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 sugar cookies.
*Original published date: 12/15/2012. Updated: 12/4/2016.*
Table of Contents
- Why you’ll love this cutout cookie recipe
- Ingredients and notes
- Variations and substitutions
- Tools and equipment
- How to make cutout cookies that don’t spread
- Recipe FAQ’s
- Expert tips for making cutout sugar cookies that don’t spread
- How to serve
- How to store and keep
- More cutout cookie recipes
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 in the spirit of giving, I’m spilling all the secrets for my best cut-out sugar cookies recipe!
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???”
I searched for the answer to this age-old question not too long ago.
And when I want something, I do not rest until I’ve nailed it!
After much research and experimentation, I’ve decided to put everything I’ve learned on this subject into one comprehensive post.
This easy recipe produces cutout cookies that are soft but a little crunchier around the edges, with a mouthfeel somewhere between a sugar cookie and a shortbread.
They’re perfect for decorating!
Why you’ll love this cutout cookie recipe
Precise shapes: You can create intricate and precise shapes with this no-spread cutout cookie recipe. Whether you’re making holiday cookies, special occasion treats, or just fun designs, these cookies will maintain their intended shape during baking with crisp, clean edges.
Beautiful presentation: Cookies that hold their shape offer a visually appealing presentation. This is especially important when decorating with icing, sprinkles, or other embellishments, as the designs stay clear and distinct.
Great for cookie decorating: These cookies are perfect for decorating with royal icing, fondant, or edible markers. Their flat surface is a blank canvas for your creative designs, making them great for cookie decorating parties or edible art projects.
Ideal for gifting: When you’re giving cookies as gifts, you want them to look as good as they taste. These cookies retain their shape, making them an excellent choice for packaging and sharing with loved ones.
Balanced flavor: These cookies bake up just sweet enough, with the aromatic fragrance of rich vanilla. They are intentionally a little less sweet, to balance the sugary taste of the royal icing or sparkling sugar they’re decorated with.
Ingredients and notes
Butter: I like to use unsalted butter because it lets me control the amount of salt in the dish. Different brands of butter can contain different amounts of salt, so this way you get a more consistent result. Use cubed cold butter to make the dough. This allows you to skip the step of chilling the dough before baking. For a vegan or dairy-free cutout sugar cookie recipe, use a plant-based butter that can substitute for dairy butter 1:1.
Sugar: Sugar adds sweetness (obvs!) but it also aids in browning and keeps things moist, since it’s hydrophilic (this means it loves water, in other words, it draws moisture in). Regular white sugar is fine, or sub for another type of sweetener if you like. As long as it swaps 1:1 for granulated sugar it should work.
Eggs: Use large eggs. It’s best if they’re at room temperature, but I don’t find this to be critical. For a vegan cutout sugar cookie recipe, swap in your favorite plant-based egg substitute. As long as it can sub 1:1 for chicken eggs, it should work just fine.
Flour: This is the primary dry ingredient that provides structure to the cookies. All-purpose flour is my go-to, but you can swap it out for any kind of whole-grain option if you like. You may need slightly less if you go that route. A gluten-free flour blend that can sub 1:1 for regular flour should also work just fine, if you’d like to make gluten-free sugar cookies.
Cornstarch: The secret ingredient to achieving cutout cookies that don’t spread! It is what creates a really workable cookie dough, and the edges turn out perfectly! Cornstarch is a colorless, odorless, and flavorless starch. Make sure you’re using cornstarch, which is white and powdery, and not cornmeal, which is yellow and gritty and tastes like corn chips.
Salt: Salt carries the flavors and intensifies them. The end result won’t taste salty, but it will make everything so much more flavorful! I like kosher salt best because it doesn’t have any additives (table salt usually contains iodine which can leave a bitter taste), so the flavor is pure. It’s also inexpensive and easy to find in a regular grocery store.
Vanilla: Vanilla extract adds a subtly sweet flavor without being at all sugary. For a more pronounced flavor, try using vanilla bean paste. You could also split a vanilla bean down the center lengthwise, scrape out the seeds, and add those.
Or you could try this with an altogether different type of extract or flavoring, such as:
See the recipe card at the bottom of this post for exact measurements.
Variations and substitutions
Different flavoring: You can also use almond extract or citrus zest if desired.
Spices: Add spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, or ginger for different flavor variations.
