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This cookie is the perfect marriage of gingerbread and sugar cookies. It’s warmly spiced, soft and chewy, holds its shape, and is amazing for decorating. It is the ideal holiday cut out cookie.

ingredients in gingerbread 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 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.
• brown sugar– Since brown sugar naturally has molasses in it, it’s perfect for a gingerbread sugar cookie. It will also aid in moisture in this cookie, which will give the centers of the cookie a lovely chew. You can use light or dark, but I prefer dark.
• granulated sugar– I like to use a little granulated sugar in this cookie recipe. Although the main sugar in the recipe is brown sugar, a little granulated sugar will help keep the edges crisp.
• egg yolk– An egg yolk will give the cookie structure and tenderness as well as aid in pliability of the dough.
• molasses– Obviously quintessential to gingerbread, molasses adds flavor and a soft chewiness to this cookie. This recipe only uses a little bit, much less than a typical gingerbread cookie, so it is perfect for people who don’t love the strong molasses flavor of typical gingerbread.
• 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 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!)
• 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.
• milk powder– I saw @bakedbydan on Instagram recommend adding milk powder to gingerbread dough, so I tried it and loved it. It softens the cookie further and brings out some toasty dairy notes. It is optional, however, if you don’t have it.
• baking soda & baking powder– for leavening this cookie
• cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves– the spice mix for this cookie (I highly recommend The Spice House for these spices.)

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

supplies needed to make gingerbread 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.
• Of course, you’ll need cookie cutters.

FAQs

• Why did my cookies spread? A little spread (about an eighth of an inch around) is normal. Too much spread that causes the cookies to be misshapen is frustrating and can ruin the process when you want to decorate. Spread can happen for a few reasons: 1) You used too little flour in the dough. Did you weigh it? 2) What size were your eggs? This recipe is formulated for large sized eggs. Extra large eggs add a lot of additional moisture. 3) You didn’t chill the dough for long enough. The initial chill time is important for the butter to chill enough and for the flour to hydrate. Baking them right away will definitely cause them to spread. Additionally, that mini chill time in the freezer before baking is very helpful for holding their shape.
• Why was my dough crumbly and dry? Did you weigh your flour? It is very easy to accidentally add too much flour when measuring with cups. Too much flour will make a dry, crumbly dough. Did you add enough sugar? Do you have the right amount of butter? What size are your eggs? This recipe is formulated for large sized eggs. Medium or small eggs will not provide enough moisture to the dough. *Keep in mind that this recipe will appear crumbly and dry at first. I promise it will work out.
• Can I use table salt instead of Diamond Crystal kosher salt? Absolutely! Just use half the amount called for since the flakes of diamond crystal are larger, which accounts for less volume in the measuring spoon. I do recommend purchasing a box of diamond crystal, especially if you’re a baker or like to cook. It’s truly the best and recommended by chefs.
• Is Morton kosher salt the same as Diamond Crystal kosher salt? No, and I don’t recommend you use Morton kosher salt in baking.
• Does my butter need to be room temperature or softened? Room temperature is ideal for this recipe. Cold butter will not mix properly, and softened butter will make a dough that is very soft and sticky. Do not use melted butter.
• What should I do if my butter is cold from the fridge? If your butter is cold right out of the fridge, but you want to bake right now, there are a few options. 1)Microwave the butter as whole sticks on defrost mode for a few seconds at a time until it becomes pliable. 2) Chop the butter into small pieces and set off to the side until you can indent the butter with your finger. 
• Why do my cookies have a shiny, see-through-like patch on the bottoms? That is the sign of an underdone (raw) cookie. It needs to bake more. (Unless that’s your thing.) Before pulling cookies out of the oven, check to make sure the tops are evenly “dull” and not shiny.
• How can I bake these to be thin and crisp? Roll the dough to ⅙″ or ⅛″ and bake at a lower temperature for a longer time. If you bake them at 375 F, it might be too hot and brown them way too quickly before they had a chance to dry out enough to become crisp. Thin and crisp cookies are usually baked at 325 F, but I would start with 350 F. 
• Do I really need a kitchen scale? Kinda, yeah? 🙃 They’re not very expensive, but it is a life changing kitchen investment. Here’s the one I use. Of course, you can make this recipe using the cups measurements if you like.
• Can I bake my cookies on silicone mats instead of parchment? You can, and I recommend perforated silicone mats if you have them. They make such nice bottoms to cookies. However, I still prefer to bake with parchment. It’s my preference, but your preference could be to use silicone mats. Just experiment and go with what you prefer based on experience and results. 🫶🏻
• Can I decorate these cookies with royal icing or buttercream? Yes! They are delicious with both. Here is my royal icing recipe.
• Is this the same recipe you used to sell on the old website? Yes! This recipe was originally sold as “Gingerbread Sugar Cookies” and was a customer favorite.

classic gingerbread cookies

Print Recipe

This cookie is the perfect marriage of gingerbread and sugar cookies. It’s warmly spiced, soft and chewy, holds its shape, and is amazing for decorating. It is the ideal holiday cut out cookie.

• Author: Emily Loggans

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

283g unsalted butter, room temperature (1 ¼ cups | 20 Tbsp)

220g dark brown sugar, or light (1 cup, packed)

50g granulated sugar (¼ cup)

1 ½ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt, or ¾ tsp regular table salt

1 egg yolk, large

85g molasses, preferably Grandma’s (¼ cup)

2 tsp vanilla bean paste or extract

540g all purpose flour (4 ½ cups)

14g whole milk powder (2 Tbsp) *optional

1 tsp baking powder

¼ tsp baking soda

2 Tbsp ground cinnamon

1 Tbsp ground ginger

½ tsp ground nutmeg

½ tsp ground cloves

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Instructions

Cream the butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and salt until smooth and creamy, being careful not to overly aerate the mixture. Add the egg yolk, molasses, and vanilla and mix until it has emulsified.

Add the flour, milk powder, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves and mix until a dough begins to form. It will be crumbly at this stage, and you may think it is too dry. Drop the dough onto a piece of parchment and gently knead it with your hand until it comes together. Press into a thick sheet and place a piece of parchment paper on top. Roll out the dough to ¼″ (or thicker, if you prefer) and refrigerate the dough for two hours or overnight.

When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375 F. Cut the dough into shapes and place on a baking sheet a couple inches apart. They will not spread, but we want to leave some room for even heating between the cookies. To ensure they keep their shape, refrigerate the sheet of cookies for 5-10 minutes before baking. (This works out perfectly as the sheet waiting to be baked can just chill in the fridge.) 

Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Once they’re cooled, you can decorate them however you like!

more like this

These dark chocolate sugar cookies are extremely rich with a deep cocoa flavor. This specific recipe is for a peppermint mocha cut out cookie, but you can simply remove the peppermint for a simple chocolate cut out sugar cookie. You can also swap some of the Dutch cocoa powder for black which creates a very rich, dark cookie with an Oreo flavor.

