Best Cut Out Cookies Recipes

KITTENCAL'S BUTTERY CUT-OUT SUGAR COOKIES W/ ICING THAT HARDENS

Steps:

• For cookies; in a large bowl combine butter with sugar, eggs, vanilla and almond extract; beat using an electric mixer on high speed until light and fluffy.
• In another bowl combine the flour with baking powder, baking soda and salt; gradually stir into the butter mixture until well blended.
• Cover bowl with plastic wrap and chill for 2 hours.
• Set oven to 400°F.
• Line cookie sheets with parchment paper (do not grease cookie sheets use parchment paper only).
• On a very lightly floured surface roll out the dough into about 1/4-inch thickness.
• Cut into desired shapes using cookie cutters.
• Place cookies 2-inches apart on cookie sheet.
• Bake 4-6 minutes.
• Remove cookies to wire racks to cool completely before icing.
• For the frosting; in a small bowl mix the confectioners sugar with milk (start with 1-2 tablespoons, you will likely need more milk for the perfect spreading consistency).
• Beat in corn syrup and almond extract until the icing is smooth and glossy (if the icing is too thick add in a small amount more of corn syrup).
• Divide into as many separate bowls as you wish for different colours.
• Add in food colouring until desired intensity is achieved.
• Paint the icing over the cookies using a brush, or dip edges of cookies into icing.
• Allow to set on waxed paper.

CHERYL & COOMPANY'S FROSTED CUT-OUT COOKIES RECIPE - (3.7/5)

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each. Add almond extract and beat until just combined. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt; stir into the sugar mixture. Cover dough and chill for at least 1 hour. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment or baking sheet liners. On a floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/2-inch-thick and cut into desired shapes using cookie cutters. Place 2-inches apart on to the prepared baking sheets. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. To make the frosting, mix together the confectioners' sugar, oil, and 1 teaspoon vanilla until smooth. Gradually add enough hot water to achieve a spreadable consistency. Once cookies have completely cool, frost, and serve.

SOUR CREAM CUT-OUT COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• In a medium bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Stir in the egg and sour cream. Then stir in the baking soda and salt. Gradually add the flour until dough becomes too difficult to stir. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead in flour until dough is no longer sticky.
• Roll the dough out to 1/4 to 1/2 inch thickness. Cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters. Place cookies 1 1/2 inches apart on unprepared cookie sheets.
• Bake for 6 to 8 minutes in the preheated oven. Cookies should be lightly browned at the edges. Remove from the baking sheets to cool on wire racks.

ELAINE'S HOLIDAY CUT OUT SUGAR COOKIES - CHRISTMAS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375.
• Cream butter and sugar.
• Add eggs and vanilla. Mix well.
• Add flour, baking powder and salt. Mix well.
• Refrigerate for at least 1 hour, to chill dough before rolling.
• Roll dough thickly. (about 1/4"). If you roll them too thin, they are hard to work with.
• Cut shapes, and put on an ungreased baking sheet.
• Bake 10-12 minutes.
• Cool on rack.
• Frost with your favorite frosting, icing, or glaze.

DELILAH'S FROSTED CUT-OUT SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream together the shortening and white sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the milk and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt; stir into the creamed mixture. Cover dough, and chill for at least one hour.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Lightly grease cookie sheets, or line with parchment paper. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to 1/4 inch in thickness. Cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters. Place cookies 1 1/2 inches apart onto cookie sheets.
• Bake for 6 to 8 minutes in the preheated oven. Remove cookies from baking sheets to cool on wire racks. Cool completely before frosting.
• In a small bowl, beat the butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla and confectioners' sugar until smooth. Mix in the milk one tablespoon at a time until a good spreading consistency is reached. Stir in food coloring to desired shade. Decorate cooled cookies, and set on waxed paper to harden.

