Soft Cut-Out Sugar Cookies
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These Soft Cut-Out Sugar Cookies are a recipe you'll want to make over and over again. They turn out super tender, buttery, and full of vanilla and almond flavor. The dough keeps its shape in the oven, so these cookies are great for holidays, Valentine's Day, baby showers, birthdays, or whenever you want a cookie that looks as good as it tastes.
One of the best parts of this recipe is how easy it is to use. You don't have to chill the dough, and the cookies won't spread into uneven shapes. Just mix, roll, cut, and bake. Top them with a simple sour cream icing for a sweet-and-tangy finish.
These cookies are simple and classic, but cream cheese in the dough makes them extra special. It adds great flavor and helps create the soft texture that makes these cookies so good.
You don't have to chill this dough, and you don't even have to put flour on your counter! This recipe is no muss, no fuss, quick, easy, and incredibly delicious!
You can decorate these cookies with royal icing, too! I made a big batch to donate to my kids' school, and they came out fantastic. The sour cream frosting is just a little quicker/easier, and it tastes so good!
Here's Why You'll Love This Recipe
- The cookies stay soft and tender for days.
- No chilling is required, so they come together quickly.
- The dough rolls out easily and cuts cleanly.
- They hold their shape beautifully in the oven.
- The cream cheese gives them a rich, unforgettable flavor.
- Sour cream icing adds a smooth, tangy finish that pairs perfectly with the sweet cookie.
Ingredients You'll Need
The recipe card at the bottom of the post contains the full list with all of the amounts. Refer to that when you're cooking.
For the soft cut-out sugar cookies
- Unsalted butter: If you only have salted butter, you can use it, but omit the additional Kosher salt called for in the recipe.
- Cream cheese: Cream cheese is the secret ingredient. It adds a slight tang and makes the cookies extra soft and tender.
- Granulated sugar: Granulated sugar sweetens the dough and helps create a soft, delicate crumb.
- Egg yolk: Use the best eggs you have access to. It makes a big difference!
- Vanilla extract: It adds a warm, classic sugar-cookie flavor.
- Almond extract: A small amount adds a bakery-style flavor.
- All-purpose flour: Provides structure for rolling and cutting. Add a little more if the dough feels too sticky.
- Cornstarch: Cornstarch keeps the cookies soft and tender and helps prevent them from becoming tough.
- Kosher salt: Balances sweetness and sharpens other flavors.
For the sour cream icing
- Unsalted butter: Softened butter helps make the icing smooth and creamy.
- Sour cream: Adds tang and gives the frosting a cool, creamy texture.
- Powdered sugar: Powdered sugar sweetens and thickens the icing, making it fluffy and easy to spread.
- Kosher salt: A tiny pinch keeps the icing from tasting flat.
- Pink food coloring: Optional, but adds a nice touch for special occasions like Valentine's Day.
- White nonpareil sprinkles: Optional, they add a festive finish and a bit of crunch.
- White sugar pearls: Optional, but they make the cookies look extra pretty and polished.
How To Make Soft Cut-Out Sugar Cookies
Step 1: Prep the pans and oven
Preheat your oven to 375°F. Line your baking sheets with parchment paper so the cookies bake evenly and lift away easily.
Step 2: Make the dough
Place the cold butter, cream cheese, and sugar in a large bowl. Beat until smooth and creamy. Add the egg yolk, vanilla extract, and almond extract, and mix until everything is fully combined.
Scrape down the bowl, then add the flour, cornstarch, and salt. Mix just until a stiff dough forms. It should be easy to handle. If it feels too sticky, mix in a little more flour.
Step 3: Roll and cut
Roll the dough to about ¼-inch thick, then roll it between two sheets of parchment paper. This makes the dough easier to handle and keeps your counters clean.
Peel off the top sheet of parchment and cut with a 3-inch heart-shaped cookie cutter, or any cutter you like.
Carefully lift the cut shapes from the parchment and place them on the prepared baking sheets.
Step 4: Bake
Bake the cookies for 12 to 16 minutes, or until the bottoms are just starting to turn golden. For soft, tender cookies, avoid letting the tops get too much color.
Let the cookies cool completely before icing.
