Soft cut-out sugar cookies bake up with a wonderfully tender and soft texture but are still sturdy enough for decorating. You can roll the dough and cut it out into any shape that you like and add sprinkles and icing for a cookie perfect for any holiday.
Out of all the different dessert recipes I’ve tried out, Boyfriend’s favorite is sugar cookies. He likes all the sugar cookie recipes I’ve tried, but his favorite was the soft sugar cookies I made during Christmas.
I liked those cookies, too, but they weren’t the kind of cookies you could roll out and cut into cute shapes. So, I wanted to find a soft cut-out sugar cookie recipe so I could make some heart-shaped cookies for the weekend.
I wanted to make heart-shaped soft sugar cookies for this weekend, so I searched for another recipe and I found one All Recipes that looked promising, so I gave it a try.
Ingredients
- Shortening
- Butter
- White sugar
- Eggs
- Vanilla extract
- All-purpose flour
- Baking powder
- Salt
Shortening makes a big difference in these cookies. It keeps the cookies from spreading too much when they bake. This is important for cut-out sugar cookies because you don’t want to cut them into shapes just to have them spread and lose the shape.
The shortening also helps create a very tender cookie. Using it with the butter you get the buttery flavor and texture, but also a tender cookie that doesn’t spread a lot.
Recipe Steps
The thing I love best about this recipe is that you don’t have to chill the dough before you roll it out. The dough is very soft, but is stable enough to roll out. It saves so much time when you don’t have to chill it first.
Start by creaming the shortening and butter together with the sugar. Stir in the eggs and vanilla. Add the flour, baking powder, and salt and mix just until the dough comes together.
Roll the dough out until it’s ¼” thick. If your space is small you can roll the dough in batches. Once rolled, cut the dough into shapes using a cookie cutter. Reroll the scrapes and continue cutting out shapes until you’ve used up the dough. If using sprinkles, top the cookies with them before you bake them.
Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes or until the bottom of the cookies are a light golden brown. Cool cookies completely if you are planning to ice them.
Storage Tips
Store your cookies in an airtight container. They will keep well for several days at room temperature.
You can also freeze the dough. After you’ve made it, tightly wrap it and place it in an airtight container. It will keep for up to 3 months (or longer) in the freezer. To thaw, leave it in the refrigerator or at room temperature.
More Favorite Recipes
I love to bake cookies so you might want to browse my entire Cookie Recipes Collection. Or check out a few of my favorites here:
Soft Sugar Cut Out Cookies
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup shortening
- 2/3 cup butter
- 1 1/2 cups white sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175 degrees°C).
- In a medium bowl, cream together the butter, shortening and sugar. Stir in the eggs and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt, stir into the creamed mixture until dough comes together. Take large portion of dough and roll out on flat surface to about 1/4 inch thick and use cookie cutter to make cookie shapes. Re-roll the dough scraps and repeat.
- Bake cookies 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven, until bottom is light brown. Remove from baking sheets to cool on wire racks.
Notes
The nutrition information provided are only estimates based on an online nutritional calculator. I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a professional nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.
