sugar. This helps make the cookies incredibly soft and perfectly sweet.
To Chill or Not to Chill
This sugar cookie dough benefits from a few hours of chilling in the refrigerator. Not only will it be infinitely easier to roll out and cut into shapes, but the flavor of the cookies will taste better, too.
However, you can roll and cut the sugar cookies right away. The dough will be sticky, so make sure the counter and rolling pin are adequately floured so the dough doesn’t stick.
The Key to Perfect Sugar Cookies
For the best sugar cookies ever, roll the dough at least 1/4-inch thick (slightly thicker is even better).
If the dough is rolled too thin, the cookies can easily over bake in the oven, which means they’ll be dry-tasting and kind of crispy.
And while I firmly subscribe to the “you do you” belief, I’m going to have to put my foot down when it comes to sugar cookies. We want buttery soft, fluffy, ultra-tender sugar cookies.
For that reason, err on the side of rolling the dough thicker than you think you should.
Trust the Baking Temperature
You may notice that the baking temperature in this recipe is much higher than most “normal” cookie recipes.
I promise that there is a method to this madness! Because sugar cookies already go into the oven much thinner than, say, a ball of chocolate chip cookie dough, they benefit from a shorter baking time.
Using a high temperature perfectly bakes the outside of the cookies quickly and leaves the inside of the cookies super super soft. Pull the cookies out of the oven before you think you should. A slightly underdone middle is just fine. The cookies will set up as they cool.
Frosting for Sugar Cookies
These cookies work very well frosted with:
- royal frosting
- other types of hard-drying, stackable icings
- buttercream frosting
- whipped frosting
When this recipe was originally published, I included a recipe for the most amazing whipped cream cheese frosting. It’s the ultimate in super soft, easily spreadable cookie frostings.
If you are looking for that frosting recipe, it’s in a recipe box all its own below the sugar cookie recipe…so keep scrolling and you’ll find it. 🙂
A Favorite of Many
This cutout sugar cookie recipe is beloved by many! With over 300 5-star reviews, it is a tried-and-true favorite.
Ashley says: I have been using this sugar cookie recipe for years and years! It is seriously the best. I omit the almond extract but I love using the lemon zest. It is my kids favorite recipe. They are soft but not doughy at all.
Tracy Ellen says: My favorite, go to sugar cookie recipe.
Jen M says: I don’t know how I’ve never made these before. They are SO good and the dough is a dream to work with. I rolled it out with powdered sugar as suggested and it is so much better than using flour! I’ve made them twice in the past couple weeks. I was worried the lemon and almond would be too strong, but they are just the perfect amount of flavor so the cookies aren’t bland. You won’t regret making these.
PJ says: I’ve been looking for this recipe for a couple decades now. I personally testify that these are the best butter sugar cookies ever! They are so good I’ll eat a plain one while decorating the others.
My Favorite Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
Sugar Cookies:
- 1 ½ cups (340 g) butter, softened to cool room temperature
- 1 ½ cups (318 g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (57 g) powdered sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ½ teaspoon almond extract, optional
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest, from about 1 lemon
- 5 cups (710 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- In a large bowl, cream together the butter, granulated sugar and powdered sugar for 3-4 minutes, until the mixture is light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs, vanilla extract, almond extract (if using) and lemon zest; mix until thoroughly combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Add the flour, baking powder and salt. Mix just until flour is incorporated and the dough is smooth and soft.
- Press the dough into a thick disc on a sheet of plastic wrap. Wrap until fully covered and refrigerate for several hours (or up to 2 days). *The dough can be rolled out right away; however the cookies won't hold their shape quite as well in the oven – if doing so, you'll need to use quite a bit more flour on the counter to make sure the dough doesn't stick.*
- When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. If your oven bakes hot, reduce the temperature to 375 degrees F.
- Lightly dust a counter with powdered sugar or flour and roll the dough to 1/4-inch or slightly thicker. If the dough has been chilled longer than a few hours, let it rest at room temperature for 10-15 minutes to soften enough to roll out.
