These cut out butter cookies are the ones your grandma made for every holiday on the calendar. Tender, buttery, and perfectly melt in your mouth. Dress them up with icing and sprinkles or keep them simple with a dusting of coarse sugar before baking.
Jump to:
- A Quick Look at This Recipe
- Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Grandma's Recipe
- What Makes These Butter Cookies Instead of Sugar Cookies?
- Ingredients
- Variations
- How To Make Cut Out Butter Cookies
- Soft vs Crispy Cut Out Butter Cookies
- How to Decorate Cut Out Butter Cookies
- Cut Out Butter Cookies for a Tea Party
- Storage
- Cookie Decorating Station
- Expert Tips
- Frequently Asked Questions
- More Ideas You Might Like
- Recipe
A Quick Look at This Recipe
- 📋 Recipe: Easy Cut Out Butter Cookies
- ⏲️ Ready In: 55 minutes
- 👪 Servings: 72 cookies
- 🔪 Difficulty: Easy
- 💭 Top Tip: Flatten your dough into a disk before chilling so it rolls out much more easily.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- More buttery and tender than a classic sugar cookie thanks to the combination of two sugars.
- Holds a clean cut edge so your shapes look beautiful straight out of the oven.
- Simple pantry ingredients you almost certainly already have.
- Perfect for decorating with icing, royal icing, or coarse colored sugar.
- A great make ahead cookie. Bake days ahead and decorate when you are ready.
Grandma's Recipe
This is not actually my recipe. It is my grandma's. These were a favourite of hers, then a favourite of my mom's, and now they are a favourite of mine. I have made them hundreds of times for every occasion, Christmas, Easter, Halloween, birthday parties, and tea parties. They are the kind of recipe that just works every single time.
If you love simple elegant cookies you might also love our Vanilla Shortbread Cookies and our Toblerone Shortbread.
What Makes These Butter Cookies Instead of Sugar Cookies?
It comes down to ratios and the type of sugar. Classic sugar cookies use a higher ratio of white granulated sugar to butter, which makes them sweeter and slightly chewier. These cut out butter cookies use a combination of white sugar and powdered sugar, which lets the butter flavor shine through rather than the sweetness.
The white sugar creamed with butter creates tiny air pockets that give the cookie a little lift and a lightly golden edge. The powdered sugar creates a tender, smooth, melt in your mouth crumb. Together they give you a cookie that is more buttery and delicate than a standard sugar cookie but sturdy enough to hold a clean cut edge and stand up to decorating.
Ingredients
- Butter - use room temperature softened butter. It should hold an indent when you press it. This is where all the flavor comes from so use good quality butter.
- White Sugar and Powdered Sugar - the combination of both is what makes these butter cookies rather than sugar cookies. See the section above for the full explanation.
- Vanilla Extract - use pure vanilla extract not artificial. You taste the difference in a cookie this simple.
Variations
The base dough takes flavoring beautifully. Try any of these:
- Almond: Swap the vanilla for ½ teaspoon of almond extract. Classic and delicious.
- Coarse sugar: Skip the icing entirely and sprinkle with coarse colored sugar before baking. Simple, beautiful, and no decorating required.
- Chocolate dipped: Dip baked cooled cookies halfway in melted chocolate and let set on parchment.
How To Make Cut Out Butter Cookies
- Step 1: Cream the butter and sugars. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter and both sugars. Beat until light and fluffy. This step is important - proper creaming creates the tender texture that makes these cookies so good. Do not rush it.
- Step 2: Add the eggs and vanilla. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix until fully combined.
- Step 3: Add the dry ingredients and chill. Add the flour, baking powder, and salt and mix until the dough just comes together. Do not overmix. Form the dough into a flat disk rather than a ball - this makes it much easier to roll out after chilling. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
- Step 4: Roll and cut. On a lightly floured surface roll the dough out to about ¼ inch thick for soft cookies or ⅛ inch thick for crispier cookies. Cut into shapes with your favorite cookie cutters. For less spreading, place the cut cookies on the baking sheet and refrigerate for 15 minutes before baking. This firms the butter back up after the warmth of rolling and cutting. Some spreading is completely normal and gives these cookies their homemade charm.
- Step 5: Bake. Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet at 350°F for 8 to 10 minutes until the cookies are slightly puffed and the very edges are just beginning to turn light golden. Do not overbake. They firm up as they cool.
- Step 6: Cool and decorate. Cool completely on a wire rack before decorating. Ice with your favorite icing, royal icing, or a simple powdered sugar glaze and sprinkles.
Soft vs Crispy Cut Out Butter Cookies
The thickness of your dough controls the texture more than the recipe does.
For soft cookies roll the dough to ¼ inch thick and pull them from the oven as soon as the edges are just barely golden. They will look slightly underdone in the center and that is correct.
For crispy cookies roll the dough thinner, closer to ⅛ inch, and bake until fully golden brown.