They can also be baked thin and crisp or thick and soft, which makes this recipe even more versatile. I’ve decorated my thick and soft peppermint mocha sugar cookies with a minty royal icing, flavored with Elves Smells flavoring extract from Supernatural Kitchen. This is such a unique and beautiful flavoring, but if you don’t have access to it, you can exchange it for peppermint extract in your royal icing. Here is the royal icing recipe.

ingredients in peppermint mocha 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 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. This recipe has a little less sugar than a typical sugar cookie recipe, but just enough to give the cookie the perfect sweetness and texture.
• brown sugar– I also add a little brown sugar to this recipe to add moisture since cocoa powder can dry out a cookie a little bit.
• 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.
• egg– An egg yolk will give the cookie structure and tenderness.
• 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!)
• peppermint extract– This is an optional add-in to this cookie, but it’s perfect for the holidays and absolutely delicious. Here is a high quality peppermint extract from The Spice House that I love.
• cocoa powder– This recipe calls for Dutch process cocoa powder. You can also use half the amount of cocoa powder as Dutch process and half as black cocoa for a more dark and rich flavor and color. Here is a bundle of both cocoa powders that I use and love from Modern Mountain.
• espresso powder– This ingredient is optional, but it really adds a depth to the chocolate in this cookie. Use double to get more of a mocha effect.
• meringue powder– If you would like to decorate these cookies with royal icing, you’ll need meringue powder. Here is the recipe for royal icing.
• food coloring– For these wreath cookies, I used Supernatural red and green food natural coloring.
• crushed peppermint– Another optional ingredient, but fun to add for the holidays. This is the brand I use.
• white nonpariels– for sprinkling on the wreaths

*You can use my code EMILYLOGGANS for 10% off at The Spice House.

supplies needed to make chocolate 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– If you want to make the wreath cookies, you’ll need a set of round cutters. This one is amazing because it’s double sided with scallops on one side and straight on the other. This way, you only need to buy one set.

how to decorate peppermint mocha sugar cookie wreaths

These wreath cookies are stunning on a holiday cookie platter or in a cookie box and are extremely easy to make. You’ll need a batch of baked cookies (about two dozen wreaths and two dozen small circles from this recipe) and a single batch of royal icing. I used my royal icing recipe, but I added ½ teaspoon Supernatural Elves Smells flavoring (or ½ teaspoon peppermint extract) and extra vanilla bean paste for these wreaths.

• Bag some thicker, detail consistency white icing right from the mixer to use as the outline for the wreaths.
• Add some water to a large amount of white icing to thin it out to a thick flood consistency. When you lift your spatula up out of the bowl, it should drizzle down like a honey consistency. When you tap the surface of the bowl of icing, it should settle and smooth out. Bag the icing and set aside.
• Take a smaller amount of icing and add some green gel food coloring (or Supernatural Kitchen green natural coloring) to make a deep tone of green. Add some water to thin the icing out to a flood consistency just like the white icing. Bag nearly all of the green icing and set aside.
• Add a spoonful of white icing to the bowl of remaining green and mix to combine. The color should be a much lighter shade of green. Add some water to thin the icing out to a flood consistency just like the precious green. Bag the green icing and set aside.
• Take a smaller amount of icing and add some red gel food coloring (or Supernatural Kitchen red natural coloring) to make a red icing. Do not thin this color out. Bag and set aside.

Start by outlining the outer and inner ring of the wreath cookie. This cookie is great for beginners, because you don’t need to worry about making a perfect outline. In fact, it’s better if the lines are wavy and inconsistent for this design as it adds to the wreath effect.

Flood the cookie with the white flood consistency icing, making sure the surface is smooth. I didn’t even use a scribe tool for this. I just wiggled the tip of my bag around to smooth it out.

Immediately begin the wet on wet design. Using both the light and dark green, pipe alternating lines and/or dots around the wreath. Drag a scribe tool or tooth pick through the entire design to create the wreath pattern.

While the icing is still wet, sprinkle on the white nonpareils.

Pipe tiny red berries in groups of three all around the cookie.

Sprinkle with a bit of sanding sugar. (I just used granulated white sugar.)

Allow the cookie to dry completely for 8-12 hours, preferably with a fan on in the room near or facing the cookies.

success tips for making chocolate sugar cookies

• Why did my cookies spread? A little spread (about an eighth of an inch around) is normal. Too much spread that causes the cookies to be misshapen is frustrating and can ruin the process when you want to decorate. Spread can happen for a few reasons: 1) You used too little flour or cocoa powder in the dough. Did you weigh it? 2) What size were your eggs? This recipe is formulated for large sized eggs. Extra large eggs add a lot of additional moisture. 3) You didn’t chill the dough for long enough. The initial chill time is important for the butter to chill enough and for the flour to hydrate. Baking them right away will definitely cause them to spread. Additionally, that mini chill time in the freezer before baking is very helpful for holding their shape. 4) Is it possible you added too much sugar? Brown sugar is particularly tricky, because measuring a cup vs. a packed cup can yield very different results. If you didn’t weigh the sugar, it could have been too much. 
• Why was my dough crumbly and dry? Did you weigh your flour? It is very easy to accidentally add too much flour when measuring with cups. Too much flour will make a dry, crumbly dough. Did you add enough sugar? Do you have the right amount of butter? What size are your eggs? This recipe is formulated for large sized eggs. Medium or small eggs will not provide enough moisture to the dough.
• Can I use table salt instead of Diamond Crystal kosher salt? Absolutely! Just use half the amount called for since the flakes of diamond crystal are larger, which accounts for less volume in the measuring spoon. I do recommend purchasing a box of diamond crystal, especially if you’re a baker or like to cook. It’s truly the best and recommended by chefs.
• Is Morton kosher salt the same as Diamond Crystal kosher salt? No, and I don’t recommend you use Morton kosher salt in baking.
• Does my butter need to be room temperature or softened? Room temperature is ideal for this recipe. Cold butter will not mix properly, and softened butter will make a dough that is very soft and sticky. Do not use melted butter.
• What should I do if my butter is cold from the fridge? If your butter is cold right out of the fridge, but you want to bake right now, there are a few options. 1)Microwave the butter as whole sticks on defrost mode for a few seconds at a time until it becomes pliable. 2) Chop the butter into small pieces and set off to the side until you can indent the butter with your finger. 
• Why do my cookies have a shiny, see-through-like patch on the bottoms? That is the sign of an underdone (raw) cookie. It needs to bake more. Before pulling cookies out of the oven, check to make sure the tops are evenly “dull” and not shiny.
• How can I bake these to be thin and crisp? Roll the dough to ⅙″ or ⅛″ and bake them for a longer time.
• Do I really need a kitchen scale? Kinda, yeah? 🙃 They’re not very expensive, but it is a life changing kitchen investment. Here’s the one I use.
• Can I bake my cookies on silicone mats instead of parchment? You can, and I recommend perforated silicone mats if you have them. They make such nice bottoms to cookies. However, I still prefer to bake with parchment. It’s my preference, but your preference could be to use silicone mats. Just experiment and go with what you prefer based on experience and results. 🫶🏻
• Can I decorate these cookies with royal icing or buttercream? Yes! They are delicious with both. Here is my royal icing recipe.
• Is this the same recipe you used to sell on the old website? Yes! This one is exactly the same as the peppermint mocha cookie recipe I used to sell.

