Every family needs a tried a true Christmas cut-out Cookie recipe so today I’m sharing ours with you! To be honest, I’ll be sharing an adapted Martha Stewart Christmas Cookie recipe with you 😉 These cut out cookies don’t spread like other cookie recipes and are iced with an easy royal icing that drys quick so you can store them or package them up forfriends and family.
This post was originally posted in 2009 and I’ve been making them every year since! Here’sthe original post with updated photos.
Over the last few years I’ve tried several recipes for Sugar Cut-Out Cookies and this year I finally found ‘the one.’ Finding the right cookie recipe is like finding your spouse, once you find it you’re not going to let it go and you’ll spend the rest of your life with it. This recipe is just that good!
Many Christmas cut out cookie recipes taste good but the cookies spread out too much while baking causing the perfectly cut out tree to look like a indistinguishable blob. This Christmas cookie recipe originated from Martha Stewart and is a tried-and-true, the cookies taste good and bake beautifully.
How to make cut-out cookies that hold their shape
• chill the dough before rolling it out
• keep remaining dough and raw cut out cookies in the fridge as you work through the batch of dough
• start with a tried and true recipe (like a Martha Stewart Christmas cookie recipe)
How to make bakery style Christmas cut-out cookies
• start with a good cookie recipe of which the dough doesn’t spread
• use royal icing in several different frosting bags or plastic bags for decorating
• use a toothpick to help shape the icing around the edges of the cookie or for detailing
• pick out classy sprinkles
• don’t over do it! A few simple colors is all you need for a bakery-style Christmas cookie.
Every year I hope to have the tradition of making Christmas cookies. The last two years I have had a special opportunity to host International friends at my house to make cookies. With the exception of my German friend, it was their first Christmas cookie experience. This year we had several talented artists and cooks in the group. My friend from Taiwan proved to be an excellent icing decorator and my friend from Turkey proved her excellence in cooking by her technique to roll out the dough perfectly by using syranwrap in between the dough and rolling pin. She also brought with her some delicious lentil soup and homemade rolls to share with us. The rest of us enjoyed making the funniest looking cookies and eating the ones that didn’t look good enough to decorate.
It was a beautiful evening, celebrating culture and friendship. We toasted to our German friend who is going back to Germany and we enjoyed stories of Christmas and Winter holidays from around the world.
Christmas Cut-Out Sugar Cookies
This Cut Out Cookie Recipe originated from a Martha Stewart Recipe and is simply the best!
Prep Time 20 minutes mins
Cook Time 6 minutes mins
Total Time 26 minutes mins
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Ingredients
For the Sugar Cookies
- 2 cups of all purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 lb. butter, softened (1 stick)
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 2 tablespoon of brandy, or apple juice
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, or maple syrup
For the Royal Icing:
- 3 cups confectioners' sugar*
- 2 egg whites
- 5-6 drops of freshly squeezed lemon juice
- Food Coloring
Instructions
Sift together the dry ingredients.
Using an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until light; add the egg, brandy, and vanilla and beat well. Add the dry ingredients a little at a time and mix well until blended. Wrap and chill the dough for at least 30 minutes before rolling.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. On a lightly floured board, roll out one third of the dough at a time (keeping the rest in the fridge). Roll to about 1/4 to 1/6 inch thick and cut out with cookie cutters. x
Put shapes on parchment lined (or greased) baking sheets (place in freezer in between batches) and bake for 6-8 minutes, depending on the size of the cookie. Cool on racks.
Once completely cool decorate with Royal Icing.
For the Royal Icing
Mix together the sugar, egg whites and lemon juice. Separate the icing out into however many colors you'd like to have (you can separate into bowls or zip lock bags.
Add food coloring slowly until desired color is attained. If using zip lock bags you can cut off a small bit of the corner of the bag to pipe out the icing onto the cookie.
Decorate the cookies with the icing, then quickly top with sprinkles before it drys.
Store finished (and dried) cookies in a air tight container at room temp for 1 week. Or freeze.
Notes
If you can find a fondant or icing sugar, that will work best. Otherwise just sue powdered confectioners sugar.
old photos from 2009:
Posted in
Baking Confections, Categories, Dessert, Recipes, Vintage Mixer
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FAQs
Pull off the top sheet of parchment, then slide the sheet of dough onto a baking sheet, then pop it in the freezer. (You can stack as many sheets of dough onto one baking sheet as you'd like.) Sandwich your dough between two sheets of parchment, roll, then freeze; it makes cut-out cookies a breeze!
