No Spread Christmas Sugar Cookie Dough Recipe (2024)

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This No Spread Sugar Cookies Recipe is the best sugar cookie recipe ever! You can make your sugar cookies and not have to worry about them spreading after baking! Not only do they keep their shape but they taste amazing too! They are the perfect sugar cookie recipe ever! This recipe will make for the Best Christmas Sugar Cookies.

No Spread Christmas Sugar Cookie Dough Recipe (1)

No Spread Sugar Cookies Recipe

There are so many different sugar cookie recipes that you can find online and spend all the time making them only to put them in the oven and have them spread out all over the place. Then you end up with a disaster because you can not decorate runnily, spread out cookies. This no spread sugar cookies recipe is the Best sugar cookie recipe!

Thankfully you are all in luck because I went to baking school. I learned all the tricks on how to make perfect sugar cookies and I am going to tell you every secret I know so you can make the most amazing sugar cookies.

I shared this recipe originally back in 2015 but thought it was time to add some better photos, so you will see a mix of our old photos and the new ones in this post.

No Spread Christmas Sugar Cookie Dough Recipe (2)

These are the best Christmas Sugar Cookies!

I use this as the basic recipe for all our sugar cookie recipes. All the pretty decorated cookie recipes we share start with this perfect sugar cookie dough recipe.

This sugar cookie recipe works perfectly with cookie cutters. You can use any cookie cutters you want to and when you bake the sugar cookies they will come out of the oven exactly the same shape they went in!

Seriously, these no-spread sugar cookies are a total showstoppers, easy sugar cookie recipe that when you decorate them with royal icing you are totally going to WOW everyone! If you have never decorated cookies with royal icing before, check out how to decorate cookies with royal icing for all the tips and tricks!

Looking for Sugar cookie decorating ideas? Check these out!

  • Minion Sugar Cookies
  • Pumpkin Sugar Cookies
  • Christmas Tree Sugar Cookies
  • Zombie Sugar Cookies
  • Jack Skellington Cookies
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How do you make Sugar Cookies Soft?

One of the biggest complaints I have gotten from friends who have used sugar cookie recipes they have found online was that if they didn’t spread they were rock hard. These no spread sugar cookies come out of the oven perfectly shaped while being soft and chewy. Soft and Chewy is important for a sugar cookie, you definitely do not want to have rock hard sugar cookies.

When you decorate these soft sugar cookies with royal frosting, they look and taste like they are professionally made bakery cookies. But you made them in your kitchen without having to spend a ton of money on the bakery sugar cookies.

The best no spread sugar cookie recipe that you will ever make! Soft and chewy sugar cookies that hold their shape without spreading while baking!

No Spread Christmas Sugar Cookie Dough Recipe (4)

How long do sugar cookies last in the fridge?

Properly stored sugar cookies will keep in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

Can I Freeze Baked Sugar Cookies?

Yes! You can freeze baked sugar cookies without frosting for 3-6 months

How long in advance can you make sugar cookies with royal icing?

Once the cookies are decorated they will keep for up to 2 weeks as long as they are store properly in an airtight container.

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How long do I bake this Sugar Cookie Recipe for?

This no spread sugar cookie recipe need to bake at 325° F for10 -15 minutes. After the 10 minute mark, watch the cookies, you want the edges just barely browned.

How to Cut the the best Cookie Shapes

The best way to cut these sugar cookies out is to use a good sturdy cookie cutter. If you are making Christmas sugar cookies then you will want to use Christmas shaped cookie cutters.

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How Thick Do I Roll Sugar Cookies?

You want to roll the sugar cookie dough out to1/4 inch thick when you are making Christmas sugar cookies.

How long should I refrigerate my sugar cookie dough?

Yes, you need to refrigerate your sugar cookie dough for at least 10 minutes before cutting the cookie dough into shapes.

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No Spread ChristmasSugar CookiesIngredients

  • all-purpose flour
  • baking powder
  • salt
  • granulated sugar
  • butter
  • 1 egg
  • vanilla extract

How to Make No Spread Sugar Cookies

In a large bowl or with your stand mixer cream the granulated sugar and butter until it is fluffy. If using the stand mixer it will take about 5 minutes.

No Spread Christmas Sugar Cookie Dough Recipe (8)

Once the sugar and butter are creamed together, add in the egg and vanilla extract.

In a medium-sized bowl mix the flour, baking powder, salt. Use a whisk to mix everything together thoroughly.

Slowly add the flour mixture to the sugar, butter, egg, and vanilla extract mixture. Mix everything until well incorporated.

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Put a handful of the freshly made dough between two sheets of parchment paper and roll until you get your desired thickness and set aside still on the parchment paper.