- Cut the dough into shapes. Place the cookies several inches apart on parchment-lined baking sheets.
- Bake for 7-8 minutes. DO NOT OVER BAKE! There should be no browning on the edges or the bottom of the cookies and the center of the cookies may look just slightly underdone.
- Let the cookies rest on the baking pans for 2 to 3 minutes before removing them to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Frost and sprinkle as desired.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe
Recipe originally published October 2010; updated February 2024 with new photos, recipe notes, etc
Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting for Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
- 8-ounce (227 g) package cream cheese, softened
- 1 ½ cups (171 g) powdered sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups heavy whipping cream
Instructions
- In a large bowl with a handheld electric mixer or in an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the softened cream cheese, powdered sugar, salt and vanilla.
- Mix until very smooth and light and no lumps remain, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- In a separate bowl, beat the cream to stiff peaks. Add the whipped cream to the cream cheese mixture. Mix until well combined and smooth. Store in the refrigerator for up to one week.
I am now a sugar cookie snob thanks to you!! haha I made these for Christmas this past year, and swore these would be my go to recipe for sugar cookies. I volunteered to make cookies for kids to decorate at church for Easter this weekend; I have two little ones and a friend coming into town and I thought-I’ll just make a quick recipe that I found using a cake mix. Tried them out tonight and decided I will just do what it takes to make these because nothing even comes close to these!!
I am new to the sugar cookie world, and have tried in the past and failed miserably. Now with your favorite sugar cookie, I have found success. The flavor of this cookie is refreshing and delightful, lemon zest, amazing! My family was very impressed with them, and my mother, who does not normally eat sweets, ate 3 of them back to back. My first time baking them was a trial run, but will be whipping up some more Thursday so I can ice Friday to get ready for baby shower on Saturday. I did have to refrigerate dough to work with…and also had to re-refrigerate between rolling and cutting and after cutting. I wanted to ensure I did not lose shape of cuts.
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe, you have blessed me and my family immensely!!!
OMG! I love sugar cookies! IM going to try them! I want to be a baker blogger when I grow up (IM 13) Ive been doing alot of baking things but I always forget something at the store. Turns out we didnt have ANY eggs or baking powder. So I was lucky enough to find some liquid egg whites. But I put in 8 eggs in egg whites which is 2 things of 3/4 of the egg whites. I was freaking out because all the egg whites were on the bottom and the butter and sugar were clumping at the top. Then I added only vanilla extract cause I dont know If I like the lemon zest and almond extract on mine. And added the 2 cups of flour. After that it started to look like cake batter, but at least it got thicker! And I was like “Dont worry… theres 3 more cups after that!” When I put the baking powder substitute in I used 1/3 teaspoon baking powder and 1/3 teaspoon flour. IM CROSSING MY FINGERS. FINAALLLLLY I added the last thing of flour and a little pinch for good luck and it finally and the wonderful creamy dough texture! HALLELUJAH! Hahha… How do you think it will turn out? I mean … even if you still look at the post over here! And do you have a simple frosting without whipping cream or cream cheese… cause Uhmmm…urmm.. I dont have any ^.^
Oh Melanie! You never let me down. I too am a sugar cookie snob…and I don’t make sugar cookies often because they’re just not worth it when they taste like flour! I’ve been making a recipe that tastes pretty good, but they are a PAIN to make. These…I love these. The dough was easy to work with, just a few minutes out of the fridge and a dusting of flour. I love the little bit of almond (some recipes just have too much!) and the lemon! They held their shape for the most part and your baking instructions were perfect! I will add these to my cookie file as my go-to sugar cookie! Thanks for yet another great recipe!
I love this recipe!!! It is my go to recipe for sugar cookies. Thank you for posting it on here and sharing it with us!!!