How to Decorate Cut Out Butter Cookies
These cookies are a perfect canvas for decorating. A few options depending on how much time you have:
- Coarse colored sugar before baking - the easiest option. Sprinkle on before they go in the oven. No icing required.
- Simple powdered sugar glaze - mix powdered sugar with a little milk and food coloring. Spread over cooled cookies with a knife or the back of a spoon.
- Royal icing - for more detailed decorating. Pipe an outline first then flood with thinned icing. This is the most beautiful finish but also the most time consuming.
- Buttercream - a simple swirl of buttercream is lovely for a more casual look. This is the simple buttercream icing we used on our flower cookies and it was perfect. Simple Buttercream Icing - Allrecipes
Cut Out Butter Cookies for a Tea Party
These cookies are absolutely at home on a tea party table. Use a flower shaped cookie cutter and decorate with pale pink or lavender icing for the prettiest result. They look beautiful on a tiered tray alongside scones and finger sandwiches.
They also make the sweetest little party favor. Pack two or three into a cellophane bag, tie with a ribbon, and tuck in a tea bag. Your guests will love them.
We served these at our Little Women vintage tea party alongside easy food processor scones and they were a highlight of the table.
Storage
Store baked cookies in an airtight container at room temperature with sheets of parchment or wax paper between layers for up to 2 weeks. Iced cookies keep the same way.
Freeze baked cookies for up to 3 months. Freeze uniced cookies with parchment between layers. Thaw at room temperature before decorating.
Unbaked dough keeps in the fridge for 2 to 3 days wrapped tightly. Freeze dough for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before rolling.
Cookie Decorating Station
These are the perfect cookie for a decorating activity at a party. Bake the cookies ahead of time and set up a table with small plates of cookies, bowls of different colored icing, and sprinkles in the middle. A squeeze bottle works beautifully for younger decorators since the icing stays controlled. For adults this is such a fun activity at a bridal shower, birthday, or tea party.
Expert Tips
- Measure your flour carefully. Spoon it into the measuring cup and level off with the back of a knife. Too much flour makes tough cookies.
- Go easy on the flour when rolling out the dough. Too much on your work surface gets worked into the dough when you reroll the scraps and makes them crumbly and tough.
- Chill the dough before rolling out for the best results. And flatten it into a disk first so it is much easier to roll.
- Soft room temperature butter is essential. It creams properly and creates that tender texture. Cold butter will not incorporate the same way.
- Do not overwork the dough. Stop mixing as soon as it comes together, especially in a stand mixer, or the cookies will be less tender.
- Use real vanilla extract not artificial. You taste the difference in a cookie this simple.
- Freeze half the dough if you do not need a full batch of 72 cookies. It keeps for up to 3 months.
- Make and freeze these fully iced ahead of a big party so you are not scrambling at the last minute. They freeze beautifully and taste just as good thawed
Frequently Asked Questions
Butter cookies have a higher ratio of butter to sugar and often use powdered sugar, which lets the butter flavor come through and creates a more tender melt in your mouth texture. Sugar cookies use more white granulated sugar which makes them sweeter and slightly chewier. These cut out butter cookies use both sugars for the best of both worlds.
Some spreading is completely normal and expected with butter cookies. For less spreading make sure your butter is properly softened but not melted, and refrigerate the cut cookies on the baking sheet for 15 minutes before baking to firm the butter back up.
Chilling is recommended but if you are in a hurry you can skip it. The dough will be a little softer and stickier to work with and the cookies may spread slightly more. At minimum flatten the dough into a disk before chilling so it rolls out much more easily.
Make sure your dough is cold, your cookie cutters are sharp, and press straight down without twisting. Dip the cutter in flour if the dough is sticking.
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks. Freeze for up to 3 months.
Yes. The dough keeps in the fridge for 2 to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before rolling out.
More Ideas You Might Like
If you try these Easy Cut Out Butter Cookies or any other recipe on my blog please leave a star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. Thanks for visiting today!
Recipe
Easy Cut Out Butter Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter room temperature
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 cup white sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 3 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment combine the butter and both sugars. Beat until light and fluffy.1 cup butter, 1 cup powdered sugar, 1 cup white sugar
- Add the eggs and vanilla and mix until fully combined.2 eggs, 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Add the flour, baking powder, and salt and mix until the dough just comes together. Do not overmix. Form into a flat disk, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.3 cups all purpose flour, 3 teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon salt
- On a lightly floured surface roll the dough out to ¼ inch thick for soft cookies or ⅛ inch thick for crispier cookies. Cut into shapes with cookie cutters. For less spreading refrigerate cut cookies on the baking sheet for 15 minutes before baking.
- Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet at 350°F for 8 to 10 minutes until just beginning to turn golden at the edges.
- Cool completely on a wire rack before decorating.
Video
Notes
- Some spreading is completely normal with butter cookies. For the least spreading refrigerate the cut cookies on the baking sheet for 15 minutes before baking.
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks with parchment paper between layers.
- Freeze for up to 3 months.
Dannyelle Nicolle-Ramjist says
These are such a favorite, perfect cut and iced for any occasion.