What would you choose for dessert; a sugar cookie or a slice of chocolate cake? If you’re anything like me and those two items were in your home, the sugar cookies would be hanging around long after the chocolate cake was polished off.
Don’t get me wrong, I do like sugar cookies, but love them… Not so much. But trying to decorate chocolate cake to give as gifts – that wouldn’t work as well as sugar cookies do. Which leads me to the reason why I’m writing this post today – I’ve come up with a sugar cookie recipe by playing around with some favorite recipes. It’s definitely tasty, although it’s still not in the ‘chocolate cake’ category. If you try it out I’d love to hear what you think in the comment section below.
Before I get to the recipe, let me share a little introduction to the ‘Polar Bear Parade’ cookies with you.
When I saw this ribbon months ago at Michael’s Craft Store I just knew I had to make a cookie version of it. Pretty colors, a simple shape and such a cute little polar bear.
These were finished before Christmas, but I wasn’t able to post them in time. If you’d like to create these, you could make just the polar bear or substitute another object for the gift instead. It’d be a nice winter-themed cookie I think. The ribbon is probably on sale now too!
I used the KopyKake drawing projector to help me draw the image (believe me – I need it!), but you might be able to freehand as it’s a fairly simple shape.
Some of these are made of a new gingerbread recipe I found on-line, but I wasn’t entirely happy with the results (taste).
As I mentioned earlier, I’ve been playing around with some of my ‘go-to’ sugar cookie recipes – a few of the main ones being Peggy Porschen’sand the NFSC (No Fail Sugar Cookie) recipe (from cakecentral.com), to come up with my own combination. The latter two are still favourites for me, but now I’ve got a third choice. This is what I’ve come up with (please also see notes at the bottom of the recipe):
Sugar Cookie Recipe
Sugar Cut Out Cookie Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 3 tsp vanilla extract *or seeds from 1 vanilla bean
- 5 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder *take this out if you don't want your cookies to spread
- 1 tsp salt
Instructions
- Cream the butter and sugar together in the bowl of an electric mixer on low to medium speed. (Use the paddle attachment). Mix until thoroughly incorporated - for about one minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a plastic spatula and mix again for a few seconds more. Over mixing the butter and sugar in this step will cause too much air to be incorporated into the dough. If you'd like a light and fluffy cookie, that's ideal, however the dough will spread more during baking; not ideal if you'd like the cookie to hold its shape.
- Add eggs slowly and mix. Scrape down the bowl with your spatula at least once and mix again.
- Add liquid vanilla extract. Stir briefly. Alternatively, cut open your vanilla bean and scrape the seeds out. Add to mixing bowl and stir.
- Sift your dry ingredients together. (Flour, baking powder and salt).
- Add all of the flour mixture to the bowl. Place a large tea towel or two small tea towels between the edge of the bowl and the electric mixer so that the flour won't escape. Mix on low speed for 30 seconds. Remove the tea towels and observe the dough mixing; when it clumps around the paddle attachment it's ready. It's also important at this stage not to over mix the dough (the glutens in the flour develop and the dough can become tough).
- Roll the dough out between 2 large pieces of parchment paper. Place on a baking sheet and into the fridge for a minimum of 1 hour.
- Roll out the dough further if you need to, and cut out cookie shapes. Place on parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Re-roll scraps and repeat.
- Put cookie dough shapes back into the fridge for 10 minutes to 1 hour to chill again. They will then hold their shape better when baked.
- Preheat your oven to 350°F or 176°C.
- Bake cookies for 8-12 minutes or until the edges become golden brown. The baking time will depend on the size of your cookie.
- Let cookies cool to room temperature and decorate!
Notes
A few notes about the recipe (also listed in recipe):
These have already been included in the recipe above, but just in case you didn’t see them, they are important to read, so I’ve included them again.