Dearest of the Mel-Hearts… I just JUST tried your cookies last night. And guess what? You WIN! 🙂 I think this recipe takes the cake, so-to-speak. I’m making my own cookie cutters and tried these out and together they make beautiful music! Thank you very much, honey! Pause & Rejoice – Dallas
First, my fave cookie if I had to choose…oatmeal loaded with raisins and walnuts…Now, that being said, these cookies ARE delicious!! And the frosting…WOW!! So light and fluffy! Truly a great cookie!
And since it’s New Years Day, I made them in the shape of a bell, to ring in the New Year….Ha, what a way to start…devouring these little babies!!
Mel, I have to say, your blog is VERY dangerous to my waistline! So far everything I have made from this blog…my family has loved!
And another little secret….just between the two of us…I’m a Field Editor for Taste of Home magazine, and ALWAYS go to the TOH website when I need a new recipe…Now…I come HERE!! Shhhhh…..let’s keep this between us, OK?? 😀
First time making sugar cookies and this recipe gets a big thumbs up from me. While mixing the dough, I found the almond extract a bit too strong for my liking but the cookies turned out really good. This batch made around 80 odd cookies, which I frosted using a simple sugar icing. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
So….I too have been on the hunt for a unique sugar cookie recipe. I carefully read all of the reviews especially for the frosting, and was prepared for it to be soft. When I whipped it up yesterday, though, I was surprised at how soft it was. Mine was the consistency of mayonaise. So I refrigerated it, hoping for the best. Not so much. Then I went a rechecked the recipe think I surely had mistaken the 1.5 cups of powdered sugar for 1.5 pounds, LOL. In a last ditch effort, I added more powdered sugar….about 2 cups more. I was nervous about this since I had already folded in the heavy whipping cream. To my surprise it came out wonderful, and gave me the added stability I was seeking. If I had it to do over again, I of course, would add the extra powdered sugar at the beginning. But for those who liked that taste but couldn’t handle the texture, hope this helps.
These look amazing I am giving them a whirl tomorrow 🙂
Casey – it sounds like you may need to add another 1/4 cup flour (doing so gradually) until the dough has a slightly stiffer consistency. Also, chilling the dough will help, if you have the time – that way the shapes don’t spread. Good luck!
I made the dough for these last night, and made just a few of them for practice. They are wonderful!! This is going to be what we use for Santa cookies this year. I did not make the icing… I love anything with cream cheese, but I’m thinking I will make one that gets hard so I can stack them. My dough was really sticky, so some of my shapes were a little distorted… do you have any suggestions to help this problem? Thank you for such a wonderful recipe!!
Made these again today-turned out better than last year, because I rolled them thicker, (I glued 2 paint sticks together-two sets of them-and rolled the dough between parchment paper, using the sticks as a guide for the rolling pin-perfect!) and took them out of the oven before they browned at all. YUMMO! Your frosting is delish, as well! Merry Christmas!
I just made these cookies for Christmas Cookie Decorating day in our house and they were AMAZING!!! Perfect consistency, super moist. LOVE THEM! They will become a staple in this house. Also that frosting is DIVINE, although a little depressing knowing how fattening it is…..Still doesn’t stop me from eating it though. 😉 Also for those of you that have cookies that the bottoms burn, I would suggest using aluminum baking sheets. They are cheap and nothing out there does as good a job with cookies. My cookie bottoms never ever burn!!! Dark pans always burn cookie bottoms, at least in my past experience.
Rebekah – the main reason these cookies wouldn’t hold their shape would be not enough flour or if the dough is too warm and not “set up” enough. Was your freshly milled flour warm at all? When I grind fresh wheat flour it has a bit of warmth to it and that could definitely play into the cookies not holding their shape. Also, freshly milled flour has much more air and is less compact that storebought flour from a bag so I always add at least 1/2 cup more flour to recipes where I’m using freshly ground flour. Hope that helps a little and I hope you have better luck if you try them again!
