These cut out butter cookies are my all-time favorite for making shaped cookies with icing. I make them every holiday season as they are just so versatile. They’re also great for decorating cookies with kids (ask my niece and nephew, they’ll vouch for me).
These are a part of my 12 Easy Christmas Cookie Recipes series if you’re interested in finding additional simple recipes.
Here’s why you’ll love these cookies
- Soft, chewy middles with slightly crisp edges
- Delicious buttery flavor
- Not super sweet (even with the icing)
- Easy to decorate thanks to flat surface
- Hold their shape
- Soft for days
Tips for Making Butter Cookies
Use room temperature butter. This will make your life easier when you are mixing.My grandma’s original recipe calls for Crisco instead of butter. Either will work, however just beware that Crisco makes the cookies spread out a bit more than butter (i.e. it’s easier for them to lose their shape).
Chill the dough overnight. This step is crucial as I’ve recently found out. If you don’t want to be battling with your dough and have to add a lot of extra flour, make the dough the night before.
Flour your work surface and cookie cutters. If you’ve chilled overnight, these shouldn’t need a ton of extra flour, but they will still need some. Also flour your rolling pin.
Divide dough into two sections. It’s easier to work with smaller chunks of dough.
Roll out cookies to 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. It really depends on your preference. The thicker you roll the cookies, the longer they will take to bake.
Cut into shapes. I’ve used Wilton’s 101 Cookie Cutters. I typically prefer metal cookie cutters, but these plastic ones work great too.
Bake & cool. These should take about 7-8 minutes depending upon how large they are. You want them lightly brown on the bottom.
Decorate! Make sure your cookies have completely cooled before decorating.
Butter Cookie FAQs
While they are very similar, butter cookies have a higher sugar ratio than shortbread and typically contain eggs and milk. This gives them a sturdier texture so they are easier to cut out. Shortbread is supposed to crumble and melt in your mouth.
As the names would suggest, sugar cookies are sweeter than butter cookies due to the ratio of sugar to butter. Sugar cookies are softer and spread out more in the oven while butter cookies hold their shape.
Denmark. Butter cookies are a Danish take on shortbread and are sometimes known as Danish biscuits.
Looking for more cookie recipes? Check out some of my favorites below:
- Lemon Shortbread Cookies
- Pumpkin Spice Shortbread Cookies
- Chocolate Ginger Cookies
- Birthday Cookie Cake
If you make this recipe, please let me know your thoughts in the comments below! I’d love to also see photos of how you’ve decorated them!
Cut Out Butter Cookies
Equipment
- 1 Rolling Pin
- cookie cutters
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter
- 1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 2 eggs
- 1/8 cup milk
- 2 1/2 cups flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
Icing
- 1-2 cups powdered sugar
- 1-2 tsp heavy whipping cream
Instructions
For the cookies
- Combine butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, milk, and vanilla. Mix until combined.
- Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a separate bowl.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until well combined (1-2 minutes).
- Chill dough in the refrigerator overnight until firm enough to handle.
- On a well, floured surface, roll out dough to about 1/4 – 1/2 inch thick (depending upon your preference). Cut out whatever shapes you'd like.
- Bake at 350 °F for 8 minutes. You'll want them to be just browned on the bottoms to keep them super soft.
For the Icing
- In a small bowl, combine powdered sugar and 1 tsp of heavy whipping cream. Mix until the consistency is spreadable but not too thin. If too thick, add more milk. If too thin, add more powdered sugar.
- Mix in drops of food coloring until you get desired. Have fun decorating!
Notes
Last Updated on December 29, 2022 by Kari Bakes