*Butter – The butter needs to be soft, or room temperature. I leave mine out the night before I do my baking. If you forget, you can grate the butter on the largest hole of your box grater, so that the sugar and butter will mix together better.
*Amount of Butter – I’ve noticed some people who’ve tried the recipe who live in a warmer climate have trouble with 2.5 cups butter, and although the extra 1/2 cup butter taste is nice, to make the dough easier to work with in any climate, I edited the recipe to say only 2 cups of butter. The printable version is uneditable, so still says 2.5 cups of butter.
*Baking powder – I hardly use any baking powder in my recipe because the dough will spread and rise more during baking, thereby making the shape of the cookie less crisp. The only time I use it now, is if I’m just making round shortbread cookies and I don’t care about the cookies spreading.
*Chill your dough if it gets too soft work with. It’s a softer, sometimes sticky dough (depending on your environment as well), but in my humble opinion, makes up for it in taste.
*Read these tips here on stopping dough from spreading.
*Added May 19th, 2019 – Clarification – the sugar used for the cookies is granulated sugar not icing sugar or confectioner’s sugar.
I’ll do an in-depth tutorial with pictures on making the sugar cookie dough in a future post.
Hope you enjoy this recipe!
xo,
Marian
Ghazaal says
Hi Mariam
again its me!
my first sugar cookies that i had made was with your awesome recipe. each time i make these cookies i stop a while and smelling them. ummmmmmmmm they smell like heaven.
love their smell, taste, texture….
Thank you for your nice and delicious recipe.
i have choose your recipe for my sugar cookies for ever.
i know that there is a general rule for recipes in cooking world: you can divide or multiply you recipe and have minimum changes in the result.
OK but i want to know if you have ever divided you sugar cookie recipe to “4” and have successful results or not? cos i have to make some animal cookies that they are a little small and making sugar cookies with halved recipe will result in too many animals!!
what do you suggest to me and how can i prevent to make over needed cookies?
thank you for your kindness.
Gabriela Lopez says
Hello Ghazaal!
I always freeze my cookie dough raw! I can make a couple of batches ahead of time, or make the cookie shapes freeze them on a sheet tray, freeze them and the placenthem on a ziplock bag.
So whenever I need a quick cookie batch or just bake 1 I don’t habe to make the whole batch!
Hope it helps.
Gaby
Carrie says
Thanks for the tips! Is this 2 sticks (2- half cups) or is it 2.5 cups of butter?
Annette says
Stephany,
The butter amount is correct as written.
2 1/2 cups unsalted butter = 5 sticks of butter.
Each stick of butter is equal to 1/2 cup of butter.
I made these cookies last night as my “1st ever roll out cookies” they were perfect and tasted delicious. I baked them for 12 mins at 350 on the 2nd rack up from the bottom.
I didn’t use baking powder, and I did roll out the dough to 1/4 inch between 2 sheets of parchment paper and chill it for 1 hr. I then cut out the cookies and chilled them for 20 mins in the fridge on the parchment paper lined baking sheets I was going to bake them on. I preheated the oven while the cookies were in the fridge and took out one tray at a time to back straight from the fridge to the oven. 20 mins is perfect so they don’t spread.
This is now my go to sugar cookie.
Thanks so much Annette
barbara says
Hello,
First let me congratulate you on your website which I love consulting for ideas.
I have made your sugar cookies using the conversions you have on your website (thank you by the way…great not having to look for them) and halved the recipe.
The flavour is incredible but the consistency is too soft.can I correct the dough adding more flour once made, or will it ruin it?
I need to make a cookie that does not crumble too easily as I need to place it in little boxes or silk sachets.Could you advise me on which of your recipe could I use Instead ?
Thank you so much for your help
I hope to hear your view.
Ciao
Barbara from Ireland
marian says
Hi Barbara,
Depending on humidity, the ingredients (amount of water content in the butter etc.), the amount of butter and flour makes a difference in this recipe. If you’re having issues you can take about 1/2 cup of butter out, or add more flour. The dough should be soft but not too sticky. Hope that helps!
