The Ultimate Guide to Perfect Christmas Cut-Out Sugar Cookies with Shiny Royal Icing

There’s nothing quite like the aroma of freshly baked cookies filling your home during the holidays. These Classic Christmas Cut-Out Cookies are the epitome of festive baking, making them an absolute must-have for your seasonal celebrations. Designed for easy handling with cookie cutters, this recipe yields wonderfully soft, sweet, and buttery sugar cookies that maintain their shape beautifully. To complete the experience, we’ve included a simple yet dazzling shiny cookie icing that everyone, from little decorators to seasoned bakers, will adore. Get ready to create delightful, edible masterpieces that are as fun to make as they are to eat!

These easy cut-out cookies boast a delightful balance of soft texture and rich, sweet, buttery flavor. What makes them truly special is their ability to hold intricate shapes, making them ideal for all your holiday-themed cookie cutters. Baking these cookies isn’t just about the delicious outcome; it’s a cherished holiday tradition, offering a fantastic opportunity for the whole family to gather, get creative, and share joyful moments while decorating. Once you experience the fun and deliciousness of this Christmas cookie recipe, it’s sure to become a beloved annual ritual in your home.

What Makes These Christmas Cut-Out Cookies So Special?

Our Christmas cut-out cookies are crafted to be nothing short of awesome! They are specifically formulated to maintain their shape beautifully through the baking process, preventing frustrating spreading or distortion. This makes them absolutely perfect for showcasing intricate holiday cookie cutter designs, vibrant sprinkles, and colorful icings. While they are a holiday staple, the beauty of this recipe is its versatility. By simply swapping out your festive cookie cutters and holiday-themed sprinkles for everyday shapes and colors, you can enjoy these delightful, buttery sugar cookies any time of the year. Their consistent texture and flavor are a treat no matter the occasion.

Key Ingredients for Your Perfect Christmas Cut-Out Cookies

Crafting exceptional cookies starts with quality ingredients. Here’s a detailed look at what you’ll need and why each component is vital for your irresistibly soft, buttery, and shapely Christmas cut-out sugar cookies.

For the Delightful Sugar Cookies:

• Granulated White Sugar (1 cup): This provides the essential sweetness and contributes to those perfectly crisp edges while keeping the interior soft.
• Softened Butter (1/2 cup / one stick): Using softened butter is crucial. It creams beautifully with the sugar, creating a light, airy base that imparts a rich, decadent flavor and contributes to the cookie’s tender texture. Ensure it’s truly softened, not melted, for the best results.
• Egg (1 large): The egg acts as a vital binder, holding all the ingredients together and adding moisture to the dough, which helps the cookies stay cohesive and tender during baking.
• Vanilla Extract (1 teaspoon): A good quality vanilla extract is key to the foundational flavor of these sugar cookies. It elevates the sweetness and adds a warm, inviting aroma. While any vanilla works, a pure extract offers a superior taste profile.
• Sour Cream (1/3 cup): This might seem like an unusual ingredient for cookies, but it’s our secret weapon! Sour cream adds moisture and tang, helping to thicken the dough and contributing significantly to the melt-in-your-mouth softness of the baked cookies. It also helps prevent spreading.
• Salt (1/2 teaspoon): Don’t skip the salt! It’s not just for seasoning; it balances and enhances all the other flavors in the cookie, preventing them from tasting overly sweet or flat.
• Baking Soda (1/2 teaspoon): As a leavening agent, baking soda helps the cookies puff up slightly and contributes to their tender crumb. It reacts with the acidic sour cream to create a perfectly risen cookie.
• All-Purpose Flour (2 cups): This forms the primary structure of your cookie dough. Measure it correctly by spooning it into the measuring cup and leveling it off to avoid adding too much, which can result in dry or tough cookies.

For the Irresistible Shiny Cookie Icing:

This simple icing recipe results in a beautiful, shiny finish that hardens nicely for stacking and decorating.

• Powdered Sugar (3 cups): Also known as confectioners’ sugar, this is the base of our icing. Its fine texture dissolves easily to create a smooth, thick, and wonderfully sweet glaze that’s perfect for both drizzling and detailed piping.
• Warm Water (1/4 cup): Warm water helps the powdered sugar dissolve more readily, ensuring a lump-free and consistent icing. You might need slightly more or less depending on your desired consistency.
• Light Corn Syrup (1 tablespoon): This is the magic ingredient for shine! Light corn syrup not only adds a beautiful gloss to your icing but also helps to stabilize it, preventing cracking and making it slightly more pliable for decorating.
• Vanilla Extract (1/4 teaspoon): A touch of vanilla in the icing complements the cookie’s flavor profile, adding another layer of deliciousness without overpowering the overall taste.

Step-by-Step: Crafting Your Festive Christmas Cut-Out Cookies

Follow these detailed instructions to bake and decorate your flawless holiday sugar cookies. Remember, baking is a joyful process, so take your time and enjoy each step!

