Decadent Sugar Cookies Recipes

SOFT CUT-OUT SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
• In a large bowl using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar together on high speed until completely smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the egg, vanilla, and almond extract (if using) and beat on high speed until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl and beat again as needed to combine.
• Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on low until combined. Dough will be relatively soft. If the dough seems too soft and sticky for rolling, add 1 more Tablespoon of flour.
• Divide the dough into 2 equal parts. Place each portion onto a piece of lightly floured parchment paper or a lightly floured silicone baking mat. With a lightly floured rolling pin, roll the dough out to about 1/4-inch thickness. Use more flour if the dough seems too sticky. The rolled-out dough can be any shape, as long as it is evenly 1/4-inch thick.
• Lightly dust one of the rolled-out doughs with flour. Place a piece of parchment on top. (This prevents sticking.) Place the 2nd rolled-out dough on top. Cover with plastic wrap or aluminum foil, then refrigerate for at least 1-2 hours and up to 2 days.
• Once chilled, preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line 2-3 large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Carefully remove the top dough piece from the refrigerator. If it's sticking to the bottom, run your hand under it to help remove it- see me do this in the video above. Using a cookie cutter, cut the dough into shapes. Re-roll the remaining dough and continue cutting until all is used. Repeat with 2nd piece of dough. (Note: It doesn't seem like a lot of dough, but you get a lot of cookies from the dough scraps you re-roll.)
• Arrange cookies on baking sheets 3 inches apart. Bake for 11-12 minutes or until lightly browned around the edges. If your oven has hot spots, rotate the baking sheet halfway through bake time. Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before decorating.
• Decorate the cooled cookies with royal icing or easy glaze icing. Feel free to tint either icing with gel food coloring. See post above for recommended decorating tools. No need to cover the decorated cookies as you wait for the icing to set. If it's helpful, decorate the cookies directly on a baking sheet so you can stick the entire baking sheet in the refrigerator to help speed up the icing setting.
• Enjoy cookies right away or wait until the icing sets to serve them. Once the icing has set, these cookies are great for gifting or for sending. Plain or decorated cookies stay soft for about 5 days when covered tightly at room temperature. For longer storage, cover and refrigerate for up to 10 days.

OLD-FASHIONED LEMON SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift flour, baking soda, and salt into a bowl; set aside.
• Put sugars and lemon zest in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed 30 seconds. Add butter; mix until pale and fluffy, about 1 minute. Mix in eggs, 1 at a time, and then the lemon juice. Reduce speed; gradually add flour mixture, and mix until just combined.
• Scoop dough using a 2-inch ice cream scoop; space cookies 2 inches apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. Flatten cookies slightly with a spatula. Sprinkle tops with sanding sugar, then lightly brush with a wet pastry brush; sprinkle with more sanding sugar.
• Bake cookies until golden, about 15 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks for 5 minutes. Transfer cookies to racks using a spatula; let cool completely. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days.

GIANT SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees, with one rack in upper third and another in lower third. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda; set aside.
• Using an electric mixer on medium-high, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 2 to 4 minutes. Add egg and vanilla; beat well to combine.
• With mixer on low, add half the flour mixture, followed by sour cream, then remaining flour mixture; mix just until smooth. (Dough will be stiff; you may need to finish mixing it by hand with a wooden spoon.)
• Drop mounds of dough, each equal to about 3 tablespoons, 3 to 4 inches apart, onto two ungreased baking sheets; sprinkle with sugar. Bake until edges of cookies are just firm and tops are barely beginning to brown, 20 to 25 minutes, rotating sheets once halfway through. Transfer cookies to a rack to cool.

SMASHED SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Beat the granulated sugar and butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the vanilla and eggs, then continue to mix until incorporated (it's ok if the mixture looks slightly curdled). Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed.
• Meanwhile, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl until evenly combined. Reduce the mixer to medium low, then slowly add the flour mixture and mix until just combined.
• Divide the dough into 18 portions (about 2 1/2 tablespoons each), then roll between the palms of your hands into uniform balls; place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Pour the sprinkles into a shallow bowl or baking dish. Roll the dough balls in the sprinkles until completely coated, then return to the baking sheet. Refrigerate until firm and chilled through, about 1 hour.
• Position oven racks in the top and bottom thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line one additional baking sheet with parchment.
• Place 9 chilled dough balls on each prepared baking sheet. Using a 1/3-cup measuring cup, smash the dough balls down until the edges are starting to crack and they are 3 to 3 1/2 inches wide (leave about 1/2 inch of space between each smashed cookie). If the dough starts to stick to the bottom of the measuring cup, dust with a little flour and continue smashing.
• Bake, rotating the baking sheets halfway through, until the cookies puff slightly, the centers are still soft and the bottoms are just golden brown, 14 to 17 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
• Once the cookies have cooled, whisk together the confectioners' sugar and milk in a small bowl until smooth and combined (it should be thick but pourable). Transfer to a small piping bag or resealable bag, snip the tip and drizzle over the cookies. Alternatively, use a spoon to drizzle over the cookies. Return to the wire rack to set completely, about 30 minutes. The cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

DECADENT SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and 2 cups sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla. Gradually stir in the dry ingredients until just blended. Roll the dough into walnut sized balls and roll the balls in remaining 1/4 cup of sugar. Place cookies 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets and flatten slightly. Bake for 8 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven, until lightly browned at the edges. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. *let the butter actually soften. do not use melted butter, the consistency of the dough is far easier to work with if you let the butter simply soften in a bowl outside of the refrigerator.