HOW TO DECORATE SHORTBREAD HOLIDAY CUT-OUT COOKIES WITH ROYAL ICING RECIPE BY TASTY

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350˚F (180˚C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
• In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix with a fork.
• In a separate large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar with an electric hand mixer for 3-5 minutes, until the butter and sugar are fully combined, but before the mixture becomes fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and beat to incorporate.
• Add the flour mixture and mix until just combined, but crumbly. Finish mixing with your hands until the dough comes together in a ball.
• Transfer the dough to a floured surface. Lightly flour the top of the dough and roll out to about ¼-inch thick. Use cookie cutters of your choice to punch out cookies. Place the cookie cut-outs on the prepared baking sheets.
• Bake for 8-10 minutes, until lightly browned around the edges. Let cool completely.
• To make the royal icing: In a medium bowl, add the meringue powder to the powdered sugar. Whisk to combine. Add the vanilla and 4-6 tablespoons of water (depending on how runny or thick you'd like your icing.) Whisk until completely combined.
• Divide the icing into smaller bowls and add any desired gel food colors. Immediately transfer to piping bags, or cover with plastic wrap. Do not leave the icing uncovered, as it will develop a film. If this happens, add a small amount of water and whisk to incorporate.
• Decorate the cookies with royal icing as desired and let dry completely, at least 3-4 hours or overnight.
• Enjoy!

CUT-OUT COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Cream the butter and sugar together until pale and moving towards moussiness, then beat in the egg and vanilla. In another bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the butter and eggs, and mix gently but surely. If you think the finished mixture is too sticky to be rolled out, add more flour, but do so sparingly as too much will make the dough tough. Form into a fat disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and let rest in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
• Sprinkle a suitable surface with flour, place disk of dough on it, and sprinkle a little more flour on top of that. Then roll it out to a thickness of about 1/4-inch. Cut into shapes, dipping the cutter into flour as you go, and place the cookies a little apart on 2 parchment or silpat lined baking sheets.
• Bake for 8 to 12 minutes; obviously it depends on the shape you're using and whether they are on the upper or lower shelf, though you can swap them around after about 5 minutes. When they're ready expect them to be tinged a pronounced gold around the edges; they'll be softish still in the middle, but set while they cool.
• Remove the cookies with a flat, preferably flexible, spatula to a wire rack. When they are fully cooled, you can get on with the icing. Put a couple of tablespoons of not-quite-boiling water into a large bowl, add the sieved confectioners sugar and mix together, adding more water as you need to form a thick paste. Color,as desired. I think pastes are much better than liquid, not just because the range of colors is better but because they don't dilute the icing as they tint. Ice cooled cookies, as desired.

CREAM CHEESE CUT-OUT COOKIES

Steps:

• Cream margarine and cream cheese, then add the sugar, egg yolk, and vanilla, and flour last.
• I like to chill dough over night or at least several hours.
• Roll out chilled dough and cut in desired shapes with your favorite cookie cutters.
• Bake at 350° for 10 minutes.
• Ice and decorate.

EASY CUT-OUT COOKIES

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, combine the flour and confectioners' sugar. Stir in the melted butter, egg, and vanilla until well blended. Cover, and refrigerate dough for at least 2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out 1/4 inch thick. Cut into desired shapes using cookie cutters.
• Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

BROWN SUGAR CUT-OUT COOKIES AND ICING

Steps:

• In a large bowl, stir together 1 cup butter and brown sugar until smooth and creamy. Stir in 1 teaspoon vanilla. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, salt, and baking soda; stir into creamed mixture. Mix in milk, stirring until a soft dough forms. Cover, and chill for 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 365 degrees F (185 degrees C). On a floured surface, roll out dough to 1/4 inch thick. Cut into desired shapes using cookie cutters. Place cookies 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
• Bake in a preheated oven for 6 minutes. Cool on wire racks.
• Meanwhile, in a large bowl, stir together 1 cup butter and 1 teaspoon vanilla until it becomes smooth and creamy. Gradually stir in sugar, one cup at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in a splash of milk, and continue mixing until light and fluffy. Keep icing covered until ready to decorate. Spread icing on top of cookies.