Food coloring: If you want to color your cookies, food coloring can be added to the dough. I recommend using gel paste color, since you only need a tiny bit to get a vibrant color. But liquid can work in a pinch too.
Tools and equipment
- Measuring cups and spoons: For measuring ingredients accurately. Follow this guide: How to Measure Ingredients for Baking.
- Mixing bowl: In which to mix up the dough.
- Electric mixer: This recipe creates a very stiff dough, so you’ll need either a stand mixer or a powerful hand mixer.
- Parchment paper sheets: You are going to roll the sugar cookie dough out between two sheets of parchment.
- Rolling pin: For rolling the sugar cookies out flat.
- Baking sheets: On which to bake the sugar cookies.
- Cookie cutters: For cutting out your cute shapes.
How to make cutout cookies that don’t spread
Step 1: Mix butter and sugar
Start by blending the butter and sugar together until smooth.
Stop as soon as you have a homogenous mixture. Unlike a lot of other cookie recipes, you don’t want to whip in a lot of air here. That will just expand when it gets hot and cause your cookies to spread.
Step 2: Add eggs
Mix in the eggs, one at a time, until incorporated.
Allow each egg to mix in fully, before adding the next. This will prevent lumps!
Step 3: Stir in dry ingredients
Add the flour, cornstarch, and salt, and mix on medium-low speed.
The mixture will initially seem very dry and sandy, 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.
Step 4: Flavor
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 bring it together fully.)
Step 5: Roll
Working with a manageable amount of dough at a time, roll it out between 2 sheets of parchment paper to a thickness of 1/4-inch to 1/2-inch.
Step 5: Cut
Cut into shapes, then carefully peel each unbaked cookie from the bottom sheet and flip it onto your baking sheet.
Step 6: Bake
You’ll know your cookies are done baking when the edges feel set and the centers are still a little soft.
The bake time is going to depend upon how big and thick your cookies are. Larger, thicker cookies will need more oven time than smaller, thinner ones.
Recipe FAQ’s
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 your dough has become too dry and crumbly to work with, it can be moistened with a few drops of heavy cream.
The dough for drop cookies has a soft and sticky consistency. It’s typically spooned or scooped onto a baking sheet, and the cookies maintain the shape they take when dropped onto the sheet. Cutout cookie dough is firmer and more structured. It’s rolled out to a specific thickness, and shapes are cut out using cookie cutters.
The answer depends on how thick you roll the sugar cookie dough, and how big your cookie cutters are. I typically get around 30 cookies from a batch, if I roll the dough to 3/8-inch and use cutters that are around 2 1/2-inches in diameter.
This answer will also depend on the size of the cookie. Larger, thicker cookies will need more time in the oven than thinner, smaller cookies. You’ll know your sugar cookies are done baking when they are set around the edges but still a little soft towards the center. Remember that they will continue to cook for a few minutes, even after they’re removed from the oven. This is called “carry-over cooking,” and if you don’t account for it then your cookies could end up dry.
Absolutely! Wrap them tightly in plastic wrap and they should keep in the freezer for several months. Pop them out and thaw at room temp, and decorate!
Expert tips for making cutout sugar cookies that don’t spread
- Don’t bother softening the butter: I like to use cold, cubed butter when I make the dough. It saves the step of chilling the dough before baking, which is another trick many 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 over the baking sheet.
- Mix until just combined: Try not to whip a lot of air into the butter. This can cause spreading.
- 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 more dense, but in this instance, you want that. Most likely, 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 will 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 you won’t find on any other blog (that I’ve seen, anyway). THE CORNSTARCH. It’s pure witchcraft. Not only does it lend added structure to the sugar cookies without making them tough, but it also makes 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!
- Make parchment your bestie: Also, definitely try rolling your dough between two layers of parchment paper. It is absolutely no-muss, no-fuss! Between this dough’s silky, UNcrumbly texture 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 are baked 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.
- Use rolling pin rings: These are a great way to make sure you’re rolling your dough out to a consistent thickness. Which is important for even baking!
- 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 its shape during baking, making it less melty-slidey.
How to serve
Plain and simple: Enjoy the cookies just as they are. Their precise shapes and wonderful flavors can stand alone as a delightful treat.
Decorated masterpieces: Decorate the cookies with royal icing, fondant, or colorful icing gels. Let your creativity run wild by adding intricate designs, patterns, and even personalized messages.