THE BEST SUGAR COOKIES FOR DECORATING

Steps:

• For the dough: Whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Beat together the egg and vanilla in a small bowl.
• Beat the butter, granulated sugar and confectioners' sugar together in a large bowl with an electric mixer on low speed. Once incorporated, increase the speed to medium and beat until slightly creamy, about 3 minutes. Stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
• Reduce the speed to low again and slowly pour in the egg mixture and beat until combined. Add the flour mixture, in 3 additions, increasing the speed as the dough gets thicker to keep the beaters spinning. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and the beaters as needed. Once all the flour is just incorporated, increase the speed to medium-high and beat until the dough is very smooth, about 5 minutes.
• Turn the dough out of the bowl and bring it together. Divide into 2 even pieces. Shape each piece into a flat square and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate the dough for at least 3 hours or overnight.
• To roll, cut and bake the cookies: Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Dust another sheet of parchment paper with flour and put 1 piece of the dough on top. Dust with more flour and top with another sheet of parchment. Roll the dough out between the parchment sheets into a square about 1/4-inch thick (about 11-by-9 inches) and place in the freezer for 5 minutes. Repeat with the remaining piece of dough.
• From 1 piece of rolled dough, cut out cookies with a 2 1/2-inch cutter and arrange on the prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. Refrigerate while you cut the remaining cookies. Reroll any scraps of dough and repeat the freezing, cutting and refrigerating process until all the dough is used.
• Bake, rotating the baking sheets front to back and bottom to top about halfway through, until golden brown around the edges, about 12 minutes. Let cool completely on the baking sheets set on a wire cooling rack, about 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, make the royal icing: Combine the confectioners' sugar and meringue powder in a large bowl. Add 3 tablespoons water and the vanilla and beat with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until the icing forms thick and glossy peaks, about 2 minutes (adding up to 1 tablespoon more water, if needed). Tint with a few drops of food coloring as desired.
• Fit a pastry bag with a small round tip and fill it with the icing.
• Pipe royal icing on cookies with the design of your liking and let dry for 30 minutes.

CLASSIC SUGAR COOKIES (WITH VARIATIONS)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350F.
• Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Cream butter and sugar in a medium bowl, using medium speed (electric mixer) until light and fluffy.
• Add egg and vanilla.
• Continue beating until well-combined.
• Combine flour, salt and baking soda.
• Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients.
• Mix on low speed until just combined.
• Wrap dough tightly with cling wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes.
• Turn dough out on lightly floured surface.
• Roll to about 1/8" thickness.
• Using cookie cutters/inverted wine glass, cut out cookies and transfer to prepared baking sheets.
• Sprinkle the tops with sugar, if desired.
• Bake until cookies are set but not brown, 8-10 minutes.
• Transfer to cooling racks.
• You may roll the dough into a log shape and freeze until firm, then slice and bake.
• LEMON SUGAR COOKIES- Add 1 tablespoon finely chopped lemon zest and 1 tablespoon lemon juice to butter and sugar.
• RAISIN SUGAR COOKIES- Stir 3/4 cup raisins into dough after dry ingredients have been combined.
• NUT SUGAR COOKIES- Stir 3/4 cup finely chopped (toasted) walnuts/pecans/other nuts into dough after dry ingredients have been combined.
• SUGAR AND SPICE COOKIES- Add 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg and a pinch of ground cloves to the dough along with the flour.
• FROSTED SUGAR COOKIES- Omit the sprinkling of sugar on top of cookies.
• Beat 1 cup icing sugar, 1 tablespoon water/milk, 1/2 tsp vanilla extract and a few drops of food coloring (if desired) with electric mixer, on HIGH speed.
• Frost cookies after baking, while still slightly warm.
• CHOCOLATE COOKIES- Melt 2 oz. bittersweet chocolate (I use 72%) in the microwave, stir until smooth, let cool slightly and add to the dough after the addition of vanilla.
• MARBLED/TWO-TONED COOKIES- Melt 1 oz. bittersweet chocolate (I use 72%) in the microwave, stir until smooth, let cool slightly. After the dough has been formed, divide it into two. Add melted chocolate into one part of dough, knead it gently to incorporate chocolate uniformly. Combine 2 doughs and roll out as usual.

DECADENT COOKIES

Steps:

• In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar.
• beat in egg and vanilla.
• Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well.
• Divide dough into four portions; shape each into a 10 inch X 21/2 inch log.
• Place 4 inches apart on greased or foil lined baking sheets.
• Make a 1/2 inch depression down center of each log.
• Bake at 350 for 10 minutes.
• Fill depressions with jam.
• Bake 10-15 minutes longer or until lightly browned.
• Cool for 2 minutes.
• Remove to a cutting board; cut into 3/4 inch slices.
• Place on wire racks.
• In a small bowl, combine glaze ingredients until smooth; drizzle over warm cookies.
• Cool completely.

CLASSIC SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• In large bowl, beat 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, the softened butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla, the almond extract and egg with electric mixer on medium speed, or mix with spoon, until well blended. Stir in flour, baking soda and cream of tartar. Divide dough in half; shape dough into 2 disks, and wrap in plastic wrap. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours.
• Heat oven to 375°F.
• Roll each disk on lightly floured surface until 1/4 inch thick. Cut with 2- to 2 1/2-inch cookie cutters into desired shapes. On ungreased cookie sheets, place cutouts at least 2 inches apart.
• Bake 7 to 8 minutes or until edges are light brown. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks. Cool completely.
• In medium bowl, beat 3 cups powdered sugar, 3 tablespoons milk and 1/4 teaspoon vanilla with spoon until smooth and spreadable. If frosting is too stiff to spread, add additional milk, 1 teaspoon at a time. Tint with food color. Spread frosting on cooled cookies. Decorate as desired with colored sugar or candy sprinkles. Let stand about 4 hours or until frosting is set. Store covered in airtight container at room temperature with waxed paper between layers.