I’m not sure what I did wrong but my cookies didnt hold their shape at all! Let me say that I have never made sugar cookies before so that could be part of it 🙂 Also I used soft white wheat flour instead (freshly milled) of all purpose flour and I halved the recipe. So I know its probably something I did, just wanted your imput as to which one it was 🙂 Thanks for all the great recipes, i really love your site!!!
Fab!! My husband’s fav cookie is the sugar cookie and we will now never need another ‘google’ search for ‘best sugar cookie’ as we have FOUND IT!! THANK YOU!!!
Made these for our new family tradition. Decorating cookies after Thanksgiving dinner dishes are done. I made three batches the weekend before and froze them. They are awesome and are now my go to recipe for sugar cookies.
Thanks
Lorrie
You amaze me! I cannot wait to try SO many of your recipes. This one topping the list with Christmas cookie baking around the corner! Love you, love your blog!
Brooke – I’m so sorry these didn’t work out for you! I live right around sea level. I don’t think you are sugar cookie impaired! It sounds to me like refrigerating the dough for an hour or more may help. Also, if you are measuring the flour with a light hand (spooning it into the cup and leveling versus dipping and sweeping) then you may need to add an extra 1/2 cup flour.
the elusive sugar cookie…..i don’t know what happens to me while i make them…they NEVER turn out and i was so sure these would.
the dough was just really, really soft and sticky. my butter was coldish, i beat it to a fluff and tried rolling right after, impossible. then i refridgerated for about 20 min…still sticky…
what altitude are you at? i want to avoid too much flour because i don’t want the cookie to be dry!.
are some people sugar cookie impaired?
Mel, would you recommend the frosting in this post for piping frosting on cookies? Like writing words or doing designs? Thanks!
Lindsay – while this frosting is absolutely delicious, I think it is a bit too soft and luxurious for piping or writing words. I’d recommend something like the quick vanilla buttercream – that would be delicious with the cookies and easier to pipe with.
Hi Mel,
Just found your site and can’t wait to try some of your “best” recipes like the chocolate cake and sugar cookies. I also am always on the hunt for the best sugar cookie so this one, I will try! As for all of the comments about the frosting not drying hard. I have found one on Allrecipes.com that is fantastic. It dries hard and shiny and is beautiful on sugar cookies…tastes good too! You can find it here: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/sugar-cookie-icing/detail.aspx . I’m sure yours is delish but I usually like to put them in a nice wrapping and give them as gifts or to my son’s class so I need to stack and store. Will be following you now!
I was SO excited to try these, for the coming Halloween parties I’ll be baking for. However, using Calphalon non-stick baking sheets does NOT work. I even sprayed them, which only made the cookies darker on the bottom. I’m a seasoned baker, but these certainly look nothing like the picture above. 🙁 I’m trying them at a lower heat, and on different baking sheets to see if that makes a difference.
Danielle – I use the average, dime-a-dozen rimmed baking sheets (11X17-inch) that don’t have a nonstick coating (I use either parchment paper or a silpat liner on the sheets). Sorry they didn’t work out on the darker baking sheets, I suspect the high baking temperature doesn’t work well with the dark pans.
I don’t know if you will get this by tomorrow but I just made a batch of these cookies for a baby shower that I am throwing tomorrow night. I had a recipe that I was going to use for the frosting but then I saw yours and it looks fabulous! I do have a question though…I am making these into fruit pizzas and I was wondering if (in your expert opinion) you think your recipe would be good as a fruit pizza base? I am putting mandarin oranges, kiwis and strawberries on them? It sounds good but as I have never tried it and you have amazing taste in food, I thought you might be able to give me your opinion?!
Hi Heather – I think the cookies and frosting would be divine as a fruit pizza! If you haven’t already whipped up the frosting, I would add some freshly grated lemon zest or juice to the frosting to give it that quintessential sweet tanginess that is usually in a fruit pizza frosting. But if you don’t have the lemon zest/juice, I still think it would be fantastic. Let me know how it turns out. I love the idea of making mini fruit pizzas on the cookies!