This little stack would be so pretty in a cookie box.

variations on chocolate sugar cookies

This recipe makes a delicious black cocoa cookie. Swap half the amount of cocoa powder for black cocoa for a dark black cookie with a rich, deep cocoa flavor similar to an Oreo. Remove the peppermint extract and peppermint pieces. See below the difference in color. Don’t use entirely black cocoa, though, because the flavor will be too deep and bitter.

This recipe works really well as a homemade Oreo cookie when rolled very thinly (⅙″ – ⅛″) and baked until the cookie is crisp. I sandwiched mine with a simple buttercream.

For halloween, I made these adorable button cookies with the black cocoa variation and baked them crisp.

You can cut these cookies any which way and decorate them however you’d like, but this simple wet on wet wreath pattern is perfect for the holidays and so simple to create. It’s a fancy design that is actually quite quick to complete which makes it great for cookie boxes.

peppermint mocha sugar cookie wreaths

Print Recipe

These dark chocolate sugar cookies are extremely rich with a deep cocoa flavor. This specific recipe is for a peppermint mocha cut out cookie, but you can simply remove the peppermint for a simple chocolate cut out sugar cookie. You can also swap some of the Dutch cocoa powder for black which creates a very rich, dark cookie with an Oreo flavor.

• Author: Emily Loggans

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

226g unsalted butter, room temperature (1 cup ; 16 Tbsp)

100g granulated sugar (½ cup) 

55g light brown sugar (¼ cup, packed)

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

1 egg yolk

2 tsp vanilla bean paste or extract

½ tsp peppermint extract, optional

300g all purpose flour (2 ½ cups) 

46g Dutch cocoa powder (½ cup) 

½ tsp espresso powder, optional

50g crushed peppermint candy, (¼ cup, approx.) optional

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Instructions

Cream together the butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and salt until lightened. Scrape down he sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure there are no under creamed bits.

Add the egg yolk and vanilla and mix until emulsified and combined. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.

Add the flour, cocoa powder, and espresso powder. (Sifting the cocoa powder is recommended to prevent lumps.) Mix until combined.

Drop the dough onto a piece of lightly floured parchment paper. Gently form the dough lump into a more tightly formed ball or disc and lightly flour the top. Add another piece of parchment paper to the top and roll the dough to ¼″. Refrigerate the dough for an hour or two (or up to three days).

Preheat the oven to 375 F (190 C).

Cut shapes from the chilled dough and place on a parchment lined baking sheet a couple inches apart. To really preserve the shapes of the cookies, freeze the sheet for 5 minutes before baking. Bake the cookies until the tops are set and no longer shiny, about 7-9 minutes. *If you want to bake these thin and crunchy, roll to ⅙″ or ⅛″ and bake them for a few minutes longer.

Allow the cookies to cool on the pan for about five minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. Decorate with icing or buttercream if desired.

more like this

I don’t care if it’s basic to love pumpkin spice. It’s delicious. However, so many “pumpkin spice” recipes don’t contain pumpkin, only the pumpkin pie spices. I wanted a sugar cookie that had both. This cookie is the perfect fall cookie that I know you’re going to make every single year. It’s a soft sugar cookie with crisp edges, and it holds its shape after baking, so it’s a perfect cookie for decorating.

ingredients in pumpkin spice 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 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. See the FAQ section for more help about butter temperature.
• sugar– I use granulated sugar in my sugar cookie recipe.
• brown sugar– This recipe also uses brown sugar, which adds a flavor boost as well as extra softness and chew to the cookie.
• 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.
• egg– An egg will give the cookie structure and tenderness.
• pumpkin puree– Don’t use pumpkin pie filling! Make sure to grab pure pumpkin puree. I have tried a few brands, and I don’t recommend using an organic brand. The best results for this recipe come from Libby’s pumpkin puree. This recipe uses the puree as is and doesn’t call for straining the liquid from the puree. (I’ve tested this, and straining the liquid makes a too-dry dough.)
• 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 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!)
• pumpkin spice– You can make your own pumpkin spice mix, but I don’t usually have all those spices on hand at one time. I prefer to grab a pre-made pumpkin spice mix that tastes amazing because it’s nice and fresh.
• pumpkin spice sugar– This product is optional as you could mix pumpkin spice sugar yourself with a little granulated sugar and pumpkin spice, but the flavor of this is so good. The sugar is very deeply infused with the pumpkin spice flavor since it’s been packaged together.

*You can use my code EMILYLOGGANS at The Spice House for 10% off.

supplies needed to make pumpkin spice 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 cutter– you can obviously use any cookie cutters you like for these cookies, but here is the ghost cutter I used.

how to decorate pumpkin spice sugar cookie ghosts

These little ghosts and their blushy cheeks are so cute and extremely easy to make. You’ll need a batch of baked cookies (I got 35 4″ x 2″ ghost cookies from this recipe) and a single batch of royal icing. I used my royal icing recipe, but I added 1 teaspoon Watkins caramel extract and extra vanilla bean paste for these ghosts.

• Bag some thick white icing right from the mixer to use as the outline for the ghosts.

• Add some water to a large amount of white icing to thin it out to a thick flood consistency. When you lift your spatula up out of the bowl, it should drizzle down like a honey consistency. When you tap the surface of the bowl of icing, it should settle and smooth out. Bag the icing and set aside.

• Take a small amount of icing and add some pink gel food coloring to make a light pink. Add some water to thin the icing out to a flood consistency just like the white icing. Bag the pink icing and set aside.

• Take a small amount of icing and add some black gel food coloring to make a charcoal black icing. The color will deepen as it sits, so no need to add too much gel. Do not thin this color out. Bag and set aside.

Start by outlining each cookie with the detail consistency white icing.

Using the flood consistency white icing, flood the cookie from bottom to top. Using the pink flood consistency, pipe a circle of icing on the left and right side of the top of the ghost. These will be the blush cheeks.

Pipe a small dot with black consistency icing at the top of each pink circle for the eyes. Allow the cookie to dry completely for 8-12 hours, preferably with a fan on in the room near or facing the cookies.

