Perfect Roll Out Sugar Cookies

These buttery soft Roll Out sugar cookies are cut into fun holiday shapes and topped with sweet homemade frosting, will definitely be Santa’s favorite cookie this year! 

I wanted to try transforming our favorite Lofthouse style sugar cookies into a roll-out version. With a few adjustments here and there, I think I’ve created the perfect recipe! 

Roll Out Sugar Cookies on plate

Who Doesn’t Love Rolled Sugar Cookies?

Sugar cookies are definitely a holiday classic. Every Christmas my mom would bake up a huge batch of her cookies and we’d frost and decorate them. It’s a tradition that our little family is continuing and I couldn’t be more excited!

These sugar cookies are buttery and full of flavor. The whole family enjoys decorating them with frosting and sprinkles, it is becoming a fun family tradition. Plus, I finally get to use my cookie cutters that sit in my cupboard for most of the year.

While the dough may not be as stiff as most recipes, I can assure you that this delicate dough is perfect for roll-out cookies. It holds its shape while maintaining crisp edges and soft centers. Plus I have a really awesome trick that will help prevent your dough from getting too floury when you go to re-roll it! So are you ready to get started?!

Cut out sugar cookies

How to Make Roll Out Sugar Cookies

How do you make sugar cookies that keep their shape

Mixing the Dough:

  • In a large mixing bowl cream sugar and butter until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes on medium-high. This is a key step to creating light and tender cookies, so make sure to give it enough time.
  • Add the vanilla extract, almond extract (I love the flavor it adds to these cookies, but if you prefer not to add it that’s totally optional) and a whole egg. Mix until combined, then add the egg white and mix until combined.
  • Next, in a small mixing bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add dry ingredients until no flour pockets remain, but be careful not to overwork the dough.

Rolling out the Dough:

Now comes the fun part. I just recently learned a really cool trick to rolling out your dough. If you stick your dough between two pieces of plastic wrap and roll it into a sheet (just under 1/2″ thick), you can chill it on a baking sheet (I like to let it chill for about 3 hours, but overnight is best) and then place it on a lightly floured surface to be cut out.

This will prevent lots of excess flour from getting worked into your dough and will improve the flavor and texture of the cookies that come from the re-rolled dough. It’s definitely worth the few extra minutes as it makes things 100x easier later on- no rolling out super stiff dough!

Frosted rolled sugar cookies

Baking the Cookies: 

  • Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or baking mats, set aside. *Using parchment paper or a baking mat, instead of a greased cookie sheet,  will help your cookies keep their shape! 
  • Place the sheet of dough onto a lightly floured surface, cut out the cookies and transfer to the prepared baking sheets, place the cookies at least 1/2″ apart. 
  • Place in oven and bake for 8-10 minutes (the cookies will look extra soft, do not over-bake) or until the cookies become firm on the edges.
  • Remove and allow to cool for 3 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Re-roll dough and continue cutting and baking until all of the dough has been used.

Frosting the Cookies:

  •  In the bowl of a stand mixer cream the butter until it becomes light and smooth.
  • Add the salt, 2 tablespoons of milk and vanilla. With mixing speed on low gradually add powdered sugar.
  • Once the powdered sugar is incorporated, bring mixing speed up to high and beat for 2 minutes.
  • Add more milk to reach the desired consistency.
  • Frost onto cooled cookies and top with desired sprinkles.

Frosted roll out sugar cookies

Rolled Sugar Cookie Recipe Tips, Tricks + Storing

Can you freeze the dough?

If you are planning on making a lot of sugar cookies, you can always make the dough ahead of time. Make the sugar cookie dough, roll them out and pre-cut the shapes. Then place the pre-cut shapes on a cookie sheet lined with waxed paper or parchment paper and stick them in the freezer. Once frozen, stack the cookies and wrap them in plastic wrap, place them back in the freezer and store for up to 3 months! 

When you are ready to bake them, just removed them from the freezer and bake right away! 

How to store decorated cookies?

Store decorated cookies in an airtight container, at room temperature,  for up to a week. If you need to stack them, make sure to place a sheet of waxed paper or parchment paper between the layers. 

I hope you’ll enjoy these cookies as much as our family did- they’ve definitely become a favorite! Happy Holiday & Merry Christmas!

Find more sweet sugar cookie recipes here: 

Did you try this recipe? Leave a ⭐️ rating below and share it on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest!

Perfect Roll-Out Sugar Cookies

Perfect Roll Out Sugar Cookies Recipe

These buttery soft Roll Out sugar cookies are cut into fun holiday shapes and topped with sweet homemade frosting, will definitely be Santa's favorite cookie this year! 
4.82 from 11 votes
Pin Rate
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 8 minutes
Total Time: 38 minutes
Servings: 30 cookies
Calories: 177kcal
Author: Andrea
Print Recipe

Ingredients

  • 2 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 3/4 cup butter - room temperature
  • 1 egg
  • 1 egg white
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 1/4 tsp almond extract

Frosting Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 cup powdered sugar
  • 1/2 cup butter - room temperature
  • 2-3 tbsp milk
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • pinch of salt
  • food coloring - optional

Instructions

  • In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream sugar and butter until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes on medium-high. Add vanilla extract, almond extract and the whole egg. Mix, then add the egg white and mix until combined.
  • In a small mixing bowl whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. With mixing speed on low, gradually add dry ingredients until no flour pockets remain. I like to roll the dough out between two sheets of plastic wrap so that it's just under 1/2" thick, stick it on a baking sheet and refrigerate for 2-3 hours (that way I can just remove the plastic wrap and cut my first set of cookies out). You can also place the dough in an airtight container and refrigerate as well.
  • Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or baking mats, set aside.
  • Roll dough out on a floured surface to just under 1/2" thick. Cut cookies and transfer to prepared baking sheet, place at least 1/2" apart (or cut directly from the rolled sheet of dough).
  • Place in oven and bake for 8-10 minutes (the cookies will look extra soft, do not over bake) or until the cookies become firm on the edges. Remove and allow to cool for 3 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Re-roll dough and continue cutting and baking until all of the dough has been used.
  • Meanwhile, to make the frosting, in the bowl of a stand mixer cream butter until it becomes light and smooth. Add salt, 2 tablespoons of milk and vanilla. With mixing speed on low gradually add powdered sugar. Once powdered sugar is incorporated, bring mixing speed up to high and beat for 2 minutes. Add more milk to reach the desired consistency. Frost onto cooled cookies and top with desired sprinkles.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cookie | Calories: 177kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 26mg | Sodium: 85mg | Potassium: 40mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 17g | Vitamin A: 246IU | Calcium: 15mg | Iron: 1mg

 

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About the Author

Andrea

Hi I'm Andrea!

Hotelier turned Food Blogger to help make your life simple, one recipe at a time.

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Comments:

  1. 5 stars
    These turned out PERFECT. The dough stayed tender even after a couple of rollings and they did not spread out on the tray in the oven. This is replacing my other roll-out recipes for sure. Thank you!!

  2. 5 stars
    This is a great sugar cookie recipe! The touch of almond is really nice. I followed the suggestion to roll (I rolled between parchment paper because we didn’t have cling wrap, but same idea) before chilling, and it made it so easy to cut the cookies out cleanly when it was time. They held their shape perfectly when cooked. 

  3. 5 stars
    Yummy yummy yummy cookies. Thank you for your recipe and knowledge. I had never made sugar cookies . Not since I was a kid. M y girls and I made these and we had fun.