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Repeat with the rest of the sugar cookie dough.

Put the rolled dough including the parchment paper, on a cookie sheet and refrigerate for at least 10 minutes. You can keep it in the fridge for longer if needed.

Once your dough is chilled completely it is ready to use cookie cutters to make the cookie shapes you are wanting to make.

Use your cookie cutters and cut out your cookies. Then reroll the scraps and continue cutting out cookies until all of the sugar cookie dough is used up.

Place Christmas sugar cookies on a baking sheet and bake at 325° F for 10 -15 minutes. Keep an eye on them, you want them to be finished cooking but not brown. Depending on your oven heat power will depend if they need the full 15 minutes to bake.

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Let the Christmas sugar cookies cool completely before decorating with Royal Icing.

When your cookies are cooling prepare your royal icing and decorate cookies as desired.

If this is your first time making sugar cookies, check outeverything you need to know about making sugar cookiesfor some awesome tips!

If you have never used Royal Icing before be sure to read up onhow to use Royal Icing when decorating cookiesandhow to decorate with royal icing.

Easy Cookie Recipes

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Want delicious cookies that come out perfect every time? Check out some of our favorite tools to make super easy cookies with fun decorations!

Christmas Sugar Cookies – The best no spread sugar cookie recipe

Created by Lauren

3.76 from 102 votes

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 30 minutes mins

Servings 48 cookies

Print Recipe Pin Recipe Rate Recipe

The best no spread sugar cookie recipe that you will ever make! Soft and chewy Christmas sugar cookies that hold their shape with out spreading while baking!

Ingredients

Instructions

  • In a large bowl or with your stand mixer cream the granulated sugar and butter until it is fluffy. If using the stand mixer it will take about 5 minutes.

  • Once the sugar and butter is creamed together, add in the egg and vanilla extract.

  • In a medium sized bowl mix the flour, baking powder, salt. Use a whisk to mix everything together thoroughly.

  • Slowly add the flour mixture to the sugar, butter, egg and vanilla extract mixture. Mix everything until well incorporated.

  • Put a handful of the freshly made dough between two sheets of parchment paper and roll until you get your desired thickness and set aside still on the parchment paper.

  • Repeat with the rest of the sugar cookie dough.

  • Put the rolled dough including the parchment paper, on a cookie sheet and refrigerate for at least 10 minutes. You can keep it in the fridge for longer if needed.

  • Once your dough is chilled completely it is ready to use cookie cutters to make the cookie shapes you are wanting to make.

  • Use your cookie cutters and cut out your cookies. Then reroll the scraps and continue cutting out cookies until all of the sugar cookie dough is used up.

  • Place cookies on a baking sheet and bake at 325° F for 10 -15 minutes. Keep an eye on them, you want them to be finished cooking but not brown. Depending on your ovens heat power will depend if they need the full 15 minutes to bake.

  • Let cool completely before decorating with Royal Icing.

Serving: 1cookie | Calories: 80kcal | Carbohydrates: 10g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 14mg | Sodium: 55mg | Potassium: 26mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 123IU | Calcium: 9mg | Iron: 1mg

best sugar cookie recipe, no spread sugar cookies, sugar cookie recipe, sugar cookies

Dessert

Notes

Using a normal sized cookie cutter this recipe will net 48 cookies. If you are using smaller cookie cutters it will make more. If you are using larger cookie cutters it will make less cookies.

No Spread Christmas Sugar Cookie Dough Recipe (13)

Did you make this?

Make sure to follow MM on Instagram and Pinterest for more creative ideas!

3 Weight Watchers SmartPoints per cookie, not including icing.

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No Spread Christmas Sugar Cookie Dough Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How to make your sugar cookies not spread? ›

  1. The Rules for Making Sure Your Sugar Cookies Don't Spread.
  2. Rule No. 1: Bake at the Right Temperature.
  3. Rule No. 2: Don't Over or Under Cream Your Butter.
  4. Rule No. 3: Don't Over-Soften Your Butter.
  5. Rule No. 4: Don't Overcrowd the Baking Sheet.
  6. Rule No. 5: Make Sure Your Ingredients Have Not Expired.
  7. Rule No.
Jan 19, 2022

What causes sugar cookie dough to spread? ›

6 Reasons Why Your Cookies are Spreading
  • Room Temperature Butter. If it's too soft, it will melt faster in the oven and ultimately spread out. ...
  • Excess Sugar and Fat. Measuring is key in baking. ...
  • Mixing Butter & Sugar. ...
  • Dough is Too Warm. ...
  • Greased Cookie Sheets. ...
  • Warm Cookie Sheets. ...
  • Oven Temperature. ...
  • The Test Cookie.

