Quick Cut-Out Sugar Cookies (No Chill)
If you’re like me and hate waiting for cookie dough to chill then this quick cut out sugar cookie recipe is for you! These holiday cookies can be made in 30 minutes or less and use a mixture of powdered sugar and white sugar for a texture like no other cut out cookie. There’s no chill time and they hold their shape incredibly well! They are the perfect holiday cookie to make, especially when iced with this easy (no meringue powder) royal icing.
During the holidays or for special occasions I love to make a fun themed decorated cut out cookie. As a professional baker, and someone who ran a custom cake and cookie shop for 5 years, this is what I call fun! The only thing is that I hate the time it takes to chill cookie dough and don’t want to have to wait 2 hours to bake them.
Thats why I came up with this recipe for these super quick and easy NO CHILL cut out sugar cookies which can be done in less than a half hour!
They are different from my soft and chewy sugar cookies (which are also amazing btw) because those are classic drop cookies rolled in sugar and these are the cut out ones that you decorate for the holidays. You can even make them into a chocolate version with these chocolate sugar cookies!
To decorate, I used my emergency royal icing (which doesnt use meringue powder) to make them festive and fun! You can also frost these with my easy cookie icing or with any kind of homemade frosting or glaze.
As for texture, my secret ingredient is powdered sugar. Instead of using 1 cup of regular sugar like most other recipes, I use half powdered sugar and half regular sugar. This gives the cookie a really nice crunchy texture that isn’t too hard. It’s almost border line shortbread tasting.
Go on, grab your favorite cookie cutter and let’s get started!
Best qualities about these cookies
- These are seriously so easy to make and they hold even the sharpest shape!
- They dont puff up at all, and the edges don’t get rounded.
- I tested the recipe out (3 times!) with some of my sharpest cookie cutters and they turned perfectly.
- Flavor and texture wise they are sweet and crunchy with a hint of vanilla.
- They are such a great recipe to make with your kids too!
Start with softened butter
I’m sure you have read to use softened butter for so many recipes but did you know its actually still pretty cold? Softened butter should only leave a small imprint when pressed. You shouldnt be able to push your whole finger through it and it shouldnt be greasy. If it is, it can change the consistency of cookies, especially if theres no chill time included.
If you forgot to leave out your butter read how to soften butter quickly.
Other ingredients you need:
Powdered sugar, granulated sugar, vanilla extract, egg, all purpose flour, baking powder, and kosher salt.
Powdered Sugar & Granulated Sugar
This recipe calls for both and I don’t suggest you make substitutions here. I use a combination because the powdered sugar gives the cookies a more melt in your mouth texture. They are *almost* reminiscent of a shortbread. It also makes the dough super smooth and easier to work with than just using white sugar.
They are still crunchy but they arent like those sugar cookies that are so hard to bite into. Texture is important to me!
Making the cookies
Prepare for baking– Preheat the oven to 350°F and line 2 sheet trays with parchment paper, set aside.
Cream- In the bowl of a stand or hand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the softened butter, powdered sugar, and granulated sugar and mix on low- medium speed for 2 minutes until a thick paste forms.
Scrape- Scrape down the bowl and add in the egg, and vanilla extract and mix again for 1 minute.
Dry ingredients- With the mixer on low speed, add the flour in slowly and let it mix into the dough. Add in the baking powder, and kosher salt. Mix on medium speed until well combined, about 1-2 minutes.
Roll and cut- The dough should be very smooth and not sticky. Roll it out onto a lightly floured surface between 1/4-1/2″ thickness depending on your preference and cut out using cookie cutters. Repeat with the scraps.
Bake– Place the cookies on baking sheets. They can be close together as they wont spread into each other. Bake for 10-13 minutes depending on the thickness of the cookie.
Cool and decorate with royal icing or cookie icing!
Mixing tip
Because this cookie recipe is no chill, we have to use more flour than a chilled cookie recipe would use. That’s what helps hold the shape. When adding in the flour, make sure to add it in slowly (over a minute or so) so that the butter/sugar/egg mixture has time to absorb it all.
If you dump it all in at once it can change the texture of the cookies to dry and crumbly. Make sure to mix extra well if that happens accidentally.
Yield
This is going to depend on the size of the cookie cutters you use and the thickness of the dough when you roll it out.
For a 3 inch cookie cutter this recipe can make 18-20 cookies, you’ll definitely get more out of it if you use a smaller cutter like I did with the stars here.
What to do with scraps
I generally use up all the scraps because I just re-roll the cookie dough and use smaller cookie cutters to make sure I use up everything. If you are sticking with a theme and don’t want to make smaller cookies, you can make teeny tiny cookies using a piping tip as a cookie cutter and use them as decoration on top of the cookies. You can use royal icing to stick them on top.
Or sometimes I give the scraps to my kids and they make their own cookies-win win!
Decorating sugar cookies
There are so many ways you can decorate the cookies with, it depends on how much time and patience you have. You can decorate it with:
- Buttercream frosting– this kind of frosting wont dry hard and you wont be able to stack but it will taste good!
- Royal icing– dries hard after 2 hours and can do pretty details.
- Cookie icing- this takes 24 hours to dry and doesnt work well for details.
- Store bought icing/frosting- I wont tell anyone!
Storage and freezing
These store really well in an airtight container or zip top bag for 5-7 days.
If you want to freeze them, add them to a freezer safe zip top bag and squeeze as much air out of it as possible. Freeze for 3 months.
Quick Cut-Out Sugar Cookies (no chill)
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter, 227g
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar, 53g
- 1/2 cup white sugar, 100g
- 1 egg, large
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 1/2 cup all purpose flour, 420g
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° F and line two sheet trays with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the 1 cup softened butter, 1/2 cup powdered sugar, and 1/2 cup white sugar. Mix on medium speed for 2 minutes until a thick fully paste forms.
- Stop and scrape down the mixer. Add the egg and 2 tsp vanilla extract. Mix again for 30 seconds.
- With the mixer on low speed, slowly add in the 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour. This could take up to 1 minute. Add in the 1 1/2 tsp baking powder and 1/2 tsp kosher salt. Mix for another 30 seconds to a minute to combine well.
- Dump the dough out onto a lightly flour surface and shape into a round ball. It should be smooth and not sticky.
- Roll the dough out to 1/4" thick and cut with cookie cutters. Place the cookies on a baking sheet. They can be quite close as they wont spread- about 1/2 inch to 1 inch apart.
- Bake for 10-13 minutes. This will depend on how thick the cookies are. They are done when the bottoms turn slightly golden brown.
- Repeat with the remaining scraps and decorate with royal icing.