Taylorbaby says
I made sugar cookies for the first time EVER and used your recipe as well as your RI recipe! FABULOUS! Everything turned out PERFECT! I made elmo, Cookie Monster, Sesame Street signs, and “2” cookies for my daughters bday! HUGE HIT! Thanks so much!!! I’m dying to make more and decorate!!!
marian says
Yay! I’m so glad Taylorbaby!
Yael says
Hi would using your recipe to make funfetti cookies work (adding sprinkles to the cookie dough mixture) I need a recipe that will hold it’s shape because I want to make bags of “magic star” cookies as a part of a fairy themed favor. I don’t want to start icing the cookies because there will be too many and I am making other things too.
Fun says
Hi Mariam,
From Sunny Singapore, I fell in love with your recipes, colours, blog and ALL.
Tempted to try your recipes but am having problems converting to grams. Via web conversions, **5 cups flour = 482gm, 496gm and 750gm ??
I am so lost, which to follow.
Please help!!!!
marian says
Hi Fun,
Here is my measurement conversion post:
https://sweetopia.net/2013/06/weight-conversions-for-common-baking-ingredients-free-illustrated-printables/
Hope that helps!
Eileen says
Hi Mariam,
I was wondering how thick to roll out the dough when I’m going to cutout the cookies. I’m excited to try your recipe! I also like to cut out the cookies and freeze them. Then I can have fresh cookies whenever I need them. Wonderful page BTW!!
marian says
Hi Eileen,
Here is a post for you;
https://sweetopia.net/2013/11/how-thick-or-thin-do-you-roll-your-cookie-dough-how-do-you-make-the-dough-even/
xo
Kim says
Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe! I made sugar cookies for the first time last night using your recipe and they are absolutely perfect. I cut the ingredients in half and it was just right. I plan to try your royal icing recipe tonight, wish me luck! Thank you again for all the time you have put into your amazing website.
marian says
HI Kim,
Yay! So happy to hear it! Thanks for your comments. 🙂
Stacy says
Was this supposed to be STICKS of butter not CUPS?
marian says
Hi Stacy,
Cups of butter is correct.
Amy says
Hi Miriam,
I have what seems like kind of a silly question. After the dough is made, it is to be chilled. When I take it out of the fridge, it’s impossible for me to roll out because it is too hard. So I have to let it sit on the counter and warm up till it becomes pliable, which seems to negate the whole chilling process. What am I missing? I see other cooks on tv do this as well, they take out a big wheel of pastry dough, throw it on the counter and roll it out. How can they roll it out right away? Is that why you roll it between parchment before chilling? Is it able to be rolled further after you take it out or do you need to let it warm up a bit? Thanks!
Dolores says
Amy…
I have been doing this trick for years.
Immediately after I combine the dough (still soft), I put a ball of dough between two sheets of plastic wrap. I use guides to help me roll it out consistently thick. I place the rolled sheet (cookie dough sandwiched between plastic wrap) on flat baking sheet and place in freezer. I repeat this until all the dough has been rolled out…stacking each layer over the other in freezer. I leave them there sometimes for weeks (even months). When ready to bake, I pull out a sheet, slowly peel off the first layer of plastic wrap (all while still frozen), and loosely place back plastic wrap on cookie layer. Flip over and gently remove the plastic layer. I cut them while still frozen and they transfer very easily to a Silpat layer. I find that parchment paper curls and bit and does not stay flat. It was affecting the undersides of my cookies. I put all the scraps together loosely in a Ziploc and roll them out when I have enough for another ball of dough.
Dolores
Sarah Stribling says
Hi There! I always recommend people to your website and think it’s such a staple!
I’m actually tasked to do a party and need to make about 150 cookies. If we use about the same shape/size as your polar bear cookies, how many cookies does this recipe typically yield?
Thanks so much!
