Cut Out Sugar Cookie Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the trick to cut out cookies? ›

In general, metal cookie cutters are sharper than plastic and will give you better results. Whichever type of cookie cutter you choose, flour it and then set it on the rolled-out dough and press straight down. Try not to jiggle or twist the cookie cutter as you use it.

Use powdered sugar instead of flour to roll your dough: if you're like me and use every bit of your dough, I recommend using powdered sugar instead of flour to roll your dough. When I use flour it adds too much flour to the dough and makes it drier.

Which One Should I Use in Cookies? Basically, cookies made with butter spread more and are flatter and crisper if baked long enough. However, they are more flavorful than cookies made with shortening. Cookies made with shortening bake up taller and are more tender, but aren't as flavorful.

Simple metal cookie cutters can transform store-bought slice-and-bake dough into the most festive holiday dessert. For these Christmas cut-outs, all you need is a 16.5-ounce roll of Pillsbury sugar-cookie dough, some flour, and an oven (elbow grease not included).

Oven Temperature

If you still notice that your cookies are spreading, another thing you can do to help cookies keep their shape, is increase the heat 10-25 degrees higher than the suggested temperature on the recipe. Every oven is different, so you may need to try this for yours.

Mixing Butter & Sugar

If your butter is under mixed, it won't have the air pockets to hold it's shape. If it's over-mixed, the air pockets decrease in size and are unable to hold their shape in the oven—causing your cookies to spread. It's best to cream butter and sugar on medium speed for 2 to 3 minutes.

Q: Why are my cookies so puffy and cakey? Whipping too much air into the dough. That fluffy texture you want in a cake results from beating a lot of air into the room temperature butter and sugar, and it does the same for cookies. So don't overdo it when you're creaming together the butter and sugar.

To illustrate, I baked our normal vanilla cutout cookie recipe which includes 2 tsp of baking powder and a batch with no baking powder. The cookie with baking powder was puffier and lighter in texture whereas the cookie without baking powder was very dense, compact and almost concave.

Most homemade cookies will maintain their taste and texture for up to 3 days. If you leave them out for too long, the cookies begin to harden or dry out. To prevent cookies from becoming stale, cover them with plastic wrap or keep in an airtight container.

How long do cut out sugar cookies stay fresh? ›

What Does Cream of Tartar Do in Cookies? Cream of tartar makes cookies chewy, as it precludes the sugar in the dough from crystalizing, which would lead to crispiness (ie: the opposite of chewiness).

Adding too little flour can cause cookies to be flat, greasy, and crispy. Most recipes assume you'll use all-purpose, but if you want a lighter, crumblier cookie texture, choose one with a lower protein content such as cake-and-pastry flour. Baking soda helps cookies spread outward and upward while cooking.

Too much baking powder can cause the batter to be bitter tasting. It can also cause the batter to rise rapidly and then collapse. (i.e. The air bubbles in the batter grow too large and break causing the batter to fall.) Cakes will have a coarse, fragile crumb with a fallen center.

A standard drinking glass with about a 3-inch opening is a great stand-in for cookie cutters. Round cookies can be decorated in a variety of ways to add festive color to any cookie tray.

If you describe something as having a cookie-cutter approach or style, you mean that the same approach or style is always used and not enough attention is paid to individual differences. Too many cookie-cutter condos were built with no attention to consumer needs.

To make precise and accurate cuts, insert three toothpicks, evenly spaced, along all four sides of the cooled bars. Cut diagonally across the bars beginning in one corner—the lower left corner is an easy place to make your first cut—and cutting from one toothpick to the next closest on the perpendicular side.