The Best Sugar Cookies I’ve Ever Made, Ever

You know that scene in Elf where Buddy bursts into a random New York corner coffeeshop exclaiming “YOU DID IT!!! Congratulations! World’s BEST cup of coffee!” …that’s about the feels I have right now with regards to the sugar cookie recipe I’m about to bestow upon you. I first found a recipe in the back of a true Christmas classic book: ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas on Sesame Street. Since they’re Cookie Monster approved, you KNOW they’re the real deal. 😉 We really muddled our way through it at first because the Sesame Street version is not exactly a five-star recipe; I’m someone who follows a recipe to the T the first crack at it, and this left quite a bit to the imagination. My dough was crumbly and cracking and some measurements just seemed off, so it’s a true Christmas miracle that the finished result was still somehow the best of the best cut out sugar cookies I’ve tasted. For my second go-around, I made intentional tweaks and changed quite a bit to try and replicate what I loveloveloved the first time and fixing what I didn’t, and the final result is what we’ve got here today: the best cut out sugar cookie recipe I’ve ever tried, ever.

If you, too, like your sugar cookies to have golden brown edge but soft, chewy insides and a deliciously creamy, not-too-sweet icing, than BUCKLE UP – you’re in a for a sweet treat. 🙂 

(We shot some quick iPhone pics on a whim on our big cookie-making day, so excuse the iPhone quality – ha!)

THE BEST CUT OUT SUGAR COOKIE RECIPE EVER - inspired by Cookie Monster himself! THE BEST CUT OUT SUGAR COOKIE RECIPE EVER - inspired by Cookie Monster himself! THE BEST CUT OUT SUGAR COOKIE RECIPE EVER - inspired by Cookie Monster himself!

THE BEST CUT OUT SUGAR COOKIE RECIPE EVER - inspired by Cookie Monster himself!

THE BEST CUT OUT SUGAR COOKIE RECIPE EVER - inspired by Cookie Monster himself!

THE BEST CUT OUT SUGAR COOKIE RECIPE EVER - inspired by Cookie Monster himself!

My darling three-year-old’s sprinkling is really the greatest cookie decorating job ever bar none.

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 cup butter
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 eggs
  • 3.5 cups flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp coarse sea salt (This is KEY for a great flavor twist – so use coarse sea salt and not kosher salt!)

RECIPE:

(Printable version nelow, but I’ll highlight some KEYS first that have been make-or-break differences in these cut out sugar cookies being the BEST versus like many others!)

I made quite a few edits to the original recipe to make them a *wee* bit healthier + yummier. 😉 Namely, less flour in the cookie dough, coarse sea salt instead of kosher salt, and waaaaay less powdered sugar in the frosting to achieve more of a cream cheesy flavor (which personally, I lovelovelove).

First thing’s first: preheat your oven to 350.

Next, in a large mixing bowl, cream together your butter + sugar until smooth. Then add the vanilla, eggs, baking powder and salt and blend again until smooth. THIS NEXT PART IS KEY: Add flour one cup at a time, blending between additions. (The original Sesame Street recipe calls for 4 cups of flour all added at once, which made the dough a crumbly hot mess express to handle. Through much experimentation, I have found the sweet spot to be 3-3.5 cups of flour, added one by one and not all at once). Chill your dough for about 15-20 minutes.

Roll it out to be about 1/4 inch-thick cookies – this thickness allows them to have nice golden brown edges and a still-soft middle. Too thin is too crispy of a cookie (in my humble cookie-tasting opinion), and too soft is too shortbread-y. 

Bake for about 13 minutes. Now, the original recipe said 8-10 minutes…idk if anyone actually MADE the recipe at that time frame, but they’re simply not done with that timing in my oven. I have found about 13 minutes to be it, but when my timer goes off, I peek. If the edges are golden brown, we’re set. If not, I peek every minute or so until they’re perfect. 

While your cookies cool, time for frosting! This frosting is fabulous because it’s not too sickeningly sweet or sugary – it’s more cream cheesy, which I lovelovelove. (I could eat cream cheese right out of the tin with a spoon. Weirdo, I know). So for your frosting, beat together the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Now slowly add a few generous pinches of powdered sugar, as well as the vanilla extract. Sesame Street says to add A WHOLE POUND of powdered sugar, and I said no way. I can’t even FATHOM how sweet and sugary that would be – yuck. I do *maybe* 1/3 cup in total, but really, it’s just a few generous pinches so that it’s not just cream cheesy. Beat until smooth again, and at this point, you can add any food coloring if you’re going for something festive like we did here.

Now you’re ready to decorate! My handy helper – the three-year-old Olivia Grace – opted for an obscene amount of sugar crystal sprinkles and I’m here for it. Really, it’s whatever makes you happy.

Enjoy!THE BEST CUT OUT SUGAR COOKIE RECIPE EVER - inspired by Cookie Monster himself!

The Best Cut Out Sugar Cookies Ever

Inspired by Cookie Monster himself!

Cook Time 15 minutes

Ingredients

Ingredients for Cookies:

  • 1 cup butter
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 eggs
  • 3.5 cups flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp coarse sea salt

Ingredients for Frosting:

  • 8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
  • 4 tbsp unsalted butter (1/2 stick), room temperature
  • 1 tbsp vanilla extract
  • powdered sugar A few pinches
  • Your choice decorations!

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

  2. Cream your sugar and butter together in a large mixing bowl on low speed until blended smooth.

  3. Add vanilla, eggs, baking powder, and salt - blend again until smooth

  4. Slowly add flour, one cup at a time, mixing between cups until smooth to form your dough

  5. Chill dough mixture in fridge for 15 minutes

  6. Roll out dough to be about 1/4 inch thick - use your favorite cookie cutters to cut out sugar cookies

  7. Bake at 350 for 13 minutes - then check. They're done when just the edges are slightly golden! Peek every minute or so until they're your desired color.

  8. While cookies cool, beat cream cheese and butter together until smooth to start the frosting.

  9. Slowly add a few generous pinches of powdered sugar and the vanilla extract. Continue beating until smooth.

  10. Frost your cooled sugar cookies and top with sprinkles or your choice decorations.

Let me know if you try my best cut out sugar cookie recipe!

I can’t wait to hear what you think!