Soft Cut-Out Sugar Cookies
Best-ever recipe for soft sugar cookies you can roll and cut out with cookie cutters! Easy to make, no chilling required, and they don’t spread into shapeless blobs as they bake. Made with a secret ingredient that gives them the most incredible flavor, and topped with a cool sour cream icing.
I already have 2 sugar cookie recipes on this site: one is for Cut-Out Cookies that Don’t Spread, and the other is for Soft & Chewy Sugar Cookies. I love them both for different reasons.
The cutout cookies that don’t spread are perfect for cookie decorating, and by that I mean the kind of decorating that is almost like a work of art. If you are a cookie artist, this is the recipe for you! They are easy to make and sturdy as can be (perfect for shipping), and they hold their shape beautifully. The texture is similar to shortbread, but not crumbly.
The soft and chewy sugar cookies are a drop cookie, so there’s no decoration needed! If you want you can jazz them up with some colorful sprinkles, or sparkling sugar, but they don’t really need anything more. They’re easy-peasy and quick to make, perfect for when a sugar cookie craving suddenly hits!
But these soft cut-out sugar cookies are in a category all their own.
It’s the best of all possible worlds, a sugar cookie that is soft as can be, rich, and tender, that you can roll out and cut shapes from!
The shapes hold up really well too. Say goodbye to those indistinguishable blobs that you’ve pulled from your oven in the past. These sugar cookies keep their neat edges. I did my research on this problem back in 2011 when I published that first cut-out cookie recipe. You can read about all the reasons why these rolled cookies don’t spread by clicking this link: How to Bake (Easy! and Delicious!) Cutout Cookies with Neat Edges.
I used all those same tricks when I created this new, soft, rolled sugar cookie recipe.
And all the tricks to make rolling and cutting sugar cookies quicker and easier. 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!
The flavor is like none other, thanks to a secret ingredient: cream cheese! The cream cheese imparts the most incredible richness. The cookies almost taste like cheesecake!
And all that creamy-dreaminess is reinforced when you top these sugar cookies with a cool sour cream icing. I discovered this frosting back in December, when I made those Chocolate Peppermint Swig Cookies, and oh my goodness! It is so good. It’s sweet and creamy and adds so much to this recipe. Just spread it on with a spoon and garnish with a few festive sprinkles. So pretty!
HERE ARE A FEW HELPFUL TIPS TO GUARANTEE SUGAR COOKIE SUCCESS:
- If you love your sugar cookies soft, be extra-careful not to overbake them! Your bake time could vary based on how thick you roll the dough, and what size cookie cutters you use. 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 judgement, and pull them from the oven when the edges feel set and the cookies are just barely beginning to turn golden on the bottoms. If you bake them too long, they could become hard.
- 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!
- 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.
- 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.
- If you prefer to chill the dough, you totally can. (Refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.) I’ve tried it both ways: with and without chilling, 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.
- 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: Why Use Cake Flour?
- For a dairy-free sugar cookie recipe, use cold (solid) coconut oil in place of the butter, and use vegan cream cheese.
- These soft sugar cookies will keep at room temperature for 1 day, or in the fridge for about a week.
- 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.
Find tons more great cookie recipes on my “Cookie Recipes Galore” Pinterest board!
This post contains affiliate sales links.
Soft Cut-Out Sugar Cookie Recipe
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 3/4 cup (343.75 g) all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup (32 g) cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) kosher salt
For the sour cream icing
- 1/4 cup (56.75 g) unsalted butter, , softened
- 1/3 cup (76.67 g) sour cream
- 2 1/2 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 1/4-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.
Delicious !!!
I made up a batch of these cookies for my family. They all disappeared so fast I didn’t have a chance to frost them! I’ll have to try to make them again when no one’s home so I can actually try the frosting on them!
Lol that’s so funny Tammie! I hope you do get a chance to make them again because that icing is so good!
Oh, I forgot in my last comment to leave a star rating. 5 stars. I’d give it 10 if I could.
Thank you so much Rebecca!
These are incredible! I seek out sugar cookie recipes always trying to find the best. Look no further! I have never found their equal. Thank you for this recipe.
My pleasure; so happy you like the recipe!
I’ve made these cookies twice (for Easter and Christmas) and received so many compliments – even from people who “don’t like sugar cookies”! They’ve turned out exactly like the recipe stated. We will be making them again this week for Valentine’s Day. My 3 yo daughter loves to help so the no-chill aspect suits her no-patience perfectly! Thanks for helping provide some sweet memories with my little girl. When I made the icing, it turned out thinner than I was expecting, but I shook the cookies to spread it out and it hardened to make a beautiful, smooth top!
Love that! So happy you and your daughter are enjoying so much!