Sarah
marian says
Hi Sarah,
It makes about 30-35 cookies, but it will also depend on the size of the cookie cutter and how thick you make your cookies.
Jill Skidmore says
I love this site! I just can’t find the lemon flavored sugar cookie recipe! I looked all over and no luck!!!!! Help!
Katie says
I make all my sugar cookies with lemon! Just replace the vanilla extract with lemon extract or flavoring. 🙂
marian says
Hi Jill,
Here it is; https://sweetopia.net/2012/07/when-life-gives-you-lemons-lemon-cookie-recipe-tutorial/
Stephany Brisco says
I made your cookie recipe but the cookies spread WAY out. Is there a typo? Is it suppose to be 2 1/2 sticks instead of 2 1/2 cups? I’m living over seas and I’m pretty sure I converted correctly. 1/2 cup butter = 113 grams. I used 565 grams of butter. Baked them and I can’t even use them they’re so spread and thinned out.
marian says
Hi Stephany,
The recipe originally had 2.5 cups of butter… The extra butter added such a delicious flavour and texture when baked. I live in a colder environment (most of the year) and know how finicky baking can be, so meticulously follow these steps to prevent cookies from spreading (which affect dough texture as well) https://sweetopia.net/2011/04/top-8-tips-on-preventing-cookies-from-spreading/
I use the best quality ingredients (less water content in butter etc.), so the cookies work out well for me and others who have made it.
If you check the comment section you’ll see that there are others who have also had issues with the dough being too soft for them. There are a few factors which would probably cause this. The first being inaccurate measuring but if there are others with the issue I would discount that being the reason. Although the way flour is measured could be factor (not enough in cup for example):
* The environment they live in. Is it humid? Warm? The dough would be harder to work with
* Room temperature butter – is their room temperature too warm (warmer climate again), making the butter overly soft.
* The quality of the ingredients. Lower quality butter has more water content than higher quality butters and will make the dough more moist
* There are more factors (some more related to spreading when baked) all discussed in this post here; https://sweetopia.net/2011/04/top-8-tips-on-preventing-cookies-from-spreading/
Baking is a science… There are many factors which can affect the outcome. Baking in warmer environments, high altitudes, how things are measured, ingredients etc. all affect the results. Although the taste in this recipe is affected, I decided to make the recipe easier to work with and took out 1/2 cup of butter. It can be made either way, but one needs to carefully follow all suggestions and know about the factors which affect baking.
I hope that helps!
Stephany Brisco says
Is this suppose to be 2 1/2 sticks or cups? I used cups and my cookies spread out way too much. I can’t use the cookies.
marian says
Hi Stephany,
The recipe originally had 2.5 cups of butter… The extra butter added such a delicious flavour and texture when baked. I live in a colder environment (most of the year) and know how finicky baking can be, so meticulously follow these steps to prevent cookies from spreading (which affect dough texture as well) https://sweetopia.net/2011/04/top-8-tips-on-preventing-cookies-from-spreading/ I use the best quality ingredients (less water content in butter etc.), so the cookies work out well for me and others who have made it.
If you check the comment section you’ll see that there are some who have had issues with the dough being too soft for them. There are a few factors which would probably cause this. The first being inaccurate measuring but if there are many people with the issue I would discount that being the reason. Although the way flour is measured could be factor (not enough in cup for example):
* The environment they live in. Is it humid? Warm? The dough would be harder to work with
* Room temperature butter – is their room temperature too warm (warmer climate again), making the butter overly soft.
* The quality of the ingredients. Lower quality butter has more water content than higher quality butters and will make the dough more moist
* There are more factors (some more related to spreading when baked) all discussed in this post here; https://sweetopia.net/2011/04/top-8-tips-on-preventing-cookies-from-spreading/
Baking is a science… There are many factors which can affect the outcome. Baking in warmer environments, high altitudes, how things are measured, ingredients etc. all affect the results. Although the taste in this recipe is affected, I decided to make the recipe easier to work with and took out 1/2 cup of butter. It can be made either way, but one needs to carefully follow all suggestions and know about the factors which affect baking.
