This cut out sugar cookie recipe turns out perfect every time with no chill time needed. Sweet, buttery, and laced with almond extract, you won't find a better sugar cookie to use for all your holiday cookie decorating.
Cream together butter and sugar in the bowl of a standing mixer or with a hand mixer.
Add in egg and almond extract and beat together well.
Sift together flour, salt, and baking soda and add to butter mixture.
Mix until combined and the dough comes together.
Dough does not need to be chilled, but can be wrapped in plastic wrap and stored in the refrigerator (up to 3 days) or freezer (up to 3 months) until ready to bake.
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Roll out dough between two sheets of parchment, waxed paper, or plastic wrap to ¼"-½" thick.
Use cookie cutters to cut shapes. Transfer to baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the bottom of the cookies are just barely showing a bit of browning.
Remove from oven and let cool for 2-3 minutes before removing cookies from baking sheet and transferring to a cooling rack.
Frost, if desired, when cookies have cooled completely.
Notes
When cutting out shapes, handle dough as little as possible so it doesn't become tough or dry. You can scoop up excess dough after cutting out and re-roll it, but dough gets tough after more than two time being rolled out. I'd recommend dividing the initial ball of dough into two pieces and roll them out separately. If dough seems too soft, refrigerate for 20-30 minutes before rolling out. You can also place the sheet pan with cut outs into the refrigerator for 15 minutes or more before baking to help cookies retain their shapes during baking.If using very detailed cookie cutters or shapes with small and intricate corners, flour the cookie cutter well, make sure the dough is rolled on the thicker side ⅜", and sprinkle the top of the dough lightly with flour. Be sure the dough is fairly cold.Dough can be colored with gel food coloring just before adding the flour into the butter/sugar mixture.*Nutritional calculations do not include frosting or decorations.