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Delicious sweet Sugar Cookies with a Ready-Made Royal Icing decoration!

I have always loved Sugar Cookies – such an amazing basic recipe that doesn’t spread, and you can decorate it in oh so many ways! They’re the perfect biscuit to bake for different events throughout the year, or even for bake sales (one of my go to recipes for that kind of thing)!

The idea behind Sugar Cookies is so simple and versatile that its a staple in anyones recipe book in my opinion – hence this little recipe!

I was a little experimental with my decorations as I was trying new things out – so sorry if some of the things are a little off, or not quite as refined as you think they should be – but I had so much fun making everything!

The cookies are the perfect bake to make with kids, to use up things in you cupboard, to give as gifts, or just for fun! Especially if you want something with a little more show!

I’ve got some delicious cookie recipes up on my blog, my most popular being my NYC Chocolate Chip Cookies, Kinder Bueno Cookies, Nutella Stuffed Cookies, and my Biscoff Stuffed NYC Cookies!

Honestly, I think these Sugar Cookies are the perfect little bake if you want something for a theme – the decoration is so versatile, you can let your imagination go with it!

The guys over at Renshaw sent me across some Ready To Use Royal Icing to review and I couldn’t pass up the chance – I love Renshaws products and the Ready-To-Use side of Royal Icing was literally too good not to try! I have hated using Royal Icing in the paste as I find it such a pain to make up, its far too much effort! You can read about the product and buy it HERE!

The Ready To Use Royal Icing is an amazing product – and I am genuinely not just saying that – I love it. I used it on some of the Harry Potter Wedding Cake I made last week, and obviously for this recipe too. I can’t wait to try out more things with it as well! It comes in a brilliant White colour that is easy to change into whatever colour you like with some food colourings – and it has so many uses its lovely. You can pipe details with it, use it for run-outs, cover a cake, etc! Amazing! I seriously recommend it if you need to use Royal Icing in the future.

Sugar Cookies

Delicious sweet Sugar Cookies with a Ready-Made Royal Icing decoration!
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Category: Biscuits
Type: Cookies
Keyword: sugar cookies
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Cooling and Decoration Time: 2 hours
Total Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
Servings: 35 biscuits
Author: Jane's Patisserie

Ingredients

Sugar Cookies

  • 255 g unsalted butter
  • 200 g caster sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla bean extract
  • 1 medium egg
  • 425 g plain flour (plus extra for dusting)

Decoration

  • 400 g Renshaw ready to use royal icing
  • food colourings

Instructions

Sugar Cookies

  • Preheat your oven to 200ºc/180ºc Fan and line 3-4 baking trays with parchment paper.
  • Cream together the unsalted butter and caster sugar until light & fluffy, then gradually beat in the egg and vanilla bean extract so that the mixture is smooth. 
  • Add in the Plain Flour and beat again till the dough is combined.
  • Roll the mixture out on a lightly floured work surface to the thickness of two £1 coins.
  • Cut them out in the various shapes that you want - I used 6cm size cutters but in various different shapes so that I had a mixture! 
  • Place them onto the lined baking trays a couple of centimetres apart and bake in the oven for 8-10 minutes until they start to go golden around the edges.
  • Leave to cool on a wire rack.

Decoration

  • Loosen a few spoonfuls of the royal icing with a few drops of water (just a little so that when you leave a trail of icing going through itself, it stays there for about 20-30 seconds).
  • Pipe this round the edge of the cookies, or in whatever pattern you please!
  • Once they're all done, leave the icing to harden slightly for about 15 minutes.
  • Once the icing has hardened, split the rest of the icing off into the colours you want to use and loosen the icing again, this time adding slightly more water so that the trail lasts about 5-8 seconds.
  • Fill all of the gaps with the icing so that you're doing "run outs" of icing and then leave to dry.
  • Add any more decoration that you please - I painted on some darker colours to give the cookies slightly more depth simply using water downed paste food colourings! Enjoy!

Notes

  • I used the Renshaw Ready To Use Royal Icing as I was sent the product to review - and honestly it is so much easier than making it yourself, and it's the perfect amount in the tub! If you want your cookies to have a little more depth, you can add a layer of fondant to the cookies, then decorate with the Royal Icing!
  • These will last 4-5 days in an airtight container, or you can freeze them for up to 3 months.
  • I use these food colourings - 
  • I use these piping bags
  • I use this Basic baking tray
  • I use this Vanilla extract

ENJOY!