I hope that helps!
Maria says
Hi!
I also think this recipe might be incorrect…. I think it should be sticks of butter not cups… My dough came out very sticky… Can you please clarify? I think is a typo…
Thank you !
marian says
Hi Maria,
The recipe originally had 2.5 cups of butter… The extra butter added such a delicious flavour and texture when baked. I live in a colder environment (most of the year) and know how finicky baking can be, so meticulously follow these steps to prevent cookies from spreading (which affect dough texture as well) https://sweetopia.net/2011/04/top-8-tips-on-preventing-cookies-from-spreading/ I use the best quality ingredients (less water content in butter etc.), so the cookies work out well for me and others who have made it.
If you check the comment section you’ll see that there are some who have had issues with the dough being too soft for them. There are a few factors which would probably cause this. The first being inaccurate measuring but if there are many people with the issue I would discount that being the reason. Although the way flour is measured could be factor (not enough in cup for example):
* The environment they live in. Is it humid? Warm? The dough would be harder to work with
* Room temperature butter – is their room temperature too warm (warmer climate again), making the butter overly soft.
* The quality of the ingredients. Lower quality butter has more water content than higher quality butters and will make the dough more moist
* There are more factors (some more related to spreading when baked) all discussed in this post here; https://sweetopia.net/2011/04/top-8-tips-on-preventing-cookies-from-spreading/
Baking is a science… There are many factors which can affect the outcome. Baking in warmer environments, high altitudes, how things are measured, ingredients etc. all affect the results. Although the taste in this recipe is affected, I decided to make the recipe easier to work with and took out 1/2 cup of butter. It can be made either way, but one needs to carefully follow all suggestions and know about the factors which affect baking.
I hope that helps!
Lisa Riley says
Hiya, how long will the dough keep (if frozen) and the cookies keep (if airtight)?
marian says
Hi Lisa,
I would keep the dough frozen for up to 6 months.
Annette says
Barbara,
I put my sugar cookies in cello bags as a thank you gift. 3 per little bag – with parchment paper squares in between each cookie so that they logo didn’t scratch off the cookie. If you put these in the fridge to keep them cold – they won’t crumble. One of my bags fell off the counter as I was putting them in a box, and the cookies didn’t break. Yet they were perfect when left out for a bit to room temp for the guests to eat. Make sure you roll them 1/4 inch thick. Enjoy and good luck.
marian says
Hi Annette,
Thank you so much for all your input! xo
Mary says
Hey my name is Mary and I did this for my sister-in-laws wedding shower. Instead of polper baers I did cutouts in circles and hearts shapes. Everyone loved them!! One tip is instead of using a rolling pin I just put the dough on the cookie sheet and flattened it with my hands so then I doesn’t make shuck a big mess and ps. Add flour to the dought if you do it this way!! Thanks y’all
Elizabeth says
How many cookies does this recipe make? I am working at a summer camp this summer and am looking to make about 50 of them.
marian says
Hi Elizabeth,
It makes about 30-35 cookies, but it will also depend on the size of the cookie cutter and how thick you make your cookies.
Oksana says
Hi there,
I live in New Zealand and I am not too sure how to measure out 2.5 cups of butter – it is not melted is it? Or do I just need to pack softened butter into 2.5 cups? Perhaps you could let me know what your sticks of butter weigh? Thank you so much!
marian says
Hi Oksana,
Here is my measurement conversion post:
https://sweetopia.net/2013/06/weight-conversions-for-common-baking-ingredients-free-illustrated-printables/
The butter should be at room temperature, not liquid.
Hope that helps!
