There is something so magical about a perfectly buttery, soft sugar cookie around the holidays. I even love to eat them for breakfast with my morning coffee. The process of creating the dough, rolling it out, and cutting out the shapes is such a fun family activity. The girls and I make these cookies every year at least 2 or 3 times, carrying on the family tradition that started when I was just a child. My mom, sister, and I used to make these together all the way back in the 90’s! This Perfect Cut Out Sugar Cookies recipe still holds up almost 25 years later, with the same 5 simple ingredients!
Add 1lb Oleo to mixing bowl and let soften. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. The parchment will help your various sized and shaped cookies to bake evenly.
Add 5 cups flour, 2 cups powdered sugar to mixing bowl. Begin mixing the batter on stir, being careful to not let your flour spill out of the bowl. This is a hefty dough recipe, and it makes a ton of cookies! You can also hand knead the dough together, or use a hand-held mixer.
As the butter, flour, and powdered sugar is beginning to mix, add your milk and vanilla.
Continue mixing until all ingredients are well incorporated.
Increase mixer speed to medium and beat just until a smooth dough texture begins to form.
Lightly flour your countertop, and transfer the dough ball onto the prepared surface.
Lightly knead a couple of times until the dough has become more smooth.
Divide into 2 equal sections to make the rolling out process more manageable, set 1 dough ball aside.
Flour the surface of your rolling pin to prevent the dough from sticking. Roll out evenly, to 1/3-1/2 inch thick.
Begin cutting out your cookie shapes, trying your best to manage the surface of your dough efficiently. The more times you have to roll the dough out with flour, the less sweet the cookies will be. It is just a good tip to keep in mind so you get the best results.
Continue reforming and rolling your dough back out until all the dough has been cut out into shapes. Repeat with second dough half set aside earlier.
Transfer your cut out dough shapes onto the prepared baking sheets. Make sure they are arranged close together, but not touching. These cookies do not spread.
Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes, or until they look set, and have a slightly puffy appearance. Do NOT let your cookies brown on the bottom. Overcooking results in crunchy cookies, and we don’t want that!
After removing from the oven, immediately but carefully transfer the cookies to cooling racks. Let them rest for 30-40 minutes, or until entirely cool before frosting. You will have a nice sized batch of Perfect Cut Out Sugar Cookies to decorate, as shown below! I enjoy the taste of these cookies with Betty Crocker canned Vanilla frosting, but you can definitely make your own if you prefer. Have fun decorating with different colors, and various sprinkles to make them super festive!
Perfect Cut Out Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 lb Oleo softened (Imperial Margarine works great = 4 sticks)
- 5 cups All Purpose Flour
- 2 cups Powdered Sugar
- 2 Tbsp Milk
- 2 Tsp Vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- Mix all ingredients together until well incorporated, either by hand-kneading, or with an electric stand mixer. This makes a lot of dough, so be careful to go slowly if using an electric mixer.
- Once a soft dough has formed with a consistent texture, place dough onto lightly floured countertop.
- Quickly shape dough into semi-smooth ball, it doesn’t need to be perfect!
- Split into two sections and set one half aside for later.
- Roll dough out to roughly 1/3-1/2 inch thick on a floured countertop, making sure to flour your rolling pin often so the dough doesn’t stick. Cut out your shapes with cookie cutters, making sure to use your space efficiently. Remove cut shapes from dough and place onto pans so they are close, but not touching.
- Continue reforming and rolling your dough back out until all the dough has been cut out into shapes. Repeat with second dough half set aside earlier.
- Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes, or until they appear slightly puffy and set. Do NOT let them brown!
- When cool, frost cookies with Betty Crocker vanilla frosting and top with sprinkles. Enjoy!
Could I add food coloring to the dough?
Yes, definitely! Green or red would be super fun!