watch how to make pumpkin spice sugar cookies

https://www.instagram.com/p/DPo2SPzDmk8

FAQs

• Why did my cookies spread? A little spread (about an eighth of an inch around) is normal. Too much spread that causes the cookies to be misshapen is frustrating and can ruin the process when you want to decorate. Spread can happen for a few reasons: 1) You used too little flour in the dough. Did you weigh it? 2) What size were your eggs? This recipe is formulated for large sized eggs. Extra large eggs add a lot of additional moisture. 3) You didn’t chill the dough for long enough. The initial chill time is important for the butter to chill enough and for the flour to hydrate. Baking them right away will definitely cause them to spread. Additionally, that mini chill time in the freezer before baking is very helpful for holding their shape. 4) Did you use the correct amount of pumpkin? Too much would add too much moisture. 5) Is it possible you added too much sugar? Brown sugar is particularly tricky, because measuring a cup vs. a packed cup can yield very different results. If you didn’t weigh the sugar, it could have been too much. 6) Did you use Libby’s pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)? Other brands, particularly organic ones, have caused spread because of an excess of moisture.
• Why was my dough crumbly and dry? Did you weigh your flour? It is very easy to accidentally add too much flour when measuring with cups. Too much flour will make a dry, crumbly dough. Did you add enough sugar? Do you have the right amount of butter? What size are your eggs? This recipe is formulated for large sized eggs. Medium or small eggs will not provide enough moisture to the dough. Make sure you do not strain the pumpkin for this recipe. We need all that moisture.
• Can I use table salt instead of Diamond Crystal kosher salt? Absolutely! Just use half the amount called for since the flakes of diamond crystal are larger, which accounts for less volume in the measuring spoon. I do recommend purchasing a box of diamond crystal, especially if you’re a baker or like to cook. It’s truly the best and recommended by chefs.
• Is Morton kosher salt the same as Diamond Crystal kosher salt? No, and I don’t recommend you use Morton kosher salt in baking.
• Does my butter need to be room temperature or softened? Room temperature is ideal for this recipe. Cold butter will not mix properly, and softened butter will make a dough that is very soft and sticky. Do not use melted butter.
• What should I do if my butter is cold from the fridge? If your butter is cold right out of the fridge, but you want to bake right now, there are a few options. 1)Microwave the butter as whole sticks on defrost mode for a few seconds at a time until it becomes pliable. 2) Chop the butter into small pieces and set off to the side until you can indent the butter with your finger. 
• Why do my cookies have a shiny, see-through-like patch on the bottoms? That is the sign of an underdone (raw) cookie. It needs to bake more. Before pulling cookies out of the oven, check to make sure the tops are evenly “dull” and not shiny.
• How can I bake these to be thin and crisp? Roll the dough to ⅙″ or ⅛″ and bake at a lower temperature for a longer time. If you bake them at 400 F, it might be too hot and brown them way too quickly before they had a chance to dry out enough to become crisp. Thin and crisp cookies are usually baked at 325 F, but I would start with 350 F. *I have not tested this recipe as a thin and crisp cookie because it is designed to be a thicker, softer cookie with crisp edges.
• Do I really need a kitchen scale? Kinda, yeah? 🙃 They’re not very expensive, but it is a life changing kitchen investment. Here’s the one I use.
• Can I bake my cookies on silicone mats instead of parchment? You can, and I recommend perforated silicone mats if you have them. They make such nice bottoms to cookies. However, I still prefer to bake with parchment. It’s my preference, but your preference could be to use silicone mats. Just experiment and go with what you prefer based on experience and results. 🫶🏻
• Can I decorate these cookies with royal icing or buttercream? Yes! They are delicious with both. Here is my royal icing recipe.
• Is this the same recipe you used to sell on the old website? Yes! This one is exactly the same as the pumpkin spice sugar cookie recipe I used to sell with the exception of one ingredient- I lowered the baking powder to ½ teaspoon as opposed to the 1 teaspoon I originally called for. Lowering it helped with creating more flat tops. I also lowered the oven temp from 400 F to 375 F to help preserve the softness in the cookies.

pumpkin spice sugar cookie ghosts

Print Recipe

5 from 1 review

• Author: emilyloggans
• Yield: 36 4″ x 2″ ghosts 1x

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

339g unsalted butter, room temperature (3 sticks ; 1 ½ cups)

150g granulated sugar (¾ cup)

165g light brown sugar (¾ cup, packed)

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

2 egg yolks

2 tsp vanilla bean paste

130g Libby’s pumpkin puree (½ cup)

720g all purpose flour (6 cups)

½ tsp baking powder

1 Tbsp pumpkin spice

snickerdoodle dust

50g granulated sugar (¼ cup)

1 Tbsp cinnamon (OR pumpkin spice)

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Instructions

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, sugars, and salt on medium-low speed until combined. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure there are no unmixed bits.

Add the egg yolks, vanilla, and pumpkin puree and mix to combine. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl.

Add the flour, pumpkin spice, and baking powder all at once to the mixer and mix on low speed until a dough starts to form. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure all the flour is combined into the dough.

Drop the dough onto a piece of very lightly dusted with flour piece of parchment paper. Use your hands to gently form a thick disc before dusting it lightly with more flour. Cover with another piece of parchment and roll to ¼″.

Refrigerate the dough for 2 hours or overnight (and up to 3 days).

When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375 F. 

Combine 50g (¼ cup) granulated sugar with 1 tablespoon pumpkin spice or cinnamon. Cut cookies and coat each one in the spiced sugar mixture (top and bottom). Place the cookies on a parchment lined baking sheet and freeze for 5 minutes or refrigerate for 10-15. 

Bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes depending on the size. The size and thickness of the cookies will determine how long they bake, so pay attention to the surface of the cookies. The surface should be no longer shiny, and the tops should be evenly puffed. 

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.

more like this

I was tempted to title this recipe “the very best cut out cookies”, but throwing around the word “best” is a little overdone on the internet. However, these really are the best. I promise.

My ideal cut out cookie is not a typical sugar cookie, which has a higher ratio of sugar to butter than my recipe. This is probably entirely related to the way I grew up, as we only ever made one recipe as cut out cookies: the Betty Crocker spritz cookie recipe, which is much less sugar by comparison to a classic sugar cookie recipe. For years, I have worked on this recipe, tweaking it here and there to make it ideal for decorated cut out cookies, whether you prefer royal icing or buttercream decorating. It’s also delicious baked crunchy with sugar on top, similar to a danish butter cookie.

This cookie is buttery, sweet but not too sweet, crisp edges with a soft chewy center, and delicious baked thin & crisp or thick & soft depending on your preference.

ingredients in buttery cut out 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 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. See the FAQ section for more help about butter temperature.
• sugar– I use granulated sugar in my sugar cookie recipe. This recipe has a little less sugar than a typical sugar cookie recipe, but just enough to give the cookie the perfect sweetness and texture.
• 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– An egg will give the cookie structure and tenderness. A whole egg is the simplest choice and works perfectly here. However, if you want the best flavor and texture in your final cookies, try using two egg yolks instead of one whole egg. It’s incredible and what I prefer. Of course, I understand the annoyance of having two extra egg whites you don’t know what to do with, so here are a few recipes to try out with those extra whites!
• 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 use my code EMILYLOGGANS for 10% off at The Spice House. I love to get my vanilla, almond, salt, and spices from there!

supplies needed to make buttery cut out 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.