These look delicious, is the icing made with sour cream or should it be cream cheese? Just wondering as the recipe states sour cream but looking at the comments it looks like it might have been cream cheese. Thank you!
Beata
It’s sour cream for sure. I’ve noted that several times throughout the post, I’m not sure about what other commenters are thinking but it’s definitely a sour cream icing.
These cookies are very good. I’ve found you can sub instant pudding for the cornstarch in a pinch. (White choc is the best-omit vanilla, keep the almond) I also decrease the flour to 2 1/2 cups. They taste better.Â
The frosting ratios simply don’t work- too much butter and sour cream. If you half them but use the same amount of powdered sugar with 1/2 tsp of almond flavoring, you get a much thicker frosting that’s not thin. Â
These are great cookies that don’t spread and offer immediate gratification!
This is exactly what I was looking for and exactly what the recipe claimed to be. Had a Christmas cookie baking and decorating day with the kids and they were perfect regardless of the different thicknesses or shapes. Thank you!
That’s so wonderful to hear! I’m so happy you liked the recipe and it sounds like you made a really nice memory with the kids.
Amazing recipe!! Â My grandfather used to make cream cheese cookies at the holidays but I prefer these- they are a bit sweeter. Â My 10 year old and I usually bake chocolate chip at Christmas, mainly because I don’t really enjoy hard sugar cookies. Â This year, I really wanted to use our cookie cutters and make a memory, but I wanted to see if I could find a recipe there was a chance I’d enjoy. Â I was blown away! Â We iced with the sour cream icing and had a great time. Â They froze beautifully. Â Thank you so very much for sharing this.
It’s my pleasure Tina! I’m so happy you and your little one enjoyed!
Kids have peanut allergy can’t  use the almond extract. Will the  recipe be ok without the almond extract and should I replace it with more vanilla ?
Yes! Replace with any kind of extract you like. You can add extracts to taste; they will not affect the chemistry of the recipe. Good luck!
Do you have a wheat free cut out cookie recipe. Â No gluten free but actually wheat free. If not your recipes are so amazing could you possibly create one? Â Most are gritty and dry. Â Please and Thank youÂ
Hey! So I tried these cookies and the hold the shape perfectly! But for some reason they have a sour after tasteÂ
Can you heat seal these cookies in bags? And if so how long will they stay fresh?
I can’t imagine why you wouldn’t be able to do that. But I don’t have a heat sealer, so unfortunately I’m not able to answer that question with certainty.
Can I make these without the almond extract? What would you substitute, if anything?
You can do that if you like. Use any other kind of extract that you enjoy the taste of. Good luck!
I was out of almond extract and corn starch, only realized after I started. But I had some almond flour in the cupboard. I used that as a substitute for both and added an extra tsp of vanilla. They turned out delicious!
Do you have any recommendations for making these chocolate sugar cookies? I love the soft texture of these, but the flavor of chocolate and having a dark background to decorate. I’ve used your chocolate and regular cut-out sugar cookie recipes before, but I tend to prefer the softness of this one. Thanks! =]
EXACTLY what I was looking for when I googled “soft roll and cut sugar cookie”. Â The cookie texture is exquisite, and the frosting is perfect–just enough of a crust formed to be able to pack and transport, but still soft. Took them to coffee hour at church last Sunday, and people were STILL talking about them this Sunday! Making them again today in the shape of stars for an Oscar party.Â
That’s so great to hear! I’m so happy you and your friends were pleased. Thanks so much for the awesome feedback!
Made these last week and they turned out AMAZING! I want to make them for a party next week but wanted to try a small cookie, maybe 2 bite size or so. Â What would you guess the cooking time would be for a small cookie and would I want to lower the oven temp as well?
Thanks for the awesome recipe!
Perfect! I made numbers shape for my son.. I can’t believe how easy the dough was to work with and the way it retained the shape. I live in hot humid country so I refrigerated the dough after cutting them out for about 15minutes. Thank you.
My pleasure Mina! I hope you and your son enjoyed!
Love this recipe. I’m always afraid of cut out cookies especially with the kiddos, but these were so easy it made it tons of fun & they barely needed my help with rolling & cutting. Thank you!
My pleasure Grace! So nice to hear the kids had fun 🙂
I absolutely stink at rolled out dough cookies and I pulled these off. WOOHOO. It is a pretty soft dough so once I got the hang of rolling it, I worked fast but I guess one could chill it. I liked rolling in between parchment paper- I have never done that before.
It worked great and clean up was a breeze.
They were awesome and I am making more for my son’s Christmas party. They are THAT good. I did the sour cream icing and let them “sit” though they were gone in two days. No issues, just happy bellies.
That’s so great to hear! Thank you so much for the positive feedback. I hope everyone at your son’s party enjoys! Merry Christmas!