Can I make the dough ahead of time and refrigerate it?

Usually the answer would be yes, but not with this recipe. You need to the butter to be soft in order to roll it out. For some reason when you refrigerate this dough before hand, it never softens up enough to roll out for shapes.

You can freeze the already baked cookies!

How should I store these?

These stay great on the counter for 2-3 days as long as they are covered. It may be less time depending if you use a milk based buttercream.

Do you have favorite cookie cutters?

I always tend to grab a few new ones from Target every year. They seem to have more intricate details which results in a cookie with nice sharp edges.

Perfect Cut-Out Sugar Cookies

By Mary Susan5.0 (1)

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This is hands down the tastiest and most perfect cut-out sugar cookie recipe. These sugar cookies hold their shape which results in a beautiful cookie.

The Story Behind these Perfect Cut-Out Sugar Cookies

One of my all-time favorite Christmas traditions with my kids is decorating sugar cookies. Yes, it’s messy. Yes, it’s a lot of work. But is it worth it? Most definitely.

Over the years I have tried several sugar cookie recipes. For years, I used my sister’s sugar cookie recipe made with vanilla pudding. While they tasted scrumptious, they never held their shape and no matter what cookie cutter you used, it looked like a blob once it was done baking.

Back when I was doing custom cake orders out of my home, I also decided how to learn to do those beautiful royal icing cookies. However, in order for those to even look pretty from the start, I needed a perfect cut-out sugar cookie recipe. I searched high and low and finally found a recipe that works for me.

I have possibly made thousands of cut-out sugar cookies with this recipe, and will continue to do so until someone convinces me otherwise.

What You Need To Make Perfect Cut-Out Sugar Cookies

Butter – You need to use butter for this recipe. It can be salted or unsalted, whichever you prefer to bake with. Do not try to substitute with margarine or oil.

Sugar- This recipe calls for regular granulated white sugar

Vanilla- While I typically use vanilla extract, you can use imitation vanilla in a pinch. Make sure to use the full amount.

Almond Extract- Yes, don’t skip the almond extract. I actually don’t like almond extract, but in the recipe it works so well. I would not suggest eyeballing the almond extract as too much can make the cookie taste terrible.

All-Purpose Flour – remember that flours are not interchangeable. Bread flour and gluten free flour will produce a different flour.

You’ll also need baking powder, salt, and an egg. And of course, your favorite cookie cutters.

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