Easy Sugar Cookies with Icing

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A classic, no-fail sugar cookie recipe! Try these easy sugar cookies with icing and decorate them with your family and friends this holiday season.

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When my sister, my cousins, and I were little these cookies were all we wanted during Christmas at Grammie’s house.

She would bake a massive batch and let us frost and decorate them (I would always load mine up with sugar crystals like it was my last day on Earth).

They’re not like a traditional sugar cookie — there’s a secret ingredient in the recipe that gives them just the right amount of sweetness.

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Easy Sugar Cookies with Icing

What makes these easy sugar cookies different?

They’re sweetened partially with honey!

I love it because it makes the cookie very mild, so the combo of cookie and icing is just the right amount of sweet. None of the overwhelming sugary flavor that lots of sugar cookie recipes have.

And to me, they taste to me like being a kid at Christmas.

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Baking during the holidays is so soothing.

There’s something very connective and grounding about pulling out an old family recipe and digging your hands into the ingredients while imagining all of your ancestors before you, measuring out the same amounts of flour and sugar.

All of these recipes are perfect for holiday baking with family or friends.

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Ingredients for Sugar Cookies and Icing

COOKIE INGREDIENTS

1/3 c soft Crisco
1/3 c sugar
1 egg
1/2 c honey
1/4 c butter (room temp)
1 t vanilla flavor
2 ¾ c flour
1 t baking soda
1 t salt

ICING INGREDIENTS

1/4 c milk
2 1/4 c powdered sugar

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How to Make the Sugar Cookies

  1. Mix shortening, sugar, egg, honey, butter, and vanilla thoroughly.
  2. Blend flour, soda, and salt, and stir into shortening mixture. Once well-mixed, refrigerate until cool.
  3. Remove from refrigerator and knead with your hands until the dough is soft enough to roll out smoothly and without cracking.
  4. Roll to about 1/4″ thick.
  5. Use cookie cutters to cut out shapes.
  6. Put shapes on a piece of parchment paper and place on a baking sheet. Bake approximately 8 minutes at 350 degrees.
  7. Keep a close eye on them, though, as oven temperatures vary and these bake very quickly. I like to take mine out just before they begin to brown. Makes about 4 dozen cookies, depending on the size of your cookie cutters.
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How to Mix Icing and Ice Cookies

  1. Place sugar into a mixing bowl and slowly add milk bit by bit, whisking as you combine ingredients.
  2. Once your mixture reaches a thick gravy consistency, stop adding milk.
  3. Separate into a few containers and use food coloring if desired (I recommend gel food coloring).
  4. If you have icing squeeze bottles, add a different color to each bottle and gently squeeze onto the cookies, using an icing knife or toothpick to smooth out any details.
  5. If you don’t have a squeeze bottle, simply smooth icing onto cookies using a knife, spoon, or spatula. (Add decorations if you’re feeling festive!)
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Tips and Tricks for Your Iced Sugar Cookies

I believe that these are cookies that get better with age, which is perfect! I love them the day after they’re made, when the icing and the cookie have a little chance to rest and get more delicious.

This makes them ideal to serve at parties or gatherings because you can make them the day ahead.

Also, if you’re planning to have little ones help with the icing, I highly recommend using icing squeeze bottles to make things easy for them.

A variety pack of sprinkles also makes these extra fun for kids to help with.

And finally, the cookie cutter set used here was originally from Ikea, but it’s no longer sold. So here’s a similar set! xoxo

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easy sugar cookies with icing

Easy Sugar Cookies with Icing

Yield: 4 Dozen
Prep Time: 1 hour
Cook Time: 8 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 8 minutes

A classic, no-fail sugar cookie recipe! Try these easy sugar cookies with icing and decorate them with your family and friends this holiday season.

Ingredients

  • 1/3 c soft Crisco
  • 1/3 c sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 c honey
  • 1/4 c butter (room temp)
  • 1 t vanilla flavor
  • 2 ¾ c flour
  • 1 t baking soda
  • 1 t salt

Icing Ingredients

  • 1/4 c milk
  • 2 1/4 c powdered sugar

Instructions

  1. Mix shortening, sugar, egg, honey, butter, and vanilla thoroughly.
  2. Blend flour, soda, and salt, and stir into shortening mixture. Once well-mixed, refrigerate until cool.
  3. Remove from refrigerator and knead with your hands until the dough is soft enough to roll out smoothly and without cracking.
  4. Roll to about 1/4" thick.
  5. Use cookie cutters to cut out shapes.
  6. Put shapes on a piece of parchment paper and place on a baking sheet. Bake approximately 8 minutes at 350 degrees.
  7. Keep a close eye on them, though, as oven temperatures vary and these bake very quickly. I like to take mine out just before they begin to brown. Makes about 4 dozen cookies, depending on the size of your cookie cutters.
  8. Place sugar into a mixing bowl and slowly add milk bit by bit, whisking as you combine ingredients.
  9. Once your mixture reaches a thick gravy consistency, stop adding milk.
  10. Separate into a few containers and use food coloring if desired (I recommend gel food coloring).
  11. If you have icing squeeze bottles, add a different color to each bottle and gently squeeze onto the cookies, using an icing knife or toothpick to smooth out any details.
  12. If you don't have a squeeze bottle, simply smooth icing onto cookies using a knife, spoon, or spatula. (Add decorations if you're feeling festive!)

Notes

I believe that these are cookies that get better with age, which is perfect! I love them the day after they're made, when the icing and the cookie have a little chance to rest and get more delicious.

This makes them ideal to serve at parties or gatherings because you can make them the day ahead.

Also, if you're planning to have little ones help with the icing, I highly recommend using icing squeeze bottles to make things easy for them.

A variety pack of sprinkles also makes these extra fun for kids to help with.

And finally, the cookie cutter set used here was originally from Ikea, but it's no longer sold. So here's a similar set! xoxo

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24 Comments

  1. Love!!! I happen to agree that frosting gets better with age. Like a fine wine. Except wine doesn’t get crunchy and delicious…

      1. When I was apartment shopping a couple years ago I saw one lived in by some very untidy girls and I think there was some crunchy wine on a countertop…

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  3. I absolutely ADORE the shape of these cookies, and they sound like such a delightful holiday treat! Where in the world did you find those cookie cutters?

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  5. That icing is applied so perfectly, with just a little bit of the cookie showing as an outline around the shape! The recipe seems to provide a lot of control. Nice!