Have you ever made sugar cookies and ended up with overcooked edges, or thin and crunchy cookies that went in the oven a perfect shape and came out in the of shape cloud? Here are my top 5 tips for making the best sugar cookies that I use to make sure none of these thing happen next time!
These tips are also great for shortbreads and any other cookies that cut into a specific shape!
Making sugar cookies? Check out my royal icing recipe here!
want all the tips but don’t have a lot of time? here you go, my top 5 tips for making the best sugar cookies every time!
(keep reading to get or info and what my favourite flavours are to add to your sugar cookie dough!)
- Make sure your ingredients are all at room temperature (and that your butter is soft!)
- Don’t roll your dough too thin
- Almond Extract (if allergies allow) is a must!
- Chill your dough to prevent spreading
- Don’t over cook the cookies
TIP #1: Ingredients should be at room temperature
Incase you missed my post with my top five tips for guaranteed results, making sure your ingredients are all at the same temperature is KEY!
For sugar cookies let me break down why this is important. Your butter needs to be soft to get a smooth, easy to roll dough. If you start with warm butter and then add cold eggs, or other dairy the recipe might call for then you just defeated the purpose of having soft, warm butter. ESPECIALLY if you didn’t blend the butter and sugar enough in the beginning you might end up with butter chunks – which no one wants!
I like my sugar cookie dough to be on the warmer side when I am rolling it because it will avoid crack like in the cookies you see below.
TIP #2: thin dough vs. thick dough
How thick or thin do you roll your dough? Thinner dough will give you more cookies but it can also make them more on the crunchy side and they will cook faster so they are likely to overcook. The thinner they are means that they are also more likely to break both before and after cooking.
When I was learning to make sugar cookies I found blog after blog that told me how much of an inch to make my dough and what tools to buy to make sure that it was always consistent. While these things have a time and a place for sure let me tell you that you don’t need them.
Ally’s Tip: if you are using a marble rolling pin (often used to keep the dough cool) then know that it also weighs more so don’t apply so much pressure when you are rolling the dough or it will make it thin quickly.
Below to the right is how thick I try to make my sugar cookies, to the left is about as thin as I will go and if I notice that they seem a little thinner, I separate them and cook them on a separate cookie sheet so that I can cook them for a shorter period of time. You don’t want them to be too thick – we are not making brownies here, but if you are trying to peel them off of the counter and they break they are probably too thin.
TIP #3: use almond extract
This is only if allergies allow but if you want to make your sugar cookies irresistible then find a recipe with almond extract in it! It’s only about $3-$4 at any grocery store and you shouldn’t need more than 1/2 teaspoon so it will last but trust me, it will bring so much flavour to your cookies!
TIP #4: chill your dough
Some bakers say to chill your dough BEFORE rolling it out and cutting shapes and I have a few recipes in my book where I find this easier but for the most part I find it easier to roll, cut, chill, then cook.
Most cookie dough can be in the fridge for 24 hours before cooking. I recommend rolling out your warm dough, cutting your shapes and adding to a parchment lined pan (in a few layers if needed) and then chill for 1-24 hours before cooking. This will *almost* guarantee that your cookies don’t spread and will keep their shape.
TIP #5: don’t over cook your cookies
How do you know when cooked?
Typically in cookies, a raw egg is cooked after 8-9 minutes. I usually start at 10 minutes unless my oven has been on for more than 45 min – 1 hour then I will start at 9 minutes.
Sugar cookies can be super fragile when just out of the oven so I always leave mine on the pan for 5-7 mins to start cooling. The trick here is that when you leave them on a hot cookie sheet they are going to continue to cook, so don’t wait until you see brown edges to take them out. Take them out when there starts to be color on the bottom so that when you let them sit a little longer they end up with the perfect golden color!
Below is what happens when they are in too long (and also a little thin!).
Want to change it up and add a little flavour? Try adding these to your recipe!
- lemon and poppyseeds
- cinnamon
- earl grey tea leaves
- vanilla bean