Last Updated on December 15, 2021 by Chenée Lewis
No spread sugar cookies for decorating are a great holiday tradition! No chill, soft no spread sugar cookies with powdered sugar -- includes recipe for sugar cookie icing! If you like this sugar cookie recipe, check out my Chocolate Orange Shortbread Cookies, my Salted Caramel Thumbprint Cookies with Cinnamon Sugar, or my Key Lime Cookies!
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No Spread Sugar Cookies for Decorating
These aren't just any sugar cookies -- these are the easiest, no-chill, no-spread cut-out sugar cookies you can ask for, with festive sprinkles and a super simple dipped icing!
Growing up, my family would always make a cut out sugar cookie recipe and watch movies on Christmas Eve. And it's a tradition we keep alive today! These no chill, no spread sugar cookies continue that tradition -- and make it even better! These cookies have got the vanilla and almond flavors of a classic sugar cookie recipe, with just the right amount of sweetness. They're firm, yet tender with a melt-in-your-mouth texture, and they keep the exact shape you cut them into, with NO spreading in the oven!
How do these sprinkle sugar cookies have such great texture while keeping their shape so well? Well, one of the secrets is the type of sugar we're using in the dough!
How do you make sugar cookies not spread?
For these soft no spread sugar cookies, we're using powdered sugar instead of regular granulated sugar, which adds a lighter, and more tender texture to our cookies, making them soft instead of chewy. This is because powdered sugar contains cornstarch, which means these cookies have less gluten.
Typically, granulated sugar in sugar cookies will make the cookies more likely to spread while baking, because the sugar melts in the oven, and also contributes to more browning. Using powdered sugar minimizes both of those effects because it dries out your dough a bit more. So your cut out sugar cookie recipe will come out perfect every time!
Now that we know what sugar to use in these cookies, let's keep going with the rest of the ingredients!
Ingredients for these Foolproof No Chill, No Spread Sugar Cookies
- salted butter - you guys know I almost always use salted butter. It just cuts out that one extra step and brings out the flavor in baked goods in a way that really works for me. If you prefer unsalted butter, feel free to use it and then add ¾ teaspoon of salt to your dry ingredients. Either way, make sure your butter is room temperature: it should indent to the touch, but not be greasy or overly soft. You want it to be just soft enough to work with, but still slightly cool to the touch.
- powdered sugar - measured by weight using a kitchen scale (see tips below).
- egg - your egg should also be room temperature - I like to let my eggs sit in a bowl of warm water for about 10 minutes to get them to room temp quickly.
- vanilla & almond extract - to me, the best combination of flavors for sugar cookies with sprinkles! Make sure you're using pure vanilla and almond extracts!
- all-purpose flour - like the powdered sugar, I'd recommend measuring your flour by weight for the best accuracy. See tips below for more details!
- baking powder - baking powder gives our cookies a bit of a lift, especially since we're only using one egg.
Equipment
So to make this no spread sugar cookies recipe, you'll need a few basic cookie tools, like cookie cutters, a baking sheet, and either parchment paper or a silicone baking liner. You'll also want an electric mixer to cream your butter and a rolling pin to roll out your dough. Another great tool I love for rolling out dough is a pastry mat. This is the one I use: it's nonstick, nonslip, and has measuring lines up to 16 inches, which really comes in handy for pie crust! Here are all my equipment recommendations for these cutout sugar cookies with sprinkles!
How do you make sugar cookies not spread?
These no chill no spread sugar cookies are an easy treat any time of year -- to make sure you have no trouble making these cookies look and taste perfect, here are a few of my best tips!
Measure your flour and powdered sugar by weight
One way this cookie dough works without chilling is that there's a higher amount of flour and we're using powdered sugar instead of granulated sugar. Unfortunately both of those ingredients are difficult to measure accurately by volume, so there's a chance you'll end up with too much flour or sugar and your dough will have a hard time coming together. To be on the safe side, I always measure flour and powdered sugar by weight using a kitchen scale. I highly recommend picking one up if you love to bake! Otherwise, you can improve accuracy by using the spoon-and-level method for both your flour and powdered sugar.
Minimize handling of the dough
Because we're not chilling this dough, it's even more important to avoid warming it up, so that the butter can say as cold as possible. So try to bring the dough together after mixing with as little kneading as possible. Also, you'll be using a rolling pin to roll it out (I recommend this marble one), but you might also want to use a bench scraper to pick up your cookie pieces after they've been cut and transfer them to your baking sheet.
Coat everything in flour
Whatever you're touching your dough with should be dipped or coated in flour. So you'll want to dust some flour on your work surface, then on your hands before you knead your dough together, and then some on your rolling pin before you roll out the dough. You'll also want to dip your cookie cutters and bench scraper in flour. This will keep your dough from sticking and prevent any related mishaps.
Check your oven temperature
I mentioned this in my White Chocolate Peppermint Cookie Recipe, but one factor that contributes to cookies spreading in the oven is the oven temperature. The higher heat helps to solidify the outside of the cookie before the butter on the inside has a chance to melt, thereby keeping their shape. We're baking these sugar cookies at 375 degrees, but many ovens run a little cold, so an oven thermometer will let you know the accurate temperature of your oven so that you can adjust if necessary.