Find my other recipes on my Recipes Page!

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J x

© Jane’s Patisserie. All images & content are copyright protected. Do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to republish this recipe, please re-write the recipe in your own words and credit me, or link back to this post for the recipe.

80 Comments

  1. Andrea Iles on March 11, 2024 at 1:59 pm

    5 stars
    Hi.
    Just made a batch of your sugar cookies. They are delicious. I don’t need them for few days though. Would I do best to do the royal icing now and store them or wait till I need them to do the icing?
    Thank you.

    • Jane's Patisserie on March 18, 2024 at 1:28 pm

      It would be fine to decorate them now as royal icing dries really well! xx



  2. Alyssa Whitmore on November 14, 2023 at 6:19 am

    Love this recipe! If I bake then freeze the cookies, how do you suggest storing them in the freezer and how long do they take to defrost?

  3. Nee on February 26, 2023 at 3:26 pm

    If I chill the cookies cut them on baking sheet then fridge for 10 mins then oven. Then when its cool down can I use ready to roll icing on it?

    • Jane's Patisserie on February 27, 2023 at 3:57 pm

      Hiya! Yes this would be fine, enjoy! x



  4. Lisa on January 24, 2023 at 10:10 am

    Hi, if I made this in a rectangle shape & pressed some cookie cutters in before cooking, when cooked would my impressions still be there to use as a guide for piping ?
    Thank you

    • Jane's Patisserie on February 3, 2023 at 11:20 am

      Hiya! Yes they should do, as long as you use real butter! Hope this helps! x



  5. Katie Geraghty on October 30, 2022 at 9:42 pm

    5 stars
    I used this recipe to make Halloween biscuits for my school kids to decorate. Super easy and tasty. Thanks Jane 🙂

  6. Clare Hodgson on October 12, 2022 at 4:43 pm

    Hi Jane, I’ve just made your sugar cookies, could you cinnamon instead of vanilla for a Christmas taste? My family love all your recipes and they are so easy to follow. Thank you Clare

    • Jane's Patisserie on October 13, 2022 at 3:32 pm

      Yes absolutely you can! Enjoy! x



  7. Priya on January 27, 2022 at 6:23 pm

    Hi Jane,

    What can I use instead of the egg in this recipe?

  8. Leanna on November 4, 2021 at 4:04 pm

    Hiya Jane,
    I want to make these for my Nephews 1st birthday, but just wondering how long can I leave them out on display uncovered for?

  9. Amanda George on November 3, 2021 at 1:33 pm

    Hi could you make these sugar cookies chocolate flavour

    • Tracey Bassett on November 5, 2021 at 7:45 pm

      Yes someone else asked this before
      She said to omit 50gms of the flour and replace with cocoa



  10. Marisa Schettino on September 16, 2021 at 2:22 pm

    Hi Jane can you please confirm what the middle of the cookies should look like I’ve left them in for 10 mins as stated but the middle still looks I cooked?
    Should they look darker in the middle?

    Thanks xx

  11. Sophie on September 7, 2021 at 9:58 am

    Hi Jane, these cookies look beautiful. When making these do I have to let the butter soften or can I use it straight out the fridge?

  12. Marisa Schettino on May 15, 2021 at 8:08 am

    Hi Jane I made your sugar cookies and they taste great but just wanted to ask they did spread abit so was a lot wide than the fondant what could I have done wrong I used the same cutter for biscuits and fondant? Thanks

    • Jane's Patisserie on May 15, 2021 at 11:33 am

      Hiya! The biscuits or butter may just have been a bit too warm so will have spread bait unfortunately xx



  13. Aleasha on March 1, 2021 at 7:01 pm

    Hi Jane sorry one more question once the biscuits are baked do they still last 4-5 once cooked in oven? Thankyou!

  14. Aleasha on February 22, 2021 at 8:10 am

    Hi Jane – I absolutely love this sugar cookie recipe it’s the only one I’ve found that you don’t have to chill for hours and has basically no spread when they cook! Could I ask how freezing the dough works – how long can you freeze the dough for and how would you cook/defrost? X Thankyou

    • Jane's Patisserie on February 25, 2021 at 3:20 pm

      Ahh yay! Yes it can be frozen up to three months – I would just add 1 minute baking time and bake from frozen! xx



  15. Dolores on February 9, 2021 at 12:23 pm

    Hi Jane can Stork be used instead of butter

    • Jane's Patisserie on February 9, 2021 at 3:02 pm

      I’d recommend using real butter!



