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No-spread sugar cookies are the perfect cut-out cookies for any holiday or occasion! This no-chill dough holds its shape during baking and can be decorated with everything from sparkling sugar to your favorite sugar cookie frosting.
There are lots of times when you want to get the perfect amount of spreading in a cookie. When I’m making my favorite chocolate chip cookies is one of those times.
But when I’m making cute Valentine’s Day or holiday cut-out cookies with my kids? Definitely not one of those times.
Thankfully, I’ve got my favorite no-spread sugar cookie recipe that I can make any time my kids want to make decorated cookies!
Why you’ll love this no-spread sugar cookie recipe
I think every parent or grandparent knows that cut-out sugar cookies are a big hit with kids of just about any age. What’s more fun to a kid than getting to decorate sugar cookies in fun, seasonal shapes?
But there’s also nothing worse than spending time making fun cut outs with your kids only for the cookies to lose their shape in the oven.
That’s why I love making these no-spread sugar cookies:
- These cut outs hold their shape even with intricate cookie cutters, so you can know they’ll be cute even after baking.
- The sugar cookie dough does not require any chilling! I’m just as low on patience as my kids are sometimes, so I love being able to cut out and bake the cookies right away.
- The cookies have just the right amount of sweetness, so you can add your favorite icing or frosting without the cookies becoming sickly sweet.
- This is a versatile recipe. Make the dough with just vanilla extract or add other flavors to the dough, roll the dough as thick or thin as you like for soft sugar cookies or crisper cookies, and decorate them any way you like!
How to make these no-spread sugar cookies
This sugar cookie recipe is a kitchen staple you will want to keep on hand for every season of the year. Make these perfect cookies for birthday parties, themed gatherings, holidays, or just because!
Ingredients you’ll need
To make these no-spread sugar cookies, you will need:
- 1 cup softened unsalted butter
- 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
- 3 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- Pinch of salt
Make sure the butter has softened before you start baking. If you forget to set it out ahead of time, check out my tricks for softening butter quickly.
For perfect cookies every time, make sure you know how to measure flour correctly. Getting this simple step right can make the difference between perfect sugar cookies and a big ol’ mess!
Vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste adds a lovely vanilla flavor to these classic cookies. You can feel free to add other flavor extracts based on the holiday or your family’s preferences, though! Some of my favorites include almond extract, peppermint extract during the Christmas season, and lemon extract during the spring.
No baking soda or powder?
You might notice that, unlike recipes like sour cream sugar cookies, this recipe does not call for any baking soda or baking powder. This isn’t a mistake!
Omitting extra leavening is what helps these no-spread cookies keep their shape in the oven. They won’t puff up, so even intricate cookie cutters will work with this recipe!
Making these cookies
To make the cookie dough, use a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or an electric hand mixer and large bowl to cream the butter and sugar together on medium speed until they are light and fluffy. This will take about 3-5 minutes.
Add the eggs and the vanilla. Mix until well combined. Make sure to scrape the sides of the bowl as needed throughout this process.
Gradually add the flour and the salt to the creamed butter mixture, mixing until the dough just comes together and no dry spots of flour remain.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Use your hands to form the dough into a disk.
At this point, you can roll and cut out the dough right away or wrap the dough in plastic wrap and store it in the fridge for up to a day before baking.
When you’re ready to bake, use a lightly floured rolling pin to roll the dough to about 1/4-inch thickness. How thick you roll your dough will affect the texture of the cookies. Thicker cookies will have a softer texture, while thinner cookies will be more crisp.
Cut the dough into shapes with lightly floured cookie cutters. Transfer the cookies to a parchment-lined cookie sheet.
Re-roll the dough scraps as needed to finish cutting out the cookies.
Bake the sugar cookies at 375°F for 10-12 minutes. The bottom edges of the cookies should be just barely starting to turn golden brown.
Let the cookies cool on the pan for about 5 minutes, then transfer them to a cooling rack to finish cooling before decorating.
Decorating ideas
You can decorate these no-spread sugar cookies any way you like!
If you want to keep things simple with some colored sanding sugar, add that to the cookies before baking them.
After baking and cooling, decorate the cookies with your favorite icing, such as royal icing, or sugar cookie frosting. For fun seasonal decorating, make monster sugar cookies for Halloween or snowflake sugar cookies for the winter holidays.
You could even use the cookies to make sandwich cookies with chocolate ganache or your favorite buttercream frosting. My perfect chocolate buttercream or a slightly tangy raspberry buttercream frosting would be delicious.
Make-ahead and storage tips
Make the no-spread sugar cookie dough up to a day ahead of time and store it in the fridge, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap, until you’re ready to bake. You may need to let the dough rest at room temperature for 20-30 minutes to be able to roll it easily.
Undecorated cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week or in the freezer for 2-3 months. Once decorated, they will keep for anywhere from 4-7 days at room temperature, depending on the icing or frosting used.
More delicious sugar cookie recipes
Can’t get enough of sugar cookies? We can’t either! I love this recipe for making cut-out cookies, but these other recipe are perfect when you’re looking for a no-roll/no-cut recipe:
No-Spread Sugar Cookies
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
- 3 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 pinch fine sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add in the eggs and vanilla and beat until combined.1 cup unsalted butter, 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar, 2 large eggs, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
- Slowly add the flour and salt, stirring just until combined. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and use your hands to form into a disk. Roll the dough to 1/4-inch thick and cut with lightly floured cookie cutters. Place cookies on the prepared baking sheets.3 ½ cups all-purpose flour, 1 pinch fine sea salt
- Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes, or just until the edges barely start to turn golden. Remove from the baking sheets to a rack to cool before decorating.
Notes
- If you’d like to decorate these cookies with colored sparkling sugar, add it to the cookies before baking.
- After baking and cooling, cookies can be decorated with sugar cookie frosting or your favorite royal icing.
- Exact yield will depend on the size of the cookie cutters used.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
