They Taste As Great As They Look
These frosted sugar cookies are as delicious as they are beautiful. If you worry you can’t recreate such perfect-looking cookies, think again. With a few straightforward tips and a reliable recipe, anyone can make stunning decorated sugar cookies.
My friend Katie, a retired elementary school principal, has simplified the process so the results are achievable for home bakers of any skill level. Katie considers herself a beginner, yet her techniques produce professional-looking cookies. Educators tend to be precise and patient—qualities that show in her approach to baking and decorating.
Begin with a dependable sugar cookie dough that rolls, cuts, and bakes consistently. The dough holds its shape in the oven, so your cookie cutters will produce crisp edges. Follow the recipe and the extra steps below for near-foolproof results. A printable recipe card is available in the recipe section of this post for convenience.
If the dough feels too soft or sticky for rolling, work in a tablespoon of flour at a time until it firms up enough to handle. Keep the dough cool to prevent spreading when baked.
Divide the dough into four equal portions. Place each portion on a lightly floured sheet of parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Dust the rolling pin lightly with flour and roll each portion to about 1/4″ thickness.
Stack the circles of rolled dough on a baking sheet with parchment between layers. Cover the stack and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 2 days. Chilling helps the dough hold its shape when cut and baked.
When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Cut out shapes and arrange them about an inch apart on the prepared sheets. Bake for 10–12 minutes, or until the edges are just lightly golden. Allow cookies to rest on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Gather scraps, re-form into a ball, and roll again to cut more shapes. Small leftover pieces can be shaped into initials or tiny decorations for a personal touch—fun projects when baking with kids.
The Queen Of Royal Icing Recipes For Frosted Sugar Cookies
Now the best part: decorating. Katie’s royal icing recipe is simple, easy to handle, and dries with a glossy finish thanks to a touch of corn syrup. The icing is versatile for outlining, flooding, and fine detail work. Use it within several hours while decorating; if covered tightly, it can sit out during a long decorating session and still be usable the next day.
Beautiful Frosted Sugar Cookies Begin With Great Gel Food Colors
Katie prefers gel or paste-style food colors for decorating. Gel colors are highly concentrated, so you need less product to achieve vibrant hues. Advantages of gel/paste food coloring include consistent results between batches, minimal effect on icing consistency, and strong color payoff that disperses quickly into frosting.
- Consistent color intensity between batches
- No separation or weeping in the icing
- Strong color with minimal product
- Doesn’t thin the icing
Great Tools Are The Secret To Outstanding Frosted Sugar Cookies
While Katie describes herself as an amateur, her cookies look impressively professional. One tool she swears by is a silicone bulb dispenser for icing. These dispensers offer tidy, controlled application and are easier for many people to use than traditional pastry bags.
Each bulb holds a moderate amount of icing and is straightforward to fill and clean. They accept standard decorating tips, so you can achieve fine lines and consistent dots. For many home bakers, the bulb dispensers make decorating faster and less fussy than working with pastry bags.
More Tips From Katie
Katie uses a Wilton #2 tip for outlining; the opening is slightly larger than a toothpick, allowing steady lines and a clean edge for flooding. She outlines all cookies in white first, then fills them before adding colored details.
For tiny dots or eyes, Katie recommends a simple technique: poke the surface of the icing with a long toothpick, deposit a tiny amount of colored icing, then twist and lift the pick. This prevents dragging and keeps small details neat. Practice on a test cookie to get the motion right—then enjoy the practice cookie!
With the wide variety of sprinkles, edible glitter, and seasonal cutters available today, the possibilities are endless. Sugar cookies work for every holiday and celebration—Christmas, birthdays, showers, and more. Have fun experimenting with colors, textures, and shapes.
Our family tradition has been to bake and decorate together. When our children were young we set aside a Sunday afternoon in December to make cookies. Now our grandchildren join in, often decorating on Christmas Eve morning. Those moments are what make cookie decorating special.
Katie’s Beautiful Sugar Cookies
A simple but reliable sugar cookie recipe that rolls, cuts, and bakes beautifully for decorated cookies.
30 minutes
11 minutes
2 hours
2 hours 41 minutes
Ingredients
- 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter (3 sticks), room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 4 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp almond extract
Instructions
- Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl.
- Cream the butter and sugar on high speed until light and fluffy.
- Add the vanilla, almond extract, and eggs, beating until well combined; scrape the bowl as needed.
- Gradually add the dry ingredients and mix until the dough comes together. The dough will be relatively soft; if it feels too sticky to roll, knead in a tablespoon or two of flour.
- Divide the dough into four balls. Place each ball on a lightly floured sheet of parchment or a silicone mat.
- Dust your rolling pin and roll each portion to 1/4″ thickness. Transfer the parchment with the rolled dough onto a baking sheet.
- Stack the sheets with parchment between layers, cover, and chill for at least 2 hours or up to 2 days.
- When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Cut shapes and place them about 1″ apart on the prepared sheets.
- Bake for 10–12 minutes, until very lightly browned at the edges. Let cookies cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before moving to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Notes
Key tip: Allow baking sheets to cool completely before using them for another batch to maintain consistent baking. At busy times, Katie sets cooled sheets outside or in a cool area between batches.
Katie’s Perfect Royal Icing
An easy royal icing that dries to a glossy finish and is suitable for outlining, flooding, and detail work.
10 minutes
10 minutes
Ingredients
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 2 Tbsp white corn syrup
- 1/2 tsp pure vanilla, or to taste
- 4 Tbsp milk
- Gel or paste-type food coloring as desired
Instructions
- Whisk or beat all ingredients together in a medium bowl until smooth.
- Divide the icing into separate bowls for each color you plan to use.
- Add gel or paste food coloring and mix thoroughly to achieve the desired shades.
- Transfer the icing to dispensing tools or piping bags fitted with a small round tip for outlining and flooding.
- Decorate cookies as desired. Add sprinkles or edible decorations while the icing is still wet.
Notes
Although this icing contains milk, it can sit at room temperature in tightly covered containers during a decorating session. Plan to use it within several hours, or finish decorating the next day if necessary.
Did you grow up making sugar cookies? If you try Katie’s tips, we’d love to see your photos. Cookie decorating is a wonderful way to create memories with family and friends.
When you need cookies in a hurry—like when a last-minute request for two dozen arrives—consider quick fixes such as dipping store-bought cookies halfway in melted almond bark and adding sprinkles before the coating sets. It’s a fast, attractive solution.
If this recipe resonates with you, please share your finished cookies on social media and tag friends who enjoy baking. There’s joy in sharing simple, tried-and-true recipes that bring people together.
Love, GB (Betty Streff)
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