Soft Cut Out Sugar Cookies

This post may contain affiliate sales links. Please read my disclosure policy.

This Soft Sugar Cookie Recipe has a secret ingredient that makes the cookies super tender and moist, while still allowing them to hold their shape in the oven. Paired with a classic sugar cookie icing, they’re perfect for decorating!

If you’re looking for more easy sugar cookie recipes, try these soft and chewy sugar cookies, these chocolate sugar cookies, or these festive Grinch cookies!

Why You’ll Love This Soft Sugar Cookie Recipe

I made sugar cookies every Christmas as a kid, and the tradition is still going strong today. It’s always tons of fun to decorate them! And, while I still swear by my classic sugar cookie recipe, I wanted to share this new one so that you can choose between them based on your preferences. Here’s why I’m such a big fan of this soft sugar cookie recipe as well:

• Soft and chewy. These sugar cookies are melt-in-your-mouth delicious! The texture is simply perfect if soft and chewy are your two top requirements for a cookie.
• Easy to make. This soft sugar cookie recipe is very forgiving because it’s made with cornstarch, and contains fewer dry ingredients than you’ll find in some other recipes. (You generally need about half the amount of cornstarch compared to flour.) As a result, your cookie dough won’t be as dry, which helps the cookies turn out super soft and tender. At the same time, cornstarch is a thickener, so it prevents them from spreading and helps them hold their shape throughout the baking process.
• Perfectly thick. You’ll notice that these cookies don’t contain any baking powder or baking soda, which are leavening agents that cause cookies to rise. Rising can mean spreading, and we want to avoid that in these cookies. Without any leavening agents present, you’ll be able to make these cookies thicker than my other ones since you don’t have to worry about spreading.
• Great for gift-giving. With that extra thickness comes extra sturdiness, which makes these cookies great for shipping to faraway friends and loved ones!

What is the Difference Between Cut Out Cookies and Drop Cookies?

Cut out cookies are shaped with a cookie cutter before they’re baked, while drop sugar cookies are simply scooped onto the baking sheet. Usually, that means cut out cookies are crispier. But this recipe cheats the system and gives you flawless cut-out cookies that are impossibly soft and moist!

What You’ll Need

I’ve paired these cookies with a very simple homemade icing that hardens on top of them with time. It’s a great recipe for beginners, but it doesn’t allow you to make super intricate designs on your cookies. If you’re looking to decorate your cookies with loads of detail, I recommend whipping up my classic royal icing instead. (If you’re looking for exact ingredient amounts or the full set of directions, scroll on down to the recipe card below!)

For the Cut Out Sugar Cookies

• All-purpose flour – Make sure you do not pack the flour into your measuring cup – if you do, you’ll add too much. I like to use a food scale to be completely accurate, but if you don’t have one, you want to spoon the flour into the cup and then level it.
• Cornstarch – Measure the cornstarch with a food scale as well to be precise.
• Salt – Use whichever kind you like (sea salt, kosher salt, table salt, etc.).
• Unsalted butter – Bring your butter to room temperature before you begin.
• Sugar – Regular old granulated sugar is all you need!
• Egg – To bind the ingredients together.
• Vanilla extract – Choose a high-quality extract for the best flavor.

For the Sugar Cookie Icing

• Powdered sugar – This provides the base for the icing. It’s a good idea to sift out any clumps before you begin so that everything combines smoothly.
• Milk – To thin out the icing. You could also use water.
• Light corn syrup – Corn syrup gives your icing that glossy finish. If you must omit this, replace it with equal parts honey or just leave it out.
• Vanilla extract – Again, add in a high-quality extract for the best results.
• Gel icing colors – Don’t use liquid food coloring, it changes the consistency of the icing.
• Sprinkles – Optional, for decorating.

How to Make the Best Soft Sugar Cookies

This soft sugar cookies recipe is just as easy to make as my original cut out sugar cookies. Note that while chilling the dough is not required, I find that it makes for more tender cookies.

Make the Cookies

• Combine the flour, cornstarch, and salt. Stir the flour, cornstarch, and salt together in a medium-sized bowl and set the mixture aside.
• Beat the butter and sugar. Add the butter and sugar to a large mixer bowl and beat them on medium speed for 2-3 minutes, until well creamed. You should notice that the mixture gets lighter in color and creamier in texture.
• Add the egg and vanilla. Add the egg and vanilla extract and mix until well combined.
• Combine the dry and wet ingredients. Pour the combined dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, and mix just until the dough is well combined. It will be thick. The dough may seem a little crumbly at first, but it’ll come together. Don’t over-mix it. You can help it finish coming together by hand with a spatula if needed.
• Chill the dough. Refrigerate the cookie dough for at least an hour, or up to 3 days.
• Heat the oven. Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a cookie sheet with a silicone baking mat.
• Roll out the dough. Bring the cookie dough back to room temperature so it’s easier to work with, and divide it into two equal parts. Roll each part out between two pieces of parchment paper until they’re about 1/4-inch thick.