This was seriously the best sugar cookie recipe I have ever tried! I’ve never been able to find a recipe where the cookie would hold it’s shape – and this was perfect!
The frosting, though…. I dunno, it just seemed really weird on a sugar cookie… it wasn’t even the cream cheese as much as the whipped cream. I think it would be awesome though on a soft gingerbread cookie!
So I will be honest – I have a sugar cookie recipe I adore (which I’d be happy to share if you’d like), but I had to try these to see how they compared…. the verdict – I liked the cookie -they were soft and moist but I’m not sure what I thought about having a lemon taste in my sugar cookie. Overall I did enjoy it… the icing however I could do without. It wasn’t sugary enough for me 🙂 I whipped up my icing for my sugar cookie recipe and finished icing them with it. My first round of cookies I rolled out lost their shape pretty easily as I was transferring them from the counter to the cookie sheet, but after I kneaded in a little more flour they kept their shape better! I think next time I try my recipe I’m going to try baking them at 400 for the 7-8 minutes to see how they turn out. It was fun to try though so thanks for sharing!
Haley – it sounds like loyalties to sugar cookies abound which is the great thing about having a recipe you love!
Mel – The frosting doesn’t harden does it? How do you keep the cookies separated (at least for 1-2 days)?
Kathy F – yes, you are right, the frosting doesn’t harden so I usually have to make sure the frosted cookies are stored in a single layer (like on large baking sheets). If you don’t have that much storing space you may want to frost with royal icing since it hardens (although I haven’t found a great royal icing recipe that tastes very good, to be honest).
How long does it take for the whip cream in the frosting to become “stiff peaks?” I want to make sure I know when I’m there, the description sounds right but I want to know when to really look for it.
Melissa – it depends on the speed of your mixer but I would say anywhere from three to six minutes. Take care not to overbeat or the cream will curdle and lose it’s smooth texture. Good luck!
We made these for Santa, and oh my! I am just in love with them, even without frosting! I couldn’t get enough of them, they had such a soft texture and just the right amount of sweetness. So yummy! These could possibly be my new favorite cookie! Santa ate them up too! Thank you Mel!!!!! 😀
Kensi – I agree, I can eat these cookies no prob even without frosting! Glad Santa loved them, too. 🙂
Ok, thanks! I ended up leaving some unfrosted and brought the cookies and frosting and some sprinkles to work for people to decorate their own :o) This is a great recipe– thank you for sharing!
I made these over the weekend and love them. But what’s the best way for storing them once they’re frosted? Since the frosting doesn’t set up, do you have a hint for stacking them? I don’t have enough containers to just keep putting them in one layer…
Tricia – if you want to stack these cookies, you’ll probably want to look for a frosting that sets up a bit firmer than the whipped cream frosting I include in the recipe. Whenever I make them, I am always stuck laying all of them out flat on my baking trays.
For the frosting do I need to fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture or can I just add it to the mixer and combine that way?
Charlotte, I’ve tried gently folding the cream into the cream cheese and then just scooping it in and mixing with a mixer and the latter option works just fine. I just whip it all together until it is smooth.
Just finished making these cookies with a cookie press!
A few tips if you want to use a cookie gun/press:
– The lemon zest can get a little clogged in the press, so you may want to sub lemon extract. I did the zest and was able to work through it, but probably would use extract next time.
– Bake the cookies for 4 1/2 minutes ONLY. 5 min was too long.
– This recipe will produce close to 220 cookies with the cookie gun. Perfect for mass producing cookies for gifts.
– Sprinkle the cookies with colored sugar BEFORE they go in the oven. That way the sugar comes out baked onto the cookie and doesn’t fall off when moving it.
Cookie presses/guns are VERY FUN! I highly recommend people get one and give it a try. Mine is a manual one, and it worked great. No need to spend a ton of money on an electric one. 🙂
Anissa – I’m so glad these worked out! I was wondering…looks like I need to get myself a cookie press!
