Cut Out Sugar Cookies (No Chill)
If you’re craving classic cut out sugar cookies without the wait, this quick no chill dough is exactly what you need! These cookies bake up soft and flavorful, hold their shape amazingly well, and can be made in under 1 hour. Pair them with my easy royal icing for picture perfect cookies every time.
Servings: 40 cookies
Ingredients
Cookie Dough
- 418 grams all purpose flour 10.5-11% protein
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 200 grams granulated sugar
- 227 grams unsalted European style butter (82% butterfat) softened to room temperature
- 50 grams egg room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste or pure vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon almond extract *optional
Topping
- 1 batch royal icing
Instructions
Cookie Dough
- Preheat oven to 350℉ (180℃) and line a rimmed cookie sheet with two layers of parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.418 grams all purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- Add the butter and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium-high until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes.200 grams granulated sugar, 227 grams unsalted European style butter (82% butterfat)
- Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl as needed to make sure everything is being mixed properly.
- Add the egg, vanilla and almond extract, mix again until combined.50 grams egg, 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste or pure vanilla extract, ½ teaspoon almond extract
- Reduce the mixer speed to low and slowly spoon in the flour mixture. Once all the flour has been added, mix on medium a couple spins until a soft cookie dough has formed.
- Lightly flour your work surface and rolling pin. This dough is soft and will roll and cut better with a lightly floured surface.
- Roll the dough out to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut out shapes with desired cookie cutter and transfer to prepared baking pan. Space the cookies 1-2 inches apart.
- Place tray on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 7-9 minutes until the cookies are set and still pale up to when the edges begin to turn lightly golden.
- Remove cookies from the oven, allow them to cool on the baking pan for about 1 minute before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Repeat with remaining dough. Make sure to put cookie dough on cooled baking pans. Cookie dough scraps can be re-rolled and cut into additional cookies.
Decorate
- Once the cookies are cool, decorate with royal icing or buttercream. Allow the royal icing to set before stacking cookies.1 batch royal icing
Notes
- Ingredients Used:
- Flour: Gold Medal All Purpose Flour 10.5-11% protein
- Butter: President Unsalted European Butter 82% butterfat
- Butter:
- Butter should be softened to room temperature before mixing. It should not be melty/oily nor super cold and firm. Check the temperature of your butter if you would like to be exact with an instant read thermometer for a temperature of 65F(18c).
- This recipe also calls for unsalted butter, which can be swapped evenly for salted butter, just reduce the amount of added salt in the recipe to 1/8 teaspoon.
- Servings: The final number of cookies will vary depending on the size of your cookie cutters and precisely how thick you roll the dough. I used 2.5″ cookie cutters and rolled the dough to 1/4-inch thickness.
- Oven: This recipe was written for a conventional oven (top and bottom heat). For convection fan ovens, reduce the temperature by 25 degrees and begin checking for doneness 75% of the way through baking.
Weigh your flour: The measurement I use: 1 cup of flour equals 125 grams. This amount can change based on a different baker’s recipe or using a conversion tool. The weight listed in the recipe is how it was tested and should be used for accuracy. Different brands of flour are made with soft or hard wheat and have varying levels of protein, ranging from low to high. This can change the final result of a baked good, giving different outcomes on the same recipe. I list the level of protein in the ingredients, the brand of flour tested with and a link to My Baking Ingredients for additional details. When choosing a flour, look at the protein level on the back of the bag and consult the recommended amount for the recipe.