Lisa says
Tried to make these for my daughter’s 2nd Birthday. I followed the written instructions, but had the same problem as some others with VERY sticky dough. Even straight from chilling in the fridge for an hour, the first few cookies cut out fine, but by the end of the sheet, they were already sticking to the parchment like a gooey mess. The final cookies spread into blobs and we’re very fragile, so I ended up not being able to use them for the party. They did, however, taste great. Any idea what might have gone wrong? I used the 5 sticks of butter, but am wondering if I used the wrong type of flour (all purpose), or if the flour should have been sifted into the measuring cups, or if there was another small detail I might have missed. Several people seem to have had great luck with this recipe, so I’d like to give it another shot. Thanks in advance.
Lisa says
Forgot to add: I live in Florida. Would the humidity cause this and, if so, what would I do to compensate?
marian says
Hi Lisa,
The recipe originally had 2.5 cups of butter… The extra butter added such a delicious flavour and texture when baked. I live in a colder environment (most of the year) and know how finicky baking can be, so meticulously follow these steps to prevent cookies from spreading (which affect dough texture as well) https://sweetopia.net/2011/04/top-8-tips-on-preventing-cookies-from-spreading/ I use the best quality ingredients (less water content in butter etc.), so the cookies work out well for me and others who have made it.
If you check the comment section you’ll see that there are some who have had issues with the dough being too soft for them. There are a few factors which would probably cause this. The first being inaccurate measuring but if there are many people with the issue I would discount that being the reason. Although the way flour is measured could be factor (not enough in cup for example):
* The environment they live in. Is it humid? Warm? The dough would be harder to work with
* Room temperature butter – is their room temperature too warm (warmer climate again), making the butter overly soft.
* The quality of the ingredients. Lower quality butter has more water content than higher quality butters and will make the dough more moist
* There are more factors (some more related to spreading when baked) all discussed in this post here; https://sweetopia.net/2011/04/top-8-tips-on-preventing-cookies-from-spreading/
Baking is a science… There are many factors which can affect the outcome. Baking in warmer environments, high altitudes, how things are measured, ingredients etc. all affect the results. Although the taste in this recipe is affected, I decided to make the recipe easier to work with and took out 1/2 cup of butter. It can be made either way, but one needs to carefully follow all suggestions and know about the factors which affect baking.
If you live in a warmer environment I would definitely use only 2 cups of butter, and when it says butter at room temperature, make sure your butter is just softened… not too soft. Sometimes in a warmer climate the “room temperature” butter there is so soft it affects the texture of the dough. Maybe leave it out for only an hour or so to soften it just enough to mix.
I hope that helps!
marian says
Hi Lisa,
To compensate, take out 1/2 cup butter and/or add a little bit of flour at a time until the dough is soft to the touch, but not sticky.
Hope that helps!
Jill Skidmore says
Hi Maria,
I think your site is amazing and love your recipes! Can you help me find your sugar cookie recipe that uses lemon extract in it? I can’t find it any where??????!!!!!!! Thanks so much for all that you do! Jill
marian says
Hi Jill,
Here is my lemon version:
https://sweetopia.net/2012/07/when-life-gives-you-lemons-lemon-cookie-recipe-tutorial/
Laura says
Hi Marian!
Looking forward to trying this out for some snowflake cookies for my daughter’s Narnia themed birthday party.
My questions:
Do you use plain flour?
Roughly how many cookies would this make if I use a 12cm (just under 5 inch) snowflake cookie cutter?
Thank you!
Laura (Brisbane, Australia)
marian says
HI Laura,
Yes I use all purpose flour.
It makes about 30-35 cookies, but it will also depend on the size of the cookie cutter and how thick you make your cookies.
MimaiBeachMom says
Hello Marian!
I just subscribed to your newsletters. Your website is a great discovery for me!
I just tried your sugar cookie recipe (it’s actually my fourth attempt), I thought this would be the best and the only recipe I’ll use.
What went wrong please give me e tip.
