Skip to Content

The Best Recipes for Cut Out Cookies

Please share

It is always fun to have a cookie cut in a pretty shaped and decorated with frosting, but you aren’t limited to sugar cookies. There are lots of flavors and types of cookies you can roll and cut, here are a few of our favorite recipes.

Collage of different types of decorated cut out cookies.

Tis the season for pretty cookies, though they don’t have to be limited to Christmas. Fun cookies are good all year long.  If you think sugar cookies are the only cookies you can cut and decorate, think again!

There are endless flavor combinations and textures you can whip up.  These recipes are sure to make your cookie trays even more delicious this year!

Cookies cut into fun shapes and decorated with royal icing or buttercream are a Christmastime must. We love spending a whole weekend baking and decorating, it is a tradition that Little Dude is looking forward to continuing this year.

We don’t keep the cookies just to Christmas though.  We’ve been known to bake and distribute Valentine’s Day cookies as well.

If you come to a birthday party at our house, there is a decent chance you will leave with a packet of themed cookies. Same with baby showers, bridal showers and more.

collage of sugar cookies, peanut butter cookies and gingerbread cookies

Of course sugar cookies are a staple.  We made several batches throughout the year, but it is nice to have some options.

Luckily there are plenty of them out there.  Let’s take a look at some tips to making great roll-out cookies and then we will dive into our favorite recipes.

Tips for Making Great Roll and Cut Cookies

Start with chilled dough.  Making sure the dough has plenty of time in the refrigerator is key to successful rolling and the most tender cookies.

To keep sticking down, make sure your surface and rolling pin are dusted with flour. Use just enough to lightly coat everything.

If you are making chocolate cookies, try dusting your surfaces with cocoa powder or a mix of flour and cocoa powder. That way you won’t have a white dust on your chocolate cookies.

Don’t forget to dust your cookie cutters too.  Coating them with a little flour between cookies will help keep the little bits from sticking.

Roll out smaller pieces of dough.  It is tempting to take a giant chunk and try to make as many cookies at once as possible, but that isn’t ideal.

When you use smaller pieces of dough, the rest can stay in the fridge keeping cool. That chilled dough will be less sticky and require less flour.

Plus a smaller piece of dough makes it easier to roll it out uniformly. That way you have evenly baked cookies. 

If you can, bake your cookies the day before you decorated them.  That gives the butter a chance to full absorb back into the cookie and spreads out the work so you can be inspired and look forward to the frosting!

Be sure to give the icing plenty of time to dry.  Leave your cookies in a single layer until the frosting is completely set before you stack or you will have a big disappointment to deal with!

Cinnamon Brown Sugar Cookies
These tender sugar cookies have the goodness of cinnamon and brown sugar baked right in. They are perfect for rolling, cutting into shapes and decorating.
Get the Recipe
Cinnamon brown sugar cookies cut into leaf, mushroom and acorn shapes and decorated with royal icing.
Cut Out Sugar Cookies
These are my favorite sugar cookies to roll-out, cut and decorate. The dough is easy to work with, not too stiff and not too hard and they taste delicious!
Get the Recipe
Sugar cookies rolled and cut in Christmas shapes decorated with royal icing.
Peanut Butter Cut Out Cookies
Delicious and peanut butter cookies that you can roll out and cut into shapes, these cookies will surprise you with how good they are! Change up your Christmas cookie game with delicious peanut butter cut out cookies.
Get the Recipe
plate of peanut butter cookies cut into Christmas shapes and decorated with royal icing.
Dark Chocolate Cut Out Cookies
These chocolate cookies have a deep dark color, great chocolate flavor and are perfect for rolling out and cutting into shapes. Your decorated cookie game just went to the next level!
Get the Recipe
dark chocolate cookies in the shape of sheet with white royal icing fleece on top.
German Gingerbread Cookies
Gingerbread cookies are a Christmas must have! These one have a nice buttery cookie base and all of the spices are likely to already be in your spice cabinet. They will make converts of those who don’t think they like these spicy little fellas!
Get the Recipe
gingerbread man cookies and gingerbread rudolph the red nose reindeer cookies.
Sour Cream Cut Out Cookies
This recipe for sour cream sugar cookies uses simple ingredients to make a tender cake-like texture. They are perfect for decorating with a simple powdered sugar icing or topping with buttercream and sprinkles for an extra special treat.
Get the Recipe
Sour cream cookies cut in the shape of hearts topped with buttercream frosting and sprinkles.

To decorate our cookies, we almost always use royal icing as it sets hard and makes the cookies easier to stack.  Though sometimes we use a crusting buttercream because we love the way it tastes! 

Do you want more cookie goodness? Check out my great tips on getting perfect cookies every time.

Do you have a favorite cookie to bake and decorate?  I’d love to hear all about them in the comments below!

It is always fun to have a cookie cut in a pretty shaped and decorated with frosting, but you aren't limited to sugar cookies. There are lots of flavors and types of cookies you can roll and cut, here are a few of our favorite recipes.

Please share

Big Rigs 'n Lil' Cookies

Saturday 19th of December 2020

I was still hoping to make Gingerbread cookies before Christmas, but now with your Cinnamon Brown Sugar cookies, I might have to rethink my plan!

Carlee

Saturday 9th of January 2021

I need to make those again soon, they are so good and it has been too long.

Amy

Thursday 10th of December 2020

So many fun cut out cookie ideas. They all look fun, but the Chocolate Cookie Stacks are absolutely beautiful!

Carlee

Tuesday 15th of December 2020

Thank you, those were so much fun to make. We need to do that again soon!

Julie's Creative Lifestyle

Monday 7th of December 2020

All of those cookies look so pretty and I bet taste delicious. Thanks for the cookie recipes Carlee! Hope you have a nice week.

Carlee

Tuesday 15th of December 2020

Thank you, Julie! I hope you have a nice week as well!