FAQs

• Why did my cookies spread? A little spread (about an eighth of an inch around) is normal. Too much spread that causes the cookies to be misshapen is frustrating and can ruin the process when you want to decorate. Spread can happen for a few reasons: 1) You used too little flour in the dough. Did you weigh it? 2) What size were your eggs? This recipe is formulated for large sized eggs. Extra large eggs add a lot of additional moisture. 3) You didn’t chill the dough for long enough. The initial chill time is important for the butter to chill enough and for the flour to hydrate. Baking them right away will definitely cause them to spread. Additionally, that mini chill time in the freezer before baking is very helpful for holding their shape.
• Why was my dough crumbly and dry? Did you weigh your flour? It is very easy to accidentally add too much flour when measuring with cups. Too much flour will make a dry, crumbly dough. Did you add enough sugar? Do you have the right amount of butter? What size are your eggs? This recipe is formulated for large sized eggs. Medium or small eggs will not provide enough moisture to the dough.
• Can I use table salt instead of Diamond Crystal kosher salt? Absolutely! Just use half the amount called for since the flakes of diamond crystal are larger, which accounts for less volume in the measuring spoon. I do recommend purchasing a box of diamond crystal, especially if you’re a baker or like to cook. It’s truly the best and recommended by chefs.
• Is Morton kosher salt the same as Diamond Crystal kosher salt? No, and I don’t recommend you use Morton kosher salt in baking.
• Does my butter need to be room temperature or softened? Room temperature is ideal for this recipe. Cold butter will not mix properly, and softened butter will make a dough that is very soft and sticky. Do not use melted butter.
• What should I do if my butter is cold from the fridge? If your butter is cold right out of the fridge, but you want to bake right now, there are a few options. 1) Microwave the butter as whole sticks on defrost mode for a few seconds at a time until it becomes pliable. 2) Chop the butter into small pieces and set off to the side until you can indent the butter with your finger.
• Why is the oven temperature so hot? I like to bake these cookies at 400 F, which is a hotter temperature than most sugar cookie recipes call for. I like a slightly golden brown bottom to my cookies while keeping the centers softer, and 400 F provides both of those things since the cookies can caramelize more quickly. Using a lower oven temperature like 350 F would take longer to caramelize the bottoms while then drying out the centers of the cookie. Also, baking at 400 F sets the proteins in the eggs more quickly, which actually helps the cookies hold their shape even better. This temperature is too hot for a cookie with more sugar, though. Since this is a butter-forward recipe, it works. But in a sugar-forward recipe, it creates cookies that are too hard.
• Why are my cookies getting too golden brown on the bottom? If you prefer a softer colored bottom, and you find that the cookies are just browning too much for you while they still need to bake to not be underdone, lower the oven temp to 375 F.
• Why do my cookies have a shiny, see-through-like patch on the bottoms? That is the sign of an underdone (raw) cookie. It needs to bake more. Before pulling cookies out of the oven, check to make sure the tops are evenly “dull” and not shiny.
• How can I bake these to be thin and crisp? Roll the dough to ⅙″ or ⅛″ and bake at a lower temperature for a longer time. If you bake them at 400 F, it might be too hot and brown them way too quickly before they had a chance to dry out enough to become crisp. Thin and crisp cookies are usually baked at 325 F, but I would start with 350 F.
• Do I really need a kitchen scale? Kinda, yeah? 🙃 They’re not very expensive, but it is a life changing kitchen investment. Here’s the one I use.
• Can I bake my cookies on silicone mats instead of parchment? You can, and I recommend perforated silicone mats if you have them. They make such nice bottoms to cookies. However, I still prefer to bake with parchment. It’s my preference, but your preference could be to use silicone mats. Just experiment and go with what you prefer based on experience and results. 🫶🏻
• Can I decorate these cookies with royal icing or buttercream? Yes! They are delicious with both. Here is my royal icing recipe.
• Is this the same recipe you used to sell on the old website? This recipe has gone through SO MANY changes over the years. I just keep changing things here and there. So, no. It is not the exact same. I used to use cake flour, but I have since changed it to regular all purpose flour with a little cornstarch for similar results. Cake flour is crazy expensive and hard to find, and I want these cookies to be low maintenance. Also, I found the cake flour made the cookies a little too tender. I also used to use 100g of sugar. I eventually raised it to 125g and realized I liked the tenderizing and sweetness. I raised it a little more to 150g and realized I loved the extra chew in the center. A typical sugar cookie recipe is 200g of sugar to the amount of butter in this recipe, but I’ve found that 150g is perfectly in the middle. I used to add baking powder, but have since cut it because I don’t think it is necessary in this cookie. I used to call for one whole egg, but since trying two egg yolks, I’ve fallen in love with that. You can still use a whole egg if you prefer, and I still do that sometimes if I don’t want any extra whites. It’s just good to know that one is even better than the other so you can make an informed choice.

more like this

Chocolate and hazelnut is a match made in heaven, so why not decorate chocolate hazelnut cut out cookies for Valentine’s Day? They’re delicious with a soft texture and covered in a fudgy cocoa royal icing. They’re even better when paired with my strawberry sugar cookies with strawberry royal icing. Because chocolate and strawberry, also a match made in heaven.

why you’ll love chocolate hazelnut sugar cookies with cocoa royal icing

• These chocolate hazelnut sugar cookies are rich and brownie-like, which is kind of a hard texture to achieve in a chocolate roll out dough that doesn’t have a lot of spread!
• The flavor of the fudgy cocoa royal icing is incredible and paired perfectly with the chocolatey sugar cookies.
• The dough is easy to make and comes together quickly. If you’re in a pinch, the chill time can be sped up with the freezer!

ingredients in chocolate hazelnut sugar cookies with cocoa royal icing

• unsalted butter– Make sure your butter is room temperature for the best results. If all you have is salted butter, it’s totally fine!
• granulated sugar– for sweetness and to make a soft texture
• Diamond Crystal kosher salt– This is the best type of salt for baking and cooking, so I totally recommend grabbing a box here. It will last a while. If all you have is regular table salt, use only half the amount of salt the recipe calls for. In this case, you would use ½ teaspoon of regular table salt rather than 1 teaspoon of Diamond Crystal kosher salt.
• egg
• vanilla– I use vanilla bean paste because the flavor is more intense and generally better, but vanilla extract is just fine here.
• all purpose flour
• Dutch cocoa powder– Make sure to use Dutch cocoa powder rather than natural cocoa powder. There is a big difference in flavor, and Dutch cocoa is responsible for the intense chocolatey-ness in this cookie.
• hazelnut flour– This is just ground hazelnuts. I get mine from Nuts.com and it’s incredible. It lasts forever, too.
• baking powder– for a bit of lift
• royal icing– get the recipe here

supplies needed to make chocolate hazelnut sugar cookies with cocoa royal icing

• scale– to measure the flour, sugar, and strawberries 
• hand mixer or stand mixer
• spatula– to scrape the sides of the bowl 
• fine mesh sieve– Don’t hate me for this, but you’re really going to want to sift the cocoa powder. It just clumps unapologetically.
• parchment paper– for rolling the dough and baking the cookies
• rolling pin with a guide for ¼″
• cookie cutters

how to make chocolate hazelnut sugar cookies with cocoa royal icing

To a mixing bowl, add the butter, sugar, and salt. Mix on medium-low speed until the mixture is “creamed”, which means lighter and a bit fluffy. Since this is a roll out dough, you don’t need to mix it for several minutes until it is very fluffy like you would for a cake. Look for a completely combined mixture with no lumps of butter or clumps of sugar.

Add the egg and vanilla and mix until emulsified. The mixture will be smooth, thick, and a bit shiny. All at once, add the flour, cocoa powder, hazelnut flour, and baking powder. Mix on low until the dry ingredients are nearly combined and there are no dry, floury spots. Be careful not to over mix the dough!

