Cutout Sugar-Free Cookies Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to cut-out cookies? ›

Pull off the top sheet of parchment, then slide the sheet of dough onto a baking sheet, then pop it in the freezer. (You can stack as many sheets of dough onto one baking sheet as you'd like.) Sandwich your dough between two sheets of parchment, roll, then freeze; it makes cut-out cookies a breeze!

Use a template.

If you're worried about freehanding, you can print out shapes and use them as a guide. Roll out your dough, place the paper guide onto the dough and cut around it with a knife.

Always pop the cut cookies back into the freezer for a few minutes until solid again. From there you can put them straight into the oven. Even better is that once frozen you can re wrap your pre-cut cookies in cling film and place in an air tight container and keep them this way already pre-cut and ready to go!

Simple metal cookie cutters can transform store-bought slice-and-bake dough into the most festive holiday dessert. For these Christmas cut-outs, all you need is a 16.5-ounce roll of Pillsbury sugar-cookie dough, some flour, and an oven (elbow grease not included).

Oven Temperature

If you still notice that your cookies are spreading, another thing you can do to help cookies keep their shape, is increase the heat 10-25 degrees higher than the suggested temperature on the recipe. Every oven is different, so you may need to try this for yours.

Most recipes suggest rolling the dough to ¼-inch thick because it's easy to work with (less breakage) and achieves a soft, tender cookie. Roll out a portion of dough at a time and keep the remaining dough in the refrigerator.

A standard drinking glass with about a 3-inch opening is a great stand-in for cookie cutters. Round cookies can be decorated in a variety of ways to add festive color to any cookie tray.

You can always hand cut your sugar cookie shapes! Use these tips and tricks to make hand cutting as easy as possible. I own a lot of cookie cutters.

Using household items like pliers and a soda can, you can easily make cookie cutters in just about any shape imaginable. Bonus: Making an assortment of customizable shapes for your cookie swap is guaranteed to steal the show.

The holes trick

There's also a new technique going around when preventing craters in a second layer of icing: poke holes in the base flood (under the area you'll cover with a second layer of icing). You can even do this when the first layer flood has completely dried!

Why are my cut-out cookies puffy? ›

Q: Why are my cookies so puffy and cakey? Whipping too much air into the dough. That fluffy texture you want in a cake results from beating a lot of air into the room temperature butter and sugar, and it does the same for cookies. So don't overdo it when you're creaming together the butter and sugar.

Chilling the dough is a key step in making sugar cookies, especially when you're making cut-outs. Even if you're tight on time, make sure to get the dough in the fridge, or even the freezer, even if it's only for a little while. Skip this step, and the dough will be sticky, and much harder to work with.

350° is the standard temp for a cookie, and it's a great one. Your cookies will bake evenly and the outside will be done at the same time as the inside. Baking at 325° also results in an evenly baked cookie, but the slower cooking will help yield a chewier cookie. The outsides will be a little softer, too.

I keep a little salad plate of flour right by my rolling area and dip my cookie cutter in it between cuts. This keeps the cutter from sticking to the dough and stretching or tearing the shape.

Rather than roll dough on a floured surface, roll it between sheets of non-stick parchment or waxed paper. Adding extra flour to the dough while rolling can make cookies tough. And cutout cookies release easily from paper when you move them to the baking sheet, preserving their shape.

Dip your cookie cutters in flour with each cut. Work from the center of the rolled-out dough to the edges, cutting shapes close to one another to prevent extra scraps and extra rerolling.