How to Bake (Easy! and Delicious!) Cutout Cookies with Neat Edges
Learn the secrets to baking cutout cookies with neat edges, that won’t spread as they bake! You’ll fall in love with baking and decorating cutout cookies.
**This post for cutout cookies with neat edges originally appeared on my old blog, YinMom YangMom, and has now been updated with the above video, as well as brand-new, pretty pics!
Everything else is exactly the same as it’s ever been.**
With less than a few weeks left ’til the most cookie-centric holiday on the calendar, I’m sure all my baking peeps are knee-deep in flour, sugar, and butter right about now! So I’m spilling my best cutout cookie baking secrets to you all, in the spirit of giving…
Almost every baking blog I visit has a post or a FAQ devoted to the subject, “How do you bake cutout cookies that don’t spread all over the place in the oven, hold their pretty shape, and have nice, neat edges???” It was not too long ago that I was myself searching for the answer to this age-old cutout cookie question. And when I want something, I do not rest until I’ve nailed it! After much research, and much experimentation, I’ve decided to put everything I’ve learned on this subject into one comprehensive post.
I do realize that after reading this post, there is a very good chance that your cutout cookies will now be as pretty, if not even PRETTIER, than mine. But I have learned SO much from the many talented baker/bloggers out there, and they’ve given so generously! It’s because of them that I’ve been able to build this hobby that I’m so fulfilled by! It simply would not be fair for me to keep this stuff to myself. It’s too good! And what’s the point of a site like this anyway, if not to inspire???
So, let’s dive in!
I developed this cutout cookie recipe myself, but based it on a few of my favorite cookie bloggers’ recipes.
LilaLoa: End-All for Chocolate Cookies
Sweetopia: Gingerbread Cookies
Bake at 350: Biscoff Cutouts (which I sometimes sub peanut or sunflower seed butter for the Biscoff- either way, hello, YUM!)
In Katrina’s Kitchen: Best Sugar Cookie Recipe
The Sweet Adventures of SugarBelle: Basic Sugar Cookie Recipe
The changes/tweaks/modifications I’ve made to their formulas produce cutout cookies that are kinda soft, but a little crunchier around the edges, with a mouthfeel somewhere between a sugar cookie and a shortbread. Scroll all the way to the bottom of this post, for my basic vanilla recipe.
But first, some of my best tips:
- Don’t Bother Softening the Butter: I like to use cold, cubed butter when I make the dough. Two reasons: 1) I’m lazy, and impatient, and I don’t always plan ahead. I don’t want to wait for the extra step of softening the butter. When that cookie baking urge strikes, I just want to go for it! 2) It also saves the step of chilling the dough before baking, which is another trick a lot of bakers use to help their cookies keep their shape. If you work quickly, the butter is still pretty cold when it goes into the oven, so the dough holds its shape better and doesn’t get all melty and slide all over the baking sheet.
- Leave Out the Leavening: Now, you may notice that my recipe contains no leavening of any kind. If you think about the purpose of baking powder in a recipe, it’s to help things puff up and spread out (hello!?), and be light and fluffy. Light and fluffy is great in a muffin or a pancake, but we are talking cookies, here, people. They are meant to have a little bite to them. Perhaps they are a little bit heavier, but in this instance, you kinda want that. Odds are, you are either shipping your cookies or delivering them by car, and if they are too light and delicate, they’re more likely to break. So, this is going to give you a more durable cookie, and I promise you, they are still every bit as delicious.
- The Magic Ingredient: This is the biggest key to the whole business, and maybe the only thing that you won’t find on any other blog out there (that I’ve seen, anyway). THE CORNSTARCH. It’s pure witchcraft. I discovered it totally by accident, when searching for a way to make my gluten-free cookies less grainy and sandy textured. I had read that cornstarch can give shortbread a “meltaway” texture, and I thought I’d give it a go in my GF flour mix. It really does help, incidentally, but I also noticed that it made the dough SUCH a pleasure to work with! It is NOT sticky at all, nor is it crumbly. It just stays right where you want it. And those edges! I about died…! SO clean and perfect! Now I use it in every kind of batch, in every flavor. I just can’t live without it. Try it, you’ll see! Just sub out a little of the flour for cornstarch, in any recipe. It’s like magic!
- Make Parchment Your Bestie: Also, definitely try rolling your dough between two layers of parchment paper. It is absolutely no-muss no-fuss! Between the silky, UNcrumbly texture of this dough, and the parchment thing, I barely even need to wipe my countertops after making these cookies! **No bench flour!** (Which, by the way, can also make a tougher, less tender cookie.) I also line my baking sheets with it, and besides keeping things from sticking, it keeps the pans cleaner too! My cookies bake on parchment, and then I lay them on the same sheets to dry after decorating, so each sheet gets double duty. Here are the baking sheets I use, and here is where I order my parchment.