I used the exact amount of the ingredients indicated, except of flour. It took 8 cups to stick the dough together and it was still ripping. I just divided it into two parts and put it into the refrigerator. I don’t think I’ll be able to use any cookie cutters on it. So frustrated 🙁 Any advise, any tip will be so highly appreciated. Thank you!
MiamiBeachMom says
P.S. Do I need to use a white color to make a white icing? Thank you in advance!
marian says
Hi MiamiBeachMom,
It seems some people have no problems with the recipe, and some find it a wet dough… Adding flour is definitely a solution, but there must be some other factors happening. Since baking often needs to be so precise, I’m thinking some other things to consider are; what kind of butter are you using? Maybe the water content is high… Generally the more expensive the butter, the higher the fat content and lower water content. If your water content is high there will be more moisture. What is the climate like you’re working in? Is it warm or humid? How chilled was your butter when you began making your dough? Room temperature is what you need but if it’s a warm summer day, the butter might be too soft.
This post may be helpful too: https://sweetopia.net/2011/04/top-8-tips-on-preventing-cookies-from-spreading/ Some of the factors could overlap.
If you live in a warmer climate, perhaps using only two cups of butter would be helpful.
Good luck! xo
MiamiBeachMom says
Hello Marian!
Thank you for you response!
Yes, I do live in humid and hot climate – Miami, Fl.
The butter was too soft (Canyon Creek Farms)
Next time I won’t mix it too long cos I had air in the dough.
I’ll make another attempt and will let you know!
Thank you so much for all the information, communication and nice ideas. We all appreciate it so much!
marian says
My pleasure, MiamiBeachMom! I forgot to answer your other question… Yes, I color my white icing white. 🙂
Here’s a post I mention it in and some other tips if you like; https://sweetopia.net/2010/12/10-keys-to-cookie-decorating-success-or-10-mistakes-to-avoid/
MiamiBeachMom says
Dear Marian!
I’m going to give it another try :))
But before I start please, please suggest me what flour to use; Bleached, Unbleached, High Gluten or Whole-wheat flour?
How to achieve that white-pail cookie color and the needed consistency?
Thank you so much in advance!!!!!!!!!
marian says
Hi MiamiBeachMom,
I use all-purpose flour. They key to the color is baking them until they get a very slight golden color. The longer you bake them, the more golden they will get. You mentioned consistency as well, which makes me think you may mean the icing though? For very white icing, actually tint it white. Hope that helps!
Mandee Johns says
I am making these cookies for a babyshower, since I am doing them, along with everything myself, I was wondering if I made them a week ahead of time, if they would still be ok?
marian says
Hi Mandee,
Here is a post for you on the shelf life of cookies:
https://sweetopia.net/2012/02/how-long-do-decorated-cookies-stay-fresh-what-is-the-shelf-life-of-decorated-cookies/
Kathryn says
I have used this recipe without fail probably hundreds of times…until recently. I cannot figure out what I am doing wrong. After I cut & re chill the cut outs and then put into the oven, the bottom edges of my cookies are flaking almost. There are also tiny, little clear (butter?) bubbles around the base edges of the cookies as they bake which I think is causing the ‘flaking.’ It holds it’s shape pretty well but not perfect like this recipe has always yielded for me.
I am doing everything the same as I typically do and using the same brands, etc as well, except for my parchment paper. Any ideas? I cannot for the life of me figure it out and have a few dozen cookies to make this week! Thank You!
marian says
Hi Kathyrn,
I can only think of a few things, as you said nothing at all has changed… The first is that the company you buy your butter (or other ingredients) from, has changed something in their ingredients or that perhaps it is the parchment paper you’re now using. I haven’t had an issue like this with the parchment I use though.
A few questions just in case:
*Is the baking sheet the same?
*Has your oven changed? Maybe it’s time to calibrate it?
Hope this helps!