How to Make Sour Cream Icing
Step 1: Cream butter, sugar, and salt
Put the softened butter, sour cream, powdered sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Beat until the mixture is smooth and creamy.
Step 2: Color
Add a drop of pink food coloring, if desired, and mix until evenly tinted.
Step 3: Decorate
Spread or spoon the icing over the cooled cookies. Decorate with white nonpareils and sugar pearls if you like.
Helpful Tips and Tricks
- If you love your sugar cookies soft, be extra-careful not to overbake them! Your baking time may vary depending on how thick you roll the dough and the size of your cookie cutters. If the dough is rolled thinner than noted, and the cutters are small, you probably won't need the full bake time listed on this recipe card. Use your judgment and pull them from the oven when the edges feel set, and the bottoms are just barely beginning to turn golden. If you bake them too long, they could become hard.
- If you want, you can skip the sugar cookie icing and just use sprinkles instead. Top the cut-out shapes with sprinkles before they go into the oven.
- The sugar cookie frosting will form a slight crust on the top after about an hour, but it will remain soft and moist underneath, so be careful about stacking them!
- For tips on how to decorate with royal icing, check out these posts: Iced Chocolate Peppermint Cookies and Spiderweb Cookies.
Recipe FAQ
If you'd like to make a gluten-free sugar cookie, just sub out the all-purpose flour for a gluten-free flour blend. I link to some of my favorites in this post.
For a dairy-free sugar cookie recipe, use solid (cold) coconut oil in place of butter and vegan cream cheese.
If you prefer to chill the dough, you totally can. (Refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.) I've tried it both ways, and both work beautifully. If you chill the dough, it's a little harder to roll out, but the shapes cut very nicely. I prefer not to chill because I am impatient. It still works well, but I do think it's helpful to dip your cookie cutter in flour before every cut.
These sugar cookies can be baked several weeks ahead and frozen. Just stack them up in a zip-top bag and pop them in the freezer. When you're ready to serve, let them thaw at room temperature (with the bag open), and frost them with icing.
These soft sugar cookies will keep at room temperature for 1 day, or in the fridge for about a week.
Storage Tips
- Keep the finished cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for several days.
- For longer storage, refrigerate them. Just let them come to room temperature before serving for the best texture.
- You can also freeze the cookies before frosting and decorating them later.
These soft cut-out sugar cookies are easy, flavorful, beautiful, and perfectly tender. They're simple enough for everyday baking but special enough for celebrations and holidays. The creamy sour cream icing makes them even better.
Ingredients
For the soft cut-out sugar cookies
- 1 cup (227 g) unsalted butter, , cold
- 4 ounces (113.4 g) cream cheese, (half a brick)
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg yolk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 2 ¾ cup (343.75 g) all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup (32 g) cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) kosher salt
For the sour cream icing
- ¼ cup (56.75 g) unsalted butter, , softened
- ⅓ cup (76.67 g) sour cream
- 2 ½ cups (300 g) powdered sugar
- pinch of kosher salt
- drop of pink food coloring, (optional)
- white nonpareil sprinkles, (optional garnish)
- white sugar pearls, (optional garnish)
Instructions
To make the soft cut-out sugar cookies:
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Place the butter, cream cheese, and sugar in a large mixing bowl and beat on medium-low speed until smooth (about 1 minute).
- Add the egg yolk, vanilla, and almond extract and mix on medium speed until combined.
- Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl with a silicone spatula, then add the flour, cornstarch, and salt.
- Mix on medium-low speed until a stiff dough forms (about 1 minute). If the dough is too sticky to handle, try mixing in a little more flour.
- Roll the dough to ¼-inch thick (rolling pin rings ensure an even and exact thickness) between 2 sheets of parchment paper.
- Remove the top sheet of parchment, and cut shapes with a 3-inch heart cookie cutter.
- Peel the shapes from the bottom layer of parchment, and place on the prepared baking sheets.
- Bake for 12 to 16 minutes, or until just barely beginning to turn golden on the bottoms.
- Cool completely, then frost with sour cream icing.
To make the sour cream icing:
- Place the butter, sour cream, powdered sugar, and salt in a large mixing bowl and whip on medium speed until smooth.
- Tint with pink food coloring, and garnish with white nonpareil sprinkles and white sugar pearls.
