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Sugar Cookie Cut-Outs With Royal Icing
Bake classic sugar cookie cutouts with royal icing for festive shapes; follow this recipe for crisp edges and smooth decorating icing.
Sugar Cookie Cutouts with Icing are classic holiday confections consisting of a buttery sugar-cookie dough—typically prepared from all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, unsalted butter, eggs, vanilla extract, baking powder, and a pinch of salt—that is rolled flat, stamped into festive shapes, and baked until just golden. Once cooled, the cookies are finished with a smooth, spreadable or pipeable icing made from confectioners’ sugar, milk or water, and optional food coloring, allowing for decorative designs that harden to a glossy finish. Widely associated with December celebrations, these cookies are popular for gifting, cookie-exchange parties, and family decorating activities, serving as both a seasonal treat and a customizable edible ornament during the holiday period.
Sugar Cookie Cut-Outs With Royal Icing
The dough mixes up in a single bowl and freezes beautifully, letting you break the project into manageable steps long before peak holiday crunch. A slightly higher butter-to-flour ratio helps each cookie bake with clean, sharp edges that resist spreading, so even intricate shapes stack neatly in tins for shipping or storage.
Prep Time
90 minutes
90 minutes
Cook Time
20 minutes
20 minutes
Total Time
270 minutes
270 minutes
Ingredients
All-purpose flour (2 1/4 cups)
- Baking powder (1/2 teaspoon)
- Salt (1/4 teaspoon)
- Unsalted butter, softened (3/4 cup / 1 1/2 sticks)
- Granulated sugar (3/4 cup)
- Large egg (1)
- Pure vanilla extract (2 teaspoons)
- Almond extract, optional for extra flavor (1/4 teaspoon)
- Confectioners’ sugar, sifted (4 cups / about 480 g)
- Meringue powder (3 tablespoons)
- Water, room temperature (9–10 tablespoons, to reach piping consistency)
- Vanilla or almond extract for icing, optional (1/2 teaspoon)
- Gel food coloring, optional (as desired)
- Assorted holiday sprinkles or sanding sugar, optional (to decorate)
Method
Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl
- Beat softened butter and granulated sugar together on high speed until creamy, about 2 minutes
- Add the egg, vanilla extract, and almond extract to the butter mixture and beat until combined
- Reduce mixer speed to low
- Gradually add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and beat until the dough forms and pulls away from the sides of the bowl
- Divide the dough into two equal portions
- Place the first dough portion between two sheets of parchment paper
- Place the second dough portion between two sheets of parchment paper
- Roll each portion to about 1/4 inch thickness
- Stack the rolled sheets on a baking sheet
- Refrigerate the dough for at least 1 hour or up to 2 days
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C)
- Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats
- Remove one sheet of chilled dough from the refrigerator
- Peel off the top layer of parchment from the dough
- Cut shapes from the dough with floured cookie cutters
- Transfer the cutouts to the prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 2 inches apart
- Gather and reroll dough scraps as needed, chilling them if they become too soft
- Bake the cookies until the edges are set and very lightly browned, 8 to 11 minutes depending on size
- Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes
- Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely
- Repeat cutting, baking, and cooling with the remaining dough
- Combine confectioners’ sugar, meringue powder, and water in a large bowl to start the royal icing
- Beat the icing mixture on high speed for about 5 minutes until stiff glossy peaks form
- Add more water a few drops at a time to thin the icing to outlining or flooding consistency as needed
- Tint portions of icing with gel food coloring if desired
- Spoon outlining consistency icing into a piping bag fitted with a small round tip
- Pipe an outline around the edge of each cooled cookie and let it set for 15 minutes
- Thin the remaining icing further for flooding consistency
- Spoon flooding icing into a squeeze bottle or piping bag
- Flood the center of each outlined cookie with the thinner icing
- Use a toothpick or scribe tool to guide the icing to the edges and pop any bubbles
- Add sprinkles or details while the icing is still wet if desired
- Place decorated cookies on drying racks or trays
- Let the icing dry completely, at least 2 hours or overnight
- Store completely dry cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 3 months
Nutrition (whole recipe)
Calories
4808 kcal Protein
53 g Fat
145 g Carbs
842 g Fiber
8 g Sugar
637 g
4808 kcal Protein
53 g Fat
145 g Carbs
842 g Fiber
8 g Sugar
637 g
Notes
For an extra-clean finish, pop the cut-out cookies on their sheet pan into the freezer for 10 minutes before baking— the shock of cold dough against a hot oven keeps every angle razor-sharp. If you’d like a subtle wintery twist, rub the finely grated zest of one orange into the sugar before creaming; the citrus oils brighten the flavor without tinting the dough.
why this recipe
This sugar cookie cutouts recipe is worth adding to your holiday repertoire because it strikes the perfect balance between buttery richness and tender, melt-in-your-mouth texture, yet it’s sturdy enough to hold intricate shapes without spreading in the oven. A hint of vanilla and almond extracts layers in nuanced flavor, while a simple, glossy icing sets to a satiny finish that invites creative decorating and keeps the cookies soft for days. Reliable dough that rolls smoothly, bakes evenly, and delivers consistently beautiful results makes this recipe a joy for both seasoned bakers and festive first-timers, ensuring every batch becomes a centerpiece of holiday cheer.
FAQs
FAQ acf
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I prepare the sugar-cookie dough in advance and freeze it until I’m ready to bake?
Yes. Wrap the finished dough (or the rolled-out, parchment-sandwiched sheets) tightly in plastic, slip into a freezer bag, and freeze for up to 2 months; thaw in the refrigerator overnight before cutting and baking. Freezing the cut-out shapes on a sheet pan first, then storing them in an airtight container, lets you bake straight from frozen—just add a minute or two to the oven time.
What can I use as a substitute for meringue powder in the royal icing if I can’t find it?
Use pasteurized liquid egg whites or fresh, very clean egg whites instead: for every 3 Tbsp water plus 3 Tbsp meringue powder, substitute about 2 Tbsp (30 ml) liquid whites and beat with the confectioners’ sugar until glossy peaks form. One large pasteurized egg white roughly equals 2 Tbsp meringue powder; just keep in mind that real egg–based icing should be stored in the refrigerator and used within a few days.
How can I adapt this recipe for gluten-free baking?
Replace the all-purpose flour with the same weight or volume of a certified gluten-free 1:1 baking blend that already contains xanthan or guar gum; if your blend lacks a binder, add about ½ teaspoon xanthan gum per cup of flour. Chill the dough an extra 30 minutes so the starches hydrate and the cutouts hold their shape, then roll, cut, and bake as directed, watching for doneness a minute earlier because gluten-free cookies brown slightly faster. Otherwise, the icing and all other steps remain unchanged.