Description

These soft Christmas sugar cookies are thick, tender, and perfectly buttery made for cutting, frosting, and piling onto a holiday cookie plate. A touch of milk or sour cream keeps them incredibly soft for days, while chilling the dough helps them hold their shape. Ideal for decorating with kids, gifting, or pairing with a cozy mug of hot cocoa.

Ingredients

Scale

3 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups granulated sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 large eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
¼ cup milk or sour cream (for extra softness)

Instructions

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt until well combined. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, beat the softened butter and granulated sugar with a hand or stand mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2–3 minutes.
Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add the vanilla extract and mix until smooth.
With the mixer on low, gradually add the dry ingredients, alternating with the milk or sour cream. Begin and end with the dry ingredients, mixing just until the dough comes together. Do not overmix.
Divide the dough into two equal portions, shape each into a flat disc, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or up to overnight.
When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
On a lightly floured surface, roll one disc of dough at a time to about ¼-inch thickness. Use cookie cutters to cut out shapes and transfer them to the prepared baking sheets, spacing cookies about 2 inches apart.
Bake for 8–10 minutes, or until the edges are set but not browned. The centers may look slightly soft—that’s what keeps them tender.
Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer carefully to a wire rack to cool completely.
Once fully cooled, decorate with royal icing or buttercream if desired, and store in an airtight container.

Notes

Using milk will give you a classic soft sugar cookie; using sour cream adds a subtle tang and even more tenderness.
Chilling the dough is essential for thick, soft cookies that don’t spread excessively in the oven.
For evenly baked cookies, keep all cutouts roughly the same size and thickness.
Slight underbaking is intentional—pull them out when edges are set but tops are still pale.
Store cookies with a slice of sandwich bread in the container; the bread will dry out instead of the cookies, keeping them soft.

Prep Time: 20 minutes (plus 1 hour chilling)
Cook Time: 8–10 minutes per batch
Category: Dessert, Cookies
Method: Baking
Cuisine: American

Nutrition

Serving Size: 1 cookie (out of ~30)
Calories: Approximately 140
Sugar: 9 g
Sodium: 60 mg
Fat: 6 g
Saturated Fat: 3.5 g
Unsaturated Fat: 2.5 g
Trans Fat: 0 g
Carbohydrates: 19 g
Fiber: 0 g
Protein: 2 g
Cholesterol: 30 mg

Keywords: soft Christmas sugar cookies, cut-out sugar cookies, holiday cookies, frosted sugar cookies, easy Christmas cookies