Infused with rich cream cheese and plenty of butter, these are the Cut Out Sugar Cookies that will make you famous! Perfectly soft and chewy, they melt-in-your-mouth, hold their shape, and will disappear as fast as you can make them! Kissed with a lovely touch of vanilla, these cut out Christmas cookies are sure become a wildly popular family tradition at your home!
Cut Out Sugar Cookies
Are you searching for the perfect cut out cookie recipe? Well guess what… you just found them! This perfectly soft cut out sugar cookies recipe creates the ultimate cutout cookie!
So audaciously rich and sweet… they have this uncanny knack of disappearing as fast as you can make them!
Beth writes: "These are the BEST!!! They're the only kind of cookies I make - they melt in your mouth!!"
These soft sugar cookies are an absolute must-have at the holidays! Whether you’re looking to bake up some fun Christmas cut out sugar cookies with your kids, or just want an easy cookie cutter recipe for other times of the year, these wildly delicious cookies are sure to become your go-to treat!
It’s all thanks to the secret ingredient: Cream Cheese! This ensures you’ll get chewy, tender, melt in your mouth sugar cookie perfection… every time! Yes, they really are that good!
The flavor is truly off the charts. Plus, the dough is a breeze to work with.
Then… after you bake up your lovely soft sugar cookies, go ahead and frost them up with this heavenly Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting! You can even tint the frosting with food coloring or gels to make all sorts of gorgeous colors for your cookie decorating!
Or if you’re craving chocolate, this Chocolate Buttercream Frosting Recipe is the ONLY way to go! It’s truly out of this world amazing!
Of course the most important thing to remember whenever baking Christmas cookies… is to ALWAYS make as many Christmas cookies as possible! That’s why you definitely need to make these adorable Gingerbread Man Cookies, these heavenly Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies, and these wildly popular Peppermint Chip Cookies, too!
So are you ready to get baking?
Here’s what you’ll need to make the absolute best cut out sugar cookies for decorating…
Should Sugar Cookie Dough Be Refrigerated?
Yes… after making your cut out cookie dough, you’ll want to transfer it to the refrigerator and let it chill overnight, or at least a minimum of 8 hours.
And if you want to make your cookie dough in advance, you can make it up ahead of time and store it up to 3 days in the refrigerator prior to baking.
How Do You Refrigerate Cookie Dough?
It’s simple!
After making your cookie dough, just divide it into 3 portions, flatten into discs, wrap each portion in plastic wrap, then transfer to the refrigerator.
Should I Refrigerate Sugar Cookies After Baking?
Yes… you’ll want to store any leftover unfrosted and frosted sugar cookies for cutouts covered, in an airtight container, in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Ingredients
It takes just a few simple ingredients to make the BEST cut out sugar cookie recipe in the world!
If you don’t already have everything on hand, just add these Christmas sugar cookies recipe ingredients to your grocery list so you can score some Sam’s Club Deals…
- Flour
- Sugar
- Butter
- Philadelphia Cream Cheese
- Egg
- Vanilla Extract
- Almond Extract
- Baking Powder
- Salt
- Powdered Sugar (for rolling)
Trust me, if you want a stress-free Christmas, easy Christmas dessert recipes like this are a great place to start!
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Pin ItHow to Make Cut Out Sugar Cookies
It’s actually so easy to make the most amazing soft sugar cookies from scratch!
Here’s what you’ll do…
1. Start by mixing up your dough.
2. Once dough is mixed, chill your dough in the refrigerator.
3. Once chilled, remove the dough and roll it out.
4. Cut out your shapes using your favorite cookie cutters.
5. Then bake your cream cheese cookies per the instructions in the recipe card below.
6. Allow the cookies to cool on racks before decorating.
7. Once cooled, frost your cookies, then decorate with store-bought colored sprinkles or my homemade sprinkles.
Now comes the fun part… grabbing that first cookie and DEVOURING it!
If you happen to have any cookies leftover, these custom cut out cookies are perfect for gift giving and for your Christmas cookie exchange!
Scroll down for the printable recipe card with detailed, step-by-step instructions.
How to Decorate
When it comes time to decorate, gather the gang and make it a party!
You won’t just be making frosted cut out cookies… you’ll be making sweet memories to cherish for years to come!
Decorating sugar cookies is one holiday tradition that just can’t be skipped at my house.
From baking to decorating, my entire family gets involved and has so much fun year after year!
We always make sure to create some extra silly ones to give to each other, too! With teen guys and a funny hubby, the designs have been hilarious and bizarre over the years!
When Bigfoot, leg lamps, and giant feet are your templates, things are bound to get crazy.
