The Best No-Chill Sugar Cookie Recipe - Perfect for Any Holiday!
These cookies are a crowd pleaser and are perfect for any holiday, season or theme. We made them for Valentine's last year, as well as Christmas, and now for Pumpkin Week!
Who has time for chilling dough anyhow? I sure don't!
But, if you are making this dough ahead of time, or only want to make a few right now, you can definitely still chill this dough, but unlike gingerbread cookies, which usually need at least 5 minutes of chilling to enhance the flavor, this cookie dough recipe is brilliant because it is ready when you are.
No-Chill Sugar Cookie Recipe
Makes a ton of awesome cookies your kids will beg you to make again!
- 2 cups of white sugar
- 2 cups of soft, salted butter
- 2 eggs
- 2 TBSP of vanilla
- 4-6 cups of flour (after 4 cups, continue to add as needed, I find depending on the weather this can fluctuate)
- 4 tsp baking powder
Cream your soft butter and sugar, until combined and fluffy, then add in your eggs, one at a time and the vanilla extract, then beat until fluffy.Measure out your flour and baking powder and slowly add it to your sugar and butter mixture. The dough will be ready when it doesn't stick to your fingers, but holds together and isn't flaky. (On a rainy day, I didn't need to add as much flour, for some reason, so start with 4 cups and gradually add more as needed. 6 cups are usually the max, and I keep the 1/2 cup of that on the table while rolling and cutting out the cookies.)Once your dough is formed, which takes a mere 5-10 minutes depending on if your butter was already soft to start, simply prep your table with some flour and start rolling and cutting out cookies with your desired cookie cutter. We used these adorable pumpkin cookies cutters we found at the dollar store, but if I was to buy any set, this Autum 7-Piece Cookie Cutter Set would be it!
Preheat your oven to 350 F and place your cookies on a lined baking sheet.
Bake your cookies for 6-8 minutes.
They will usually appear slightly undercooked, and that's ok! Let them cool on the sheet, then completely on a rack before you begin icing them. (Again, on a rainy day, I had to bake my cookies longer, so go with how your oven works best. 10-12 would be the max on those more humid days for me)
When your cookies are done, you can ice them with our trusty icing recipe:
Sugar Cookie Icing Recipe
- 1 cup of powdered sugar
- 2 tsp of milk
- 2 tsp of light corn syrup
- 1/4 tsp vanilla or almond extract
- Optional: food coloring of your choice, or keep white and top with sprinkles. (That's my kids' favorite!)
Mom Tip: to ice your cookies fast, simply tip your cookies upside down, holding your cookie at the edges and press into the icing, then lift up into the air over your bowl and let the icing drip, drip, drip until there isn't much dripping anymore and flip quickly over and set on a rack to dry completely.
Our kids love this technique and so do I. You will get beautiful clean icing on the whole cookie. Add your sprinkles soon after and allow to harden completely before devouring them!
The books we paired with these pumpkin cookies this week:
You may know that we love books, and I find that books do so much of the teaching with our children's unschooling Adventure. I love to pair a yummy recipe with a good book.
Sixteen Runaway Pumpkins by Diane Ochiltree
Too Many Pumpkins by Linda White
From Dark to Light by Isabella Murphy
What's a Season? FALL by Kelly Grettler
Leaves by David Ezra Stein
Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey
Some other favorite books about pumpkins I would love to add to my collection:
From Seed to Pumpkin by Wendy Pfeffer
The Pumpkin Book by Gail Gibbons
Apples and Pumpkins by Anne Rockwell
Pumpkin Soup by Helen Cooper
Goodbye Summer, Hello Autumn by Kenard Park
We're Going on a Leaf Hunt by Steve Metzger
If you give these cookies a try, please tag us @alexandra.derry on IG!
I would love to see how they turn out and follow us to see what we do for pumpkin week and hear about more great books we love.Till next time... have fun with scissors and glue and no-chill sugar cookies too!-AlexandraIf you enjoyed this post you may also like one of these:Moist Banana, Coconut & Spice Muffins/Bread RecipeOur Homeschool Records Free Printable!COLORmeMozart Piano Lessons Have Been A Success for Our Kids!