The secret to easy sugar cookies?
These homemade sugar cookies are easy to roll out but firm enough to decorate.
Bet you cant eat just one!
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Decorate with frosting, royal icing, or sparkling sugar.
Sugar cookies are fun to make, especially for holidays like Christmas, Valentines Day, or Easter.
On top of that, they have a little bit of cream cheese as well.
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The buttery cookies bake flat, making them perfect for decorating.
How Thin to Roll the Dough?
I like to roll my dough to about 1/4 inch thick.
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Thinner than that and the cookies start to get fragile when you handle them.
Thicker than that and they arent as crisp.
Do I Have to Chill the Dough?
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Chilling the dough allows you to cut out the cookies even intricate patterns!
and handle the dough without fear of ruining it.
Here are a few tips on making sure your cut-out cookies turn out picture-perfect.
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Can You Make the Dough Ahead of Time?
This dough is perfect for making ahead of time.
Wrap the dough disk tightly with plastic wrap and store it in a heavy-duty freezer Ziploc bag.
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Thaw the dough completely in the fridge overnight, then proceed with the recipe.
These cut out sugar cookies freeze really well,as long as they havent been decorated with royal icing.
Other Ideas for Sugar Cookies!
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Cook in the microwave for 10 to 15 seconds.
A stand mixer can cream the cold butter but a hand mixer doesnt quite have the same power.
That will take the chill off the butter and make it more pliable for the hand mixer.
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Cream at low speed until the butter starts to become pliable, then increase speed to medium.
Mix until a paste forms that sticks to the side of the bowl, about 1 minute.
Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula.
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Add the cream cheese and beat until incorporated.
Repeat with the egg, scraping down the bowl between additions.
Dont worry if the batter looks broken or curdled after adding the egg.
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It will come together with the flour.
Add 1 cup of the flour and mix on low speed until absorbed.
Repeat two more times, adding 1 cup of flour each time.
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Divide the dough in half.
Place half the dough on a large piece of parchment paper (do not flour the paper).
Press down with the palm of your hands to form a disk.
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Place another piece of parchment paper over the dough.
Begin rolling the dough out gradually with a rolling pin.
Continue to roll and flipping the dough, until the dough is 1/4-inch thick.
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Repeat with the second half of the dough.
Alternatively, let the dough chill in the fridge for 1 hour or overnight.
While the dough is chilling, preheat the oven to 350F.
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Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
Once the dough has chilled and firmed up, transfer one of the dough sheets to your counter.
Gently peel away the top layer of parchment paper.
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Place 1/4 cup all-purpose flour in a shallow bowl or pan.
Repeat, cutting out cookies until you cant fit any more onto the sheet.
Flip the entire sheet over and peel away the edge scraps of the dough.
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Gently move the cookies to the prepared baking sheet, leaving about one inch around each cookie.
Gather all the scraps together and press to form a disk.
This will allow the scraps to cool down and firm up.
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Repeat with cutting cookies for the second sheet of dough, then refrigerate the rolled out scraps.
Repeat until youve used up as much cookie dough as it’s possible for you to.
Watch the cookies starting at 8 minutes.
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Once the edges of the cookies start to turn brown, thats when the cookies are done.
Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before moving to a wire cooling rack.
If desired, frost or ice the cookies once they are completely cool.
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If frosted, wait until the frosting or icing is completely dry before storing.
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