BUTTER SUGAR COOKIES (2024)

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All Butter Sugar Cookies are soft & sweet cookies topped with a buttery vanilla frosting. Easy sugar cookie recipe made with simple pantry ingredients that yields about a dozen cookies.

These butter sugar cookies are a rich tasting soft and chewy cookie you’re going to want for every occasion. Topped with a simple icing on top (and maybe sprinkles) and every bite will be as sweet as it looks.

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You’ll be looking for excuses to make these soft butter sugar cookies, and we can’t blame you. With an easy recipe like this, you can whip up a batch or two with little effort. Each batch makes about 1 dozen cookies, depending on how big your cookie cutters are. I love that it’s a relatively small batch!

The Best Butter Sugar Cookies

These cut out butter sugar cookies are perfect for any occasion. With a dough that holds shape, you can enjoy using your favorite festive cookie cutters and switch up this recipe for any holiday, event, or party. Just make sure to chill the dough so that the cookies don’t spread while baking. A chilled dough is a happy dough.

Ingredients for iced butter sugar cookies

For the cookies, you will need:

-Flour: The base of this cookie dough recipe is 1 ½ cups of all-purpose flour.

-Baking powder: We want our cookies to puff up as they bake so 1 ½ teaspoons of baking powder will do the trick.

-Salt: To enhance the flavors of the cookie we need ¼ teaspoon of salt.

-Butter: Using ½ cup of softened butter (one stick) we can get a rich tasting cookie with lovely flavor.

-Sugar: Our sugar cookies need ½ cup of granulated sugar to stay nice and sweet. This also helps to get a chewy texture.

-Milk: To help thin the dough ever so slightly, you will need 3 tablespoons of milk.

-Egg yolk: We do not want to use an entire egg for this recipe. Just a single egg yolk is sufficient.

-Vanilla: You’ll want to use a teaspoon of vanilla to help enhance the flavors in these cookies. Use stronger vanilla for better tasting results or use what you already have on hand.

For the Icing, you will need:

-Butter: Using ½ cup of butter we can make our icing rich tasting and delicious.

How to make butter sugar cookies

Cookies

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or spray with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.

Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a small mixing bowl.

In another bowl, use an electric mixer to cream the butter. Add in the sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Add in the egg yolk and vanilla and mix until well combined.

Alternate adding the dry ingredients and the milk to the butter egg mixture. Start and end with the dry ingredients.

Your dough should be soft but not sticky. Place into the fridge for 30-60 minutes.

Remove the dough from the fridge and on a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/4 inch thick. Use cookie cutters to cut out shapes, rerolling and cutting the dough as needed.

Place the shapes onto the prepared baking sheet and bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned on the edges.

Allow the cookies to cool completely before topping them with the icing.

Icing

In a bowl, beat your butter with an electric mixer.

Add in the powdered sugar and beat again until smooth and creamy.

Add in the vanilla and mix.

Add in the milk, one tablespoon at a time until your desired consistency has been reached.

Spread the icing on the cookies, or pipe the icing with a piping bag (if it’s thick enough).

Feel free to top your cookies with sprinkles!Enjoy!

WHAT TYPE OF VANILLA EXTRACT SHOULD I USE?

A few years ago I tested 10 different vanilla extracts and found new favorites! I love usingTOTONAC’s Mexican Vanillafor everyday use. It’s pure vanilla and contains no alcohol, which I like because I don’t like the taste of extracts made with alcohol. Each time I try another, I go back to Totonac’s quickly afterward; it’s so good! I also love usingNielsen Massey Vanilla Bean Paste. Again, this one has the best flavor by far!

Can I freeze frosted cookies?

Yes, you can freeze these cookies. They will last up to 3 months if store properly. To freeze them, place your frosted cookies onto a baking sheet and freeze for about 2 hours until the frosting is solid. Then transfer to an airtight container with a piece of parchment paper or wax paper between the cookies to prevent sticking. You can also put them each in individual ziplocked bags after the initial freezing process, for quick access to a sweet treat.

Butter Sugar Cookies

All Butter Sugar Cookies are soft & sweet cookies topped with a buttery vanilla frosting. Easy sugar cookie recipe made with simple pantry ingredients.

