Cutout Sugar Cookies: A Sweet Family Tradition
Every December, our kitchen transforms into a merry chaos of flour clouds, rolling pins, bowls of vibrant icing, and sprinkles! It’s a tradition as old as I can remember—our annual family cutout Christmas cookie extravaganza. No holiday season feels complete without the sweet aroma of these cutout sugar cookies baking in the oven and the joyful mess of decorating that follows.
The Recipe That Brings It All Together
The magic begins with our family’s cherished recipe, passed down through 5 generations. It’s simple, yet full of nostalgic flavor:
Ingredients:
- 1 1/4 cups soft butter
- 2 eggs
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- 5 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup milk
Directions:
- Preheat your oven to 350°F.
- In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the milk.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, nutmeg, and salt. Gradually mix the dry ingredients into the wet mixture until a soft dough forms.
- Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to about 1/4-inch to 3/8-inch thick. Thinner will create crispier cookies and thicker will create softer cookies. Use your favorite holiday cookie cutters to create festive shapes.
- Place the cookies on ungreased baking sheets and bake for 10 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden. Cool completely before decorating.
The Joy of the Process
Rolling out the dough becomes a family sport, with my granddaughter rolling them out to achieve just the right thickness. Then comes the fun part: the cookie cutters. From stars to snowflakes, gingerbread men to reindeer, each shape tells a story, and every family member has their favorite cutter. (Mine’s the Christmas tree!)
Decorating: A Whimsical Mess
Once the cookies are cooled, the real fun begins. We set up a decorating station worthy of Santa’s workshop, complete with bowls of colorful icing and sprinkles of every kind. This is where personalities shine. Some cookies are decorated very simply, while some look like they belong in a bakery display case. The kids get creative with mountains of sprinkles that inevitably spill everywhere. And me? I’m all about color combinations—colored icing with the contrast of the sparkly sprinkles. Sure, the kitchen looks like a snowstorm of sugar hit it, but that’s half the fun.
Sharing the Sweetness
The best part of this tradition is sharing the cookies. We make extra to gift to neighbors and friends. Packing the cookies into festive tins or boxes, we add little handwritten notes wishing them a Merry Christmas. Seeing their faces light up makes the effort even more special.
A Tradition That Brings Us Together
What makes this tradition so dear to my heart isn’t just the cutout sugar cookies (though they are delicious!). It’s the laughter, the stories we share while we decorate, and the sense of togetherness that fills the room. It’s about taking a pause from the holiday rush to simply enjoy being with the people we love. And every year, as we bite into those first sweet, buttery cookies, it feels like a little bit of magic.
Keep the Tradition Alive
If you don’t already have a tradition like this, why not start one? Gather your favorite cookie recipe—or try this one—invite your family or friends and spend an afternoon baking and decorating together. It’s not about perfection; it’s about the memories you’ll make, the joyful little things. And trust me, those cookies will taste even sweeter because of it, because after all, “It’s tradition, Nana!”
Happy Baking!
P.S. Please check my Facebook page Joyful Little Things, or my Pinterest page Joyful Little Things for more recipes.
Cutout Sugar Cookies
Equipment
- 1 Mixing bowl
- 1 Mixer
- 1 Rolling Pin
- 1 Cookie Cutters
- 1 Baking sheet
- 1 Spatula
Ingredients
- 1¼ cup Butter soft
- 2 large Eggs
- 2 cups Sugar
- 1 tsp Salt
- 4 tsp Baking Powder
- 1 tsp Nutmeg
- 5 cups Flour
- ½ cup Milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Cream the butter and sugar together. Add the eggs and beat until fluffy.
- Stir in the dry ingredients and add alternately with the milk.
- To roll the dough, generously sprinkle flour on your work surface. Coat your hands in flour. Take a handful of dough and make a nice smooth ball.
- You will need to coat the rolling pin with flour and lightly sprinkle flour on top of the dough to prevent sticking. Using the rolling pin, roll out the dough until it is about ¼ – ⅜ inch thick. Rolling the dough thinner will create a crispier cookie and thicker will create softer fluffier cookie.
- Cut with cookie cutters, place them on an ungreased baking sheet, and bake for 10 minutes or until the edges of the cookies are starting to turn a golden brown.
- Pick up the remaining dough, create another ball, and cut out more cookies. Continue using flour to help prevent the dough from sticking. Repeat this process until all of the dough has been cut out and baked.
- Frost cookies with your preferred frosting recipe. Store in an airtight container. They freeze well too.
Notes
Nutrition
Vanilla Frosting
Equipment
- 1 Mixing bowl
- 1 Mixer
Ingredients
- 1 cup Shortening
- 4 cups Powdered Sugar
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1 tsp Butter Extract
- ½ tsp Almond Extract
- 2 tbsp Milk
Instructions
- In the mixing bowl add the shortening, extracts, milk, and the powdered sugar one cup at a time, mixing well between each cup.
- Add more milk for a thinner consistency or add powdered sugar sparingly to thicken it to the desired consistency.
