Make sure the butter and egg are at room temperature before you mix the cookie dough.

Butter and sugar mixed together until they are airy and fluffy create an emulsion. This later results in the cookies being tender and soft. If you use butter that is too soft, the cookies will spread out too much when they are baking.

Cream the butter and sugar until they are pale and fluffy, so that you incorporate enough air into the batter.

Make sure to mix them long enough. Most people don't beat the butter long enough. Time yourself, if you have to, 3-5 minutes for sure. This will pay off when you're baking the cookies. All that air in the dough will expand and create a soft cookie.

Baking powder in sugar cookies?

I tried making cookies both with baking powder and without to compare the texture of the cookies. I also wanted to see the way they spread out and puffed out while baking. With the baking powder, the cookies tended to spread out and puff out more. However, the cookies that were chilled in advance, baked while still cold and then NOT overbaked, were great. I didn't notice a difference in the softness of the cookies at all. The cookie shapes stayed more sharp and less puffed out. I personally don't think they need any baking powder, but you decide.

Chill the dough before cutting out shapes and baking.

Chilled dough will be easier to work with. Also, you'll get nice clean lines around your cookies and they won't expand and puff out too much when baking.

Don't add too much flour into the cookie dough and don't overmix the dough after adding the flour.

Adding too much flour will result in cookies that are too dense and hard. Mixing the flour too long will also make the cookies dense.

Don't roll out the dough too thin.

The thinner the cookies, the less soft they will be. I try to make the cookies about 1/2" inch.

Soft Cut Out Sugar Cookies

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5 from 9 reviews

Soft sugar cookies that are perfect to be used with your cookie cutters, no matter what the holiday or occasion. These cookies are tender and soft but keep their shape so well as they bake. The tangy sour cream icing pairs nicely with the buttery cookies and gives you and your kids the chance to become artists.

Author: Olga's Flavor Factory
Prep Time: 1 hour
Cook Time: 8-10 min
Total Time: 0 hours
Yield: 15-20 cookies 1x

Ingredients

Scale

Cookie Dough

1 cup butter, room temperature

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 egg, room temperature

1 – 2 teaspoons vanilla and/or almond extract, you can use both or 1 of each

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon baking powder, optional (read note in recipe description about baking powder)

1/4 teaspoon salt

Sour Cream Icing

1/3 cup sour cream, room temperature

2 oz cream cheese, room temperature

2 1/2 cup powdered/confectioner’s sugar

any food coloring that you want to use

sprinkles and other fun cookie decorations

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Instructions

Cookie Dough:

In a large bowl, using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment or a hand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until pale yellow and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
Add the egg and the vanilla/almond extract. Mix until combined.
Mix the flour, salt and baking powder, in a separate bowl to combine.
Add half of the dry ingredients to the cookie dough mixture, slowly mixing to combine, starting at low speed and mix just until most of the flour is incorporated. Add the remaining dry ingredients and repeat, being careful not to overmix the dough.
Use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and finish mixing the dough.
Divide the dough in half and form them both into disc shaped. Wrap in parchment paper and chill at least for an hour. You can make the dough up to several days in advance and store in the refrigerator or freeze the dough up to 3 months in advance.

Making and Baking the Cookies:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.
Working with half of the dough at a time and keeping the other half in the refrigerator, roll out the cookie dough on parchment paper to prevent using any extra flour. Roll the dough to about 1/2″ thickness and cut out as many cookies as possible, placing the cookies cutters as close to the edges and to each other as possible to reduce how many time you re-roll the dough. Transfer the cookies to the prepared baking sheet.
Bake in the preheated oven for 8-10 minutes for small/medium sided cookies and 10-12 minutes for large cookies.
Chill the dough until firm before re-rolling. I recommend baking the cookies one baking sheet at a time for the best results. If you already cut out the other cookies, store them in the refrigerator, if you are waiting for the oven to be free. The cookies should still be cold when placing them into the oven, otherwise they will spread and puff out more.
You should have about 20-22 cookies that are small/medium in size and about 18 is you use large cookie cutters.

Sour Cream Icing:

In a large bowl, combine the sour cream and cream cheese. They should be really soft and easily whisk together smoothly. Add the powdered sugar in increments, until it is all incorporated and you have a smooth icing.
Divide the icing into as many colors as you want to use and add the food coloring of your choice.
Cool the cookies before icing them. Top with sprinkles while the icing is still wet.
If you want to stack the cookies, let them dry completely first, which can take a few hours.

Notes

Baking Powder Note:

I tried making cookies both with baking powder and without and compared the texture of the cookies and the way they spread out and puffed out while baking.
With the baking powder, the cookies tended to spread out and puff out more. This is why I ended up using only 1/4 teaspoon. If you want extra insurance to make sure your cookies are tender, you can add the baking powder.
However, in the cookies that were chilled perfectly in advance, baked while still cold and then NOT overbaked, I didn’t notice a difference in the softness of the cookies at all and the cookie shapes stayed more sharp and less puffed out. I personally don’t think they need any baking powder, but you decide.

Find it online: https://www.olgasflavorfactory.com/holiday-recipes/soft-cut-out-sugar-cookies/