5 from 2 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Cookies

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Butter Sugar Cookies

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 12 minutes minutes

Chill Time: 30 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour 2 minutes minutes

Servings: 12 cookies

Calories: 294kcal

Author:

Ingredients

1 ½ cups flour
1 ½ tsp. Baking powder
¼ tsp. Salt
½ cup Butter softened
½ cup sugar
3 TBSP Milk
1 egg yolk
1 tsp. Vanilla

Butter Icing

½ cup butter
1 ½ cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1-2 TBSP Milk

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350° F (175 degrees C). Place parchment paper on or grease a baking sheet and set aside.
In a small mixing bowl combine flour, baking powder, and salt.
With an electric mixer, cream butter. Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Add egg yolk and vanilla. Mix until well combined.
Add dry mixture and milk alternately, starting and ending with dry.
You should have a dough that is soft but not sticky. Place in fridge for 30-60 minutes.
Remove dough from fridge and roll out to 1/4 inch thick on a lightly floured surface. Use chosen cookie cutters to cut out shapes.
Place shapes on baking pan and bake for 10-12 minutes, until lightly browned on edges.
Allow to cool completely before icing.
ICING: Beat butter with an electric mixer. Add powdered sugar and beat until smooth and creamy. Add vanilla. Add milk, a tablespoon at a time, until desired consistency is reached.
Spread on cookies, or pipe icing on with a piping bag. Feel free to decorate with sprinkles!

Video

Notes

The actual amount of cookies made will vary on the size of your cookie cutters, but with average sized cutters this recipe makes about 12 cut out cookies.

Nutrition

Tried this recipe?Mention @familycookierecipes or tag #familycookierecipes!

Do I have to chill the cookie dough?

When recipes request that you chill your cookie dough it is usually for a good reason. That reason is that the flavor gets a bit more time to develop and the cookies taste even more incredible. But the biggest reason is because of the butter/fats in the dough. By chilling the dough we allow the fats to solidify which means your cookies will not spread out as much while baking, so the texture turns out perfectly. This is especially important on warmer days or when your butter is warm or softened.

What is the difference between butter cookies and sugar cookies?

The big difference between the two is that the butter cookies have a higher butter to flour ratio. Both cookies can be made very similarly and shaped depending on the recipe, but butter cookies have the added fats making them taste richer.

What butter is best for sugar cookies?

You can salted or unsalted butter for cookie recipes if you prefer. Some people swear by using unsalted butter, but I love the flavor of salted. I love using a high quality butter like Plugra or Kerrygold because they contain a higher fat ratio that results in creamier butter, and cookies!

Need More Sugar Cookie Recipes? We’ve got you covered!

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SOFT SUGAR COOKIES

You’re going to love these soft butter sugar cookies. Every bite is rich and wonderful and shaped like your favorite cookie cutters. With this easy recipe on hand, you’ll always be prepared for the next party or event.

Two of our boys have really enjoyed playing flag football. In our area, there are 8 week seasons twice a year. We’re just finishing up the Spring season and my youngest’s team did so well! They placed 3rd overall. For our last game we arranged to come onto the field in style- with a makeshift tunnel, smoke machines, a banner & music!

Our son ran out in the lead and oh my, that smile makes everything worth it! GO STEELERS!

All Butter Sugar Cookies are soft & sweet cookies topped with a buttery vanilla frosting. Easy sugar cookie recipe made with simple pantry ingredients.

FAQs

What happens if you dont put enough butter in sugar cookies? ›

Adding too little butter can cause the cookies to be tough and crumbly. You should use unsalted butter to control the salt content, but if you only have salted on hand, reduce the amount of added salt accordingly. Sugar sweetens the cookies and makes them an enticing golden brown.

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Why did my sugar cookies come out so hard? ›

While overcooked sugar cookies are certainly still palatable, they'll be hard and crunchy, instead of soft and chewy. → Follow this tip: Pull the cookie sheet from the oven as soon as they've set and gained some color, but not too much. They should also look slightly crackled across the center.

