Martha Stewart Sugar Cookies

Martha Stewart sugar cookies are easy to shape and decorate because the dough gets chilled three separate times before baking. Each round of cold firms the butter and vanilla dough, so every cutout holds crisp edges for holiday gifting and Christmas cookie trays.

The recipe makes a big batch of 24 from basic pantry staples: flour, eggs, sugar, and two sticks of butter. Roll the dough to just under a quarter inch thick, because anything thinner bakes up too fragile for royal icing.

Martha Stewart Sugar Cookies

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Course: DessertCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Medium

Servings

24

servings

Prep time

30

minutes

Cooking time

15

minutes

Calories

210

kcal

Golden, vanilla-scented cookies with a tender crumb and just enough crunch at the edges to hold any royal icing design you can dream up.

Ingredients

• 4 cups sifted all-purpose flour, plus more for surface and more if needed
  

• 1 teaspoon baking powder
  

• 1/2 teaspoon salt
  

• 8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
  

• 2 cups sugar
  

• 2 large eggs
  

• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  

• Royal Icing for Holiday Sugar Cookies
  

Directions

• Cream butter and sugar: Sift flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl. In a separate bowl, beat butter and sugar with a mixer on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in eggs and vanilla.
• Combine and chill dough: Reduce speed to low and gradually mix in flour mixture. Turn out dough, and divide in half. Flatten each half into a disk, and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour or overnight.
• Roll and chill dough: Preheat oven to 325°F, with racks in upper and lower thirds of oven. Let one disk of dough stand at room temperature just until soft enough to roll, about 10 minutes. Roll out dough on a lightly floured work surface to just under 1/4-inch thick, adding more flour as needed to keep dough from sticking. Chill in refrigerator until firm, about 30 minutes.
• Cut cookies: Cut out cookies using desired cutters or templates. Transfer to parchment-lined baking sheets as you work. Roll out scraps, and repeat once. Repeat with remaining disk of dough. Chill cookies in freezer until very firm, about 15 minutes.
• Bake and decorate: Bake cookies, switching positions of sheets and rotating halfway through, until edges turn golden, 15 to 18 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks. Decorate with Royal Icing.

Tools for this recipe

• KitchenAid Artisan 5-quart stand mixer, J.K. Adams French rolling pin, Ateco 11-piece round cutter set, Nielsen-Massey Madagascar Bourbon vanilla extract, 8 oz. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

FAQs

Can I use salted butter instead of unsalted for sugar cookies?

Yes, but skip the 1/2 teaspoon salt in the recipe. Each stick of salted butter has roughly 1/4 teaspoon salt, so two sticks cover it. The cookies will taste the same as long as you make that adjustment.

How long do decorated sugar cookies stay fresh?

Store them at room temperature in an airtight container for up to one week. Let the royal icing dry for a full 24 hours before you stack or package them, since wet icing smudges on contact. Undecorated cookies freeze well for up to 3 months in a single layer with parchment between them.

Can I make the sugar cookie dough ahead of time?

The dough keeps in the fridge for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months, wrapped tightly in plastic. Thaw frozen dough overnight in the fridge, then let it sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes before you roll it out.

What can I use if I don't have cookie cutters?

The rim of a drinking glass makes clean 3-inch rounds, and a sharp paring knife works for freehand shapes. For consistent sizes, cut around a cardboard template. The chilled dough is firm enough that even simple tools give you sharp, clean edges on all 24 cookies.

Why did my sugar cookies spread and lose their shape?

The butter was too warm when the cookies went into the oven. Always do that final 15-minute freeze, or 30 minutes in the fridge, right before baking. If your kitchen runs hot, chill the baking sheet itself and bake only one sheet at a time while the others stay in the freezer.