  16. Kat Bakes on February 8, 2021 at 6:42 am

    Hi Jane
    If I wanted to make one batch and freeze the individual cookies ready to bake whenever how long would I bake them for?
    Thanks!

    • Jane's Patisserie on February 8, 2021 at 9:01 am

      You would maybe add 1 minute extra baking time? x



    • Megan Stevenson on February 16, 2021 at 10:18 pm

      Hi
      How long can you freeze them for ?



    • Jane's Patisserie on February 18, 2021 at 8:31 pm

      I usually say up to three months easily!



  17. Alex on January 31, 2021 at 4:30 pm

    The cookies have turned out quite soft in the middle, which I quite like, but I’m wondering have I undercooked them should they be hard all the way through?

    • Jane's Patisserie on February 1, 2021 at 10:03 am

      They should be soft, but now really soft – so likely just needed a little longer as it should be an even texture!



  18. Sarah on January 10, 2021 at 8:56 am

    Hi Jane. If I wanted to make these Gluten free would it just be a case of swapping the plain flour for gluten free plain flour? Many thanks x

    • Jane's Patisserie on January 10, 2021 at 2:09 pm

      I’m afraid I have never tried these cookies gluten free, but it is worth a go for sure!



    • Joanne on May 22, 2021 at 4:13 pm

      Did you try making these gluten free would love to know the result if you did



  19. Ellen on December 17, 2020 at 5:15 pm

    Hi, if I chill my cookies over night – should I do it as one dough ball or pre cut?
    If it’s a ball, how long should I leave before rolling out and cuttings?

    Thanks!

    • Jane's Patisserie on December 18, 2020 at 10:11 am

      I would personally do it cut as otherwise you wouldn’t be saving that much time doing it the night before if you still have to roll them after!



  20. Samantha Tanner on November 25, 2020 at 10:52 pm

    How long would this biscuit dough last in fridge before I use it? As I have party I want to get as much prepare as possible thanks x

    • Jane's Patisserie on November 27, 2020 at 11:26 am

      In the fridge I would say 1 week, but it can freeze!



  21. Fiona on November 22, 2020 at 10:31 am

    Hi I’m wondering if I can use stork instead of butter please? Thankyou.

    • Jane's Patisserie on November 22, 2020 at 11:08 am

      I wouldn’t recommend it – actual butter is best!



  22. Minal on November 9, 2020 at 8:52 am

    Hi Jane,

    Yeah these are great, what do I do if I want to make them without egg?

    Thanks x

    • Jane's Patisserie on November 9, 2020 at 11:00 am

      The egg is quite important to this recipe, if you wanted an eggless recipe I would use a shortbread x



    • Amanda George on November 3, 2021 at 1:35 pm

      I made these without egg I substituted it with almond milk
      They turned out amazing x



  23. Minal on November 8, 2020 at 9:10 am

    Hi Jane,
    Just wanted to check I’m using me stand mixer do I use the K mix or the dough hook for this recipe? Thanks x

    • Jane's Patisserie on November 8, 2020 at 10:31 am

      The only thing I use a dough hook for is something such as bread, or a doughnut dough (As they’re super similar.) so for a biscuit mixture I would use a beater/K x



  24. Emily on November 2, 2020 at 7:21 am

    Morning Jane, I only have medium eggs so should I just use the largest medium egg I have?

    Thanks! X

    • Jane's Patisserie on November 2, 2020 at 10:24 am

      Yes just use the largest one you can find!! x



  25. Alex on October 31, 2020 at 9:32 am

    Hi, could I add cocoa powder to these to make chocolate sugar cookies please? If so, how would I do that please?

    • Jane's Patisserie on November 2, 2020 at 10:24 am

      I would recommend substituting about 50g of flour for cocoa powder – if it’s too dry a mix, add a splash of milk!



