Frosted Sugar Cookies
These rolled and cut-out frosted sugar cookies are soft and delicious, and couldn’t be easier to make! My recipe requires no dough chilling time, so you can bake and decorate without any waiting.
One of my family’s favorite holiday traditions every year is to make and decorate Christmas sugar cookies. The kids love it, and truthfully, so do I! I mean, who doesn’t love a super soft homemade vanilla sugar cookie topped with fluffy buttercream frosting?
And this faster and easier recipe is a must-bake! These frosted sugar cookie cutouts are a perfect holiday baking project, wonderful for gifting to family and friends, and they’re sure to be a hit at any gathering.
Looking for more sugar cookie recipes? See also my sugar cookie bars, chocolate sugar cookies, and snowman sugar cookies.
Why this cookie dough doesn’t require chilling
Here are some science-y reasons 🤓 why these sugar cookies need zero chilling in the fridge:
Addition of powdered sugar. Chilling also gives the gluten in the dough time to relax (creating a softer cookie) and allows the flour to absorb some of the moisture, which also prevents spreading. Powdered sugar combats both of these issues: it helps the cookies stay soft and it contains cornstarch, which absorbs excess moisture.
Reduced butter. Cookie dough with a large amount of butter needs to be chilled so that it doesn’t cause the cookies to spread too much as they bake. I’ve adapted my recipe to use less, but still taste amazing!
Ingredients you’ll need
Let’s get baking, shall we? Here’s what you’ll need to make this frosted sugar cookie recipe:
- Butter
- Granulated sugar and powdered sugar
- Vanilla extract and almond extract
- Egg
- All-purpose flour, baking soda and salt
- Cream of tartar
- Heavy cream
- Gel food coloring and sprinkles, as desired
How to make frosted sugar cookie cutouts
- Prepare cookie dough. Cream butter and sugars with the vanilla, then mix in the egg, and finally the dry ingredients.Â
- Roll and cut immediately. Use whatever cookie cutters you like!Â
- (Optional) Freeze cookie cutouts. Not necessary in my tests, but it you want to be sure of no spreading, stick them in the freezer for 15 minutes.Â
- Bake. They’ll need about 8-12 minutes in a 350°F oven until puffed and tops look dry (time will vary based on shape and size).
- Frost and decorate. Now comes the fun part! I frost these cookies with my favorite whipped vanilla buttercream frosting, which everyone always goes nuts for. Color the frosting with gel food coloring as you like, and decorate however you want with sprinkles, etc.
Sugar cookie decoration ideas
- Start with a fun collection of cookie cutters.
- Use piping tips and bags for a more polished look, or simply use offset or straight spatulas.
- Festive sprinkles, sanding sugar, and edible pearls/beads make a big difference with minimal piping skills needed.
- Use this same recipe for other holidays and occasions— Halloween, Easter, Valentine’s Day, birthdays, and more.
Tips for this recipe
- Starting with butter at the right temperature is key! If it’s shiny or melty at all, the butter is too warm and your cookies may spread.
- Measure flour correctly or cookies will be too dry.Â
- Bake similarly-sized cookies together for even baking. Don’t mix bigger cookies with small ones.
- Don’t overbake! If you wait till edges are brown, the cookies will be crisp and not soft. When in doubt, bake a test cookie to check for timing.
- Gel food coloring is preferred over liquid food coloring for more vibrant colors without adding excess liquid. Look for gel food coloring at baking or craft supply stores, or online.
- Let the frosting set-up before stacking or packaging. The frosting will form a sort of “crust” after about 20-30 minutes, and after that you should be able to carefully stack and handle them without messing up the design.
- How to store sugar cookies: Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for several days. Sugar cookies also freeze really well, both frosted and unfrosted! If freezing frosted sugar cookies
Frosted Sugar Cookie Cut Outs
Ingredients
For the cookies:
- ¾ cup (170 grams) butter , at room temperature
- ½ cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (112 grams) powdered sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 ¼ cups (270 grams) all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
For the frosting:
- ½ cup (113 grams) butter , softened to room temperature
- 2 cups (450 grams) powdered sugar , sifted
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract
- Pinch of salt
- 1-3 tablespoons heavy cream
- Food coloring (optional)
- Sprinkles (optional)
Instructions
To make the cookies:
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, or in a bowl with a hand-held mixer, beat the butter, sugars and vanilla together until smooth and creamy, about 3-5 minutes. Add the egg andand mix until just combined.
- In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt, and cream of tartar. Add to the mixer and mix on low until combined. Mixture will be crumbly at first, but will eventually come together into a thick dough.
- Dump onto a clean surface and massage the dough a bit until it comes together. Shape into a disk.
- With a rolling pin, roll dough out to about ¼ inch thick (up to ½ inch for super thick cookies), adding more flour to your work surface and to the dough as needed to keep it from sticking.
- Cut dough out with cookie cutters into desired shapes and transfer to a sheet pan lined with parchment paper, leaving several inches of space between each cookie.
- If desired, freeze cookies on the pan for 15 minutes (this is extra insurance that your cookies will no spread and lose their shape while baking, but is not required).
- Bake until cookies are puffed and the tops appear completely dry, about 8-12 minutes. Baking time will vary based on size of the cookies (see Notes). Let cool on the pan 5 minutes, then transfer to a sheet pan to cool completely.
To make the frosting:
- Beat the butter, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, almond extract, pinch of salt and heavy cream on medium speed until combined. Increase speed to high and beat until smooth and very fluffy.
- Add food coloring to frosting if you like. Frost cookies and decorate as desired.
Notes
- To make Almond Sugar Cookies:Â Substitute 1 teaspoon almond extract for the vanilla extract in the cookies. Omit vanilla in frosting and increase almond extract to 1/2 teaspoon.
- Don’t overbake! If you wait for the edges of the cookies turn brown, they are already a little overdone. What I do when I try a new cookie recipe is I bake one test cookie, checking it often. And then I bake the rest when I determine the correct baking time. These cookies turned out with a barely golden bottom at exactly 12 minutes in my oven.
Seems fun. Like a kid. Making and Playing with stars.
The cake looks amazing, I followed your recipe and my kids really enjoyed it
Does the frosting dry hard or stay soft?Â
It forms a crust on the outside so you can stack them some, but the frosting definitely is still soft, especially if stored in an airtight container.
Cookie sandwiches are my favorite because it’s a twofer — two cookies for the price of one. ? Love the peppermint filling!
Such sweet food is a great option for children’s birthday parties. I should definitely do it on my daughter’s birthday, thanks for the recipe.