Don't overbake your cookies!
Assuming your oven temperature is accurate to 375 degrees and your cookies are rolled out to ¼-inch thick, then 8 minutes should be great for these sugar cookies. I would say as little as 7 or as much as 9 minutes. Anything more than that will brown them too much and affect the tender texture.
How to decorate cut out sugar cookies
We're making a super easy, 3-ingredient vanilla icing for this sugar cookie recipe. And to make it even easier, we'll dip our sugar cookies right into the icing before dotting them with sprinkles. It's so simple:
- This is true for most baked goods, but to ensure a neat look you'll want to let the cookies cool completely on a wire rack before dipping them in the icing.
- Once your icing is all mixed, just grab a cookie by its outside edges, and dip it face down into the icing. Make sure all corners of the face of the cookie come into contact with icing.
- Bring the cookie out of the icing. Then hold it face down for about 20 seconds to let the excess icing drip off.
- Quickly and carefully flip the cookie over so that the icing is on top. Lay it on parchment paper to set. Now's the time to add your sprinkles!
More F.A.Q. for No Spread Sugar Cookies
Yes, too much sugar or too much butter can cause cookies to spread, since both liquify when they are heated. One way this no spread sugar cookies recipe counteracts the effect of sugar in cookie dough is by using powdered sugar to dry out the dough a bit.
There are a few possible reasons -- first, you may not have added enough flour to your dough. Your oven may not be the correct temperature -- I'd suggest getting an oven thermometer to ensure accurate oven temperature. Also, your baking powder my be expired -- check the expiration date or buy a fresh container before baking. Finally, your butter may be too soft -- make sure your butter is slightly softened, but still cool to the touch before adding it in. See above for a few more tips for these no chill no spread sugar cookies!
Sugar cookies get their lift from baking powder. So in this cut out sugar cookie recipe, our cookies get a bit of puffiness in the oven, but because of our sugar and flour, they don't spread too much.
First, your cookies should be completely cooled and any decoration should be set and hardened before storing. Place cookies in layers in an airtight container, separated by sheets of parchment paper. Seal container and store at room temperature for up to one week or in the freezer for up to one month.
You can definitely make these cookies ahead of time -- they'll last for up to a week at room temperature, but if you're not planning to eat them within a few days, you should freeze them in an airtight container for the most freshness. To thaw, just let the container sit, still sealed, at room temperature.
Sure! You can store cut out sugar cookies for up to a week at room temperature. Just make sure they're in an airtight container so that they don't lose their texture.
More Cookie Recipes You'll Love
Peppermint White Chocolate Cookies with Sparkling Sugar
Brown Sugar Shortbread Cookies
Slice and Bake Christmas Cookies with Cranberries and White Chocolate
19 Best Cookies for Cookie Exchange Swaps This Year
Equipment you may need
- cookie cutters
Ingredients
- 1 cup (227 g) salted butter - room temperature
- 2 cups (230 g) powdered sugar - sifted
- 1 large egg - room temperature
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) pure almond extract
- 3 ½ cups (448 g) all-purpose flour - plus more for dusting
- 2 teaspoon (10 ml) baking powder
Vanilla Icing
- 2 cups (230 g) powdered sugar
- ¼ cup (61 g) milk - plus more if needed
- ½ teaspoon (2 ml) pure vanilla extract
- liquid food coloring - as needed (optional)
- sprinkles, nonpareils, and/or sanding sugar - for decoration (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking liner.
- In a large bowl, mix butter on medium speed with an electric mixer. Add powdered sugar gradually, and cream together for 3 minutes, scraping sides of bowl as needed.2 cups powdered sugar, 1 cup salted butter
- Mix in egg, followed by extracts, until smooth.1 large egg, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon pure almond extract
- In a separate bowl, whisk together flour and baking powder.3 ½ cups all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoon baking powder
- While mixing on low speed, add dry ingredients to butter mixture slowly, until just barely combined. Dough will be very thick, and you will likely need to help bring it together by hand.
- Turn dough out onto a floured surface and, with floured hands, form into a ball.
- Dust rolling pin with flour and roll dough out to approximately ¼-inch thick.
- Coat cookie cutters with flour and cut dough into shapes.
- Use a bench scraper to transfer cut cookie dough to prepared baking sheet. Bake for 7-9 minutes in preheated oven.
- Remove from oven and let sit on baking sheet for 10 minutes; then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Easy Vanilla Icing
- In a bowl, whisk together powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk. Mixture should be thick but pourable. Add additional milk if needed for desired consistency. Whisk in food coloring, if using.2 cups powdered sugar, ¼ cup milk, ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract, liquid food coloring
- One at a time, hold a cooled cookie upside-down by the outside edges and dip face-down into the icing. Be sure that the whole surface of the cookie is in contact with the icing.
- Lift cookie up and allow excess to drip from the surface of the cookie back into the bowl for about 15-20 seconds.
- Carefully flip cookie, without allowing any dripping icing to spill onto the sides, and place on parchment or cooling rack.
