Christmas Cut-Out Sugar Cookies That Hold Their Shape

By Warm Oven Bakes Editorial Team · Updated 2 November 2026

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Cut-out sugar cookies are the centerpiece of a holiday cookie plate. The goal is simple but surprisingly easy to miss: a cookie that is soft and buttery inside, but keeps the crisp outline of the star, tree or snowman you cut.

This recipe skips baking powder, gets extra richness from an egg yolk, and relies on two rounds of chilling. Those three choices are what keep the shapes sharp, so it doubles as a flat, sturdy canvas for royal icing.

Why sugar cookies spread (and how to stop it)

Most spreading comes from three things:

• Leavening. Baking powder or soda makes cookies puff and lose detail. This recipe uses none.
• Warm butter. Butter that is too soft melts before the flour sets. Use butter that is cool and just soft enough to dent with a finger, about 65°F (18°C).
• Warm dough. Rolled dough that goes into the oven at room temperature spreads. Chill the dough after mixing and again after cutting.

Ingredients

Makes about 30 cookies (3-inch cutters):

• 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, cool but softened
• 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
• 1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk, room temperature
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp almond extract (optional)
• 3 cups (375 g) all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
• 1/2 tsp fine salt

For easy royal icing:

• 2 cups (240 g) powdered sugar
• 1 1/2 tbsp meringue powder
• 3 to 4 tbsp warm water
• Gel food coloring (optional)

Instructions

1. Cream butter and sugar. Beat the butter and sugar on medium speed for about 2 minutes, until creamy but not fluffy. Over-beating adds air, which makes cookies puff.
2. Add the eggs. Beat in the egg, yolk, vanilla and almond extract until smooth.
3. Add flour and salt. Mix on low just until the dough comes together. It will be soft.
4. Divide and roll. Split the dough in half. Roll each half between two sheets of parchment to an even 1/4 inch (6 mm) thick. Rolling between parchment means you don't need extra flour, which can dry out the cookies.
5. Chill flat. Slide the sheets onto a tray and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or up to 2 days.
6. Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line baking sheets with parchment.
7. Cut. Peel off the top parchment, cut shapes and move them to the lined sheets about 1 inch apart. Re-roll scraps once and chill them again.
8. Chill again. Put the tray of cut cookies in the freezer for 10 minutes or the fridge for 20.
9. Bake for 8 to 11 minutes, depending on size, until the edges are set and just barely golden. The centers should look pale.
10. Cool. Leave on the sheet for 5 minutes, then move to a rack. Cool completely before icing.

Making and using royal icing

Royal icing made with meringue powder dries firm and glossy, and it avoids raw egg whites.

1. Beat the powdered sugar, meringue powder and 3 tbsp water on low for 1 minute, then on medium for about 4 minutes until thick and glossy.
2. For outlining, you want icing like toothpaste. For flooding (filling in), thin a portion with water a few drops at a time until a ribbon dissolves back into the bowl in about 10 to 15 seconds.
3. Color with gel food coloring, which doesn't thin the icing the way liquid coloring does.
4. One-consistency option: many beginners skip the two batches and use a single medium icing (a ribbon disappears in about 15 to 20 seconds) for both outlining and filling.
5. Pipe an outline, let it set for a few minutes, then flood inside it. Use a toothpick to push icing into corners and pop air bubbles.
6. Let iced cookies dry uncovered at room temperature, in a single layer, for 8 to 12 hours before stacking. Thin details may set in an hour or two, but flooded cookies need the full time. Don't refrigerate them to speed things up; condensation makes icing sticky.

Keep icing covered with a damp towel or plastic wrap while you work. It crusts quickly.

For designs, from wet-on-wet snowflakes to no-piping ideas, see our easy Christmas cookie decorating ideas.

Useful tools: piping bags, meringue powder and a set of Christmas cookie cutters.

Tips for the best cut-out cookies

Roll evenly. Thin spots brown before thick spots bake. Rolling pin guide rings or two 1/4-inch wooden strips on either side of the dough make even thickness easy.

Bake similar sizes together. Tiny stars bake much faster than large trees. Group them on separate sheets.

Use cool baking sheets. Putting dough on a hot pan straight from the oven starts the spreading early. Rotate two or three pans.

Measure the flour carefully. Too little flour leads to spreading; too much makes dry, crumbly dough. If you can, weigh it. Our guide to measuring flour explains why it matters.

Make-ahead plan for holiday baking

• Up to 3 months ahead: freeze the rolled, parchment-wrapped dough sheets flat. Thaw in the fridge overnight.
• Up to 2 days ahead: keep the rolled dough in the fridge.
• Up to 1 week ahead: bake the cookies and store them un-iced in an airtight container, or freeze them for up to 3 months.
• 1 to 2 days ahead: ice the cookies so they have time to dry.

Iced cookies keep at room temperature in an airtight container for about a week.

Freezing decorated cookies: freeze them only once the icing is completely dry, in a single layer in an airtight container. Thaw in the closed container at room temperature so condensation forms on the container rather than on the icing, which can make colors spot or bleed.

Troubleshooting

• Shapes puffed or rounded: dough was too warm, or the butter and sugar were over-beaten. Chill cut cookies longer, and gently press puffed cookies flat with a spatula as soon as they come out of the oven.
• Icing colors bled: the icing was too thin, or a dark color went onto a base that hadn't crusted. Let the base crust for about an hour before piping dark details on top.
• Dough cracks when rolling: let it sit at room temperature for 5 to 10 minutes after chilling.
• Cookies are hard: they were overbaked or rolled too thin. Pull them when the edges are only just turning color.
• Icing won't dry: it was thinned too much or the room is humid. A fan on low speed helps.

Baking at high altitude

Above 3,000 feet, Colorado State University Extension says cookie recipes are often improved by small changes such as slightly less sugar or fat, slightly more flour or liquid and a slightly higher oven temperature (CSU Extension: Baking at elevation). This dough has no leavening, so it's usually less affected than drop cookies: chill well and add a tablespoon or two of flour if the cookies spread. Our high-altitude Christmas cookies guide covers the rest.

Read next: Soft Gingerbread Cookies (Easy Cut-Out Gingerbread Men) →