No Chill Christmas Cut Out Cookies (Perfect Edges!)
Give yourself the gift of easy this Christmas with this simple no-chill, no-spread sugar cookie recipe! These Christmas cut out cookies combine perfect edges, a soft bite, and a lovely buttery vanilla flavor.
When it’s time to bake for the holiday season, I do NOT want fussy recipes. I don’t want to wait around for dough to chill. I don’t want to worry about softened butter, room temperature eggs, or whether I used too much flour. And I’ve definitely never had the patience for a yes-chill sugar cookie recipe that takes up half my afternoon.
If that’s you too, these are your new favorite cookies. This vanilla cut-out sugar cookie recipe is completely no-chill and no-spread — the only cut-out sugar cookie recipe I reach for when I want perfect sugar cookies with clean edges and soft centers. You just mix, roll, cut, and bake — no need for fancy tools or a culinary degree. These soft sugar cookies bake up buttery and tender, but sturdy enough to decorate with royal icing or a swipe of buttercream.
This has become one of my absolute favorite go-to recipes for Christmas cookies — simple, reliable, and always a hit with friends and family.
And if you want to try some other options, check out my other no-chill no-spread cut out cookie flavors (snickerdoodle is my favorite!)
Ingredients
- Butter: Usually, I am very pro-margarine on this blog, but not today. Margarine works, but you will get soft, puffy edges. For those lovely crisp edges, you need real butter. Salted or unsalted butter both work great; just leave out the salt if you used salted butter.
- Granulated Sugar: I have never tested this recipe with anything other than granulated sugar, so I can’t recommend any substitutions.
- Vanilla Extract: You can sub this with any flavoring you like: butter flavoring and almond extract are both delicious. Feel free to play around with flavorings to make your own amazing flavors!
- Egg: You will need 1 large egg for this recipe.
- Cornstarch: This helps give structure while keeping the soft bite. You can leave this out, but you will get a more brittle cookie.
- Salt: If you’re using salted butter, omit this. If not, it helps bring out the other flavors.
- Flour: This recipe was tested with all-purpose flour. I recommend sticking with that.
Instructions
Decorating Ideas
The classic vanilla flavor makes these cookies the perfect base for all kinds of decorations! They’re beautiful just as they are, but also so much fun to dress up. Here are a few ideas:
- Royal Icing: For the cookies in this post, I used a simple royal icing recipe to add some easy designs on top. Here’s a link to piping bags if you decide to go that route.
- Cookie Icing: This dries softer than royal icing, but you can do a lot of the same decorating stuff with it. Here’s my favorite cookie icing recipe.
- Buttercream Frosting: This recipe makes a smooth, fluffy buttercream that pipes like a dream. It’s perfect for adding swirls, borders, or even a little texture. This kit has everything you need to decorate with buttercream!
- Powdered Sugar Glaze: You can make a quick glaze with just powdered sugar and a bit of milk or water. If you make it thick enough, you can even pipe it! It gives the cookies a pretty shine once it sets.
- Sprinkles: You can sprinkle your cookies just before baking—just press the sprinkles lightly into the tops so they stick. Or, add them on top of icing after baking for a pop of color!
More Cut-Out Cookie Recipes
FAQs
Nope! That’s the beauty of this recipe — no chill time required. You can roll and cut the dough right after mixing, and it still holds its shape perfectly in the oven. If your kitchen is very warm, you can pop the cut-out cookies in the fridge for 5–10 minutes before baking, but it’s not essential.
Yes! Once they’ve cooled completely on a wire rack, store them in an airtight container for up to a week. You can also freeze baked cookies or the unbaked dough (wrapped in plastic wrap) for later. Let them come to room temperature before decorating or enjoying.
You want to use the least amount of flour to get the right consistency in your dough (too much flour makes cookies hard and brittle). I start by adding 1 cup, then adding flour in 1/4 cup increments until the dough cleans the side of the bowl. That’s when I know my dough is ready to roll!
No Chill Cut Out Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter, softened
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 egg
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- 1-2 cups all-purpose flour + more for rolling
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter, sugar, vanilla, and egg.
- Add the salt, cornstarch, and 1 cup of flour. Mix until well combined.
- Add flour 1/4 cup at a time, mixing between, until the dough comes together and begins cleaning the sides of the bowl. You may not need all of the flour.
- Turn the cookie dough out onto a floured surface. Roll to approximately 1/4 inch thickness, then use cookie cutter to cut out shapes.
- Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Place the cut out shapes on the lined sheet.
- Bake the cookies at 350° for 8-10 minutes.
- Place the cookies on a wire rack to cool. Cool completely before decorating.
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase something from these links, I will receive a small commission. However, all opinions and recommendations are my own. I will only ever recommend something I love!
