No Chill Roll Out Sugar Cookies
Perfect no chill roll out sugar cookies that are super easy and quick? Indeed, it can happen!
I wanted to share our favorite sugar cookie recipe with you guys today. We love cookies around here, and roll out sugar cookies are one of Harper’s most requested kitchen projects. She loves the rolling, the cutting, the decorating. What she doesn’t love? Waiting on dough to chill. I happened to find a dough that we both love, excellent taste (requirement for me!), and no chill time.
I’ve tried this dough over and over and it never disappoints! No secret recipe here-I’ve adapted this from Wilton, (the original recipe is right on the back of the cookie cutter box). I made a few adjustments to the recipe and we now have the perfect no chill sugar cookie dough!
I have a few notes to share about this recipe to make sure you have perfect results, every time.
The Ingredients
First off, our ingredients are simple. Butter, sugar, egg, vanilla, flour, salt, baking powder. For maximum flavor, I like salted butter in my cookie dough. You don’t want melted butter though. Sit it on the counter to warm up just a bit. You should be able to put a finger and get an indention in the butter, but it shouldn’t be melty at all. It should still be slightly cool to the touch.
The egg should also be at room temp. I typically sit these ingredients out about 20 to 30 minutes prior to starting. After you finish gathering all of your ingredients, preheating the oven, and getting pans ready, your butter & egg will likely be at room temp.
The Rolling
Our key feature of this dough is NO CHILLING!!! Woo hoo! We go directly from mixing to rolling. To roll this dough, I use a silicone baking sheet, and then top that with a sheet of wax paper. I flour the wax paper, and then place dough on top. I rotate the dough and add more flour as necessary, making sure that the dough isn’t sticking. This is very similar to the way I roll pie dough. The silicone mat keeps the wax paper from slipping as I roll. Doing this also makes clean up a bit easier as you aren’t flouring your counter top directly.
No Chill Roll Out Sugar Cookies
Ingredients:
- 1 cup (2 sticks) of butter, softened but still quite cool. I use salted, but feel free to use unsalted
- 1.5 cups granulated sugar
- 1 egg, room temp
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 3 1/4 cups flour (measured exactly)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt (reduce to 1/2 if using salted butter)
This is my favorite icing recipe for cookies:
- 1 c. confectioners sugar
- 2 tsp light corn syrup
- 2 tsp milk
- 1/4 tsp vanilla
- food coloring (optional)
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer, cream butter and sugar on medium-high for 3 minutes.
- Add in eggs & vanilla, and beat for an additional minute
- Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a separate bowl, and whisk together. Add all into mixer one cup at a time.
- Divide dough into 3 balls, and roll out one at a time on a floured surface to 1/4″ thick.
- Flour a cookie cutters & cut shapes, and then move the shapes to your baking sheet lined with foil, parchment paper or silicone baking mat.
- Bake for 6 minutes. Cookies will look slightly under-done. This is okay! They will continue to bake on the sheet after you remove them from the oven.
- Let cool for 5 minutes on pan, and then move cookies to finish cooling on a wire rack.
- After cookies are completely cool, decorate!
For the icing:
In a small bowl, stir together all ingredients until icing smooth and glossy. If icing is still too thick, add more corn syrup.
Divide icing into bowls if you are using multiple colors & and add food coloring. I prefer gel colors for their rich saturation. Add to a piping bag and decorate!
Notes & Tips
- Butter should be slightly softened, enough to make a dent with your finger, but not at all melty. It should be quite cool.
- Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Mix them on medium-low until combined, then cream for 3 minutes.
- Egg should be at room temp (sit out for about 20 minutes).
- Measure flour precisely (I fluff my flour, then spoon and level in a measuring cup).
- To roll dough: use silicone baking sheet, then top that with a sheet of wax paper. Flour the wax paper, and then place dough on top. Rotate and add more flour as necessary. The silicone mat keeps the wax paper from slipping.
- Place dough on floured wax paper. Flour bottom and top, and rotate frequently, adding little flour each time to make sure dough doesn’t stick to surface. Roll dough to about 1/4 inch thick. Flour the cookie cutters, cut shapes, and place on cookie sheet (I usually use aluminum foil and Wilton cookie sheets). If I’m using a larger half sheet pan, I use a silicone baking mat.
- Bake in a 350 degree oven for 6 minutes. If you like a crispier more caramelized cookie, bake until they’re slightly golden around the edges. For a soft cookie, bake closer to 6 minutes and remove before cookies start to brown.
- Make sure you’re baking in a hot oven! I use an oven thermometer to make sure I’m at the correct temp before putting every new tray in.
No Chill Roll Out Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
Cookies
- 1 cup butter, softened but still quite cool. I use salted, but unsalted works well too.
- 1.5 cups granulated sugar
- 1 egg room temp
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 3 1/4 cups flour measured exactly
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt reduce to 1/2 if using salted butter
Icing
- 1 c. confectioners sugar
- 2 tsp light corn syrup
- 2 tsp milk
- 1/4 tsp vanilla
- food coloring optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer, cream butter and sugar on medium-high for 3 minutes.
- Add in eggs & vanilla & mix for another minute.
- Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a separate bowl, and whisk together. Add to mixture one cup at a time. Continue to mix until all flour has been incorporated.
- Divide dough into 3 balls, and roll out one at a time on a floured surface, dough should be ¼" thick.
- Flour a cookie cutters & cut shapes, and then move the shapes to your baking sheet lined with foil, parchment paper or silicone baking mat.
- Bake for 6 minutes for a soft cookie, 7 or 8 for firmer cookies.
- Let cool for 5 minutes on pan, and then move cookies to finish cooling on a wire rack.
- After cookies are completely cool, decorate!
Notes
- Butter should be slightly softened, enough to make a dent with your finger, but not at all melty. It should be quite cool.
Egg should be at room temp (sit out for about 20 minutes). - Measure flour precisely (I fluff my flour, then spoon and level in a measuring cup).
- To roll dough: use silicone baking sheet, then top that with a sheet of wax paper. Flour the wax paper, and then place dough on top. Rotate and add more flour as necessary. The silicone mat keeps the wax paper from slipping.
- Roll dough to about 1/4 inch thick.
- Bake in a 350 degree oven for 6 minutes. If you like a crispier more caramelized cookie, bake until they're slightly golden around the edges.
- For a softer cookie, bake closer to 6 minutes and remove before cookies start to brown.
- Make sure you're baking in a hot oven! I use an oven thermometer to make sure I'm at the correct temp before putting every new tray in.
