If you’re looking for a classic roll out sugar cookie that’s tried and true with a balanced sweetness, this is for you. These cookies are soft with crisp edges and hold their shape beautifully for cut outs (and impression stamp cutters). They also have nice flat tops which is helpful when decorating with royal icing.

This recipe is the sweetest of the three sugar cookie recipes, and it is also the most classic, popular ratio of ingredients for sugar cookie cut outs. It is not my personal go-to (I like this one the best!), but you might choose this recipe if you prefer a sweeter cookie, a softer cookie that has a bit of a chewiness, and a lighter flavor due to a lack of browning.

why you’ll love classic cut out sugar cookies

This cookie is sweet (yet balanced with salt) and lightly flavored with butter and vanilla. It’s a delicious, classic flavor!
The texture is soft and slightly chewy in the center.
They hold their shape beautifully and don’t spread which makes them perfect for decorating!
You can decorate these cookies with royal icing or buttercream. Because the cookie doesn’t puff, liquid style icings like royal icing won’t easily drip off the sides.

ingredients in classic cut out sugar cookies

butter– I always use unsalted butter in my recipes so I can accurately tell you how much salt to add, but the truth is that when I’m just baking personally, I often use salted butter and nothing is ever too salty. Use what you have, but make sure that it has come to room temperature, about 66-70 degrees. Butter straight out of the fridge will not cream as well, which will either require too much creaming (creating too aerated of a mixture) or the final dough will have little pebbles of butter that will melt in the oven, causing uneven cookies. Make sure the butter hasn’t softened too much and become melty or squishy.
sugar– I use granulated sugar in my sugar cookie recipe.
flour– Flour provides the structure for this cookie, and this recipe has the perfect amount for the dough to both hold its shape, yet not be too floury and hard.
cornstarch– Adding a small amount of cornstarch to a dough will make the final cookies a bit softer and more tender while also helping the cookies hold their shape.
egg– Eggs will give the cookie structure and tenderness. In my testing of this recipe, I found that removing one egg white makes the dough more tender and also reduces the spread. (Egg whites are mostly water after all!)
salt- Diamond Crystal kosher salt is the best for baking, so I recommend grabbing a box if you can. It will last you for a long time if you just use it for baking! If you don’t have this type of salt, swap for regular table salt and use half the amount called for.
vanilla– Vanilla is essential for flavor in this recipe, and I recommend using vanilla bean paste instead of extract if you can. I love to use vanilla bean paste because the flavor is more intense, but vanilla extract is great as well. I love The Spice House, Heilala, and Nielsen-Massey. (Make sure to check your local Costco store for big jars of Nielsen-Massey at an amazing price!)
almond extract– I grew up in almond extract loving family, so I was surprised to discover that it is a polarizing flavor. If you are not a fan, swap it for more vanilla or skip it entirely. You can also experiment with other extracts or emulsions.

*You can use my code EMILYLOGGANS for 10% off at The Spice House. I love to get my vanilla extract, almond extract, kosher salt, and spices from there!

SUPPLIES NEEDED TO MAKE SHORTBREAD STYLE SUGAR COOKIES

hand mixer or stand mixer– A stand mixer makes this process so incredibly easy, but a hand mixer works just fine, especially if you’re just making a single batch.
spatula– A spatula is essential to scrape down the bowl throughout the process. Without scraping, you’ll end up with an unevenly mixed dough and cookies that are inconsistent.
scale– If there’s one thing I can convince you of, please let it be a kitchen scale. 🙏🏻Using a scale makes everything easier with baking, and it ensures you get the same results every time. Flour is so easy to over-add with volume measurements, and a scale solves that problem.
parchment paper– I always roll my dough between two sheets of pre-cut parchment paper, which is by far the best way to roll out dough.
guided rolling pin– Rolling dough evenly is tricky with a regular rolling pin, but with a guided rolling pin, dough comes out evenly every time. It’s such a time saver and one of my favorite kitchen tools.
baking sheets– I use these cookie sheets for years, and they are amazing.
cookie cutters– Use whatever you like! I recommend building a collection of good basic shapes as well as repeatable designs, such as seasonal designs. I love to get cutters from Charlson Cookie Co. I also love to collect good quality metal cutters.

baking tips for baking classic cut out sugar cookies

This cookie is best when baked just until set, which is when the tops are no longer shiny. Don’t bake until golden with this recipe. Baking them light and pale will ensure that they have a soft texture and light flavor. If you want a caramelized flavor or a crunchier texture, I recommend using this or this recipe.
This cookie works really well when rolled extra thick if that’s your type of cookie. You can roll this dough to ⅚″ or ⅜″ for extra thick cookies. If you roll them thicker, you may need to up the temperature to 375 F to help with preventing spread.
For extra flat tops, gently smooth out the tops of the baked cookies with a spatula as soon as they get out of the oven. Also, use the spatula to reshape them if they spread at all.
If you struggle with more spread than you’d like, you can add 2-4 tablespoon all purpose flour (15g-30g) or an additional tablespoon (10g) of cornstarch.
Use any extracts you like for flavoring this cookie. I recommend lemon, orange, maple, caramel, and almond to name a few. I love Watkins extracts.

decorating classic cut out sugar cookies

Because these cookies are less sweet than a typical sugar cookie, they are paired well with sweet frostings such as royal icing and American buttercream.

classic roll out sugar cookies

Print Recipe

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Author: Emily Loggans
Yield: about 2 dozen 1x

Ingredients

Scale

226g unsalted butter (2 sticks ; 1 cup)

200g granulated sugar (1 cup)

1 ½ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt (or ¾ tsp regular table salt)

2 tsp vanilla bean paste or extract

1 tsp almond extract, optional

1 whole egg, large

360g all purpose flour (3 cups)

10g cornstarch (1 Tbsp)

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Instructions

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter on low speed to smooth and soften. (Do not over-beat it; the goal is not to incorporate air, but rather to make sure there will be no lumps of butter in the final product.)

Add the sugar and the salt to the butter and cream it on medium-low speed until it has combined and slightly lightened. Scrape the sides and bottom of the mixer bowl to make sure there are no under mixed bits.

Add the whole egg, egg yolk, vanilla, and almond extract and mix on medium-low speed until fully combined and emulsified.

Add the flour and cornstarch all at once and mix on low speed until the mixture starts to form a dough and the flour disappears. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to make sure there are no dry bits of flour.

Drop the dough onto lightly floured parchment paper. Gently form the dough with your hand into a smooth square/rectangle before lightly flouring the top of the dough. Place a second piece of parchment paper over the top of the dough and roll it to ¼″ with a guided rolling pin. (Feel free to roll the dough to your preferred thickness.)

Refrigerate the sheet of dough for one to two hours or overnight.

When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 F.

Cut shapes from the chilled dough with lightly floured cookie cutters, placing the cut cookies on a parchment lined baking sheet. Chill the cookies in the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes or in the freezer for 5 minutes before baking. Bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes, or until the tops are no longer shiny. The size and thickness of the cookies will determine how long they bake, so pay attention to the surface and the bottoms of the cookies. The surface should be no longer shiny, and the bottoms should be nearing golden brown.

Cool the cookies on the cookie sheet for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely before decorating. Moving them prematurely can result in broken cookies.

Decorate how you would like with buttercream or royal icing.