Cookie sandwiches: Make cookie sandwiches by spreading a layer of frosting or jam between two cookies of the same shape. Peanut butter, chocolate ganache, or cream cheese frosting can be excellent fillings.
Cookie pops: Insert sticks or colorful paper straws into the cookies before baking to create cookie pops. These are great for kids’ parties or as edible party favors.
Dipped in chocolate: Melt chocolate (white, dark, or milk) and dip half of each cookie into it. You can even sprinkle crushed nuts, sprinkles, or edible glitter on the chocolate while it’s still wet.
Coffee or tea companions: Serve alongside a cup of coffee, tea, or hot chocolate for a simple pairing.
How to store and keep
Cover the cookies with plastic wrap or store in an airtight container at room temperature.
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 (if not longer!) at room temperature.
More cutout cookie recipes
- Chocolate Cutout Cookie Recipe
- Red Velvet Sugar Cookies
- Gingerbread Cookies
- Soft Cutout Sugar Cookies
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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 (88 g) eggs, large
- 3 1/2 cups (437.5 g) all-purpose flour, (you may need as much as 4 cups)
- 1/2 cup (64 g) cornstarch
- 3/4 teaspoon (4.5 g) kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon (4 g) vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon (5 g) 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 (try not to whip in any air).
- 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 should 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.)
- Working with a managable amount at a time, roll the dough out between 2 sheets of parchment paper, to a thickness of 1/4-inch to 1/2-inch.*
- Cut into shapes, peel away from the bottom sheet of parchment carefully (see the video below), flip onto the prepared baking sheets, and bake until set around the edges but still a bit soft in the centers (approx. 9 to 12 minutes for 2 1/2-inch, 3/8-inch thick cookies).
- Cool completely, then decorate with royal icing.
Hi, I followed the recipe and my cookies turned out dry and a bit tasting like flour. I used 3.5 cups of flour. Could I not have mixed the dough long enough in the mixer?? And the flavor was masked by a chalky taste. Please help. This recipe is AWESOME!!!
Thanks Allie for the recipe! I tried to make it and like the texture, however, there’re still a few issues to my perfection.
1. The recipe calls for cold butter and I tried my best to incorporate well with the sugar in the beginning. The cookies turned out to have little bumps on top, is that because the butter not being mixed properly? If so, do I need to mix longer? Won’t the butter get too soft over time?
2. My cookies seem to spread a little, I used cold butter and even chill my dough:(
3. How do u keep ur cookies so sharp even after cutting right after kneading and transferring to the cookie sheet? Mine would be soft and if I transfer, the shape would be ruined
4. How come when u crank up the cooking temperature, ur cookies don’t have a slight bit of browning but stay all white?
Thank u:)
Hey there! So sorry to hear you had trouble. It sounds like your cookie dough might be a little too soft and that would be because you haven’t added enough flour. Be sure that the dough gathers itself into a ball and pulls cleanly away from the sides of the bowl. If it doesn’t, keep adding flour until it does. A few bumps are normal and are probably just a result of air bubbles in the dough. You can knead that out before rolling, or use a toothpick to pop them before baking. The cookies should be pulled from the oven before they become brown. It’s ok if they’re golden on the bottom but you probably don’t want brown edges. Remember that they’ll continue to firm up as they cool. Hope this is useful info!
My wife and I just made these and holy crap! I had all but given up hope of being able to make cut-out cookies. I have tried for years with different recipes, different ovens, and different techniques to make cookies that wouldn’t spread and nothing seemed to work. I started thinking maybe it was me. I felt like such a failure as a baker/ decorator. This was our last shot. As soon as I read that you didn’t use a leavening agent it clicked, like a light bulb! It made total sense. I was sure this would be it and this recipe prevailed straight out the gate. Stars, trees, bells, all held their shape! We even threw our most intricate cutters at it like gingerbread men, snowmen, and snowflakes, and they all held their shape. This opens up a whole new world of possibilities. Thank you so much for coming up with this and posting it!
This is a wonderful recipe. I’ve used it to make large, multi-star shaped cookie trees for our neighbor’s kids both last year and this one. Because of the pandemic, I wasn’t sure about this year but thought, if nothing else, they could serve as a reminder of familiar things, that we’re resilient creatures and that life will go on. The trees were a tremendous hit and my friend’s three year old grandson asked her, amid cookies and puzzles after Christmas Eve dinner, to thank Amy for the cookie tree. So I’m passing the thank you on to you, Allie, the source of a recipe that has brought many smiles. Peace and plenty in 2021!
