No-Chill Cut-Out Sugar Cookies
Buttery, soft, and chewy no-chill cut-out sugar cookies that are perfect to bake for any occasion. I make these for Christmas, Valentine's Day, Easter, and also for no good reason because they're that good!
Servings: 24 cookies
Ingredients
For the Sugar Cookies
- 1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature*
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 Tbsp vanilla bean paste or use pure vanilla extract
- 1 large egg at room temperature
- 3 1/2 cups (460g) all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp kosher salt
For the Buttercream Frosting
- 1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- Pinch of kosher salt
- 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar sifted
- 2 to 3 Tbsp milk (or use heavy cream)
- Assorted food colorings (optional)
Instructions
For the Sugar Cookies
- Beat butter and sugar on high speed in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment 3 minutes or until light and fluffy.
- Scrape down the bowl, and beat in vanilla. Scrape down the bowl again and beat in egg until smooth.
- Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl, whisking to combine. Slowly beat into butter mixture until a soft dough forms.
- Turn dough out onto a floured surface and bring dough together into a disc. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and chill 1 hour or overnight (for no-chill cookies, skip straight to rolling out).
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Roll dough out on a lightly floured surface to desired thickness (I like mine to be 1/4-inch thick). Cut shapes out of dough using cookie cutters, and transfer to a sheet pan lined with parchment paper.
- Bake 6 to 8 minutes or until tops are no longer glossy and centers are slightly puffed. Cool completely on pan before transferring to a wire rack.
For the Buttercream Frosting
- Beat butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment 3 minutes or until color turns a pale yellow.
- Beat in vanilla and salt until smooth. Gradually beat in powdered sugar. Once all the sugar is added, beat on high 5 minutes. Stop the mixer and scrape down the bowl. Add the milk, 1 Tbsp at a time, until desired consistency is reached (add more if you want a thinner consistency, add less if you want a thicker consistency). I typically add about 3 Tbsp.
- If desired, divide frosting between bowls and mix food colorings into each bowl. Frost cooled cookies with frosting.
Notes
*Ideally, you want the butter to be on the cool end of room temperature (between 60 and 67°F). This will ensure the cookies don't spread too much during baking.