Erin says
I noticed that the printer friendly version of this recipe shows a different amount of butter of 2.5 cups than the one showing on this page. Which is the correct amount of butter 2.5 or 2 cups? I used 2.5 and the dough was extremely soft and difficult to work with. I’ve used this recipe before and just realized the discrepancy in the amount of butter and was wondering if I used the incorrect amount. Please advise.
marian says
Hi Erin,
The recipe originally had 2.5 cups of butter… The extra butter added such a delicious flavour and texture when baked. I live in a colder environment (most of the year) and know how finicky baking can be, so meticulously follow these steps to prevent cookies from spreading (which affect dough texture as well) https://sweetopia.net/2011/04/top-8-tips-on-preventing-cookies-from-spreading/ I use the best quality ingredients (less water content in butter etc.), so the cookies work out well for me and others who have made it.
If you check the comment section you’ll see that there are some who have had issues with the dough being too soft for them. There are a few factors which would probably cause this. The first being inaccurate measuring but if there are many people with the issue I would discount that being the reason. Although the way flour is measured could be factor (not enough in cup for example):
* The environment they live in. Is it humid? Warm? The dough would be harder to work with
* Room temperature butter – is their room temperature too warm (warmer climate again), making the butter overly soft.
* The quality of the ingredients. Lower quality butter has more water content than higher quality butters and will make the dough more moist
* There are more factors (some more related to spreading when baked) all discussed in this post here; https://sweetopia.net/2011/04/top-8-tips-on-preventing-cookies-from-spreading/
Baking is a science… There are many factors which can affect the outcome. Baking in warmer environments, high altitudes, how things are measured, ingredients etc. all affect the results. Although the taste in this recipe is affected, I decided to make the recipe easier to work with and took out 1/2 cup of butter. It can be made either way, but one needs to carefully follow all suggestions and know about the factors which affect baking.
I hope that helps!
Robin says
Thanks for sharing the recipe for the cookies and the royal icing (and the 10 second rule). I followed everything exactly as you wrote it and everything was perfect. Made some cute cookies that were a hit at my youngest daughter’s wedding shower. Thanks!
marian says
Hi Robin,
That’s great to hear! I’m so glad! 🙂
Jenny says
This is great. Thanks for sharing!! How many cookies does this recipe make?
marian says
Hi Jenny,
It makes about 30-35 cookies, but it will also depend on the size of the cookie cutter and how thick you make your cookies.
tania rossouw says
Do we know yet how many cookies this recipe makes?
marian says
Hi Tania,
It makes about 30-35 cookies, but it will also depend on the size of the cookie cutter and how thick you make your cookies.
Amelia says
Is it okay if i omit out vanilla bean?
marian says
Hi Amelia,
Yes you can. You can put another flavoring or take it out.
Yazmin says
Doe these cookies stay soft? Or are they the more crispy or hard type of sugar cookies? I’m looking for a soft sugar cookie that can still be perfect for cut out sugar cookies. Would these work for that?
marian says
Hi Yazmin,
If you like yours softer, bake them until the middle no longer looks wet (turn on the oven light and peek through the glass… you’ll be able to see if the middle still looks glossy/wet). When the surface no longer looks wet, take them out of the oven.
The trick is to not bake them too long if you like them soft. You also won’t have the golden brown edges if you don’t like them crisp.
Hope that helps!
Luciane Bueno says
My cookies are hard, took even whiten the oven, I used the recipe that u passed.
Can you help me, I do not know where I can be wrong, the only difference is that I added a little honey in the dough.
Thank you
marian says
Hi Luciane,
Baking is often to be said to be like science; it needs to be precise and there are a lot of variables which affect the outcome, such as humidity, altitude, temperature measurements etc. I have not used honey in my recipe, so I can’t say what exact difference it made, although I suspect adding more liquid would make them softer and make them spread more. In terms of being hard, the longer you bake them the harder/crispier they will get. Also, the thinner the cookie the faster they will bake (and also harder they will get).