CUT-OUT BUTTER COOKIES

Steps:

• Divide dough in half; form into two 1/2-inch-thick disks. Wrap in plastic; chill until firm, at least 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. On a piece of floured waxed paper, roll one disk to a thickness of 3/16 inch; chill. Repeat with remaining dough.
• Flouring cutters as you go (to prevent sticking), cut dough into desired shapes; carefully transfer to baking sheets. Re-chill rolled-out dough if difficult to work with.
• If decorating, brush with egg wash, then sprinkle with sugar or sprinkles. Bake until edges are firm (not brown), 15 to 20 minutes for 3-inch cookies. Cool 1 to 2 minutes on baking sheets; cool completely on a wire rack.

CHRISTMAS CUT-OUT COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets.
• In a large bowl, cream together the shortening and sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the anise extract. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; stir into the creamed mixture alternately with the milk. Mix until just blended. Over-mixing will result in tough cookies.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to a thickness of 1/4 inch. Cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters. Place cookies at least one inch apart onto the prepared cookie sheets.
• Bake in the preheated oven for about 12 to 15 minutes or until firm. Cookie will not turn a golden brown. If they do, they're over-done. Turn out onto rack to cool. Wait until cool if frosting.

SOUR CREAM CUT OUT COOKIES

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Stir in the egg and.
• sour cream. Stir in the baking soda and salt.
• Gradually add the flour until.
• the dough becomes difficult to stir. Turn the dough out onto a floured.
• surface and knead until dough is no longer sticky.
• Roll the dough one-fourth.
• to one-half thickness. Cut into desired shapes. Place cookies 1 and a half.
• inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes at 350 F degrees.
• Cookies should be lightly browned at the edges. Remove from cookie sheets to.
• wire racks.

CREAM CHEESE CUT-OUT COOKIES

Steps:

• 1. In a large bowl, cream the butter and cream cheese until well blended. Add the sugar; blend until fluffy. Add the egg, vanilla extract and baking powder; beating well. Add the flour to the mixture; mix until well blended. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours (or overnight).
• 2. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Roll out the dough to desired thickness (1/4 inch works well) on a lightly floured surface. Using cookie cutters, cut out dough into desired shapes. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets (I use parchment paper lined cookie sheets).
• 3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool completely. Frost and decorate, if desired.

OLD-FASHIONED CUT OUT FROSTED BUTTER COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• In a large bowl cream together the butter and sugar. Mix in the egg, milk and vanilla.
• Now blend in the dry ingredients flour, baking powder and salt until dough is formed. If desired you can chill for an hour for easier handling. I've never done this and the dough always rolled out fine for me.
• Divide the dough in thirds. On a lightly floured board roll out the dough to about 1/8th inch thickness. Using cookie cutters cut into shapes and place on a cookie sheet.
• Bake in oven for about 5 to 8 minutes until lightly golden brown. Cool on a rack.
• SPECIAL NOTE: You can use vanilla extract but I think vanilla paste makes these cookies taste even more special using vanilla paste.
• I use vintage Christmas cookie cutters where i found on Ebay. I bought vintage cooper cookie cutters instead of the aluminum ones due to safety concerns regarding the use of aluminum. But you can use modern cookie cutters and you can make these anytime not just for Christmas.
• Please see my recipe for Creamy Vanilla Frosting where I will be giving some decorating suggestions. =).

EASY GERMAN CUT-OUT COOKIES

Steps:

• Combine 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon butter, white sugar, vanilla sugar, and egg in a bowl. Beat with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.
• Mix flour and baking powder together. Beat into the butter mixture on low speed until dough becomes crumbly. Work dough crumbles with your hands into a smooth dough and place into a sealable container. Refrigerate until chilled, 1 to 2 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Roll the dough out to 1/4-inch thickness on a lightly floured surface and cut into desired shapes using cookie cutters. Place cookies 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheets.
• Pick up all the left over dough, press together into a ball, and repeat the rolling and cutting out process until all the dough is used up.
• Bake in the preheated oven until edges are lightly browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes before carefully removing to a wire rack with a knife or thin spatula to cool completely.
• Mix confectioners' sugar and lemon juice until glaze has a smooth and spreadable consistency. Add more lemon juice if you like a thinner glaze. Add food coloring if you like. Brush frosting on cooled cookies and add chocolate sprinkles or sugar sprinkles if desired.

