Cut Out Cookie Icing Recipe
by Sommer Collier — last updated on Jul 30, 2026 
If you’re short on time and skills when it comes to making fancy pipe-decorated sugar cookies, then boy, do I have the easy solution for you! My cut out cookie icing recipe is ridiculously easy and it makes the most beautiful and delicious cookies that are perfect for birthday parties, picnics and holiday baking endeavors.
We all love the look of intricately decorated sugar cookies piped and filled with colorful royal icing. When you buy them at a bakery, you can tell a true artist has been at work! However, most of us home bakers don’t have the time or skills to make homemade cookies like these. That’s why I love this cut out cookie icing recipe… And of course cut-out cookie dough! It’s super easy to follow, and you don’t need any advanced decorating skills to make these buttery and sweet glazed treats. Using a classic but sturdy sugar cookie recipe, all you need to do is dip the uniquely shaped cookies into a simple and silky glaze-style icing and then add your favorite sparkly sprinkles or candies on top. These are the perfect dessert to make for holidays and celebrations like Christmas, easter, birthdays and even baby showers. Plus, these cookies are so much fun to bake and decorate with the kids!
Amy – ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ I’ve never been a great sugar cookie maker in the past but I decided to give this recipe a go this holiday season. Now all of a sudden I am a GREAT sugar cookie maker! This is a fantastic recipe and easy to follow. I highly recommend the pumpkin pie spice as per the recipe, it makes such a difference! I followed the icing recipe and found that I had to thin it out a bit but it was perfect icing otherwise for the cookies. Thanks for sharing!
Table of Contents
Sommer’s Recipe Highlights
Soft and Delicious – This recipe makes delicate, tender cut-out cookies with a mild spice flavor that can still be rolled and cut. You can omit the spice if you like for a true vanilla-flavored sugar cookie, but the faint “pumpkin spice sugar cookies” flavor really makes these cookies stand out! You can also try my chocolate sugar cookies with this icing recipe.
Easy to Make – I’m absolutely obsessed with how easy this recipe is to follow. It’s great for bakers of all ages, and the cookie dough can be made days in advance, so it’s easy to roll and bake when you need it. You can also dip the cookies, instead of piping them, then wipe the edges with a toothpick to remove any excess glaze.
Creative – The icing can be flavored with any extract and colored to use for any occasion, which makes the decorating process so fun and creative.
Key Ingredients and Tips
- Butter – Make sure to set unsalted butter out in advance to let it soften naturally. Softened butter beaten with sugar is what creates the delicate cookie texture. Do not melt the butter, just soften it.
- Sugar – Super-fine granulated white sugar is best, and it adds just the right amount of texture and crunch to this cookie.
- Salt – Table salt or sea salt is a must! Just a pinch helps to balance out all the sweetness.
- Pumpkin Pie Spice – This optional spice blend offers a light spicy note that really makes these cookies taste amazing, no matter the season. You can skip the spice blend if you like, for a simple vanilla cookie flavor, or swap the 2 teaspoons of pumpkin spice with an apple pie spice blend.
- Eggs – Use two whole eggs, plus one extra yolk, to give the cookies extra richness.
- Vanilla Extract – For the quintessential comforting and warm undertones. I suggest buying the good stuff, not imitation.
- All-Purpose Flour – Make sure to stir and fluff the flour. Then scoop it into measuring cups and level.
- Half & Half – AKA half milk and half cream, this serves as the base for making the ultra silky smooth glaze.
- Flavor Extract – This is for the icing. Use any extract you like! Almond, rum, lemon, and vanilla or my personal favorites.
- Powdered Sugar – I like to use powdered sugar to thicken and sweeten the cookies and glaze. If the icing is too runny, you can always add a little more powdered sugar.
How to Make
Find the full recipe with ingredient proportions, detailed instructions, and a video tutorial in the printable form at the bottom of the post.
Start the dough – To kick off this cookie recipe, I mix the butter and sugar together using an electric mixture until it’s light and fluffy. Then, I add in a pinch of salt, some pumpkin pie spice, eggs and a splash of vanilla extract. I mix that up once again.
Chill – Once the base of the dough is made, I pour in the flour and I continue to mix until the dough is really smooth. Then, I cut up the dough into four pieces, cover them with saran wrap and chill them in the fridge for about an hour.
Prep – While the dough is chilling, I preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and I cover up some baking sheets with parchment paper.
Roll and bake – I roll out each ball of dough over a flour-topped surface until it’s about a quarter of an inch thick. I use my cookie cutters to cut out whatever shapes I’m working with. I love bunnies and birds for springtime celebrations, and snowmen for the holidays! Then, I transfer the cut out cookies onto the baking sheets and pop them in the oven for up to 9 minutes.
Make the icing – To make the sugar cookie icing, I combine the half and half with some vanilla extract and powdered sugar. I mix that up until the icing is smooth and silky. This is when I add in a drop of food coloring. Then, I dip each cooled cookie into the icing, and wipe off any excess glaze with a toothpick. I let the cookies dry on a rack before we devour them!
Tips and Tricks
- Don’t over mix – It’s important to beat (cream) the butter and sugar together long enough to break down the sugar crystals and fluff the butter mixture. Don’t skip this step! However, once you add the flour you can over-mix the dough and make the cookies tough. When all the flour is well incorporated, turn off the mixer.
