You don’t want them to start browning around the edges the way a Chocolate Chip Cookie would, for example. They might not look done to you but they are. If you make your cookies on the thick side as we have done in the pictures here, you should cook them 9-10 minutes. Step 11: Do not over-bake! We like thicker sugar cookies so they will hold a good amount of frosting. Step 10: Bake in an oven pre-heatd to 350 degrees for 6-10 minutes depending on the size of the cookie cutter you used. Step 9: Cut out shapes with cookie cutters. Step 8: Roll a handful of the dough out on a prepared surface until it’s about 3/8″ thick. In fact, the cookies come out best if the dough hasn’t been chilled. You do not need to chill this dough before cutting out the cookies. If the dough seems drier than this, add a tiny bit of vanilla or milk (start with a teaspoon) and mix again. The flour should be completely incorporated and the dough should be firm but not dry or crumbly. Step 7: This is what the dough should look like after you have added the 6 cups of Flour. Mix it only until the flour is incorporated into the dough. Don’t overmix the dough when you are adding the dry ingredients. Step 6: Mix in the 6 cups of flour two cups at a time. Step 5: Add 4 teaspoons of Baking Powder and mix. Step 4: Mix the cookie dough until light and fluffy (about 3 more minutes.)

I know that sounds like a lot of vanilla but this recipe needs a little extra moisture and the cookies will taste great. Step 3: Add 2 tablespoons of vanilla and 2 eggs. Step 2: Cream the butter and sugar until it is completely mixed (3 minutes on medium-high should do the trick.) In the past, when in a rush, I have softened the butter in the microwave but inevitably the dough that I get is on the “crumbly” side.

The butter is still cold to the touch but you can press into the stick with your fingers. I let the butter sit out on the counter for just under an hour before I start making the cookies – this seems to be the perfect amount of time for me. A prime culprit for dry sugar cookie dough is butter than is too warm and soft. The butter needs to be softened but still cold. A word about the butter, we use Sweet Cream Salted Butter when we are baking and I think it tastes great with these sugar cookies too. Step 1: Add the 4 sticks (2 cups) of butter and 2 cups of white sugar to your mixer. Sugar cookies used to be Christmas only for us, and now we make them all year long. The cookies turn out delicious and keep the shape of whatever cookie cutter you use. We finally found the best sugar cookie recipe. Some were delicious, but spread so much you couldn’t tell what the cookie shape was supposed to be. Some didn’t taste good, but held their shape. We have gone through many different recipes. Nancy and I have continued that tradition. We would sit around the table, listen to Christmas Carols, and frost cookies.

One of the first things she would make was sugar cookies. Our mom would begin baking two weeks before Christmas to make sure she got everything done. When Nancy and I were little, our favorite time of the year was Christmas (okay, it still is). We have The Best Sugar Cookie Recipe ever and we can’t wait to share it so that everyone can have super yummy homemade sugar cookies that always keep their shape.

Sugar cookie recipes