Drop the dough onto a piece of lightly floured parchment paper. Sprinkle a bit more flour on top of the dough lump before covering it with another piece of parchment paper. Use a ¼″ guided rolling pin to roll out the dough.

Refrigerate the dough for at least a half an hour to two hours to chill the butter in the dough. This makes it so much more workable and helps prevent spread in the final cookies. If you’d like to work ahead of time, leave the dough (well wrapped) in the fridge for up to three days. If you’re in a rush, freeze the dough for ten to fifteen minutes.

Once the dough has chilled, and you’re ready to start cutting cookies, preheat the oven to 375 F. Grab your cookie cutters and cut shapes from the dough, dipping the cutters in flour if they are sticking to the dough. Place the cut shapes on a parchment lined baking sheet and pop in the freezer for five minutes before baking. This helps the cookies retain their shape. Don’t skip this!

Bake the cookies for 6-8 minutes for smaller cookies, and 8-10 minutes for larger cookies. Keep an eye on them, and bake them until the tops are no longer shiny. Don’t over bake them, or they won’t be soft.

Once they’re done baking, let them cool on the cookie sheet for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. If you move them too soon when they’re piping hot, they could break easily.

Re-roll the dough scraps, preferably up to two times. If the dough is very soft after rolling, pop the dough in the freezer for five minutes to chill before cutting cookies again.

how to make fudgy cocoa royal icing

You are going to LOVE this fudgy cocoa royal icing. It tastes amazing, like a fudgesicle. Start by making a batch of thick salted vanilla bean royal icing. My recipe makes about 6 cups of icing. Determine how much of it you’d like to turn into chocolate icing, and then follow this basic ratio, and adjusting as needed. Weigh eight ounces (one cup) of icing into a small bowl. To a separate bowl, add 1-2 tablespoon (I do 2 Tbsp, which is the max amount) of Dutch process cocoa powder and a splash of hot water. Mix it into a thick paste, adding hot water as needed. Don’t thin it out too much. It should be very thick. Add it to the bowl of icing and mix it until it is fully combined. Thin the icing out to your desired consistency and use as normal. 

This icing will have a bit of a gluey, stretchy texture due to the fat in cocoa powder, but it isn’t difficult to use. You may just notice a slight change in texture while piping and the way the icing dries. Feel free to adjust the amount of cocoa powder to your liking based on color and taste.

To recap, the ratio is one cup of icing to 1-2 tablespoon of Dutch process cocoa powder. I prefer a very rich chocolatey flavor, so I use 2 Tbsp. If you prefer a more light, chocolate milk flavor, then use 1 Tbsp. (Using a lower amount of cocoa powder will help the icing dry better if you’re concerned about that. When using the larger amount of cocoa powder, the icing will dry, but under the surface the icing will still be moist. It’s a great eating texture.)

how to decorate chocolate hazelnut cookies with cocoa royal icing

This is such a simple decorating technique, but it is also so effective and pretty. Start by piping an outline with a thicker consistency of royal icing and flooding with a looser consistency of icing. Smooth the icing around the surface of the cookie with a scribe tool, pushing the flood icing to meet the border icing. Using a different color of flood icing, like white vanilla or brown chocolate, pipe dots all around the edge of the cookie. Use your scribe tool to gently poke into icing, pulling the scribe tool through each of the dots. This creates a continuous heart pattern in a really simple way.

success tips for making chocolate hazelnut sugar cookies with cocoa royal icing

• ‘Mise en place’ is a French phrase with the idea of putting everything in its place before beginning to make a recipe. It helps everything to go smoothly and eliminates so much possible stress. Getting all of your supplies and ingredients together before ever starting the recipe will help tremendously.
• Weigh your ingredients, particularly the flour. It is the most important measurement in this recipe to weigh. Flour can be off in volume measurements by up to 30g, which is a quarter cup! Having incorrect flour measurements can cause your cookies to spread too much or, alternatively, be dry and crumbly. Weighing your ingredients makes everything so much easier, as you don’t have to wash all the measuring cups at the end. However, I do not use the scale to weigh out teaspoon or tablespoon measurements for things like baking powder, salt, vanilla, or cornstarch, for example.
• Don’t over bake these cookies. They are meant to be on the softer side. Bake them just until the tops are no longer shiny.
• Don’t skip the chill time. Even a little bit is better than none, and a short time in the freezer is a good way to chill the dough fast. 
• Buy pre-ground hazelnuts rather than trying to do it yourself with raw hazelnuts. Trust me, it is not worth it.
• Use Dutch process cocoa powder, not natural cocoa powder. There is a big difference in taste, and the Dutch process cocoa will make these cookies rich and fudgy tasting.

chocolate hazelnut sugar cookies with cocoa royal icing

Print Recipe

Chocolate and hazelnut is a match made in heaven, so why not decorate chocolate hazelnut cut out cookies for Valentine’s Day? They’re delicious with a fudgy cocoa royal icing.

• Author: Emily Loggans
• Yield: about 2 dozen, depending on the size of the cookies 1x

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

Chocolate Hazelnut Sugar Cookies

226g (1 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature

150g (¾ cup) granulated sugar

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

1 whole egg, large

2 tsp vanilla bean paste or extract

270g (2 ¼ cups) all purpose flour

46g (½ cup) Dutch cocoa powder

90g (1 cup) hazelnut flour

¼ tsp baking powder

Fudgy Cocoa Royal Icing

8 oz. salted vanilla royal icing

1–2 tablespoon Dutch process cocoa powder

hot water

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Instructions

To a mixing bowl, add the butter, sugar, and salt. Mix on medium-low speed until the mixture is “creamed”, which means lighter and a bit fluffy. Since this is a roll out dough, you don’t need to mix it for several minutes until it is very fluffy like you would for a cake. Look for a completely combined mixture with no lumps of butter or clumps of sugar.

Add the egg and vanilla and mix until emulsified. The mixture will be smooth, thick, and a bit shiny. All at once, add the flour, cocoa powder, hazelnut flour, and baking powder. Mix on low until the dry ingredients are nearly combined and there are no dry, floury spots. Be careful not to over mix the dough!

Drop the dough onto a piece of lightly floured parchment paper. Sprinkle a bit more flour on top of the dough lump before covering it with another piece of parchment paper. Use a ¼″ guided rolling pin to roll out the dough.

Refrigerate the dough for at least a half an hour to two hours to chill the butter in the dough. This makes it so much more workable and helps prevent spread in the final cookies. If you’d like to work ahead of time, leave the dough (well wrapped) in the fridge for up to three days. If you’re in a rush, freeze the dough for ten to fifteen minutes.

Once the dough has chilled, and you’re ready to start cutting cookies, preheat the oven to 375 F. Grab your cookie cutters and cut shapes from the dough, dipping the cutters in flour if they are sticking to the dough. Place the cut shapes on a parchment lined baking sheet and pop in the freezer for five minutes before baking. This helps the cookies retain their shape. Don’t skip this!

Bake the cookies for 6-8 minutes for smaller cookies, and 8-10 minutes for larger cookies. Keep an eye on them, and bake them until the tops are no longer shiny. Don’t over bake them, or they won’t be soft.

