Nothing says holiday baking quite like a cut-out sugar cookie. It’s the stuff of holiday memories, for sure. My mom did the frosting, and us four kids argued over who added the best sprinkles. Good times!
When you want to create your own holiday memories but feel a little crunched for time, this recipe can help. You can make delicious, homemade cut out sugar cookies with a “no chill required” dough.
Because let’s face it, the kids just want to get straight to the decorating part anyway!
Why I Love this Recipe
I always thought there were two choices to make cut out cookies. The first being a traditional dough which requires some chilling time before cutting out and baking. Chilling the dough helps prevent it from spreading and ruining the shapes you so carefully cut out.
The other choice was store bought: either already prepared dough or a “just add butter and egg” mix. Sometimes these still have the spreading problem….
This no chill dough is homemade, easy to mix, and does not require any chill time. You can go straight to the roll, cut out, and bake stage.
Which of course gets you faster to the decorating step. ⛄️
Ingredients Needed
**Be sure to scroll to the recipe card for detailed quantities and directions**
How to Make This No Chill Dough for Cut Out Cookies
First, cream together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add the wet ingredients: egg, milk, and vanilla extract.
In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking soda and salt. Then, gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet. I like to add a third at a time, mixing after each addition. When the last of the flour mixture has been added to the bowl, mix the dough until just combined.
Prepare your work surface by sprinkling with flour. A piece of parchment paper makes a great work surface that’s easy to clean up!
Roll out about a third of the dough at a time. When rolling, coat your rolling pin with flour and add more flour to the work surface as needed to prevent sticking. Roll the dough out to about ¼ inch thickness.
Use your favorite cookie cutters to make shapes.
Place the cut-out cookies on a parchment-lined cookie sheet, about an inch or so apart.
Bake in a 375F oven for 8-10 minutes, until the edges are set.
Allow the cookies to cool completely before decorating.
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Expert Tips/FAQ
If you like to plan ahead, these cookies freeze very well. I like to bake and freeze them undecorated, then thaw the baked cookies when we are ready to decorate.
Every oven is different, so watch the first couple baking sheets to see how quickly the cookies are baking. My oven has a “hot spot” in one corner, so it works best to rotate the pan about halfway through the baking time.
You can frost with buttercream frosting or royal icing as you prefer, with decorative sprinkles added as needed. 😃
More Christmas Treats for you to Try
📖 Recipe
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Cut Out Sugar Cookies (No Chill)
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter room temperature (2 sticks)
- 1 ¼ cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon milk
- 3 cups flour all-purpose
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375F and line a baking sheet (s) with parchment paper.
- Cream together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add in the egg, milk, and vanilla extract.1 cup butter, 1 ¼ cup sugar, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, 1 egg, 1 teaspoon milk
- In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet, about a third at a time, mixing after each addition. When the last of the flour mixture has been added to the bowl, mix the dough until just combined.3 cups flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, ¼ teaspoon salt
- Prepare your work surface by covering with a piece of parchment paper and sprinkling with flour.
- Roll out about a third of the dough at a time. When rolling, coat your rolling pin with flour and add more flour to the work surface as needed to prevent sticking. Roll the dough out to about ¼ inch thickness.
- Use your favorite cookie cutters to cut shapes.
- Place the cut-out cookies on the parchment-lined cookie sheet, about an inch or so apart.
- Bake in a 375F oven for 8-10 minutes, until the edges are set.
- Allow the cookies to cool completely before decorating.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition values are estimates only, using online calculators. Please verify using your own data.
Amy Liu Dong
These are cute and delicious cookies! I will try to make this and I am sure my kids will love these!
Sula
Decorating cookies with kids makes for the best holiday memories! Enjoy!