Does baking powder make sugar cookies spread? ›

Baking powder simply adds carbon dioxide to the equation, providing a more forceful pressure that encourages a dough to spread up and out. Without the well-developed elasticity of a bread dough, the strands of gluten in cookies would sooner snap than stretch, cracking along the surface.

How to make sugar cookie dough better? ›

Almond Extract: For a twist on the traditional sugar cookie flavor, try adding a small amount of almond extract. Start with 1/2 teaspoon and adjust according to your preference. Citrus Zest: Incorporate the zest of citrus fruits like lemon, orange, or lime into the dough. The zest adds a bright and refreshing flavor.

What ingredient keeps sugar cookies from spreading? ›

Cookies spread because the fat in the cookie dough melts in the oven. If there isn't enough flour to hold that melted fat, the cookies will over-spread. Spoon and level that flour or, better yet, weigh your flour. If your cookies are still spreading, add an extra 2 Tablespoons of flour to the cookie dough.

How to bake cookies that don't spread? ›

If all you have on hand is foil and you don't like thin and crispy cookies, try chilling your dough before baking to prevent excess spreading — or just skip the lining altogether and bake them on an ungreased sheet pan. A nonstick silicone cookie mat made the best cookies of all the tests I tried.

What is the trick to sugar cookies? ›

From the dough to the baking to the icing, our guide will leave you with the perfect sugar cookie this holiday season.
  1. Opt for Room Temperature Eggs. ...
  2. Splurge on "Pure" Vanilla Extract. ...
  3. Whisk the Flour. ...
  4. Chill the Dough. ...
  5. Refrain from Overmixing. ...
  6. Go Easy on the Flour. ...
  7. Bake on Parchment Paper.
Dec 16, 2014

What does refrigerating sugar cookie dough do? ›

"When your dough is refrigerated, the butter hardens. So when you bake them, they spread less and hold their shape better," adds Epperson. "Which means a better likelihood of a soft, chewy cookie in the center." Chilling the dough creates fluffier cookies with better consistency.

Is it better to use powdered sugar or granulated sugar in sugar cookies? ›

Powdered sugar has a much finer texture and a higher cornstarch content, which can absorb moisture and lead to a drier, crumbly cookie texture. If you use powdered sugar in place of granulated sugar, you'll likely end up with cookies that are more cake-like and less chewy.

What happens if you use baking soda instead of baking powder in sugar cookies? ›

However, if you're in a pinch, the substitution is one teaspoon baking soda equals three teaspoons baking powder. Baking soda is also much stronger than baking powder and, by trying to provide enough leavening, you may wind up with an unpleasant metallic, salty taste in the final baked product.

What happens if you put too much baking powder in sugar cookies? ›

Too much baking powder can cause the batter to be bitter tasting. It can also cause the batter to rise rapidly and then collapse. (i.e. The air bubbles in the batter grow too large and break causing the batter to fall.) Cakes will have a coarse, fragile crumb with a fallen center.

How to make store-bought sugar cookie dough not spread? ›

Add ¾ cup of all-purpose flour in with the cookie dough. Mix until incorporated.

How to fancy up sugar cookies? ›

Take plain sugar cookies up a notch with exciting mix-ins like chocolate chips, rainbow sprinkles, toasted chopped nuts, chopped dried fruit or M&M's. Add these after blending your butter and egg into the sugar cookie mix. This is our favorite hack for holiday Pillsbury cookie dough.

Why does sugar cookie dough spread? ›

Your cookies may be spreading after cooling due to factors like warm butter, overmixing, ingredient ratios, oven temperature, warm baking sheets, or not chilling the dough. Adjusting these factors can help prevent excessive spreading.

How do I get my sugar cookies to keep their shape? ›

Sandwich your dough between two sheets of parchment, roll, then freeze; it makes cut-out cookies a breeze! If you plan to store it for only a few hours or days, there's no need to overwrap the baking sheet; for longer storage, wrap the entire baking sheet tightly with plastic wrap before freezing.

How do you keep sugar cookies flat? ›

Do you have a tried and true sugar cookie recipe that you love, but the cookies come out a little too domed? Try reducing the leavener (such as baking powder) by a half to a quarter and see what happens. It should definitely help!

How do you make cookies so they don't go flat? ›

If your cookies come out of the oven looking flat, you may not have adequately chilled the dough before baking. Chilling times may vary depending on the cookie you're making, but you should typically chill cookie dough in the refrigerator for at least two hours before you pop it in the oven.

How do you keep sugar cookies from sticking to the counter? ›

Flour power.

Perfect sugar cookies start even before you begin rolling. Start by properly flouring your countertop and rolling pin. The sugar cookie dough is much less likely to stick to your cutter if the rolling surface and the rolling pin are adequately floured.

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