Best No Chill Sugar Cookies

Sugar Cookies are one of the most popular cookie recipes we just cannot resist, especially for the holiday season!  This amazing cookie recipe makes the most delicious soft, thick bakery-style sugar cookies!  They hold their shape quite nicely, with no chilling of the dough and are decorated with a simple smooth-looking cookie icing that is delectably fun and scrumptious!

To get them the right thickness, the dough should be rolled out to about 3/8 inch before they go in the oven.  It makes all the difference in the world to have your cookies thick and not too thin to get the best texture!  

Here’s how we do it!

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F and line your baking sheets with parchment paper.

How to make sure your cookies hold their shape.  

In mixing bowl, add your cool unsalted butter, sugar, and salt. The butter should still be cool, not cold, but not room temperature as well, otherwise this will cause the cookies to spread. Unsalted and salted butter have very different water percentage contents. Using salted butter can and often will cause spreading.

Turn mixer to lowest speed available so as to not incorporate any air into the dough. Air will also cause spreading! Mix together mixture just until incorporated.

Mix in the 2 cold eggs and the vanilla to the mixture and beat at lowest speed just until the eggs and vanilla are just incorporated in.  Make sure the eggs are cold, another reason the cookies will hold shape. The mixture may be lumpy looking, and that is fine.  Just make sure their are no big chunks of butter and mix more if you need to if needed, while scraping down sides and bottom of bowl as needed.

Add the flour and turn your mixer on to the lowest setting, and mix until it all comes together. It will not take long for it all to come together. Turn the mixer off and touch the dough. If you can leave an imprint with your finger without the dough sticking to it, its ready to roll!

Remove dough and roll into a ball.  Split the dough in half to start rolling dough.  Place other half aside. Prepare a work surface with a light dusting of flour on surface, hands and rolling pin.

Using floured hands, flatten out the dough a bit, then use a rolling pin to roll it and smooth it out to be THICK, about 3/8 inch. Use a measuring tape to make sure. 

Place your cut dough onto your parchment paper covered cookies sheets and bake in your preheated oven for 10-14 minutes depending on the size of your cookies. Don’t bake over 14 minutes. You want these to be thick and soft and once they are cooled, they will be just that! 

After removing from the oven, let the cookies set on the cookie sheet for 2-4 minutes.

Move them onto a cooling rack to cool completely.

Sugar Cooking Icing

In a mixing bowl, using a mixer combine powdered sugar and start with 1/4 cup milk.  Mix until smooth.  Add corn syrup and almond extract. Add more milk as needed to create a smooth mixture, one tablespoon at a time.  Mix everything together until smooth about 5 minutes.  The corn syrup is used to help the icing harden and it also adds shine. 

To decorate cookies, you can use an outline icing and a flood icing.  Your outline icing should be the consistency of toothpaste.  Your flood icing should be the consistency of corn syrup and is what is used for most of the cookie.  Add food coloring one drop at a time until desired color is reached.

Pro tip: For easy loading, place a piping bag using a small hole tip or snip small hole.  Can use ziplock bag if you wish, if you don’t have piping bags. Place tip down, into a tall glass and pull the top down around the sides of the glass. This will hold the bag in place while you pour. Keep unused icing sealed until ready to use. 

• You can start with outline icing and then thin it out with milk to get flood icing if you wish as well. Piping an outline creates defined edges and holds the thin icing in place, preventing it from running down the sides of the cookie. You don’t have to outline your cookies if you don’t want, but if you just use the flood icing, make sure you allow a little room for the icing to spread to the edges.
• Use a toothpick or a quilling tool to work the icing into place. A gentle tap or two will help the icing settle.
• If you end up with any little air bubbles, you can pop those with your toothpick or quilling tool.
• Allow the icing to dry completely before packing or adding additional decorations (about 6-8 hours).
• Store them on cookie sheets tented with foil to keep the cookie bottoms from drying out.

MORE COOKIES? You know you want more!  🙂  Check out these Butter Pecan Snowball Cookies, these Christmas Chocolate Crackle Cookies, and these Soft and Chewy Ginger Spiced Molasses Cookies as well!  So scrumptious!

Best No Chill Sugar Cookies

Kim Lange

This amazing cookie recipe makes the most delicious soft, thick bakery-style sugar cookies!  They hold their shape quite nicely, with no chilling of the dough and are decorated with a simple smooth-looking cookie icing that is delectably fun and scrumptious!

