No Spread Sugar Cookies (2024)

Why you'll love these no spread sugar cookies!

• The cookies need just 7 ingredients, and you probably already have them in your pantry!
• I've used vanilla bean paste to give these sugar cookies a special touch, but you can use regular vanilla extract if you prefer.
• These sugar cookies don't use a leavener (like baking soda or baking powder), which means they don't puff up and instead keep their shape!
• I've made a super simple icing which only needs 1 bowl and takes just 5 minutes to make. This thick icing is shiny and delicious.

Why isn't there baking powder or baking soda in this recipe?

I did test this recipe with a leavener, however it made the cookies puff up a bit and spread a tiny bit. Though it was only a little bit of spread and puffing, I wanted to make sure these were truly no spread sugar cookies! Because we are creaming the butter with the sugar until light and fluffy, we will still have soft delicious cookies.

Can I make these no spread sugar cookies ahead of time?

You can make the cookies ahead of time, either make them a few days before and store them in an airtight container until you're ready to decorate, or freeze them and then thaw completely when you're ready to decorate and enjoy!

The sugar cookie dough is sticking to the rolling pin!

If your cookie dough gets a bit sticky, sprinkle over some extra flour.

How long do I have to wait until the icing sets?

Keep the cookies spaced out on a baking tray for at least a few hours. I found that within 6 hours they were set, but you might want to wait up to 24 hours just in case!

What food gel coloring did you use?

I always use Americolor! They have vibrant colors and you only need a few drops.

What sprinkles did you use?

I used sanding sugar from Target and I picked out some sprinkles from Sweetapolita.

No Spread Sugar Cookies

• ▢ 1 ½ sticks unsalted butter room temperature
• ▢ ¾ cup granulated sugar
• ▢ 1 large egg room temperature
• ▢ ½ tablespoon vanilla bean paste can use extract instead
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon almond extract optional
• ▢ ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ▢ 2 ½ cups all purpose flour

Cookie Icing

• ▢ 2 cups confectioners' sugar sifted
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ▢ 2 tablespoons corn syrup
• ▢ 2 ½ tablespoons water

Make Cookies

• In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, beat the sugar and butter together on medium high speed for 2-3 minutes. It should go slightly pale in color and be light and fluffy.

  1 ½ sticks unsalted butter, ¾ cup granulated sugar

• Add the egg, vanilla bean paste/extract, and almond extract. Beat to combine.

  1 large egg, ½ tablespoon vanilla bean paste, ¼ teaspoon almond extract

• Pour in the flour and salt and mix on low. Stop as soon as there are no more streaks of flour. Divide the dough into two.

  2 ½ cups all purpose flour, ½ teaspoon kosher salt

• Place 2 pieces of parchment paper down on the counter. Place one piece of dough in the middle of 1 piece of parchment paper and lightly sprinkle over some extra flour. Use a lightly floured rolling pin to roll out the dough on the paper until it is ¼ inch thick. If the dough starts to stick to the rolling pan, sprinkle over some more flour. Repeat with the other piece of dough and parchment paper.

• Place one parchment paper covered in dough on a baking sheet, then place the other piece on top. Place in the fridge for 1 hour to chill.

• Take the cookie sheet out of the fridge. Take off the top rolled out piece of dough (still attached to the parchment paper!) and use lightly floured cookie cutter to cut out your shapes. You can reroll any dough that is leftover to cut out more cookies. Repeat with the other rolled out piece of dough.

• Place the cookies on the parchment paper, making sure they are evenly spaced out and not touching. Stack the two pieces of parchment paper with the cookies (carefully!) on the cookie sheet, or use a second cookie sheet if you have it. Chill the cut out cookies for another 30-60 minutes.

• While the cookies chill, preheat your oven to 350°Fahrenheit/175°Celsius.

• Bake the cookies 1 sheet at a time for 8-12 minutes. Depending on the size of your cookies they might need 12 minutes, small cookies will need less time! They should be still quite pale with light golden brown edges. Take the cookies out and let them cool for 10 minutes on the baking sheet before placing on a cooling rack to cool completely.

Make Cookie Icing

• In a large bowl whisk together the confectioners' sugar, vanilla extract, corn syrup and water. It's really important that your confectioners' sugar is sifted or it will be lumpy!

  2 cups confectioners' sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 2 tablespoons corn syrup, 2 ½ tablespoons water

• Whisk until it is completely smooth. It will start off quite thick and paste like, you will have to use some elbow grease! It will start to loosen up slightly. You'll know it is ready to use when you lift the whisk up and let ribbons of icing drip back into the bowl, those ribbons should hold their shape for at least 5 seconds before melting back in with the rest of the icing. If your icing is still too firm, you can add 1 teaspoon of water.

• If using food gel coloring, separate the icing into smaller bowls and use a few drops of food coloring.

• Take the cooled cookies and place the icing into icing bags. I used the Wilton tip 4 and 5 to ice my cookies. I recommend outlining the cookies and then filling them in, using a toothpick to nudge the icing where you want it to go. Add sprinkles once you've done the icing! To add sanding sugar to specific parts of a cookie (like with the red mittens and the white cuff!), ice the section that will have sanding sugar on first, then dip in sugar. Then you can ice the rest of the cookie.

• Place the cookies back on a parchment lined cookie sheet to set. I found within 6 hours they were set but you might want to wait longer just to make sure!

My recipes have been developed and tested in metric grams. I highly recommend using a weighing scale and measuring out your ingredients the metric way. .

Butter: I use European style butter, like Kerry Gold, in my recipes. This will make your finished bake much creamier and richer.

Salt: If you don’t have kosher salt, halve the amount of salt called for in the recipe. 1 teaspoon kosher salt = ½ teaspoon fine salt. Please note I am using Diamond Kosher salt and not coarse kosher salt!

Corn Syrup: this will give us the beautiful shine!

Vanilla Bean Paste: you can use vanilla extract if you prefer.

Almond Extract: this is optional but I think gives the cookies a delicious taste!

Number of cookies: this all depends on the size of the cookie cutters you use! I gave an approximate for you here.

Food Gel: I always use Americolor gel. The colors used here are laurel, maroon, and tulip red.

Sprinkles: I used a combination of sprinkles from Sweetapolita and then sanding sugar from Target.