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The Best Rolled Sugar Cookies

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READY IN 3 hr

The Best Rolled Sugar Cookies

Read Reviews (5582)

"Whenever you make these cookies for someone, be sure to bring along several copies of the recipe! You will be asked for it, I promise! NOTE: I make icing with confectioners' sugar and milk. I make it fairly thin, as I 'paint' the icing on the cookies with a pastry brush. Thin enough to spread easily but not so thin that it just makes your cookies wet and runs off." — Jill Saunders

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Original recipe makes 5 dozen Change Servings

1 1/2 cups butter, softened
2 cups white sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

5 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

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Directions

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour (or overnight).
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Roll out dough on floured surface 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into shapes with any cookie cutter. Place cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
Bake 6 to 8 minutes in preheated oven. Cool completely.

Kitchen-Friendly View

PREP 20 mins
COOK 8 mins
READY IN 3 hrs

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Reviews More Reviews

Most Helpful Positive Review

Dec 11, 2006

This recipe is excellent for its purpose of rolling and cutting cookies...i tried another sugar cookie recipe and hated it...it didnt roll and cut as well and the cookies were flat and crispy... i always come back to this one... this year i made ghosts for my son's halloween party/parade and a friend of my daughter's birthday is on halloween so i made him a cookie bouquet using this recipe.... these cookies make GREAT cookie bouquets... I add an additional cup of sugar and tsp of vanilla and my family liked them a LOT better...it didnt seem to affect the way they cooked either so that was good...this is still the best sugar cookie recipe ever for cutting out shapes and making cookie bouquets!! NOTE: i live in south florida where the heat and humidity is high - i always add between 1/4 - 1/2 cup more flour to all my cookie recipes Another NOTE: ....the dough, as you're rolling this particular recipe out does tend to be sticky ....simply keep dusting it with powdered sugar and you can continue to work with it...while adding additional flavor... Thanks!

—SMDAILEY

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Most Helpful Critical Review

Dec 07, 2011

I'm confused how these reviews work...you change all the ingredients and THEN leave a review?? It really becomes a review on YOUR recipe, right? The review should be on the original recipe.

—venicegirl

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7,129 Ratings

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Nov 13, 2003

I haven't tried this recipe yet, but I have a tip for MAKING CUTOUT COOKIES EASILY: I put a sheet of baking parchment (now easily found in grocery stores) on my cookie sheet, then ROLL THE DOUGH OUT DIRECTLY ON THE PARCHMENT-LINED COOKIE SHEET. After making the 'cut-outs', appropriately spaced on the dough, I PEEL AWAY THE EXCESS DOUGH from around and between the 'cookies' and bake as directed. The parchment helps keep the bottoms of the cookies from getting too dark, eliminates any need for greasing the pan, allows you to remove the cookies from the sheet by simply sliding the parchment carefully off the side (which is especially helpful with extra large or delicate cookies), and CAN USUALLY BE REUSED IN BAKING THE REST OF THE COOKIES. I have also rolled dough out on the parchment without having it on the cookie sheet, done the cutting and trimming, and then slid the parchment onto the sheet for baking, which helps when you're short of cookie sheets -- the next batch is ready to pop into the oven as soon as the first comes out.

—KELLY GIORDANO

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Nov 15, 2006

This recipe is WONDERFUL. Make sure you: chill at least 1 hour to firm up the dough. Knead the dough before rolling out with pin. Use SUGAR instead of flour when rolling. There are many options with these cookies. They are great iced (and gorgeous using the sugar cookie icing on this site), yet they are still delicious when sprinkled with decorator coloured sugar ( available at your local "bulk barn" in LOTS of colours). If you like a chewier cookie, roll thicker, crunchier, thinner etc. Oh, and WATCH these CLOSELY, and remove from oven when edges just begin to brown. If you leave them in too long, get them off the cookie sheet FAST- they will cool faster. Lastly, use parchment paper to line cookie sheets for easy removal. Two thumbs up!!