Once they’re done baking, let them cool on the cookie sheet for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. If you move them too soon when they’re piping hot, they could break easily.

Re-roll the dough scraps, preferably up to two times. If the dough is very soft after rolling, pop the dough in the freezer for five minutes to chill before cutting cookies again.

While the cookies are baking, make the icing. Weigh eight ounces (one cup) of icing into a small bowl. To the bowl, add 1-2 tablespoon of Dutch cocoa powder (using a fine mesh sieve to sift the cocoa powder into the bowl of icing) and a splash of hot water. Mix it together until it is fully combined and the mixture forms a paste. Add it to the bowl of icing and stir to combine. Thin the icing out to your desired consistency and use as usual. 

Notes

• • ‘Mise en place’ is a French phrase with the idea of putting everything in its place before beginning to make a recipe. It helps everything to go smoothly and eliminates so much possible stress. Getting all of your supplies and ingredients together before ever starting the recipe will help tremendously.

• • Weigh your ingredients, particularly the flour. It is the most important measurement in this recipe to weigh. Flour can be off in volume measurements by up to 30g, which is a quarter cup! Having incorrect flour measurements can cause your cookies to spread too much or, alternatively, be dry and crumbly. Weighing your ingredients makes everything so much easier, as you don’t have to wash all the measuring cups at the end. However, I do not use the scale to weigh out teaspoon or tablespoon measurements for things like baking powder, salt, vanilla, or cornstarch, for example.

• • Don’t over bake these cookies. They are meant to be on the softer side. Bake them just until the tops are no longer shiny.

• • Don’t skip the chill time. Even a little bit is better than none, and a short time in the freezer is a good way to chill the dough fast. 

• • Buy pre-ground hazelnuts rather than trying to do it yourself with raw hazelnuts. Trust me, it is not worth it.

• • Use Dutch process cocoa powder, not natural cocoa powder. There is a big difference in taste, and the Dutch process cocoa will make these cookies rich and fudgy tasting.

This soft, strawberry cut out sugar cookie sprinkled with bits of crushed strawberries is perfect for Valentine’s Day cookie decorating. Switch up the flavors by either adding chopped dark chocolate for a chocolate covered strawberries vibe or by adding lemon zest for a strawberry lemonade flavor profile.

why you’ll love strawberry sugar cookies with strawberry royal icing

• The dough is extremely easy to mix together and very workable for rolling and cutting. The cut cookies hold their shape and have very minimal spread, so this dough is great for cookie decorating!
• The dough is only colored by powdered freeze dried strawberries, which have an incredible strawberry flavor. The color does dull after baking, but it is still noticeably pink.
• You can easily make variations on this basic strawberry dough, such as chocolate covered strawberry, strawberry lemon, and strawberries and cream. (See the variations at the end of this post.)
• Strawberry royal icing is DELISH and a unique way to decorate cookies. The flavor comes from powdered freeze dried strawberries, and the royal icing tastes very similar to melted strawberry ice cream.

ingredients in strawberry cut out cookies with strawberry royal icing

• unsalted butter– Make sure your butter is room temperature for the best results. If all you have is salted butter, it’s totally fine!
• granulated sugar– for sweetness and to make a soft texture
• Diamond Crystal kosher salt– This is the best type of salt for baking and cooking, so I totally recommend grabbing a box here. It will last a while. If all you have is regular table salt, use only half the amount of salt the recipe calls for. In this case, you would use ½ teaspoon of regular table salt rather than 1 teaspoon of Diamond Crystal kosher salt.
• egg
• vanilla– I use vanilla bean paste because the flavor is more intense and generally better, but vanilla extract is just fine here.
• lemon zest– If you’re making the strawberry lemon variation, a little lemon zest is all you need.
• all purpose flour
• freeze dried strawberries– I use Good & Gather or Trader Joe’s freeze dried strawberries and blend them in a food processor until fine. You could also use a spice or coffee grinder. Nature Restore is a good resource for freeze dried strawberries that have already been finely ground into a powder.
• dark chocolate– If you’re making the chocolate covered strawberry variation, you would omit the lemon zest and instead add chopped dark chocolate of your choosing. I like to chop up Ghirardelli 60% chocolate chips.
• baking powder– for a bit of lift
• royal icing– get the recipe here

supplies needed to make strawberry cut out cookies with strawberry royal icing

• scale– to measure the flour, sugar, and strawberries
• hand mixer or stand mixer
• spatula– to scrape the sides of the bowl
• food processor– to grind the strawberries into a powder
• microplane or zester– to zest the lemon
• parchment paper– for rolling the dough and baking the cookies
• rolling pin with a guide for ¼″
• cookie cutters

how to make strawberry cut out cookies

Pulverize the freeze dried strawberries to a powder and set aside for now. To a mixing bowl, add the butter, sugar, salt, and lemon zest (if you’re using it). Mix on medium-low speed until the mixture is “creamed”, which means lighter and a bit fluffy. Since this is a roll out dough, you don’t need to mix it for several minutes until it is very fluffy like you would for a cake. Look for a completely combined mixture with no lumps of butter or clumps of sugar.

Add the egg and vanilla and mix until emulsified. The mixture will be smooth, thick, and a bit shiny. All at once, add the flour, pulverized strawberries, and baking powder. Mix on low until the flour is nearly combined. Add the rest of the strawberries that are still in large pieces and mix until the dough has no dry, floury spots. Be careful not to over mix the dough!

Drop the dough onto a piece of lightly floured parchment paper. Sprinkle a bit more flour on top of the dough lump before covering it with another piece of parchment paper. Use a ¼″ guided rolling pin to roll out the dough.

Refrigerate the dough for at least a half an hour to two hours to chill the butter in the dough. This makes it so much more workable and helps prevent spread in the final cookies. If you’d like to work ahead of time, leave the dough (well wrapped) in the fridge for up to three days. If you’re in a rush, freeze the dough for ten to fifteen minutes.

Once the dough has chilled, and you’re ready to start cutting cookies, preheat the oven to 375 F. Grab your cookie cutters and cut shapes from the dough, dipping the cutters in flour if they are sticking to the dough. Place the cut shapes on a parchment lined baking sheet and pop in the freezer for five minutes before baking. This helps the cookies retain their shape. Don’t skip this!

Bake the cookies for 6-8 minutes for smaller cookies, and 8-10 minutes for larger cookies. Keep an eye on them, and bake them until the tops are no longer shiny. Don’t over bake them, or they won’t be soft.

Once they’re done baking, let them cool on the cookie sheet for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. If you move them too soon when they’re piping hot, they could break easily.

