Soft and Chewy Sugar Cookie Cut-Outs

This recipe came into my life about 15 years ago from my awesome cousin Sherri, who blogs at This Grandma is Fun!  I had been looking for a soft and chewy sugar cookie recipe that held it’s shape after it was baked.  All the ones I had tried up to that point grew and spread to the point that you couldn’t tell what the shape had initially started as 🙂

The secret to both the amazing taste and texture of these cookies is using both butter and cream cheese as the fats for the cookies.  Just be warned, that using cream cheese in the dough also makes the raw cookie dough a bit hard to stop eating.

I make a lot of different Christmas cookies (and I mean A LOT), so I really need cookie recipes like these that freeze well.  I make and bake the full recipe, then freeze them in a ziplock bag unfrosted then just let them come to room temperature before frosting and decorating them.  They are just as amazing out of the freezer as they are out of the oven.

For me, I love plastic cookie cutters because I can shove them in a drawer without worrying about them bending out of shape.  I used to have these gorgeous (and expensive) copper ones but after a few years in my kitchen drawer, I couldn’t tell what shape they were supposed to be.  If you are need of some inexpensive ones for Christmas, check out these ones for less than $5.  

Watch my short 1 minute video and see how quickly they come together.  I especially appreciate the cutie decorating the cookies at the end 🙂

Soft & Chewy Sugar Cookie Cut-outs Video

Easy Sugar Cookie Recipe – Soft & Chewy

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An easy sugar cookie recipe that turns out soft and chewy every time.  They hold their shape when baked perfectly!

• Yield: 3 dozen cookies 1x

Ingredients

• 1 C unsalted butter, room temperature
• 8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 1/2 C sugar
• 1 egg, room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 tsp almond extract
• 3 1/2 C flour
• 1 tsp baking powder

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Instructions

1. Beat together the butter and cream cheese until smooth.   Beat in the sugar, then the egg until well combined then add flavorings.  Add flour and baking powder to the bowl.  Slowly combine until flour is mixed in, then mix well.
2. Wrap the dough completely in plastic wrap and refrigerate until very firm, at least two hours.
3. Divide the dough in half and roll out one portion 1/4 ” thick.  Keep other portion in the fridge until ready to work with it.  Cut rolled dough into desired shape and bake on an ungreased cookie sheet for 8 minutes at 375 degrees.  Allow them to cool on the pan for about five minutes before moving them to a cooling rack.  Frost when completely cooled.

• Author: Carole Jones

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1/36th
• Calories: 142
• Sugar: 8g
• Sodium: 35mg
• Fat: 7g
• Saturated Fat: 4g
• Unsaturated Fat: 2g
• Trans Fat: 0g
• Carbohydrates: 17g
• Fiber: 0g
• Protein: 2g
• Cholesterol: 25mg

**My friend, this post contains Amazon affiliate links which means I receive a small compensation if you make a purchase using my link, at no additional cost to you.   And no worries….I only link to products that I both use and love! ~Carole