This treasured family recipe for Classic Sugar Cookies has been passed down in my family for generations. My late Mom and I made and decorated them every year at Christmas, Valentine’s Day and Easter. When my son Alexander was old enough to start helping in the kitchen, I carried on the tradition. (Read on for more, or click the Jump To Recipe button above to go straight to the recipe.)
I still remember the snowy day when Alexander and I made the cookies in the photograph below. My now thirty year old son was about seven at the time and he decorated them all by himself. The photo may be grainy and the cookies are far from perfect, but are super cute and they sure did taste good. It’s a lovely memory for us both.
Perfect For Any Occasion
Sugar Cookies are a perfect for any occasion. Use your favourite cookie cutters to cut the dough in any shapes you like. Try heart shaped sugar cookies drizzled with pink icing for Valentine’s Day, bunnies and egg shapes for Easter, flowers for spring and leaf shaped cookies to celebrate the arrival of autumn. The only limit is your imagination!
You can of course ice these cookies using more elaborate decorative icing or just cut them in shapes and drizzle them with icing or sprinkle them with sugar as I have in these more recent photos.
Valentine’s Day Sugar Cookies
Cut the dough into heart shapes and sprinkle with pink or red tinted sugar or drizzle with a pink tinted glaze. Alternatively, go all out and frost them with more elaborate decorative icing and sprinkles.
Christmas Sugar Cookies
Cut out in Christmas shapes, and either sprinkled with sugar before baking or iced afterwards, these flaky sugar cookies are a Christmas classic. Plate after plate of these sweet treats were laid on the buffet table at our extended family Christmas dinners. Back then they were my favourite part of the meal.
Here in the UK there is more emphasis on heavy desserts at Christmas; Christmas pudding, fruit cake and mincemeat pies. However my absolute favourite things to make at Christmastime are the cookies like these as well as the squares and bar cookies I remember from when I was a kid.
Gifts From The Kitchen Any Time Of Year
Whatever the occasion, sugar cookies make great gifts from the kitchen. Choose cookie cutters to suit the occasion and bake everyone happy with these delicious treats! (affiliate link)
How To Gift Sugar Cookies
When I was in my teens I would source inexpensive vintage plates from charity shops, fill them with cookies, wrapped in cellophane and tie them with a bow. These easy to make, inexpensive gifts were always cheerfully received by family, friends and neighbours. There are so many creative ways to wrap your cookies for giving.
Tips for Making Sugar Cookies
Be sure your butter is very soft and at room temperature. Do not soften butter in a microwave. It changes the texture of the butter and therefore affects the texture of the cookies.
Take the time to sift the icing sugar. It gives the cookies that lovely melt in your mouth texture.
Beat the flour into the batter slowly, but be careful not to over-beat. The batter should be smooth.
Do not skip putting the cookie batter in the fridge for at least an hour before rolling. If you refrigerate the dough for longer, you may need to remove it from the fridge to soften a bit before you can roll dough it out. It may sound counter-intuitive to refrigerate the batter and then have to allow it to soften a little, but chilling the dough is another factor in achieving that melt in your mouth cookie texture.
Watch the cookies while they are baking. It is incredibly easy to overcook them. Oven types and temperatures vary radically, so these cooking times are just a guide.
Be sure to allow the baked sugar cookies to rest on the cookie sheet for a couple of minutes before you remove them or they are likely to break.
If frosting or glazing the sugar cookies, be sure to let the cookies cool completely first.
Classic Sugar Cookies – Printable Recipe
Classic Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter, softened to room temperature
- 1½ cups sifted icing sugar Icing sugar is also known as confectioner's sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 2½ cups plain flour plain flour is also known as all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda baking soda is also know as bicarbonate of soda or bicarb
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
Instructions
- Cream the butter and sifted icing sugar until light and fluffy. You can do this by hand, but it's easier in an electric mixer.
- Add the vanilla and the egg and stir to mix.
- Sift the flour, baking soda and cream of tartar together into a bowl.
- Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter and egg mixture, blending until well combined. Do not overbeat.
- Shape the mixture into a ball and refrigerate for at least an hour. If you refrigerate the dough for longer, you may need to remove it from the fridge to soften a bit before you can roll dough it out.
- Preheat the oven to about 350°F (160°C or 150°C for fan assisted ovens).
- Line 2 baking sheets with greaseproof paper.
- Divide the dough in half. Keep the second half in a cool place.
- Roll the dough out on a floured surface using a rolling pin to about ½ inch thick (about 1.3cm).
- Cut the dough into shapes using cookie cutters. Use whatever shapes you like best. I like to use seasonal cookie cutters, especially at Christmas.
- Carefully lift the cookies, using a slice if necessary, on to the greaseproof lined baking sheets.
- Re-roll the dough scraps to make more cookies. Do not do this more than once or twice or the dough will become tough.
- If you are not going to ice the cookies, you may want to sprinkle them with some fine white or coloured sugar before baking.
- Bake the cookies for 8 to 10 minutes, watching them carefully so they do not get too brown. I like to switch the oven trays half way through cooking time (bottom rack to top and vice versa, using oven mitts) for more even cooking.
- The cookies are done when they are just barely beginning to turn golden on the edges. Be sure not to overcook, we are aiming for a pale cookie.
- Remove the baking sheets from the oven. Allow the cookies to sit on the baking sheets for a minute or two before carefully removing them from the baking trays and placing them on wire racks to cool.
- Meanwhile, remove the remaining dough from the refrigerator. Roll out, cut out and bake as above.
- Once all the cookies are cool, glaze or frost as desired.
Notes
Equipment
- 1 electric mixer or use a bowl and spoon if you have strong arms!
did you make this recipe?
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