—amsuka

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Dec 26, 2003

I must add my voice to the hundreds before me. These cookies are a miracle! While I like to think I know my way around a kitchen, sugar cookies have always been disastrous for me. Not any more! The best advice I every received was from a review below-- I rolled them out on parchment paper then pulled away the scraps from around the cutout cookies. It eliminated damaging the cookies while transferring them to a cookie sheet. I used 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla as suggested. I made them for a wedding reception using the bride and grooms initials, frosted them with white icing and sprinkled them with irridescent edible glitter. They were beautiful and tasty. Thank you, Jill. I'm now thinking of reasons to bake sugar cookies...

—DGLONG

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Feb 28, 2007

WOW...these are great sugar cookies. Exactly what I was looking for. I made them for my son's preschool class using dinosaur cutouts and they turned out great. What I liked best was that they were nice and thick and held their shape well. I was worried about them breaking due to the dinosaur shapes but they really didn't! They are very "sturdy" cookies and I would highly recommend this recipe if you're using cookie cutters. I will say..I made the recipe as is for my first trial run and the taste was bland. Fortunately I added little mini m&m's so that helped. The second time I took other reviewer's suggestions and used 3 cups of sugar (instead of the recommended 2) and 2 tsps of vanilla (instead of 1) and this made a HUGE difference with the taste!! Tasted like the kind you buy at the mall!! A couple other tips that others have also said: Refrigerate the dough for a couple hours before using...this helps a LOT if using cutouts; definitely use parchment paper, and watch them when they cook! They cook fast! My dino cookies only needed about 5 minutes (with 5 cookies on a pan). Seriously, try these cookies with those changes and you'll love them!!!

—RLB1530

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Dec 06, 2003

I made these for my boyfriend on our anniversary. WOW! These were it. As an aspiring pastry chef, I am always in search of great recipes and ways to "doctor them" . I made 1/4 of the batch the first time and thought they were a tad bland. SO when I made the full recipe.... I added 1/2 zest of one lemon, and 1 c. confectioner's sugar, and 1 c. granulated, for sweetness (10x sugar has more sugar per cup)creamed it with the butter, and added 2 tsp. vanilla and I followed the rest of the ingredients and instructions ...and they were exactly what I was looking for... these are THE COOKIE BOUQUET COOKIES! The only thing is you only get 20 or so cookies if you want them 1/2" thick...so I would double the recipe.

—LEBELLEMELANGE

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Dec 20, 2003

Delicious! I tried this method I learned from a different sugar cookie recipe. You make little balls with the dough, then dip a glass into sugar and flatten cookie with the bottom of the sugared glass. Keeps you from having to roll them. I also refrigerate the rest of the dough and only make as many as we will eat in one sitting. This way you have fresh baked cookies every time.

—NANCYBWEST

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Nutrition

Calories
109 kcal
5%

Carbohydrates
14.7 g
5%

Cholesterol
26 mg
9%

Fiber
0.3 g
1%

Protein
1.5 g
3%

Sodium
93 mg
4%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

Nutritional Information

The Best Rolled Sugar Cookies

Serving Size: 1/60 of a recipe
Servings Per Recipe: 60
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 109
Calories from Fat: 45

% Daily Value *
Total Fat 5g 8 %
Saturated Fat 3g 15 %
Cholesterol 26mg 9 %
Sodium 93mg 4 %
Potassium 17mg < 1 %
Total Carbohydrates 14.7g 5 %
Dietary Fiber 0.3g 1 %
Protein 1.5g 3 %
Sugars 6.7g
Vitamin A 3 %
Vitamin C 0 %
Calcium 2 %
Iron 6 %
Thiamin 8 %
Niacin 7 %
Vitamin B6 < 1 %
Magnesium 1 %
Folate 12 %

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
** Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available nutrient data.
(-) Information is not currently available for this nutrient. If you are following a medically restrictive diet, please consult your doctor or registered dietitian before preparing this recipe for personal consumption.