- Crank Up the Oven Temperature: Finally, you may notice that I recommend baking the cookies at a higher temperature, for a shorter time. This allows the cookie to “set up” more quickly, and hold it’s shape during baking, so again, less melty-slidey.
I hope these tips and tricks inspire you to get out your mixer and create some beautiful holiday cookies. Honestly, there was a time when I felt daunted by the idea, but thanks to a lot of inspiration from the talented ladies I mentioned above, and now that I’ve worked out my recipe and this system, it’s totally painless!
Do you like to bake and decorate cookies at this time of year? What is your favorite kind to make? Have you struggled with too-spread-out cookies and sloppy edges? Do you have any sanity-saving tricks to make it easier? Please share!
I also have a chocolate cutout cookie recipe, that’s every bit as good as this one, if not even better! And a gingerbread one! Now be sure to grab my favorite royal icing recipe– it’s the perfect way to decorate your cutout cookies.
Frequently asked questions:
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Can this dough be made ahead?
You can make this dough ahead and keep it in the refrigerator for a day or so, but if you do, you may want to add less flour because the dough will become drier as it sits. If you find your dough has become too dry and crumbly to work with, it can be moistened back up with a few drops of heavy cream.
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How long will these cookies last?
The shelf life on these cookies is about the same as any other homemade cookie recipe. If you keep them tightly wrapped so they don’t dry out or become stale, they should last for at least a week or two at room temperature.
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Can the cookies be frozen?
Again, wrap the cookies tightly so they don’t become dry. They should last in the freezer for several months. I would recommend freezing them un-iced, as the freeze/thaw process could cause your icing colors to run.
For even more great cookie recipes, be sure to follow my “Cookie Recipes Galore” Pinterest Board!
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Vanilla Cutout Cookies that Don't Spread
Ingredients
- 1 cup (227 g) unsalted butter, (2 sticks) cubed, cold
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 3 1/2 cups (500 g) all-purpose flour, (you may need as much as 4 cups)
- 1/2 cup (96 g) cornstarch
- 3/4 teaspoon (0.75 teaspoon) kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste, (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees, and line baking sheets with parchment.
- Cream the butter and sugar, just until smooth and combined.
- Mix in the eggs until incorporated.
- Add the flour**, cornstarch, and salt, and mix on medium low speed. The mixture will seem very dry and sandy at first, but after 3 to 5 minutes in the mixer it will gather itself into a ball and pull away cleanly from the sides of the bowl.
- Stir in the vanilla. (If you do not have an electric stand mixer with a paddle attachment, you may have to knead the dough by hand to fully bring it together.)
- Roll the dough out between 2 sheets of parchment paper, to a thickness of 1/4 inch.*
- Cut into shapes, and bake for 9 to 12 minutes (for appox. 2 1/2 inch cookie).
- Cool completely, then decorate with royal icing.
Hi there can these be frozen
Yes absolutely!
I regularly make these cookies! Also make the chocolate and gingerbread ones! Those fabulous edges! Excellent flavor! So versatile! Perfection!
Thank you so much Beth! Your 5-star rating helps me out a ton!
Going to try my hand at these this week. I don’t have a stand mixer, only a hand mixer. Any tips on how these will come out with that method?
I’d say just be ready for a good arm workout! The dough is very stiff. At first it will seem like there’s too much flour, but if you keep working it, it will eventually incorporate. If it’s too much of a strain on your mixer, you may need to “knead” it all in. Hope that helps!
These cookies are magical! I have been making these frosted sugar cookies and I get so many complements on them! They are the perfect consistency, buttery, not too sweet, and oh so addicting!
I’m so happy you like them! Thank you for the 5-star review!
I just made these cookies and they are perfect! Thank you so much for sharing your recipe.
This is my go-to recipe for cutout cookies. I almost always need more like four cups of flour, and I sometimes use less cornstarch if I am running out. I often add orange AND lemon extract. That’s sort of my secret, but I am sharing it here since you were so nice to share this recipe with the world. I think the amount of sugar in them is perfect, not too sweet at all. Most likely, you are going to put a huge amount of icing on the cookie, so no need for the cookie itself to be too sweet. So glad I discovered your recipe! I am not a professional baker, but people are asking me to make these cookies all the time!
This is a great sugar cookie receipe . I broke up the dough into three parts and added food coloring to make stamped cookies. I rolled the dough a little thiner and the cookies came out crispy and delicious.
My first time ever making cut out sugar cookies and they turned out perfectly….thank you for sharing the recipe. Now I’ll try my hand at decorating them…if that fails, at least I know they taste good!
Sorry if this has been asked and answered and I missed it in the comments!
Cold butter, but what about the Eggs? I’ve always brought the butter and the eggs to Room Temp before starting.
Love the idea of COLD butter but just wondering about the eggs.
Can’t wait to try this recipe. And your Simply Perfect Chocolate Sugar Cookies.
I think cold eggs should work just fine! Just be sure to mix them in one at a time, allowing each one to fully incorporate before adding the next. Hope you enjoy!