How do you use store bought sugar cookie dough for cutouts? ›
Roll dough to 1/4-inch thickness on work surface. Cut out desired shapes using floured 2- to 2 1/2-inch cookie cutter. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 8 to 11 minutes or until edges are light golden brown.
How thick should cut out cookies be? ›
With a lightly floured rolling pin, roll the dough out to about 1/4-inch thickness. Use more flour if the dough seems too sticky.
What are two tips when making cut-out sugar cookies? ›
Chill the Dough
For easier handling, chill the cookie dough for 1 to 2 hours before rolling out. This is especially true if the dough was made with butter rather than shortening. Once chilled, lightly dust your work surface and rolling pin with flour to prevent sticking.
What is the trick to sugar cookies? ›
From the dough to the baking to the icing, our guide will leave you with the perfect sugar cookie this holiday season.
- Opt for Room Temperature Eggs. ...
- Splurge on "Pure" Vanilla Extract. ...
- Whisk the Flour. ...
- Chill the Dough. ...
- Refrain from Overmixing. ...
- Go Easy on the Flour. ...
- Bake on Parchment Paper.
Baking powder simply adds carbon dioxide to the equation, providing a more forceful pressure that encourages a dough to spread up and out.
Why are my cut out sugar cookies hard? ›
Once the edges develop a golden hue, you've gone too far. While overcooked sugar cookies are certainly still palatable, they'll be hard and crunchy, instead of soft and chewy. → Follow this tip: Pull the cookie sheet from the oven as soon as they've set and gained some color, but not too much.
How to make cut out cookies keep their shape? ›
To help cookies keep their shape, freeze them! I freeze each batch of cut-out cookies for 5 to 10 minutes before baking. They rise just slightly higher and keep their shape better. This really helps when using an intricate cookie cutter, but I do this even when baking circles.
Can you cut out store bought sugar cookie dough? ›
Simple metal cookie cutters can transform store-bought slice-and-bake dough into the most festive holiday dessert. For these Christmas cut-outs, all you need is a 16.5-ounce roll of Pillsbury sugar-cookie dough, some flour, and an oven (elbow grease not included).
How long to chill cookie dough for cutouts? ›
As a general rule of thumb, you should refrigerate cookie dough for at least 30 minutes and up to 24 hours. More than that, and you won't see a noticeable difference in the final product. Once the dough has chilled, let it warm up at room temperature until it's just pliable (about 5 to 10 minutes).
350° is the standard temp for a cookie, and it's a great one. Your cookies will bake evenly and the outside will be done at the same time as the inside. Baking at 325° also results in an evenly baked cookie, but the slower cooking will help yield a chewier cookie. The outsides will be a little softer, too.
Is butter or shortening better for cut out cookies? ›
Which One Should I Use in Cookies? Basically, cookies made with butter spread more and are flatter and crisper if baked long enough. However, they are more flavorful than cookies made with shortening. Cookies made with shortening bake up taller and are more tender, but aren't as flavorful.
Should you chill cookie dough before baking? ›
Popping your dough in the fridge allows the fats to cool. As a result, the cookies will expand more slowly, holding onto their texture. If you skip the chilling step, you're more likely to wind up with flat, sad disks instead of lovely, chewy cookies. Cookies made from chilled dough are also much more flavorful.
Why are my cutout cookies puffy? ›
Q: Why are my cookies so puffy and cakey? Whipping too much air into the dough. That fluffy texture you want in a cake results from beating a lot of air into the room temperature butter and sugar, and it does the same for cookies. So don't overdo it when you're creaming together the butter and sugar.
How do you get cut-out cookies to keep their shape? ›
I can't wait to read through all of the great ideas posted there! To help cookies keep their shape, freeze them! I freeze each batch of cut-out cookies for 5 to 10 minutes before baking.
Why won't my cut-out cookies hold their shape? ›
Too much flour will make your cookies dry and crumbly. Too much sugar and butter can make sugar cookies spread and lose their shape when baked. This one requires a little patience because once you roll out your dough, you are ready to bake. Be patient and bake your cookies when the dough is really cold.
How do you keep cut-out cookies from spreading while baking? ›
To prevent this make sure the baking sheets are always at least on room temperature. Ideally you want to cut your cookies and then chill them with the baking sheet. that way the tray is still cool when it goes in the oven and the cookies have no time to spread before they are baked through.
