Old Fashioned Rolled Sugar Cookies Recipe
This classic rolled sugar cookie recipe makes soft, tender cookies that hold their shape without chilling the dough. Perfect for Christmas or any holiday — just cut, bake, and decorate!
Looking for the Best Rolled Sugar Cookies Recipe?
This Old-Fashioned Rolled Sugar Cookie recipe has been a part of our family’s Christmas tradition for decades. In fact, it’s the very first cookie recipe I ever made with my boys when they were just 2 and 4 years old!
It’s one of those tried-and-true recipes that has stood the test of time — simple ingredients, no fancy equipment, and a result that’s soft, tender, and absolutely delicious every time.
What you’ll love about this recipe:
What You’ll Need for Soft & Tasty Cut Out Sugar Cookies:
(Exact measurements are in the printable recipe card below.)Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links for your shopping convenience.
Ingredients:
- All-purpose flour
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Butter
- Eggs
- Milk
- Vanilla extract
- White sugar
- Baking soda
Helpful Tools:
- Large and medium mixing bowls
- Pastry blender or two knives
- Rolling pin (or pastry cloth and rolling cover)
- Cookie cutters — trees, stars, hearts, mittens… whatever you love!
- Baking sheets and parchment paper
- Wire cooling racks
How to Make this Old Fashioned Rolled Sugar Cookie Recipe
(Find full details and exact measurements in the printable recipe card below.)
1. Cut butter into dry ingredients with a pastry blender. 
2.Mix liquid ingredients in a seperate bowl. 
3.Pour liquid into dry ingredients and stir to combine.
4. Gently knead the dough until it sticks together. 
5. Divide dough into 2 portions.
6. Roll each portion out to about 1/2 inch thick and cut with your favorite holiday cookie cutters.
7. Bake at 375 degrees for 5 minutes. 
8.Cook on wire rack completely before icing. 
9. Serve as a fun holiday treat!
Handy tip: Prevent Sticky Dough!
When making this sugar cookie dough, the butter should NOT be melted or softened too much. You will want to cut it in with a pastry blender until it resembles course oatmeal. Then when you add the liquid ingredients to it, just mix until barely combined. It will actually be a bit crumby! Then knead it together gently with your hands before rolling out. Here is a quick video demonstrating mixing the dough:
Grandma Rita’s Sugar Cookie Tips
- The secret to soft and chewy old fashioned sugar cookies is to take them out before they start to brown. If they are too browned, they will turn crunchy!
- I use my Grandmother’s antique dough rolling pastry set (pictured above), but I’ve rounded up a whole list of top tools for dough rolling here.
- Here is my quick and easy homemade frosting for sugar cookies. Or, you could try a fun idea using marbled icing.
Once completely cooled, ice with your favorite homemade frosting.
How should I store these cut out sugar cookies?
Store these sugar cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks. However, I feel better always refrigerating or freezing mine until I’m ready to use them.
To freeze sugar cookies, place them in an airtight container or heavy duty freezer bag, being careful to seperate each layer with wax paper or parchment paper to prevent them from sticking together. Store in the freezer for up to six months.
For Valentine’s Day Sugar Cookies:
You can use this same sugar cookie recipe for all seasons! Just use whatever shaped cookie cutter matches the holiday. Heart shaped cookie cutters with pink icing make darling Valentine’s Day cookies. Another option is to make marbled heart sugar cookies. They’re so pretty!
Want more recipes perfect for the holidays?
I’ve got you! I’ve done the thinking & planning for you and put together 29 favorite holiday dinner recipes – along with lots of tips & tricks (& bloopers!) I’ve learned in decades of holiday dinner experiences. Grab yourself and copy and enjoy having Grandma helping you in the kitchen this year!;)
For more Christmas Cookies Recipes, you may want to check out these posts:
- Never Fail Fudge
- Make this condensed milk fudge recipe in the microwave in 5 minutes!
- Chocolate Marshmallow Log
- Cranberry Lemon Bars
- Jam Sandwich Cookies (a shortcut recipe!)
- 75+ Christmas cookie recipes with pictures
- Cute & quick Rudolph Cookies
- Brownie Mix Cookies
- Christmas cookie recipes with pictures
- Christmas Dipped Chocolates
Old Fashioned Rolled Sugar Cookie Recipe
These old-fashioned rolled sugar cookies are soft, buttery, and perfect for cut-out Christmas cookies — no chilling required! A simple, nostalgic recipe that’s fun to make with kids and freezes beautifully.
Ingredients
- 4 cups Flour
- 1 tsp. Baking Powder
- 1/2 tsp. Salt
- 1 cup Butter
- 2 Eggs, beaten
- 1/3 cup Milk
- 1 tsp. Vanilla
- 1 1/2 cups Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
Instructions
Please refer to the videos in the post above for helpful tips for mixing and rolling out the dough.
- Mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender
- In another bowl, mix together the eggs, milk, vanilla, sugar, and baking soda.
- Pour the liquid mixture into the dry mixture and stir gently. It should be sort of "crumby".
- Flip the dough onto a lightly floured pastry mat, and knead it gently ~ just so it sticks together.
- Divide into 2 portions and roll each portion out to about 1/2 inch thick.
- Using cookie cutters, cut out whatever shapes you’d like. We have stars and trees at our house…
- Place on baking sheets about 2 inches apart.
- Bake for 5 minutes in an oven that has been preheated to 375 degrees.The secret to soft and chewy old fashioned sugar cookies is to take them out before they start to brown. If they are lightly browned, they will turn crunchy!
- Cool completely on wire racks before icing.
- Once completely cool, ice with buttercream icing with food coloring.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 48 Serving Size: 1 gramsAmount Per Serving: Calories: 100Total Fat: 4gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 18mgSodium: 95mgCarbohydrates: 14gFiber: 0gSugar: 6gProtein: 1g
Christmas sugar cookies are literally the best part of the season! These are beautiful!
Do you think a gluten free version of this Christmas sugar cookie recipe will turn out okay (if I substitute gluten free all-purpose flour for the regular flour)?
I love this sugar cookie recipe! I also add a teaspoon of almond extract to ours because there’s just something about that almond taste that makes me think Christmas!
I was excited to try this sugar cookie recipe. I try a new sugar cookie recipe every year, with hopes to find one that I would like. Now this will always be my favorite sugar cookie recipe. Here are the things I have done differently. I used a dough hook to mix the dough, it worked perfectly. I also added 1tsp of almond extract along with the vanilla extract. I liked the additional flavor. I did cut them thick and in Christmas shapes and baked them about 8 minutes.
Can I mix this in a food processor? That’s how I mix my pie dough, which sounds like a similar consistency.
(I am replying to myself)
I did wind up using the food processor. It came out well, even made adding color quick and easy.
I like the texture to the dough for this recipe, most others I have tried require chilling the dough and chilled it’s both to sticky and to hard to roll out, this one rolled out nice and easy. Though they were not as sweet as expected. I think next time I am going to try adding half again as much sugar.
I also didn’t roll mine a half inch thick, I don’t like my cookies that thick, I think I came in closer to 1/8 of an inch.
Mine also took 6-7 min to bake, but that was probably because the cutouts spent the night in the fridge.