Hi Mel – Have you ever tried using this dough, at room temp, in a cookie gun? I’m needing to make mass quantities of cookies for holiday gifts and think I might pass out if I have to roll and cut each cookie individually. The cookie gun is super fast and cute…
Thanks!
Anissa – I’ve never used a cookie gun in my whole life, I must confess. So I have no idea how this dough would fare! I’m sorry I can’t help you because I’d love to help you find a good solution. I suppose it is always worth a try…although you may have good luck searching for a cookie-gun-recipe online. Good luck!
Hi
I followed your recipe and ended up with the most delicious sugar cookies ever! Thank you.
Thanks, Lorraine – so glad you loved these!
These are amazing! Seriously the best sugar cookies I’ve ever had! My husband’s not a big sugar cookie guy, but they converted even him! Thanks for sharing your great recipes!
Thanks, Emily – I’m glad you and your husband liked them so much!
Oh Mel,
You’ve done it again. I’m going to be making these for my daughter’s cooking bday party on Monday along with your overnight pizza dough. I’m stoked.
Have you ever used Almond Immulsion (sure I’m spelling it wrong). It’s a thick almond paste that I use instead of extract that is to die for. We only have one place out here in UT that I can find it at. I could bootleg you some if you wanted to try it.
Also, for the frosting, do you use your Bosh to whip the cream cheese? I know you can’t resist using that thing. Take care!
Michelle – I’ve never used Almond Immulsion. In fact, I’m ashamed to admit I’ve never even heard of it! I’ll have to look into it or take you up on your offer to “bootleg” me some (loved that phrase in your comment). And yes, I usually do use my Bosch to whip up this frosting but I have a handy-dandy hand mixer that I use a lot, too. Either works great.
I’ve been testing out sugar cookie recipes on my blog trying to find that prefect, best ever sugar cookie recipe that I so want to devour. This might be the winner… if I ever get around to baking them in my holiday treat craziness. I still have Halloween treats I haven’t gotten to yet…
I don’t know what kind of magic you’re practicing in your kitchen but I like it! Because I was entertaining kids the day before Halloween I decided that decorating sugar cookies would be fun… I don’t know why I somehow thought this would be fun because EVERY time I make sugar cookies I’ve find the dough so hard to work with that I swear them off forever. Beyond the amazing bakery quality flavor this dough has it was a dream to work with. It didn’t stick to my very large cookie cutters, was easy to move from the counter to the baking tray and they didn’t spread in the oven desorting the shapes like other sugar recipes can. I’m so impressed! I did find slight spreading in some of the dough but it was the scrap dough leftover that I had re-rolled and had gotten warmer than the rest that did this. Once I chilled it again it was perfect. With this recipe I would feel confident to try more complicated docorated cookies for Christmas…like using royal icing and the “flooding” technique.
This frosting was good but I think I like more of an icing on sugar cookies. I will say that it is super important to beat the cream stiff. I didn’t get mine stiff enough and the resulting frosting was a little too soft.
Thanks for a great recipe!!!
Amy M – speaking of magic, it takes just that to make sugar cookies WITH your children. That’s a feat of super-human mommy/chef strength. They are so much work! Having said that, I’m so happy this recipe came through for you and that you loved it. I’ve only experimented a couple times with royal icing and always end up going back to traditional frostings because they taste better…but you are right, these cookies would be fantastic for fancier decorations. Thanks for checking in!
mel! do you have any tips for baking at high altitudes (8000 feet)? these cookies did not turn out for me. it could be because i am a horrid baker and dont even like cookes…but it could be because of the altitude. the dough was too soft to work with so i added 1/2 cup more flour but then the dough was really stiff and the cookies tasted really dense. i didnt know that you could put the dough in the fridge…maybe i will have to try that next time because i just know these cookies will be delish. My husband does love cookies so i would like to get this right! if you happen to know any tips i would love to hear them!