This was my first attempt at cut out cookies and this recipe couldn’t have been any easier. The cookies held their shape and tasted wonderful.
These came out great! I would make one suggestion, however; use plastic wrap to roll the dough instead of parchment. It was a slippery, slidey effort with the parchment. Once I put down plastic wrap (on a damp counter so it would stick) it was a piece of cake. Vanilla paste worth the effort and expense…great recipe!
Great recipe for cookie cutter cookies! The dough was so easy to work with and tastes great. Saving this one!!
Hi there, these look beautiful! Can the dough be premade and frozen before baking it? I’d like to make the dough now and then take it out to bake just before Christmas. If it can be, would you recommend freezing the dough in a disk to be rolled out when thawed or should I roll out & cut out the cookies and freeze them ready to be baked?
I was wondering if we can Substitute cornstarch for anything else
What did you have in mind?
This is a very good recipe in taste and performance. I made a number 1 cookie – 4″ in length and a 3/8 inch thickness. I did use all 4 cups of flour. These cookies were very easy to handle, rolling between parchment proved genius. Rerolling the dough did not alter the appearance of that batch which usually rerolling dough does affect the cookies even slightly. The dough cut out beautifully and the number of cookies I got from this dough was a pleasant surprise. Total cook time, for my rather large cookies, 16 minutes. I did freeze 1 tray for 15 minutes waiting for the first tray to be done and those took 18 minutes to bake. A wonderful recipe. Thank you for sharing. I’m looking forward to all your site has to offer. Wishing you a blessed Thanksgiving.
hi, Allie! I have tried your wonderful recipe and the result is prefect! Just one question. I have difficulty in dissolving the granulated sugar in the cold butter using the standmixer. I can’t get a smooth batter before adding in the egg. The cookies are good but I can still see some spots which are sugar in the cookies. How long do you beat the sugar and butter together until the former dissolves? If it’s very long, how should we avoid incorporating too much air in it? Thank you again 🙂
Hi there! The sugar doesn’t need to dissolve, but it should be mixed into the butter until completely incorporated. It should be a homogenous mixture, but it will look a little gritty from the granules of sugar. It is a good idea to not try and whip too much air in, as that air will expand in the oven and cause spreading. I hope this is helpful!
I love your cookie recipes! They have worked out great and my new go to! I do have an old family cut out cookie recipe, and I wanted to know if there is a way to adapt that to your method? Is it straight swap of the cornstarch by weight or volume for flour?
i’ve made this recipe before and really liked it, but i’ve recently moved, and was wondering about any high altitude adjustments i should make? any suggestions? i’m at about 5k ft
Can u substitute gluten free flour for the regular flour?
Hi Allie! I love all of your recipes – I’ve made your “simply perfect” chocolate AND vanilla cake MULTIPLE times now! I am excited to try this recipe – and I’m wondering if I can somehow can an earl grey flavour, would I be able to just add some ground earl grey tea leaves? Or will that make the cookies dry?
Sounds delicious! Can’t hurt to try it. I’d love to hear about the results. Good luck!
I just made some cookies with this recipe and they turned out great! I converted the 375F to 190C and they were done after 5-6 minutes. My cookie cutters are cat formend so lots of little legs\tail bits but the dough was wonderful to work with and they turned out with nice crisp outlines.
Can I freeze this biscuit mixture?
Yes!
I love this recipe. I make large batches so I do chill my dough after cutting them out for probably the the last few minutes of the batch in the oven. Perfect every time. Does anyone have different flavor combinations?
I’ve been looking for a recipe for sugar cookies that don’t spread. This one is great! It reminds me of a shortbread, which I love!
Question…How do I prevent air “bubbles” from popping up in the middle of the cookies? Thanks!
I used this cookie recipe yesterday and I’m sold. I didn’t have vanilla bean paste, so I cheated by adding extra vanilla. That’s beside the point. The point is that these cookies did NOT spread, they look great, no chilling was required, it was a fast recipe, and they’re tasty! I’m so happy with this recipe and it’s my new go-to for frosted sugar cookies. Thanks so much!