Deliciously crisp and buttery with an optional hint of coconut and topped with a simple icing, these sugar cookies are perfect for cutting out into fun and festive shapes no matter what the occasion!
Putting the Cookie Dough Together
To make the dough, simply cream the butter and sugar together along with the egg, vanilla, and optional cream. In a separate bowl sift the flour, salt and baking powder and pour into the egg mixture along with the optimal shredded or flaked coconut. The addition of unsweetened coconut flakes or shredded coconut gives these cookies an extra crispness and a very subtle hint of coconut. Mix until a dough starts to form and dump onto some plastic wrap to store in the fridge for at least two hours. In general, cookies taste better when the dough has been sitting in the fridge for several hours (ideally 24 hours), but you can also make these after an hour of refrigeration.
When you’re ready to bake, preheat the oven and line a baking tray. Use some flour to sprinkle on to the rolling surface, rolling pin and dough itself to make sure it doesn’t stick. Roll to about 1/4 inch in thickness and use any cookie cutter(s) you like to cut out shapes. Place on baking sheet and bake for 9 minutes. If you’re making a lot and don’t have enough baking trays, place the cookies that are waiting to be baked on a flat surface in the fridge. This will ensure they don’t spread too much when baking.
Shredded Coconut or Flakes?
These cookies work well with either type of unsweetened coconut. I prefer shredded coconut because flaked coconut can sometimes stick out so if you’re cutting shapes out of the dough you might need to take a knife and trim off any lingering coconut flakes. If you’re interested in learning more about the differences, America’s Test Kitchen goes in depth on all sorts of coconut variations. No matter which type of coconut you use, just make sure it is unsweetened.
That being said, you can also just omit the coconut addition. The heart-shaped cookies posted here, for example, are plain sugar cookies with no coconut. It’s up to you!
How to Decorate
These cookies are delicious on their own, but if you’re looking to go the extra mile then try icing them. For the holiday season I like to use an eggnog icing, but you can also do a simple icing of mixed powdered sugar and heavy cream. If you want a pinkish hue to your icing, then grind up a cup of dehydrated strawberries and sift it into your icing bowl.
To transfer the icing onto the cookies, you can either use the back of a spoon or a piping bag. If you don’t have a piping bag you can use a sandwich-sized ziploc bag with one corner slightly cut off to pipe the icing onto the cookies. Make sure to wait 20-30 minutes before stacking or storing the iced cookies to avoid messing up the decoration.
Storing the Cookies
These cookies are crispiest the day they are baked, but are just as good the next days. You can store them in an airtight container for about 5 days or you can freeze the baked cookies and defrost at room temperature.
During the holiday season these cookies work really well for holiday cookie boxes!
Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter, room temp
- ⅔ cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp heavy cream or milk (optional)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2½ cups flour
- ½ cup shredded or flaked unsweetened coconut optional
- ¾ tsp baking powder
- ⅛ tsp salt
Icing
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1-2 tbsp heavy cream** See note below
Instructions
- In a large bowl, cream the butter and the sugar on medium high with a handheld mixer (or stand mixer) until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
- Add the egg, vanilla, and cream to the bowl and mix until combined .
- In a medium bowl, sift the flour, salt, baking powder together. Add to the egg bowl. If using coconut, add here. Mix until a dough-like consistency starts to form. Place on a sheet of plastic wrap and store in fridge for at least an hour.
- When you're ready to bake, preheat oven to 350° and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Take the dough out and lightly flour a rolling surface. You may need to use the end of the rolling pin to beat down on the dough a few times to make it roll better. Make sure to sprinkle some flour on the board, pin and dough as you go along to make sure that the dough doesn't stick. Roll the dough out to about a 1/4 inch thickness (make sure the dough has not stuck to the board) and use your cookie cutter(s) of choice to cut out shapes.
- Place cookies on parchment paper and bake for 8-9 minutes until slightly golden at the edges. Let cool for 2-3 minutes then remove to cool on a cooling rack.
Eggnog Icing
- In a small or medium bowl, whisk the powdered sugar and heavy cream until a thicker, icing-like consistency starts to form (about 2 minutes).
Icing (optional)
- Use a piping bag or a ziplock bag with one corner slightly cut off, fill the bag with the icing and start piping it onto the cookies in your pattern of choice. Let dry for 20 minutes then serve. These can also be frozen or kept in an airtight container for 5 days.