The Best No-Spread Sugar Cookies
This super easy sugar cookie recipe is perfect for the holidays, birthdays or just making cookies to decorate with the littles! The best part? They don't spread!
Equipment
- stand mixer (a hand mixer will work if you don't have one)
- spatula
- measuring spoons
- food scale
Ingredients
- 2 sticks salted butter room temperature. if you're using unsalted butter just add a dash of salt to your dry ingredients
- 175 grams powdered sugar or 1 1/2 cups
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste you can use regular vanilla extract if you don't have this
- 1/2 tablespoon almond emulsion if you don't want to use almond, you can make this vanilla as well (or any other flavor)
- 420 grams all-purpose flour or 3 1/4 cups
- 1/2 tablespoon baking powder
Instructions
- Cream butter and sugar together, slowly adding the powdered sugar to the butter on medium speed until fully incorporated. The butter should be very light and no longer yellow.
- Add egg, vanilla bean paste and almond emulsion and mix on low-medium speed until fully blended.
- Scrape down sides.
- Sift flour and baking powder together (you will add your dash of salt here if you are using unsalted butter). Add it to your wet ingredients one cup at a time, scraping down sides every so often on low speed until mixed.
- Turn up the speed to low-medium and mix until the dough starts to pull away from the sides of the mixing bowl and begins to stick to the paddle.
- Optional: Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let the dough rest for 30-ish minutes. This will allow the dough to firm up and make it easier to work with.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Roll out cookies to 1/4" between two sheets of parchment paper. I use this rolling pin to make ensure my cookies are perfect height.
- Optional: Pop the rolled dough into the freezer (with parchment paper still attached) for 5-10 minutes. This will make it much easier to cut and transfer your cookies.
- Cut your cookies out!
- Optional: Put your cookie shapes into the freezer for another 5 minutes before putting them into the oven. This is just an extra step to make sure your cookies spread as little as possible, especially if you are using an intricate cutter shape.
- Line your baking sheets with a silicone baking mat (or parchment paper) and bake at 350 degrees for 8 minutes. Sugar cookies bake at a rapid pace, so keep your eye on them! You will want them to look a tiny bit shiny in the center, this will go away as the cookies continue to bake outside of the oven.
- Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack. Make sure your cookies are completely cooled before decorating them, or the icing will melt.
- Enjoy!