This is a family favorite recipe that you are going to love and keep for years to come! Make some of the best vanilla buttercream frosting to decorate them!
Tips and Tricks for this Soft Cut Out Sugar Cookie Recipe
Completely read through the instructions before starting. This is a great tip for all baking recipes. It will give you a sense of all the steps and how long they will take. Properly measure your flour. This is the first tip I always give when talking about a baking recipe. It is so important that I have a whole section on it below. Use room temperature butter and shortening. You should be able to easily dent them with your finger, but not push all the way through. Keep in mind that room temperature butter will still feel cold to the touch. Use fresh baking powder. Test it by dropping some in some water. It should bubble immediately. It typically needs to be replaced every six months. Chill your dough. Read below on how and why. Preheat your oven. This sounds simple, but it really is an important step. For these to bake properly, you don’t want to put them in a cold oven. Use quality baking sheets. You can do everything right and the use old baking sheets only to have your cookies burn. I love these.
Every year, I use this recipe to make Christmas sugar cookies with my own kids. It’s one of my very favorite Christmas traditions. You can find us, just about every Christmas Eve, decorating these cookies to put out a plate for Santa. This is a brief overview of the recipe. Please make sure to get the full measurements in the recipe card below. I typically cover my mixing bowl in plastic wrap and then put it in the refrigerator. Whatever you chill your dough in, make sure that it is an airtight container so that the dough does not dry out. To freeze ahead of time, flash freeze the freshly baked but cooled cookies in a single layer. I like to do this on a wax paper or parchment paper lined baking sheet. Freeze them for at least two hours. Then move the cookies to an airtight container and return them to the freezer. They can be frozen for up to three months. Thaw the cookies before frosting. When spread out in a single layer they will thaw in about thirty minutes at room temperature. If you would like to decorate the cookies as you see here, you will need:
To double the vanilla frosting recipe. If you are just spreading frosting on the cookies, a single batch should work. Grab a frosting tip set. I really like this one. It comes with reusable bags and lots of tips at a reasonable price. It’s perfect for decorating gingerbread houses too. Add in some food coloring. Gel food coloring is a great way to get vibrant colors in this frosting recipe.