CUT-OUT COOKIES IN A FLOWER POT

Steps:

• Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and flavorings and mix well. Stir flour, baking powder and salt together. Add to batter and mix well.
• Chill 3-4 hours or overnight before using.
• Roll cookies out approximately 1/4 inch thick and insert cookie sticks at least 1/3 to 1/2 way into cookie.
• Bake cookies at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 8-10 minutes. This dough keeps well in a covered container in the refrigerator for a couple of weeks.
• Decorate as desired. Display 3-7 cookies in a 6 inch clay pot (depending on size of cookie). Weigh pot down with dried beans and cut a circle of Styrofoam to fit snugly into top. Add ribbons and enjoy.

CUT-OUT COOKIES

Steps:

• Mix together flour, shortening, white sugar, baking powder and eggs. Stir in 2 teaspoons vanilla and salt.
• Refrigerate dough for easier roll-out. Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 8-10 minutes (watch carefully). Add glaze to cooled cookies.
• To Make Glaze: Mix 1 cup confectioners' sugar, water (to desired consistency), 1/2 tsp. vanilla and preferred food color for cookie icing. Decorate with favorite sprinkles.

CINNAMON ROLL CUT-OUT COOKIES

Steps:

• Combine flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt in a bowl.
• Cream butter and sugar together using an electric mixture in a second bowl until fluffy. Add eggs 1 at a time and beat well after each addition. Mix in vanilla extract. Add flour mixture to butter mixture and mix everything by hand into a smooth dough.
• Divide dough into 4 pieces and flatten into 1-inch thick rounds. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to 1/4-inch thickness and cut out desired shapes with cookie cutters. Place cookies on the prepared baking sheets.
• Bake in the preheated oven until lightly browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Cool on wire racks and decorate as desired.

MOM'S CHRISTMAS SUGAR CUT-OUT COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Line 2 baking pans with parchment paper.
• Mix confectioners' sugar, butter, egg, vanilla, and almond extract in a bowl with an electric mixer until it comes together well and butter is not clumpy. Slowly mix in baking soda and cream of tarter, then flour. When the dough becomes tougher to mix, use your hands to mash and knead until the dough is completely formed.
• Transfer dough to a large, floured work surface. Carefully roll to a thickness of about 1 centimeter or a little more; the thicker the dough, the softer the cookie. (These cookies will puff up in the oven.) Add flour to your work surface, the dough, and the rolling pin as needed.
• Cut out as many shapes as you can cleverly fit in the dough. Remove any extra dough from the perimeters of your cookies. Save all the scraps and roll into another ball for the next round of rolling and cutting out cookies.
• Delicately transfer the cookies to the prepared baking sheets, leaving at least 1 inch of space between each one.
• Bake one tray at a time on the middle rack of the preheated oven, until cookies are still white on top and have fluffed up, 7 to 8 minutes. If they brown lightly along the edges, they should be removed immediately. Let the cookies sit on the tray for 1 minute and then transfer them to a wire rack to cool while you bake the second sheet of cookies.
• While cookies are cooling, prepare frosting by beating butter, egg white, and vanilla together in a bowl until creamy. Slowly mix in confectioners' sugar until smooth. Divide frosting into smaller bowls. Add 2 to 3 drops food coloring per bowl and mix well.
• Apply a thick layer of frosting to cooled cookies, spreading as smoothly as you can. Leave cookies on wire racks and cover with waxed paper. Let sit until frosting has hardened, 8 hours to overnight.