Leslie – baking at high altitudes can be tricky! The highest altitude I’ve lived and baked at was about 6400 feet. I’m sorry that these cookies did not turn out for you! I know that sometimes extra flour has to be used but I’m not sure of the exact measurements. Here is a website from King Arthur Flour (a company I completely trust!) with some recommendations on high altitude baking:
http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipe/high-altitude-baking.html
Mel- is there a huge difference between imitation and pure almond extract?
Camille – well, I don’t know the scientific properties and answer but it’s kind of like vanilla to me – I prefer pure vanilla extract for it’s, well, pure taste and the same goes for almond. I think pure almond extract is always the better option (but definitely use imitation if that is all you have). A lot boils down to what you personal preference is!
I have never been a sugar cookie lover until now. I enjoy making them a couple of times a year and decorating them with the kids, but I didn’t love eating them until I made this recipe. Both the frosting and the cookies were amazing. Flavorful, soft, delicious. I didn’t know a sugar cookie could be this good!
Lucy – well, I’m glad that this recipe helped convert you into a sugar cookie lover. More people in my camp! Yay! Thanks for letting me know you liked this recipe.
I am so glad you posted this in time for us all to try it before we take them to all the classroom Halloween parties! They are so so great! However if I had to choose one cookie for the rest of my life it would be martian cookies. It has a combination of zucchini, semi-sweet chocolate, butterscotch morsels and pecans in a chewy cookie that has and always will be my favorite cookie!
I am the biggest cookie snob around. It is one thing I never buy because I am the self professed “cookie queen” and none of those bakery cookies can compare. I know, I know, I sound snobby, but I’ve got the goods to back it up! Last week my daughter’s friend told her his pumpkin cookie recipe was better than ours. She told him to bring it on because we are the cookie family and made cookies better than anyone. We made him a batch and his mom called us begging for the recipe :). Needless to say, I get the cookie snobbery thing. ESPECIALLY sugar cookies! I have my favorite recipe and my favorite frosting, but I’m excited to give this one a shot…after all, you got me to toss aside my favorite cinnamon roll recipe!
I have to say, I’ve tried many sugar cookie recipes over the years, and these are the best yet. Yesterday I had a taste test between this recipe and a Cook’s Illustrated sugar cookie. Yours won hands down! I love how easy the dough is to work with! They have great flavor and hold their shape really well. I rolled mine a little thicker that 1/4 inch and they were perfect. I’m so excited to have this recipe – thanks!!
Lindy – whew! I’m so glad to hear this. I mean, here I claimed they were “the best” and all, and I really needed to hear someone agree with me. I love you forever.
I made these cookies yesterday and frosted them today. They are AWESOME!!! The timing for the cooking was spot on! Thanks so much for this great recipe. I don’t think I can make any other kind of sugar cookie again, or with any other kind of frosting. Thanks!
Thank you, Jennifer! I’m thrilled you liked these cookies so much (and the frosting, too!).
I have a tried and true “grandma” recipe that we always use for sugar cookies, but I just had to try yours. SO we have a batch of each in the fridge waiting to be baked. I will let you know the kids’ verdict. 🙂
One question. My dough for your recipe was very sticky and runny. I ended up adding about 1 1/2 cups more flour. I hope they still turn out yummy. I will admit, I have snitched some dough and grandma better watch out….if those cookies are half as good as the dough she is in trouble!!
Nicole – let me know the verdict. I love side-by-side comparisons. As for the dough, I’m kind of surprised the dough was so sticky and runny! I even went back to the recipe and double checked I didn’t have a typo in the amount of flour since when I make this, the dough is definitely soft but still firm and rollable. Anyway, let me know how they turn out!
Melanie, thanks for your reply! I did refrigerate the dough but my butter may have been a little too warm initially. The dough was very soft so I’m going to try adding a little more flour as well. This recipe is so delicious, I’m determined to get it right!
I’m not going to lie. A sugar cookie would NEVER top my list of favorite cookies. I’m a chocolate chip cookie gal for sure! However, after reviewing your recipe for these sugar cookies and frosting, I am quite tempted to give it a try:)