1. Prepare the Wet Ingredients: In a large mixing bowl, combine the granulated sugar and softened butter. Using an electric mixer, beat them together until the mixture is light, fluffy, and pale in color. This creaming process incorporates air, which contributes to the cookies’ tender texture.
2. Incorporate Egg and Vanilla: Add the large egg and vanilla extract to the creamed sugar and butter. Mix again on medium speed until all ingredients are well combined and the mixture is smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed to ensure everything is fully incorporated.
3. Combine Sour Cream Mixture: In a separate, smaller bowl, whisk together the sour cream, salt, and baking soda until they are thoroughly mixed. This step ensures the leavening agent is evenly distributed.
4. Combine All Mixtures: Gradually add the all-purpose flour and the sour cream mixture to the egg and butter mixture. Beat on low speed until the dough comes together and is nice and smooth. Be careful not to overmix, as this can develop too much gluten, leading to tough cookies. Stop mixing as soon as no dry streaks of flour remain.
5. Chill the Dough – A Crucial Step: Divide the dough into two equal portions, flatten each into a disc, wrap them tightly in plastic wrap, and cover. Transfer the dough to the fridge to chill for several hours, or even better, overnight. The colder the dough, the better it will hold its shape when cut and baked, preventing spreading and making it much easier to roll.
6. Preheat Oven and Prepare for Baking: When you’re ready to bake, preheat your oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats to prevent sticking and ensure even baking.
7. Roll and Cut Cookies: Lightly flour a clean countertop or a large piece of parchment paper. Take one chilled dough disc from the fridge and roll it out evenly to approximately 1/4 inch thick. Use your favorite holiday-shaped cookie cutters to cut out festive shapes. Carefully transfer the cut-out cookies to your prepared baking sheets, leaving about 1 inch between each cookie. Re-roll any dough scraps as gently and minimally as possible to cut out more shapes.
8. Bake to Perfection: Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for about 10 minutes. The edges should be lightly golden, but the centers should still be soft. Avoid overbaking, which can make them dry. Once baked, remove the baking sheets from the oven and let the cookies cool on the sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. They must be entirely cool before icing.
9. Prepare and Apply Icing: While the cookies cool, prepare the shiny icing. In a bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, warm water, light corn syrup, and vanilla extract until smooth. If the icing is too thick, add a tiny bit more warm water, a few drops at a time. If it’s too thin, add a little more powdered sugar. The consistency should be thick enough to hold a shape but thin enough to spread smoothly.
10. Decorate and Enjoy: Once the cookies are completely cool, pipe or spread the shiny icing onto them using a small offset spatula, knife, or piping bag. Decorate immediately with festive sprinkles, edible glitter, or other embellishments if desired, before the icing sets. Allow the icing to fully set for several hours or overnight before stacking. Then, gather your loved ones and enjoy your beautiful and delicious Christmas cut-out cookies!

Tips for Flawless Christmas Cut-Out Cookies

Achieving perfect cut-out cookies every time is simple when you follow a few key tips:

• Don’t Skimp on Chilling: The chilling time is arguably the most critical step. Cold dough is firm dough, which prevents spreading in the oven and allows your cookie cutters to create clean, defined shapes. If your kitchen is warm, or if you’re working with the dough for an extended period, pop the dough (or even the cut-out shapes on the baking sheet) back into the fridge for 10-15 minutes before baking.
• Consistent Dough Thickness: Roll your dough to an even 1/4 inch thickness. This ensures all your cookies bake uniformly, preventing some from being undercooked while others are overbaked and discolored. Use a rolling pin with thickness guides if you have one.
• Proper Flour Measurement: Too much flour can lead to dry, crumbly cookies that are difficult to roll. Always spoon flour into your measuring cup and level it off with a straight edge. Avoid scooping directly from the bag.
• Avoid Overworking the Dough: When mixing, stop as soon as the ingredients are just combined. Overmixing develops gluten, which can make cookies tough. Similarly, when re-rolling scraps, handle them as little as possible.
• Cool Completely Before Icing: Attempting to ice warm cookies will cause the icing to melt and run. Patience is key for beautifully decorated results!

Christmas Cut Out Cookies

Classic Christmas Cut-Out Cookies perfect for the holidays! Easy sugar cookies that hold their shape for cookie cutters, topped with a simple shiny cookie icing that everyone loves. 

5 from 2 votes

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Course: Christmas, Cookies, Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Christmas Cut-Out Cookies, Sugar Cookies, Holiday Baking, No-Spread Cookies

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes

Chill Time: 3 hours hours

Total Time: 20 minutes minutes

Yield: 36 cookies

Author: Jessica & Nellie

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going to sleep

Ingredients 

For the Cookies

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup softened unsalted butter (1 stick)
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup sour cream
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 2 cups all-purpose flour

For the Shiny Icing

• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup warm water (plus more if needed)
• 1 tbsp light corn syrup
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

• In a large bowl, cream together the granulated sugar and softened butter using an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla extract, mixing until fully incorporated and smooth.
• In a separate small bowl, whisk together the sour cream, salt, and baking soda.
• Gradually add the all-purpose flour and the sour cream mixture to the butter mixture. Beat on low speed until the dough comes together and is smooth. Be careful not to overmix.
• Divide the dough into two discs, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill in the fridge for several hours or overnight. This step is essential for preventing cookie spread. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 375°F (190°C).
• Lightly flour a clean countertop or parchment paper. Roll out one disc of dough until it is about 1/4 inch thick. Use your desired cookie cutters to cut out festive shapes. Carefully transfer the cut-out cookies to a parchment-lined baking sheet.
• Bake at 375°F (190°C) for 8-10 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden. Let them cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
• While cookies cool, prepare the icing. In a bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, warm water, light corn syrup, and vanilla extract until smooth and shiny. Adjust water or powdered sugar for desired consistency. Pipe or spread onto cooled cookies. Add sprinkles or other decorations if desired. Allow icing to set completely before storing. Enjoy!

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