Cut-out sugar cookies: How to make your best

If there's one time of year you feel absolutely obliged to make decorated cut-out sugar cookies, it's now. It's time to break out the rolling pin and cookie cutters, brush up on cut-out cookie tips and recipes, and hunker down for some old-fashioned fun.

Our favorite cookies for decorating are these Holiday Butter Cookies — they roll out nicely and have a beautifully tender/crisp texture. Armed with this recipe and the below handy tips, you'll be ready to make your best cut-out sugar cookies yet. (And if you're baking gluten-free, try our Gluten-Free Holiday Butter Cookies.)

First, know your dough

Dough made without leavening will hold its shape better than dough using baking powder or baking soda. To a lesser extent, this is also true for dough made with shortening instead of butter. For intricate cut-out cookies, choose an unleavened, shortening-based dough.

Shape dough into a rectangle before chilling

Most recipes will tell you to shape the dough into a disk, wrap, and place in the fridge to chill. Unless you're planning to cut out simple rounds, rolling dough into a rectangle rather than a circle often yields more usable "real estate." Start with a rectangular slab rather than a round disk, and you're halfway there.

Decide on cookie thickness ahead of time

Plan ahead. Dough rolled 1/4" thick will produce sturdy cut-out cookies, best for crumble-free transportation and kids' decorating. Dough rolled 1/8" thick will produce more fragile, delicate cookies — and a greater number of cookies from each batch of dough.

Roll cookie dough between sheets of parchment or waxed paper

Rather than roll dough on a floured surface, roll it between sheets of non-stick parchment or waxed paper. Adding extra flour to the dough while rolling can make cookies tough. And cut-out cookies release easily from paper when you move them to the baking sheet, preserving their shape.

Cut efficiently

The more cut-outs you can get out of each piece of rolled dough, the fewer times you'll need to re-roll the scraps and cut again.

Create more usable real estate as you go

Make cookie cutting more efficient by mending jagged holes or uneven edges in your rolled dough whenever possible. A simple "push and press" after cutting a cookie can make it possible to cut another cookie where none existed before.

Break out your small spatulas and spreaders

You'll most likely be working with 2" to 3" cookies. A nylon spreader or other small spatula is invaluable for moving cookies from rolling surface to baking sheet.

Preserve the shape of thin cookies

It can be a challenge to move cookies cut from thin-rolled dough without distorting their shape. Cut thin cookies on a sheet of parchment, leaving more space between them than usual. Then peel off the dough scraps in between the cookies, leaving the cookies right on the parchment. Pick up the parchment with cookies and place it right onto the baking sheet, then pop into the oven.

So you've baked your cookies — now what? (These are actually a bit over-baked, though I prefer to think of them as caramelized, for the sake of my ego.)

Make icing

We highly recommend this Simple Cookie Glaze, which spreads/flows nicely to cover your cut-out cookies' surface, then dries hard and shiny — a plus if you enjoy using a food-safe marker for decorating or writing messages.

Ice and decorate your cookies

Use your favorite tools and techniques: a knife, spreader, icing bag ... Here's a handy way to ice and decorate cookies:

1. Dip in icing, scraping off any excess
2. Let icing flow and settle just a bit, to make sure cookie is sufficiently covered
3. Dip in decorating sugar
4. Place on parchment to set

Cut-out sugar cookie tips to the rescue!

Pretty simple, right?

For lots more inspiration and instruction, check out our complete guide to cookie decorating. And for some very special piping techniques, see our blog post, cookie decorating techniques: easy steps for standout cookies.

If you have favorite cookie and icing recipes that work for you, use them; no need to reinvent the wheel. But if you're still looking, try our Holiday Butter Cookies recipe, which makes a light, crisp-yet-sturdy cookie, perfect for icing (and delicious to boot). Our Simple Cookie Glaze is the ideal accompaniment.