5 from 5 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Course Dessert

Servings 20 Cookies

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

Best No Chill Sugar Cookies

• 4 sticks or 2 cups unsalted butter cool not room temperature
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs, cold not room temperature
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 6 cups all purpose flour

Sugar Cookie Icing

• 6 cups powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup whole milk use more for thinner icing
• 1/3 cup light corn syrup
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• gel food coloring use whatever colors you want to use. I divided mine into 4 bowls, added color to 3 and left 1 white icing.
• sprinkles, sugars

Instructions

 

Best No Chill Sugar Cookies

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F and line your baking sheets with parchment paper.

How to make sure your cookies hold their shape.

• In mixing bowl, add your cool unsalted butter, sugar, and salt. The butter should still be cool, not cold but not room temperature as well, otherwise this will cause the cookies to spread. Unsalted and salted butter have very different water percentage contents. Using salted butter can and often will cause spreading.
• Turn mixer to lowest speed available so as to not incorporate any air into the dough. Air will also cause spreading! Mix together mixture just until incorporated.
• Mix in the 2 cold eggs and the vanilla to the mixture and beat at lowest speed just until the eggs and vanilla are just incorporated in.  Make sure the eggs are cold, another reason the cookies will hold shape. The mixture will be lumpy looking.  Just make sure their are no big chunks of butter and mix more if you need to if needed, while scraping down sides and bottom of bowl as needed.
• Add the flour and turn your mixer on to the lowest setting, and mix until it all comes together. It will not take long for it all to come together. Turn the mixer off and touch the dough. If you can leave an imprint with your finger without the dough sticking to it, its ready.
• Remove dough and roll into a ball.  Split the dough in half to start rolling dough.  Place other half aside. Prepare a work surface with a light dusting of flour on surface, hands and rolling pin.
• Using floured hands, flatten out the dough a bit, then use a rolling pin to roll it and smooth it out to be THICK, about 3/8 inch. Use a measuring tape to make sure.
• Lightly dust your chosen cookie cutters with flour. Press firmly into the dough, utilizing your space wisely.
• Place your cut dough onto your parchment paper covered cookies sheets and bake in your preheated oven for 10-14 minutes depending on the size of your cookies. Don't bake over 14 minutes. You want these to be thick and soft and once they are cooled, they will be just that!
• After removing from the oven, let the cookies set on the cookie sheet for 2-4 minutes.
• Move them onto a cooling rack to cool completely.

Sugar Cookie Icing

• In a mixing bowl, using a mixer combine powdered sugar and start with 1/4 cup milk.  Mix until smooth.  Add corn syrup and almond extract. Add more milk as needed to create a smooth mixture, one tablespoon at a time.  Mix everything together until smooth about 5 minutes.
• To decorate cookies, you can use an outline icing and a flood icing.  Your outline icing should be the consistency of toothpaste.  Your flood icing should be the consistency of corn syrup and is what is used for most of the cookie.  Add food coloring one drop at a time until desired color is reached. Cookies do not have to have borders and you may just opt to do flood icing if you wish.
• Pro tip: For easy loading, place the piping bag into a tall glass and pull the top down around the sides of the glass. This will hold the bag in place while you pour. Keep unused icing sealed until ready to use.
• Working with one cookie at a time, pipe an outline around the inner edge of the cookie. Let it sit for just a minute or two then fill in the inner section with the same color. Immediately take a toothpick or icing needle and work the icing to fill in any exposed areas.
• For a completely smooth surface, don't wait too long to fill in the outline. If the online dries too much you will see the distinction between the outline and inner area.
• Decorate with sprinkles while the icing is still wet.
• Allow the icing to dry completely before packing or adding additional decorations (about 6-8 hours).
• Store them on cookie sheets tented with foil to keep the cookie bottoms from drying out.

Notes

This icing will keep for several weeks on the countertop, in a sealed container.

Practice piping on a sheet of parchment paper before you begin decorating cookies. This will give you a feel for how much pressure to use when squeezing out the icing and it's a good way to get used to holding the piping while drawing.

 

Keyword christmas cookies, classic cookies, cookies, cut-out cookies, sugar cookie icing, sugar cookies

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Recipe from Foolproof No Chill No Spread Sugar Cookies