Are shortbread cookies the same as butter cookies? ›

As the name suggests a butter cookie has a high proportion of butter. However, unlike a shortbread the amount of flour and sugar used is increased meaning they hold their shape more effectively.

Learn More Now ›

What to do if not enough butter for cookies? ›

A good rule of thumb for this substitution: Replace about ¾ of the butter in a recipe with olive, canola, or vegetable oil (if the recipe calls for 1 cup butter, use ¾ cup oil). If the recipe calls for melted butter, though, you can swap the ingredients in equal amounts — there's no need to adjust your ratios.

Keep Reading ›

How long does it take to beat butter and sugar until creamy? ›

Place softened butter and sugar into large mixing bowl. Mix, using hand mixer or stand mixer on medium speed 1-2 minutes, or until butter mixture is pale yellow, light and fluffy. Use a rubber spatula to scrape the side of the bowl once or twice while mixing.

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What happens if you don't beat butter and sugar? ›

It's important not to rush this step – changes in consistency and colour are essential and can take some time, especially if your butter is a little firm. However, if you don't beat for long enough will affect the final texture and volume of your bake, often making it heavy or dense.

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How to fix butter and sugar not creaming? ›

Another tip, if the sugar and butter mixture appears slightly curdled, the butter was likely too warm or was beaten for too long. If that happens, don't worry. You can refrigerate the mixture for 5-10 minutes without risking the integrity of your recipe. After it regains some firmness, beat the mixture until creamy.

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What is the secret ingredient to keep cookies soft? ›

Light corn syrup is another ingredient that you can add to cookie dough that will help it stay softer longer. The corn syrup you buy at the grocery store is not the high-fructose corn syrup that soft drinks are made with; it's a sugar that is liquid at room temperature and helps other sugars say liquid at high heat.

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Should you refrigerate sugar cookie dough before baking? ›

Refrigerating the dough allows the flour to fully hydrate and helps to make the cookie dough firmer. Firm dough prevents the cookies from spreading too much, which is why chilling the dough is a crucial step for cut-out and rolled cookies.

Find Out More ›

What are common mistakes when making shortbread? ›

The most common mistakes when making shortbread are over-working the dough, and incorporating too much flour. The less you work the dough, the more crumbly and melt-in-your-mouth your shortbread cookies will be.

Tell Me More ›

Are butter cookies better than sugar cookies? ›

Butter cookies are great for rolling and cutting into shapes, offer a sturdier texture, and tend to ship well. But if you're looking for a cookie for cutouts, sugar cookies have the highest ratio of flour to fat, giving them a very sturdy dough.

Which butter is best for cookies? ›

The best butter for your baked goods depends on what type of recipe you're whipping up. Unsalted, American-style butter works well in goods like cookies, pound cakes and pancakes that require the high-fat content of conventional butter and more flexibility with salt and flavor content.

Get More Info ›

What does adding more butter to a cookie do? ›

An excessive amount of butter makes it where the flour is unable to absorb the combined fat, which causes the cookie to spread too widely and the sugar to carbonize more easily because it's surrounded by too buttery a dough.

Keep Reading ›

What is the purpose of butter in sugar cookies? ›

The job of butter in baking (besides being delicious) is to give richness, tenderness and structure to cookies, cakes, pies and pastries. We alter the way butter works in a recipe by changing its temperature and choosing when to combine it with the other ingredients.

What makes sugar cookies not spread? ›

The Rules for Making Sure Your Sugar Cookies Don't Spread.
Rule No. 1: Bake at the Right Temperature.
Rule No. 2: Don't Over or Under Cream Your Butter.
Rule No. 3: Don't Over-Soften Your Butter.
Rule No. 4: Don't Overcrowd the Baking Sheet.
Rule No. 5: Make Sure Your Ingredients Have Not Expired.
Rule No.

Jul 23, 2022

What happens if you don't have enough butter in a cake? ›

Butter is fat, which not only adds moisture, but reduces structure. If you take out too much fat, you'll end up with something denser and more breadlike. If you're going to reduce sugar, be careful, because that can also make food drier (white sugar is liquid at baking temps).

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