• Freeze the dough. Transfer the parchment-lined cookie dough onto a cookie sheet and place it in the freezer for about 5 minutes. Freezing it isn’t necessary, but it gives you sharper edges on your cookies and makes them easier to transfer onto the baking sheet.
• Cut the cookies out of the dough. Remove the dough from the freezer, peel off the top layer of parchment paper and immediately cut it into shapes. Transfer the shaped dough to a cookie sheet.

• Bake the cookies. Bake your cookies for 7-10 minutes, or until the cookies look done (take them out just before they start to brown on the edges).

• Let the cookies cool. Allow the cookies to cool for 3-5 minutes, then transfer them to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
• Repeat with the remaining dough. Continue rolling out the dough, cutting out the cookies, and baking them until you’ve used up all the cookie dough.

Make the Icing and Decorate the Cookies

• Combine the icing ingredients. Once the cookies have cooled, make the icing. Add the powdered sugar, corn syrup, vanilla extract, and 4 tablespoons of milk to a medium-sized bowl. Whisk everything together until well combined. The icing may seem dry at first, but it’ll come together.
• Adjust the consistency. Add additional milk only as needed to get the right consistency.
• Color the icing. Divide the icing into as many bowls as you need for the colors you want. Stir in the gel icing color, a little bit at a time, until it reaches your desired shade.
• Ice the cookies. Transfer the icing to squeeze bottles or piping bags with small round tips for piping, or use a knife or an offset spatula to spread the icing onto your cookies. Add sprinkles if you’d like.
• Let the frosting set. Allow the icing to dry. For it to be fully hard and able to be stacked on, give it 4-5 hours or overnight.

Tips for Success

There are a few things you should keep in mind when you’re making this easy soft sugar cookie recipe. Check out these tips before getting started.

• Use a food scale. I strongly recommend using a food scale to weigh your dry ingredients. Over-measuring the flour or cornstarch will result in dry cookies. If you don’t have a food scale and don’t want to invest in one, be sure to stir up your flour to loosen it, then scoop spoonfuls of it into your measuring cup. Level it off with something flat like a butter knife or an offset spatula.
• Bring the butter to room temperature. Bringing your butter to room temperature helps it properly cream with the sugar. You want to beat the mixture until it lightens in both color and texture, and using room temperature butter will help you do so with ease.
• Line the dough with parchment paper. Placing the dough between two layers of parchment paper before you roll it out will prevent it from sticking to your rolling pin or the surface you’re rolling it out on. This also avoids the mess of using flour, which can seep into your cookie dough and dry it out.
• Freeze the dough before cutting it. Even though popping your dough into the freezer before cutting it is optional, I suggest giving it a try. You’ll notice that the dough is much easier to work with after just 5 minutes in the freezer.
• Adjust the icing’s consistency. Only add extra milk as needed to thin out your icing. When you pick up some icing with a spoon and drizzle it back into the bowl, it should take 3 or 4 seconds to flatten on the surface. For more tips on making this icing, refer to the standalone easy sugar cookie icing recipe.

Can I Add Baking Powder?

This cookie recipe don’t contain any baking powder or baking soda because those are leavening agents that cause cookies to rise. Since rising can leave to spreading, I avoided that in these cookies to make sure they can be cut nice and thick and they truly keep their shape.

That said, you can add leaving if you’d like. The cookies will puff up a bit, but still hold their shape super well because of the cornstarch. The leavening does add some of that traditional cookie chewiness. I recommend adding 1/4 teaspoon of baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda. It’s a smaller amount than is added in my other cutouts, but does the job without sacrificing shape.

How to Store Homemade Sugar Cookies

These cookies should be stored in an airtight container at room temperature. They will stay good for up to 2 weeks, but I recommend enjoying them within 1 week of making them.

Can I Freeze These Cookies?

You can definitely keep these cookies in the freezer if you’d like. Place them in a freezer-safe container with parchment or wax paper in between layers if stacking is necessary. Enjoy frozen cookies within 3 months. Thaw them out on the counter before chowing down. Keep in mind that colors from sprinkles can bleed upon thawing.

More Easy Sugar Cookie Recipes

There’s no end to my love and appreciation for sugar cookies. I encourage you to try the following recipes next – you’ll be happy you did!

• Peppermint Sugar Cookies
• Brown Sugar Cookies
• Lemon Sugar Cookies
• Sprinkle Sugar Cookies
• Frosted Sugar Cookie Bars

See How to Make These Cut Out Sugar Cookies

Watch this ultra soft sugar cookie recipe come together in the video below!

Read Transcript

Print