- Make sure the dough is cold -In order to produce cut-out cookies with the perfect shape and texture EVERY TIME, the dough MUST be cold. I suggest wrapping your dough into several small disks, so you can take one piece out of the fridge at a time for rolling.
- Flour well – Don’t be shy when flouring your work surface. More flour means you will have an easier time moving the cookies to the baking sheets. Keep a small flat spatula nearby in case of counter-stickage.
- Cut the cookies close together – The most tender cookies are the cookies that are cut out on the first roll. I try to leave as little space between cutting as possible.
- Don’t forget to gather and re-roll – The cookies on the second and third rolls will still be soft and tender, just ever so slightly less so. After each roll and cut, gather the dough, re-roll, and cut out as many cookies as possible.
- The icing dries out – My sugar cookie icing is pretty delicate the first couple hours, and will crackle when touched, but it does set up over time. For best results, allow the cookies to dry on racks for 3-4 hours after decorating.
Recipe Variations
- Use the icing as a dip – This icing combination creates a light flavorful glaze-style icing that can be used as a dip, spread with a butter knife, or even piped. It does not hold its shape quite like royal icing, but it tastes so much better. To make a slightly stiffer version for piping, add an extra 1/2 – 1 cup powdered sugar.
- Vanilla – Skip the spice blend for classic vanilla-flavored cut out cookies.
- Chocolate – Swap the spice blend for cocoa powder for a barely-there chocolate note in the dry ingredients.
- Sprinkles – Jimmie sprinkles can be added to the cookie dough for confetti cookies.
- Cookie pops – Before baking, gently press a lollipop stick into the side of each cookie. Then ice and decorate.
Serving Suggestions
These gorgeous cut out cookies make a wonderful treat for pretty much any and every occasion! During the holidays, I pair these on a dessert board alongside gingerbread cookies, homemade peppermint patties, scrumptious pecan pie bars and a handful of old-fashioned maple walnut fudge.
You can also pair these with your favorite hot drink from a cup of coffee to a big mug filled to the brim with luscious French hot chocolate.
These cookies also make a wonderful DIY gift! Package them in a festive decorative tin or stack them in a cellophane bag and wrap it up with a cute bow.
Storing
These cookies can be stored in an airtight container, at room temperature or in the refrigerator, for up to 1 week. Once decorated, stack the cookies with a layer of wax paper or parchment paper between each cookie.
You can also freeze this recipe at various stages and store it in the freezer for up to 3 months. Wrap and freeze the dough for later use. Wrap and freeze the baked undecorated cookies, to decorate at a later time.
Frequently Asked Questions
I use icing for this recipe because it is thin, therefore less sweet than frosting. Yet, you can make sugar cookie frosting instead. Use our funfetti frosting recipe and add gel food coloring to change up the designs from cookie to cookie.
If you want a thicker sturdier icing for meticulous piping you can also use classic a royal icing. You will need:
– 4 cups powdered sugar
– 3 tablespoons meringue powder
– 10 tablespoons water
Combine in an electric mixer and beat for approximately 2 minutes. It should be thick and smooth.
After decoration, allow the cookies to dry for 2-3 hours before moving.
If you are looking to make more than one batch of cookies, the recipe card at the bottom of the post has a “serving scale” that you can use to adjust how many cookies you want to make. So no matter how many you choose to make, you will end up with perfect sugar cookies!
You can pipe this icing if you like. It is not quite as firm as royal icing, but the taste and texture are MUCH better! Add 1/2 – 1 cup extra powdered sugar if needed until you get to the right consistency. It would be easier to outline the shape with the color needed/wanted and then flood (or fill) in that outline.
More Delicious Cookie Recipes
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Cut Out Cookie Icing Recipe
Video
Ingredients
For the Cut Out Cookies:
- 1 1/2 cups butter softened
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice (optional)
- 2 large eggs + 1 extra yolk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
For the Sugar Cookie Icing:
- 2/3 cup half & half
- 1 teaspoon extract flavor of choice
- 4 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
For the Cut Out Cookie Recipe:
- Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, 5 minutes. Add the salt, pumpkin pie spice, eggs and vanilla extract. Beat to combine.
- Slowly add the flour until the dough in smooth. Then separate the dough and wrap it in 4 separate pieces. Place in the fridge and chill for at least one hour. (Could be made weeks in advance.)
- When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line several cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- Remove one disk at a time. Flour a work surface and roll the disk out to 1/8- to 1/4-inch thick. Work fast and cut the cookies as close together as possible. The more times you roll out the dough the tougher it gets. Use a thin spatula to transfer the cookies onto the baking sheets. Repeat with remaining dough. Bake for 6-9 minutes. Cool completely on the cookie sheets before moving.
For the Sugar Cookie Icing:
- Whisk the half & half, extract and powdered sugar together until smooth. Add food coloring if desired. Dip and face of each cookie into the icing. Use a toothpick to wipe the excess icing off the edges of the cookie and to pop the air bubble in the surface of the icing. Then set on a rack to dry.
I’ve never been a great sugar cookie maker in the past but I decided to give this recipe a go this holiday season. Now all of a sudden I am a GREAT sugar cookie maker! This is a fantastic recipe and easy to follow. I highly recommend the pumpkin pie spice as per the recipe, it makes such a difference! I followed the icing recipe and found that I had to thin it out a bit but it was perfect icing otherwise for the cookies. Thanks for sharing!