Hi this is Sue , I can’t wait to make these cookies. I have been looking for a good shortbread cookie recipe for sooo long. This is awesome!!! ? Thank you Warmly Sue B. ?
Hi Susan! I'm so happy you like it, but I should let you know that's it's a soft cookie and not really shortbread-like. If you're looking for more of a tender-crisp, shortbread-like cookie, you should check out this post: https://bakingamoment.com/cutout-cookies-neat-edges/. Hope that is helpful to you!
Can we store the dough if we dont use all of it at once? If so for how long??
You can, but it might become a little dried out as it sits. If you don't plan on rolling and cutting your cookies right away, it's a good idea to use a little less flour.
I love the almond extract in this, it gives it an addicting flavor. I've made this a couple times now, and I've found it works best if I soften the butter beforehand- otherwise I end up with butter pockets in the final cookies, which melt in the oven and create air pockets, giving the cookies an uneven surface. I'm also someone who never has butter softened ahead of time, so I pour boiling water in a glass bowl or drinking glass, empty it, and turn it upside down over my sticks of butter. In about 5 minutes it's soft enough to cream with sugar. I also found that splitting my dough in two and chilling it for 10 minutes made it so much easier to handle, and when I cut out my cookies they didn't stretch out or stick to the counter.
I really like what the cornstarch did to the dough, I've never heard of that before but it's brilliant. I'm going to experiment to see what other recipes might benefit from this...
Love your tips Sarah! Thanks so much for sharing!
I have not tried the recipe yet it sounds perfect, but I would have liked it better if you would have included the amount of cookies the recipe yields.
Hey Carolyn! I don't include that because it can vary so much based on the cookie cutters you use. They come in all different sizes and there is really no standard!
I'm just a home baker that makes cookies every now and then. Being new to all of this making and decorating cookies, I have tried many different sugar cookie recipes the past 4 years trying to find one everyone liked. I thought I had found my perfect go to recipe last year but not anymore. I made and decorated a large batch of this recipe then gave some to 3 of our neighbors and 3 other families to taste test for me. Not one of them had anything bad to say about the cookie or icing. They LOVED the cookies.
As a test, I have left my cookies set out uncovered for 4 days now and they're still soft and taste good. People were surprised they sat out that long and hadn't become bricks. I also found a glaze icing recipe that everyone likes. It now replaces my royal icing which many didn't care for no matter how I tried flavoring it or trying to make it softer. I now have the perfect combination for a great sugar cookie that everyone loves.
I'm so happy to hear this Tammy! I love this recipe too- the taste and the fact that it truly stays soft. Thanks so much for the positive feedback!
Hi Tammy, (and Allie!) I too need a tasty icing recipe. Could you share yours? I need firm for packaging but NOT Royal icong. Thank you!
I followed the recipe but for some reason the cookie mix was not stiffened enough to cut the cookie dough ? What should i do
Hey Daniela! This dough is a little softer than my other cut-out sugar cookie recipe. Try reading the bullet-ed tips for success above- you may want to try chilling the dough, especially if it's particularly warm in your kitchen. Hope that's helpful!
Allie, these look so pretty! Love all those tips for making the perfect cookies! 🙂
They look so good and easy to make!! Picture-perfect!
Allie, Could I sub sour cream for the cream cheese? how much?
Hi Jeannie! I’m sorry but I have not tested the recipe with sour cream so I can’t really say for sure. It works beautifully with cream cheese though!
yay for perfect swirls!
These are simply gorgeous...as always!
Is the short shelf life (1 day at room temp) because of the sour cream icing? If I used something like royal icing, would they be ok for longer at room temperature? Thanks!
Yes I think they would Sara! And honestly that is a very conservative estimate. I tend to be pretty relaxed with these kinds of things I my own home, and I’ve had them out for more than a day for sure & they’ve been fine. The sugar content is high & that will inhibit the growth of microbes.
Mine have sat out as long as 4 days and been just fine.
These sugar cookies would be a great treat for mom on Mother's Day!
Such perfect sugar cookies!
Is the short shelf-life (1 day at room temp) because of the sour cream icing? If I used something like royal icing would they last longer at room temp? Thanks!
Considering your regular sugar cookie recipe is THE BEST EVER I assume these are too!!!