Tessa’s Recipe Rundown
Taste: Just like sugar cookies from your favorite bakery! Texture: Light and soft yet still sturdy enough to hold their shape and transport safely. Ease: So much easier than traditional cut out sugar cookies and royal icing in my opinion! Pros: Fun and easy way to make festive cookies for a crowd. Cons: None! Would I make this again? Absolutely yes.This post may contain affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy.
How festive and pretty are these snowflake sugar cookies?! No one has to know (or will even believe) just how easy they are.
In the past I had virtually no patience for cut-out cookies. Sure, they’re beautiful. But why should I have to chill and roll and cut and chill again when I could just make drop cookies and eliminate all those extra steps?
Well I’ve done some experimenting and have found a bunch of time saving tips to make cut-out cookies so much quicker and easier. Plus, you don’t need to deal with royal icing to achieve these pretty cookies.
This recipe also makes 40, so it’s perfect for any holiday party. You could even double it for a really big gathering, or easily halve it for a smaller group.
These cookies actually make a star appearance in my recent post on How to Host a Cookie Exchange (there’s a mini set of free party printables in that post).
Sugar Cookie Tips
All the tips you need to become a sugar cookie expert are in this step-by-step video. I go over every detail I could think of to give you a solid understanding of how sugar cookies work and what the best time saving tricks are.
Virtually all cookie dough can be made ahead of time, and baked sugar cookies store particularly well (especially in the freezer). So if you want even more info on how to make these ahead of time be sure to download my free Make Ahead Baking Guide here.
Easy Snowflake Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
For the cookies:
- 3 sticks (339 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups (300 grams) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract (optional)
- 4 1/2 cups (572 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
For the icing:
- 2 cups (250 grams) powdered sugar, sifted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 tablespoons water or milk
Instructions
Make the cookies:
- In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until well-combined and smooth, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, vanilla, and almond extract and beat until combined. On low speed, slowly add in the flour and baking powder and beat until incorporated.
- Divide the dough into 2 equal portions. Place one dough portion between two sheets of parchment and roll out to 1/4-inch thickness. Repeat with the remaining portion of dough. Place the two sheets of dough on a baking sheet and chill for at least 1 hour or up to 1 day. You can also freeze for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- Remove the dough from the fridge and cut into shapes with a cookie cutter, rerolling any scraps and cutting more shapes. Transfer the shapes to the prepared baking sheets.
- If the dough is warm, freeze for 15 minutes or until firmed again.
- Bake for 10 minutes, or until the cookies are set and begin to brown. Be careful not to over-bake. Let the cookies cool for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. Baked un-iced sugar cookies can be frozen in an airtight container for up to 1 month.
Make the icing:
- In a small bowl, use a fork to beat together all the ingredients except the food coloring. The mixture should be very thick but still pourable.
- Transfer the icing to a squeeze bottle using a funnel. You can also scoop into a pastry bag fitted with a very small plain tip. Before you begin icing any cookies, take a few moments to practice on a piece of parchment paper to get the feel of the icing.
- Holding the bottle or bag tip directly over one corner of a cookie, create lines and dots to enhance the snowflake shape as seen in the photos. If desired, garnish with edible dragees, glitter, or sprinkles. Let the icing set before serving.
Could somebody please tell me the correct measurement for Almond Extract and Baking Powder in this recipe? The video has 1/4 tsp Almond Extract and the written recipe shows 1/2 tsp. The video has 1/2 tsp Baking Powder and the written recipe shows 1 tsp Baking Powder. I really want to make these cookies with the correct measurements. Thank You.
Hi Tessa,
Great video of snowflake sugar cookies but I have a question. Where do I get the same snowflake cutter that you used? I want my cookies to look like yours
Thanks so much,
Pam
Hi Pam! This is the set of snowflake cookie cutters Tessa has. It comes with five (5) cookie cutters, so you can pick whichever size you prefer, or make a mix of sizes! Let us know what you think of these cookies once you’ve given them a try! Happy baking 🙂
Kids Love these!
Hi Tessa,
I had left a comment on Dec. 3, 2018 on another recipe cite – Easy Cut Out Sugar Cookies – that does not have a video, but seems to be the same recipe as this one here for Easy Snowflake Sugar Cookies. My questions are the same as Allyson’s – what are the correct measurements for the almond extract and the baking powder? Please respond as I would really like to give this recipe a try. Thank You.
Hi, I will be making these cookies for the first time for the holidays and I had a small question about 2 of the ingredient mearsurements: in the video you add 1/4 teaspoon of almond extract and 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder; however in the written recipe it calls for 1/2 teaspoon of almond extract and 1 teaspoon of baking powder. This may or may not be a huge difference when it comes to making the dough but can you please tell me which way is better?
i loved it Tessa your recipe is a life saver
I didn’t see a link for the snowflake cookie cutter set you used.
Excellent! Easy to make–especially rolling the chilled dough between two pieces of parchment. Delicious flavor–both the cookie and the frosting. And thick enough to be firm for decorating and then stable for transporting. The icing sets up quickly. It really is like making bakery sugar cookies at home. I cut them out in snowflake shapes, baked them, and decorated them with the icing recipe, uncolored. The white on white look was very pretty and drew many compliments. This is my new ‘go-to’ sugar cookie recipe. Thank you for sharing it with us.
How long does it take for the icing to set? I want to put these in plastic bags and use them as napkin decorations at a luncheon.
Good recipe but the music in background over and over and over the same little ditty would make amyone nauseous…..
Sorry but it is the truth…
Avec ta recette j’ai faits les biscuits de Pâques (lapin,œuf,papillon et tulipe ).Très bon et simple a faire . la prochaine fois je vais ajouter au mélange des flocons d’érables pour le temps des sucres et certain glacer avec le beurre d’érable .Miammm. 🙂 Merci .
I have been eyeing this recipe since you posted it. I finally got a chance to make the cookies and they are amazing! I’ve never made homemade cut out cookies and your video and tips made it so easy! Thanks so much, Tessa!
So glad to hear that, Brandy!
I just made these cookies, you’re right they are so easy to make, they were delicious! One question, will the icing set so it doesn’t get messy when putting away for Christmas??