Easy to make sugar cookies are perfect for cutouts. Cut into carrot shapes and decorate and fill a paper bag cut into a cute bunny with a cotton tale and it makes a perfect gift for anyone.
Easter is just around the corner and one of our favorite activities to do at our house it to make and decorate sugar cookies. This year we found an adorable carrot cookie cutter and decided we would make the Easter Bunny some carrots. We also thought these would be a fun gift for neighbors and friends so we cut out some ears on a paper bag, glued a cotton ball to the back and filled the bag with cookies. It really is a fun, easy gift.
I love this sugar cookie recipe for cut outs. It is my go-to recipe.
Make sure you refrigerate the dough for at least two hours to get the best results. Also, when decorating with the frosting, I just put the frosting in a plastic baggie, clip off the corner and pipe onto the cookie. Do the outline first and then fill the center after the outline is dried.
I hope you enjoy these cookies and have fun sharing them with others.
Happy Easter!
Be sure to PIN the recipe for later.
Servings |
dozen
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- 3 sticks unsalted butter softened
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 4 eggs
- 1 teaspoons ½vanilla almond, peppermint, or coconut extract (recommended: Nielsen-Massey)
- 5 cups all-purpose flour plus more for rolling
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon light corn syrup
- 2 1/2 tablespoons water
- pinch salt
Ingredients
Icing
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- In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugar. Mix in eggs and extract until well-combined. In a separate bowl, whisk together remainder of cookie ingredients. Add dry ingredients to wet in batches until combined. Divide dough into quarters, form into discs, and wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours. Preheat oven to 400°. Removed one disc from fridge and roll out on floured surface until dough is ⅛"-1/4" thick. Cut with cookie cutter and baked on an ungreased cookie sheet for 6-8 minutes, watching closely. Cookies are done when bottoms are just barely golden brown. Let cool completely on wire racks before frosting.
- For the icing, whisk the confectioners' sugar, vanilla, corn syrup, and 2 tablespoons of water in a medium bowl. It should be quite thick. If it is much too thick, add 1/2 Tablespoon more water. If it is too thin, add 2 more Tablespoons of sugar. If desired, add liquid or gel food coloring. You can pour some icing into different bowls if using multiple colors.