Old-Fashioned Cutout Sugar Cookies with Easy Homemade Icing

The Ingredients for these classic sugar cookies are simple:

There are just a handful of basic ingredients in this sugar cookie dough. 

All-purpose flour – We call it all-purpose flour here in the U.S., but it is often called plain flour in some countries including the UK. I like to use unbleached all-purpose flour, but bleached all-purpose flour is fine, too. For this recipe, make sure to sift the flour before measuring.

Baking powder – Be sure to use baking powder and not baking soda for this recipe.

Salt – Regular table salt is what I use. If you’re using another type of salt, like Kosher or sea salt, make sure that it is fine salt.

Butter – I use salted butter. If you’re using unsalted butter, add another pinch of salt to your ingredients. For dairy-free cookies, use plant-based butter or shortening.

Sugar – Use granulated sugar. I prefer to use raw granulated cane sugar because I prefer the taste, but white granulated sugar is fine, too. If you prefer not to use real sugar, use a brand of sugar substitute that is approved for baking. 

Eggs – For the best results, use large eggs at room temperature.

Milk – I use whole milk but any type of milk will work just fine. For dairy-free cookies, use your favorite plant milk.

Vanilla extract – I recommend using real vanilla extract and not imitation vanilla. But of course, I always recommend using what you already have.

Almond extract – This is an optional ingredient. If you enjoy an almond flavor, go ahead and use it. But be careful because the almond extract is very potent and can easily overpower the flavor of the cookie. Use no more than ¼ teaspoon.

Ingredients for easy Sugar Cookie Icing:

You only need simple ingredients to make this easy icing for sugar cookies:

Confectioners’ sugar – Confectioners’ sugar is basically powdered sugar. Technically, it’s powdered sugar that has a little bit of starch added to it. It’s also sometimes called icing sugar. It’s typically sold in a bag and will be labeled either powdered sugar or confectioners’ sugar. You can also make your own powdered sugar at home from granulated sugar. I like this guide to making your own powdered sugar by Gemma’s Bigger Bolder Baking. 

Corn syrup or honey – This will give your icing some shine. Either one will work, but the honey will impart a slight flavor to the icing. You can also leave out the honey or corn syrup completely but your icing won’t be shiny at all without it.

Vanilla extract – I like a little bit of vanilla flavor in my icing, but you can leave it out or substitute another flavor like peppermint or almond if you prefer. You can also leave out the extract entirely and the icing will be just plain sweet and delicious. Also, if you want bright white icing, you will need to use clear vanilla extract, or just leave out the extract completely.

Food coloring – I prefer to use gel food coloring because it has the most vibrant colors and doesn’t add extra liquid to the icing. You can leave out the food coloring for an all-white icing, or experiment with making your own natural food colorings. This article by Leite’s Culinaria gives great instructions for making your own natural food coloring. And if artificial dyes are a concern, but you don’t want to make your own food coloring, there are commercial food colorings you can buy that don’t contain artificial dyes. I recommend this set by Watkins or this one by McCormick [affiliate links].

Tips for Making the Best Holiday Cutout Cookies:

• When measuring the flour, be sure to sift first, then measure. This will help to make sure that you don’t add too much flour into the mix. Too much flour will make the cookies tough. 
• To combine the dry ingredients thoroughly, take a whisk or a fork and thoroughly mix the flour, baking powder, and salt before proceeding with the rest of the recipe. 
• Add half of the flour mixture to the creamed butter and stir to combine. Gradually add the rest of the flour until you have a smooth dough that holds together but is not too stiff. You may end up adding all of the flour, or you may have a few tablespoons left over. It depends on the humidity of your house, the brand of flour that you’re using, and any number of other factors. 
• You will need to chill the dough for an hour or two in the refrigerator to let it firm up before rolling it out. It’s best to split the dough into two portions before chilling because the dough will warm quickly (and begin to soften) after you take it out of the fridge. This way, you can roll and cut out half of the dough while the other half of the batch stays nice and chilly until you are ready to use it. 

• Roll the dough to about 1/4 inch, then use cookie cutters dipped in flour to cut it into shapes. You can reroll any scraps to roll out again and make more cookies. If the dough gets too soft at any point, pop it back into the fridge for a few minutes to firm up. 
• To keep the cookies from spreading and losing their shapes as they bake, bake them on an ungreased cookie sheet. The dough contains enough butter and the cookies shouldn’t stick. I like to bake mine on a sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat just as extra insurance that they won’t stick. 
• Don’t overbake the cookies or they will become hard. Bake them for about 7-9 minutes, or until the edges of the cookies begin to turn very slightly golden. 
• Allow the baked cookies to sit on a cookie sheet for a few minutes to cool before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. 
• Make sure the cookies are completely cooled before icing them. 
• You can apply the icing using a spatula, piping bag, or plastic bottles. I like to use these bottles [affiliate link] to ice my cookies. When mixing up the icing, adjust the milk and powdered sugar to get the consistency you need. You’ll need thicker icing if you will be using a spatula or piping bag to spread the icing on the cookies. The icing will need to be a little bit thinner if using icing bottles.
• After icing the cookies, you can eat them immediately, but if you want to stack them or package them as gifts, allow the cookies to sit uncovered for 24 hours. This allows the icing to totally dry and to become hard and shiny. 
• You can also use this same dough to make round cinnamon sugar cookies. Simple rough dough into balls and roll a mixture of sugar and cinnamon before baking.