by Faith Durand

Best Cut-Out Christmas Sugar Cookies Recipe

There are a few recipes that I turn to every Christmas season, and this is one of them. This is a workhorse of a cookie recipe. Why? Well, it has everything you need for good cut-out sugar cookies.

There are a few recipes that I turn to every holiday season, and this is one of them.

This is a workhorse of a cookie recipe. Why? Well, it has everything you need for good cut-out sugar cookies.

They mix up easily, and they are full of sugar and butter so they keep well. This is a firm dough that can be rolled out and cut more easily than Play-Doh, and yet it turns out meltingly delicious cookies.

They are firm yet tender, with a very buttery flavor. If you sandwich them with a soft filling like buttercream or Nutella, the cookies soften even more.

Labeling any recipe "best" is a risky proposition, but these have stood the test of time and many, many batches.

A few more tips:

-- The dough freezes perfectly. The recipe below makes a very large quantity, so roll out a few sheets of dough and freeze flat in the freezer between wax paper and plastic wrap for quick cut-out cookies later. (The recipe is also easily divided for smaller quantities.)

-- Use the biggest mixing bowl you've got.

-- When you take the chilled dough out of the fridge, you may need to let it sit for a few moments before it is soft enough to roll out. The high quotient of butter makes this a very firm dough.

-- That firmness makes these perfect cut-out cookies for children; if you roll the dough at least 1/4 inch thick, children should have no problem cutting and picking up cookie dough shapes. The dough doesn't tear easily or get too soft, as other more delicate cookie doughs do.

Decorating ideas:

-- Ice with a sugar glaze and then sandwich with Nutella between two cookies.

-- Glaze with warmed jelly and then sandwich with another cut-out cookie on top.

-- Drizzle with melted chocolate.

-- Ice with royal icing and stick on candy dots for decoration.

Best Cut-Out Sugar Christmas Cookies Recipe

    Prep Time: 60 minutes

    Cook time: 12 minutes

    Yield: Yields between 8 to 12 dozen cookies, depending on size

Best Cut-Out Sugar Christmas Cookies Recipe Ingredients

    3 cups butter, softened at room temperature for an hour

    3 cups sugar

    3 eggs

    6 ounces cream cheese (3/4 of a standard cream cheese package)

    1 teaspoon vanilla extract

    1 teaspoon almond extract

    2 teaspoons lemon zest

    9 cups flour

    4 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

    1 1/2 teaspoon salt

Best Cut-Out Sugar Christmas Cookies Recipe Directions

    In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and add the sugar. Cream until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat until golden. Add the cream cheese and again beat until well incorporated. Add the flavorings and lemon zest.

    Mix the flour, baking powder and salt in a separate bowl and then add, bit by bit, to the butter/sugar mixture. Again, choose a large bowl for this particular recipe. (Mine has been known to overflow by this point.)

    Refrigerate the dough for at least an hour -- preferably overnight.

    Heat the oven to 350 F. Divide the dough into smaller balls and roll out 1/4 to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut out cookies.

    Bake cookies for 8-12 minutes, depending on thickness. The small, thinner ones started browning after about 8 minutes, and I didn't want these brown at all. The larger ones had a slight golden bottom after 11 minutes, which was perfect for my purposes.

    Let cool before icing or decorating, and store in a tightly covered container.

 

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Cut-Out Sugar Cookies - Best Christmas Cookies Recipe

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