This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my privacy policy.
Sugar Cookies - easy and the best sugar cookie recipe. These homemade Christmas sugar cookies are cut out in festive shapes and decorated with icing.
Sugar Cookies
Sugar cookies are a must for the festive holiday season. It’s a celebration of the happiest time of the year.
It’s always so much fun to make Christmas sugar cookies because the cookies are cut out from the dough into festive shapes of Christmas trees, stars, snow angels, candy canes, snow flakes and more.
The best part of it all is decorating the cookies with icing, frosting and sprinkles.
This is the world’s best sugar cookie recipe because it’s Alton Brown’s recipe.
How To Make Sugar Cookies
It’s every easy to make homemade Christmas cookies. The recipe calls for simple pantry ingredients:
- Unsalted butter.
- Sugar.
- All-purpose flour.
- Egg.
- Milk.
- Baking powder and salt.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients.
The first step is to make the cookie dough using a stand mixer. Next, you roll out the dough on a working surface and cut out into desired shapes.
The final step is to bake the cookies in the oven and store the cookies in an air tight container.
Frequently Asked Questions
I don’t recommend freezing the cookie dough because you’ll need to thaw to room temperature before cutting out to cookies. You may chill the dough in the refrigerator for 30 minutes before rolling out. You may also chill the cut out sugar cookies for 30 minutes before baking.
For holiday-themed cookies, you can decorate them with icing, frosting, sprinkles, nonpareil and/or cupcake gems and pearls.
You can make sugar cookie frosting and icing from scratch. You can also get the icing and frosting from the stores, for example: Betty Crocker Cookie Icing and Frosting.
Each sugar cookie is only 65 calories per piece.
What To Serve With This Recipe
Serve the cookies with other festive treats and cookies. I recommend the following recipes.
I hope you enjoy this post as much as I do. If you try my recipe, please leave a comment and consider giving it a 5-star rating. For more easy and delicious recipes, explore my Recipe Index, and stay updated by subscribing to my newsletter and following me on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram for new updates.
Other Recipes You Might Like
Sugar Cookie Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter , softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 egg beaten
- 1 tablespoon milk
- powdered sugar , for rolling out dough
Instructions
- Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar until light in color. Add the egg and milk, and mix to combine. On low speed, gradually add the flour until the mixture pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Divide the dough in half, cover, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C) and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Sprinkle a flat working surface with powdered sugar. Working with one portion of dough at a time, sprinkle a rolling pin with powdered sugar and roll out the dough to 1/4 inch thick. Cut into desired shapes and place the sugar cookies 1 inch apart on a baking sheet.
- Bake the sugar cookies for 7 to 9 minutes, or until they just begin to turn brown around the edges, rotating the cookie sheet halfway through the baking time. Let the cookies sit on the baking sheet for 2 minutes after removing them from the oven.
- Let the cookies cool on a wire rack. Serve as is or decorate with cookie icing, sprinkles, or nonpareils. Store the sugar cookies in airtight containers for up to 1 week.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
The best!
can i use water instead of milk to make these sugar cookies, in my baking i do not use diary products so that I am able to serve my desserts with meat. I do not always have almond milk available and wanted to know if I can use water in a pinch to achieve the same results.
thank you
milk would be nicer.
I really like your article about suger cookie recipe. Thanyou for writing this post.
Are these cookies soft or hard cookies?
It’s not soft cookies but not too hard either.
I am looking for those exact decorations , where did you buy those from?
Hi Judy, I got them from Albertson’s. It’s Betty Crocker Cookie Icing, Cup Cake Gems (Green and Red Pearls). :)
Looks nice and I would like try baking. May I know how heavy is 1 cup of flour, 1 cup of butter and 1 cup of sugar?
Just use an American cup.