What can I say… I’m the only girl in the house, and I am definitely outnumbered!
If you love decorating cookies, too… you’ll really love these classic cream cheese cut out sugar cookies! Just trust me… they’re the one cookie recipe you NEED to try this year! Wayne (pictured below) agrees!
Cut Out Sugar Cookie Reviews
What Your Frugal Friends Are Saying About This Easy Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies Recipe…
Mindy writes: “Fabulous”
Beth writes: “These are the BEST!!! They’re the only kind of cookies I make – they melt in your mouth!!”
Darcy writes: “Best recipe for sugar cookies!”
Cindy writes: “So yummy!!”
Jean writes: “Made these this weekend and loved them! Thank you!”
Kim writes: “I love these!!”
Annie writes: “We have used this recipe, it so much better than regular sugar cookies.”
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Did You Enjoy This Recipe? ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Leave a comment & review below!
Cut Out Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 2/3 cups Granulated Sugar, (white sugar)
- 1 cup Unsalted Butter, softened (use high quality butter)
- 8 oz Cream Cheese brick, (softened)
- 1 large Egg
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1/2 tsp Almond Extract
- 3 1/2 cups All-Purpose Flour
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1/2 cup Powdered Sugar, (for rolling and cutting out cookies)
Instructions
- Gather your ingredients.
- In large bowl, combine Sugar, softened Butter, softened Cream Cheese, Egg, Vanilla Extract and Almond Extract, and beat with mixer until well combined.
- In separate bowl, combine Flour, Baking Powder, and Salt, and whisk ingredients together.
- Gradually pour flour mixture into Butter/Cream Cheese mixture, and continue mixing until all has been well combined.
- Divide dough into 3 portions, flatten into discs, wrap each portion in plastic wrap, then transfer to the refrigerator. Allow dough to chill overnight, or at least a minimum of 8 hours.
- When you're ready to bake your cookies, preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Generously coat a large cutting board with powdered sugar, and remove 1 portion of dough from the refrigerator at a time. Sprinkle the top and bottom of the dough with additional powdered sugar, and generously cover your rolling pin with powdered sugar.
- Roll dough out to 1/8" thickness, then cut out shapes using cookie cutters, and carefully transfer to parchment paper lined cookie sheet.
- As the dough warms up, it will become more sticky, so work quickly and wrap up any leftover scraps in plastic wrap, and store them in the refrigerator.
- Bake 9 – 12 minutes, or until cookies are done and edges begin turning golden brown. (bake times will vary based upon thickness, types of cookie sheets being used, ovens, and elevation) Once done, remove from oven, and allow to cool for a few minutes on the cookie sheet, then transfer to wire racks to finish cooling.
- Continue rolling and baking cookies, 1 small portion of dough at a time, generously coating your cutting board and rolling pin with powdered sugar as you go, until all of the dough has been used up.
- Once cookies have cooled completely, have fun icing, frosting, decorating, and eating. YUM!
Notes
- *Rolling with Flour or Sugar: You could also roll out on flour, but when you roll out on powdered sugar your cookies will stay perfectly sweet.
- Storage Tip: Store leftover unfrosted and frosted cookies covered, in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Prep Ahead Tip: Dough can be made ahead of time and stored up to 3 days in the refrigerator prior to baking.
- Freezer Tip: Baked sugar cookies that have not yet been frosted can be frozen in a freezer safe container up to 1 month. If stacking cookies in the container, place a sheet of parchment paper between each layer.
- FAQ’s: For answers to Frequently Asked Questions or tips for common substitutions and variations, please refer to the detailed information above this recipe card.
Like this recipe? Rate & comment below!
I think you know that sugar cookies are my favorite and this recipe looks fantastic! I bet the cream cheese adds so much softness to the finished cookie.
Oh it really does, Tasia! You can never have too many sugar cookies in your life! 🙂
How far in advance can I bake the cookies? Want to bake some for a wedding. Just wondering how long they would last and how to store them. Freezer, fridge or room temperature?
You will want to store the cookies in the refrigerator, and eat within 5 days. Or, you can also make up some dough ahead of time and store up to 3 days in the refrigerator prior to baking. Hope that helps! 🙂
Never made cookies with cream cheese in the batter ! Must do ! Several batches ! 🙂
Ooh definitely… the more batches the better!! ENJOY!
I’m getting so excited for sugar cookies and all the holiday cookie baking this season! Your look absolutely perfect and I bet the flavor from the cream cheese would make them irresistible! A fun project with the kids!
Thanks so much, Katherine! And you’re right… the cream cheese really does elevate the flavor.