Re-roll the dough scraps, preferably up to two times. If the dough is very soft after rolling, pop the dough in the freezer for five minutes to chill before cutting cookies again.

how to make a chocolate covered strawberry sugar cookie variation

To make a chocolate covered strawberry sugar cookie, omit the lemon zest and add chopped dark chocolate to the dough when adding the final additional of freeze dried strawberries. You can use whatever chocolate you like, but I think dark chocolate is nice contrast to the sweetness of the dough, strawberries, and icing. I like Lindt bars, Trader Joe’s bars, and Ghirardelli 60% chocolate chips. If you’re using chips, still chop them up, because whole chips are too large and cumbersome to deal with when cutting dough with cookie cutters.

how to make the strawberry royal icing

You are going to LOVE this strawberry royal icing. It tastes amazing, and very much reminds me of melted strawberry ice cream. Start by making a batch of thick salted vanilla bean royal icing. My recipe makes about 6 cups of icing. Determine how much of it you’d like to turn into strawberry icing, and then follow this basic ratio, and adjusting as needed. Weigh eight ounces (one cup) of icing into a small bowl. To the bowl, add 10g of freeze dried strawberry powder (using a fine mesh sieve to keep the larger crumbs of strawberries out of the icing) and a splash of water. Mix it together until it is fully combined. Thin the icing out to your desired consistency and use as normal.

This icing will have a bit of a gluey texture, but it isn’t difficult to use. You may just notice a slight change in texture. Feel free to adjust the amount of strawberry powder to your liking based on color and taste.

These are the strawberries I use, because they come in convenient little 10g pouches.

To recap, the ratio is one cup of icing to 10g of strawberry powder. If you were to turn the entire batch of icing into strawberry icing, that would be six cups of icing to 60g of strawberry powder. That would be two of these one ounce packages.

how to decorate strawberry cut out sugar cookies with strawberry royal icing

This is such a simple decorating technique, but it is also so effective and pretty. Start by piping an outline with a thicker consistency of royal icing and flooding with a looser consistency of icing. Smooth the icing around the surface of the cookie with a scribe tool, pushing the flood icing to meet the border icing. Using a different color of flood icing, like white vanilla or brown chocolate, pipe dots all around the edge of the cookie. Use your scribe tool to gently poke into icing, pulling the scribe tool through each of the dots. This creates a continuous heart pattern in a really simple way.

success tips for making strawberry sugar cookies with strawberry royal icing

• ‘Mise en place’ is a French phrase with the idea of putting everything in its place before beginning to make a recipe. It helps everything to go smoothly and eliminates so much possible stress. Getting all of your supplies and ingredients together beforeever starting the recipe will help tremendously.
• Weigh your ingredients, particularly the flour. It is the most important measurement in this recipe to weigh. Flour can be off in volume measurements by up to 30g, which is a quarter cup! Having incorrect flour measurements can cause your cookies to spread too much or, alternatively, be dry and crumbly. Weighing your ingredients makes everything so much easier, as you don’t have to wash all the measuring cups at the end. However, I do not use the scale to weigh out teaspoon or tablespoon measurements for things like baking powder, salt, vanilla, or cornstarch, for example.
• Don’t over bake these cookies. They are meant to be on the softer side. Bake them just until the tops are no longer shiny.
• Don’t skip the chill time. Even a little bit is better than none, and a short time in the freezer is a good way to chill the dough fast.
• If you want a very sturdy cookie that doesn’t spread at all, add another 30g (¼ cup) of all purpose flour.
• If you want even more lemon flavor in the Strawberry Lemon variation, add a teaspoon of lemon extract or paste (NOT oil) to the dough when adding the vanilla. I love this one from Nielsen-Massey.

strawberry lemon cut out sugar cookies with strawberry royal icing

Print Recipe

5 from 1 review

This soft, strawberry cut out sugar cookie sprinkled with bits of crushed strawberries is perfect for Valentine’s Day cookie decorating. Switch up the flavors by either adding chopped dark chocolate for a chocolate covered strawberries vibe or by adding lemon zest for a strawberry lemonade flavor profile.

• Author: Emily Loggans
• Yield: 2 dozen, depending on the size of the cookies 1x

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

Strawberry Lemon Sugar Cookies

226g (1 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature

150g (¾ cup) granulated sugar

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

1 whole egg, large

1 tsp vanilla bean paste or extract

lemon zest from one lemon

300g (2 ½ cups) all purpose flour

40g freeze dried strawberries, divided (30g pulverized + 10g large pieces)

½ tsp baking powder

Strawberry Royal Icing

8 oz. salted vanilla royal icing

10g freeze dried strawberry powder

water

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Instructions

Pulverize the freeze dried strawberries to a powder and set aside for now. To a mixing bowl, add the butter, sugar, salt, and lemon zest (if you’re using it). Mix on medium-low speed until the mixture is “creamed”, which means lighter and a bit fluffy. Since this is a roll out dough, you don’t need to mix it for several minutes until it is very fluffy like you would for a cake. Look for a completely combined mixture with no lumps of butter or clumps of sugar.

Add the egg and vanilla and mix until emulsified. The mixture will be smooth, thick, and a bit shiny. All at once, add the flour, pulverized strawberries, and baking powder. Mix on low until the flour is nearly combined. Add the rest of the strawberries that are still in large pieces and mix until the dough has no dry, floury spots. Be careful not to over mix the dough!

Drop the dough onto a piece of lightly floured parchment paper. Sprinkle a bit more flour on top of the dough lump before covering it with another piece of parchment paper. Use a ¼″ guided rolling pin to roll out the dough.

Refrigerate the dough for at least a half an hour to two hours to chill the butter in the dough. This makes it so much more workable and helps prevent spread in the final cookies. If you’d like to work ahead of time, leave the dough (well wrapped) in the fridge for up to three days. If you’re in a rush, freeze the dough for ten to fifteen minutes.

Once the dough has chilled, and you’re ready to start cutting cookies, preheat the oven to 375 F. Grab your cookie cutters and cut shapes from the dough, dipping the cutters in flour if they are sticking to the dough. Place the cut shapes on a parchment lined baking sheet and pop in the freezer for five minutes before baking. This helps the cookies retain their shape. Don’t skip this!

Bake the cookies for 6-8 minutes for smaller cookies, and 8-10 minutes for larger cookies. Keep an eye on them, and bake them until the tops are no longer shiny. Don’t over bake them, or they won’t be soft.

Once they’re done baking, let them cool on the cookie sheet for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. If you move them too soon when they’re piping hot, they could break easily.

Re-roll the dough scraps, preferably up to two times. If the dough is very soft after rolling, pop the dough in the freezer for five minutes to chill before cutting cookies again.

While the cookies are baking, make the icing. Weigh eight ounces (one cup) of icing into a small bowl. To the bowl, add 10g of freeze dried strawberry powder (using a fine mesh sieve to keep the larger crumbs of strawberries out of the icing) and a splash of water. Mix it together until it is fully combined. Thin the icing out to your desired consistency and use as usual. 

Notes

• For a chocolate covered strawberry variation, omit the lemon zest. Add 4 ounces of chopped dark chocolate to the dough when mixing in the dry ingredients..
• For a strawberries and cream variation, omit the lemon zest. Add 4 ounces of chopped white chocolate to the dough when mixing in the dry ingredients.
• If you want a very sturdy cookie that doesn’t spread at all, add another 30g (¼ cup) of all purpose flour.
• If you want even more lemon flavor in the Strawberry Lemon variation, add a teaspoon of lemon extract or paste (NOT oil) to the dough when adding the vanilla. I love this one from Nielsen-Massey.