Brown Sugar Cut-Out Cookies are easy to make, delicious and fun to decorate for any occasion.
My favorite thing about Christmas is definitely all of the baking. I love to bake big batches of different cookies and bring them to holiday parties or package them up in cute little boxes as gifts. Over the years I've tried so many different recipes for cut-out sugar cookies. They always look great, but sometimes they don't have much flavor and that can be extremely disappointing as cut-out cookies are a lot of work!
This cut-out sugar cookie recipe uses molasses-y brown sugar in place of white sugar and plenty of good vanilla for added flavor. I don't think I'll ever make them any other way!
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What do I need to make Brown Sugar Cut-Out Cookies?
The ingredient list of this recipe is really simple. You probably have most of these things already in your pantry. For decorating, I recommend using royal icing and plenty of sprinkles. I include links (affiliate) to my favorite products below!
All Purpose Flour - my go to flour is always King Arthur Baking. I have not tested this recipe with any gluten free or alternative flours.
Butter - I'm in a serious relationship with Kerrygold. The flavor of the butter you use in baking really does make a huge difference.
Dark Brown Sugar - You can use light or dark brown sugar. Brown sugar has the most flavor so that's what I usually have in my pantry.
Vanilla Extract - Use really good vanilla when making sugar cookies. This is a really simple recipe and you will taste the difference in using high quality ingredients. My go-to is always Nielsen-Massey.
Baking Powder, Egg and Salt - because you're making cookies! Double check that you use baking powder and not baking soda. It wouldn't be a catastrophe in this recipe, but it's just a good practice when baking.
For Royal Icing:
If you're making royal icing to decorate, you will need powdered sugar, water, vanilla extract, pinch of salt and meringue powder. Royal icing is traditionally made with egg whites. Meringue powder replaces the egg whites and provides the same consistency. It's the meringue powder that makes the icing harden to the perfect consistency for piping and decorating.
Gel Food Coloring, Sprinkles - because you really can't make cut-out sugar cookies without them!
Tips for making the best cut-out sugar cookies
I am not the best cookie decorator in the world, which I'm sure you can tell by the photos in this post. I highly recommend getting the fanciest sprinkles you can find and sticking with a color scheme for a neat and uniform look. That will make them look more beautiful. If you're doing this with kids, who cares, go nuts.
When you measure the brown sugar, pack it firmly. Most recipes that call for brown sugar will indicate that it should be packed!
Use powdered sugar to roll out your dough. I don't know why recipes always say to use flour. When rolling out cookies, it can really change the texture and the taste if there's too much flour worked into the dough. I always use powdered sugar!
Use parchment paper or a silicon baking mat. Just use one or the other anytime you bake. Save yourself the headache of anything sticking to the pan. It's a really preventable problem.
Chill the dough just a bit, roll it out and then freeze your cut-outs. Freezing the cut-out shapes will help reduce spread in the oven and give you perfect looking cookies. There's nothing worse than going through all of the trouble to make cut-out cookies to have them spread across the pan and come out looking nothing like you imagined. Freeze the shapes and they will bake up just perfectly. Pro-tip. If you live in a cold climate, cover the baking sheet with the cutouts on it and set it out on the porch for a 10-15 minutes while you roll out your next batch. That way you don't have to clear out room in your freezer. Let nature do the work!
Happy baking!
Brown Sugar Cut-Out Cookies
Ingredients
- 1.5 cups all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup butter
- ½ cup packed dark brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Powdered sugar for rolling
- Royal Icing
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1.5 tablespoons meringue powder
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4-5 tablespoons room temperature water
- pinch of salt
- optional: gel food coloring of your choice
Instructions
Brown Sugar Cut-Out Cookies
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line baking sheet with parchment paper
- In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add in egg and vanilla and mix until well incorporated.
- Slowly add dry ingredients into the mixer until just combined. Do not overwork the dough or your cookies will come out tough!
- Turn the cookie dough out onto a surface dusted with powdered sugar. Use a powdered sugar covered rolling pin to roll out the dough to about ¼ of an inch.
- Cut shapes with your favorite cookie cutters and transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet, leaving about 2 inches of room between each shape.
- Freeze the cut-outs for 8-10 minutes until the dough is firm.
- Bake for 9-11 minutes or until the edges are barely golden. Do not overbake.
- Remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool on the baking sheet for at least 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack.
Royal Icing
- Whisk together powdered sugar, meringue powder, vanilla extract, room temperature water and salt in a small bowl. For thicker icing use less water. To thin it out, add water 1 tsp at a time until desired consistency.
- Divide white icing into separate bowls and use gel food coloring to make desired colors.
- Decorate cookies and use plenty of festive sprinkles!
Notes
Nutrition
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