- Immediately add sprinkles before icing sets, if using. Allow icing to set before serving.sprinkles, nonpareils, and/or sanding sugar
Video
Notes
Nutrition
PIN this no spread sugar cookies recipe for later!
LaKita
These sugar cookies are the perfect no fuss recipe for delicious Christmas cookies this holiday season.
Chenée Lewis
I agree completely! Thanks!
Moop Brown
These cookies seem super festive, easy to make, and like a treat everyone will enjoy. Thanks for sharing!
Chenée Lewis
Thank you so much!
Nicole
We made these last night, and they were PERFECT. They tasted like something you would get in a bakery, lol. It also made a ton, so we have plenty for gifting! Great recipe!
Chenée Lewis
Yayy! So glad you liked them!!
Liz
Cut out sugar cookies are a holiday tradition at our house too! Love the idea of a "no chill" cut out sugar cookie! Will be giving this a try!
Chenée Lewis
Great! I hope you enjoy!
veenaazmanov
Perfect time of the year to try some creative stuff with kids. Look so easy to make and so colorful too. Kids would love to get going.
Chenée Lewis
So glad you like them!
susan | the wimpy vegetarian
I want to make Christmas cookies for when my grandkids come to visit, and these will be perfect. I love that I won't have to chill them before cutting them out!
Chenée Lewis
So glad you like them! They're my favorite sugar cookies!
Heather
These are so perfect for the holidays!! I was looking for a great sugar cookie recipe and this one is perfect!
Chenée Lewis
So glad you like them!
Amy Liu Dong
These cookies look so delicious and easy to make.
I will definitely add this to my baking lists.
Chenée Lewis
Great thanks!!
Lauren Michael Harris
These are the perfect sugar cookies. The kids will have so much fun decorating them for Christmas!
Chenée Lewis
Thank you! So glad you like them!
Allyssa
Thank you so much for sharing this amazing sugar cookies recipe! Will surely have this again! It's really easy to make and it tasted so delicious! Highly recommended!
Chenée Lewis
Glad you liked them!
Breanne
Am I missing something? This recipe was garbage. All I got was a crumbly pile of sand that, yes, came together when squeezed but immediately cracked and crumbled if moved at all. No hope in rolling. And now I am stuck. Do I add milk? Butter? What a waste of my time and ingredients.
Chenée Lewis
Hi Breanne -- I've made these cookies countless times and never had that issue. It sounds like you may have added too much flour. To avoid this, be sure to measure your flour using the spoon-and-level method, or better yet, with a kitchen scale to get the exact weight (as I mention in the tips above). To fix the issue, I'd recommend adding a few splashes of milk to help the dough come together.
Natalie
Beautiful cookies. I love the fact they don't require chilling. I'm adding this to my holiday baking list. Thanks!
Chenée Lewis
Hope you enjoy! Yes I love that they skip that step!
Tavo
Really fun recipe for the holidays! We have a long-standing tradition of cookie making for Xmas, so I am definitely bringing this recipe over to my inlaws'
Chenée Lewis
Sounds like our tradition too! Enjoy!
Jessica Stroup
We made these on a rainy Saturday afternoon in September and they were perfect! Normally, we saw cookie decorating for the Holidays, but the kids were stir crazy and I had to try out your no spread cookie recipe...it was perfect!
Chenée Lewis
Wonderful! And yes sugar cookies are perfect all year long!
Kate
Wow, these are SO cute and really easy - my kids are going to love making these over the holiday season, thanks so much!
Chenée Lewis
I hope you enjoy! Thanks so much!
sonia
These are adorable!
They are very tasty
Chenée Lewis
Glad you liked them! 🙂
Jazz
These were hands-down the easiest cutout sugar cookies I've ever made. And they came out beautifully. Thank you!
Chenée Lewis
I'm so glad! This is definitely my go-to recipe 🙂
Capri
Thank you, thank you, thank you for all the tips! My cookies came out perfect! They were so much fun to make and even more fun decorating! I am sending them as gifts this year!
Chenée Lewis
You're so welcome! I'm sending them as gifts too!!
Crystal
Well this post solved one of my biggest problems with making sugar cookies! No spread just like you promised. My kids are sugar cookie fanatics! This is our new go-to recipe! Thank you!
Chenée Lewis
It's my new go-to too!! So glad you guys liked it!
Taneisha Morris
Definitely a must-try...will repeat sugar cookie recipe! It's easy, delicious and I love that I didn't need to chill the batter! Just perfect! Thank you!
Chenée Lewis
I love that part too! Glad you liked them!
Robin Sparks
Team Salted Butter represent! Makes everything taste so much better! I also love learning from you....never knew powdered sugar contained cornstarch.
Chenée Lewis
Definitely team salted butter over here! Thanks!!
Britney Brown
My sister and I made this recipe when she came down for the weekend! It was so much fun to decorate these and be festive. Thank you for this recipe!
Chenée Lewis
You're welcome! I'm glad you guys were able to make them together!
Marta
These are adorable! An, they're not as fussy? We have a winner, y'all! They have the right amount of chew and sweet in every bite. We finished a batch already.!
Chenée Lewis
I'm so glad they worked out for you!! Enjoy!