  26. Leah on October 1, 2020 at 8:52 pm

    Hi Jane, I love your recipes, just wondering can you use vanilla extract rather than vanilla bean paste? Thank you x

  27. Ela on July 9, 2020 at 11:25 pm

    Hi Jane I have another question!
    Recently I’ve started baking these and I’m using fondant on top as decoration, but I find that when I cut the fondant out with the same size cookie cutter I used to cut the dough the cookie is slightly larger than the piece of fondant??
    So it’s spread just a tad in the oven what can I do to prevent this? My butter was softened slightly in the microwave could this be the reason as the dough was slightly soft?

    • Jane's Patisserie on July 10, 2020 at 3:17 pm

      Hey – yes if your cookies have spread it could be because the dough was soft – but generally I don’t mind the fondant being slightly smaller. You could use a larger cutter for the fondant, as it may make it equal?



  28. Ela on July 2, 2020 at 10:39 am

    I was wondering if I could half this recipe as I don’t want a large batch? And Would I have to use a medium egg instead of a large egg?

    • Jane's Patisserie on July 2, 2020 at 7:39 pm

      Hey! Yes so you’d want to use as small an egg as you can, but otherwise half should be fine! Or, you can make the full batch and freeze the dough!



  29. Candy on March 25, 2019 at 7:42 pm

    Can you freeze the dough please?

    • Jane's Patisserie on March 25, 2019 at 8:37 pm

      Yes x



    • Jess on October 29, 2019 at 2:59 pm

      Hi Jane,
      Would you cook from frozen or move to fridge 24 hrs before then cook once defrosted?

      Thank you

      Jess



    • Jane's Patisserie on October 29, 2019 at 10:39 pm

      I generally bake cookie dough from frozen!



  30. Sugar Cookies | hollyrachelbakes on February 29, 2016 at 10:17 pm

    […] would choose a cookie recipe that can be cut out and ideally iced, for inspiration I headed over to Jane’s Patisserie and came across the perfect recipe – Sugar Cookies! They were so easy to make and even easier […]

  31. Marisa's Italian Kitchen on November 4, 2015 at 11:08 pm

    So pretty!!! 🙂

  32. Natascha's Palace on November 4, 2015 at 6:53 pm

    So beautiful ?

  33. SweetJ on November 4, 2015 at 5:00 pm

    These are beautiful! Love the handpainted, watercolor look.

  34. tanya2austin on November 4, 2015 at 2:10 pm

    I love painting cookies too! I did a set with watercolor-like spring flowers and they’re my favorite cookies ever. These look great!

    • Jane's Patisserie on November 4, 2015 at 2:31 pm

      Ohh these are nothing in comparison to yours! I want to do some more soon – doing some for a charity bake sale next week, and doing some christmas themed ones!



  35. Lauren at Knead to Dough on November 4, 2015 at 12:08 pm

    These are stunningly decorated! I went to a cake painting class a few months ago but never thought to try it on cookies! Did you buy the sugar flair liquids or use the normal gels? At the class we used liquid but I only have the gels at home, wondered if they would work? 🙂 gorgeous recipe as usual Jane! X

    • Jane's Patisserie on November 4, 2015 at 1:49 pm

      Yeah I used the Sugarflair pastes that you use for like sugar paste & fondant and just watered it down with a few drops of water 🙂 and thank you so much! I guess either colouring will work at the end of the day as long as its the right consistency!! x



    • Lauren at Knead to Dough on November 4, 2015 at 6:46 pm

      Thank you Jane! 🙂 x



    • Jane's Patisserie on November 4, 2015 at 9:17 pm

      Its okay! 🙂 x



  36. angelaburnley on November 4, 2015 at 10:48 am

    Looks amazing Jane! I would love to give it a go! Maybe I will! ☺

  37. The Culinary Jumble on November 4, 2015 at 10:20 am

    Wow, they look amazing!

  38. Bene Bakes on November 4, 2015 at 9:52 am

    LOVE this!

  39. Claire | Art and Soul on November 4, 2015 at 9:46 am

    Don’t apologise for the decoration – I think these are beautiful 🙂 I’d love to do more biscuit decoration but have to find a time when an enthusiastic 2 year old isn’t trying to pinch them from the board as I pipe!
    And, if you can, please post more pics of the Harry Potter cake. I think I saw a pic on Twitter (or I’m imagining it…) and it looked amazing. I’m sure the bride and groom were thrilled.

    • Jane's Patisserie on November 4, 2015 at 10:47 am

      Awwh haha thank you! And that doesn’t surprised me – they always wanna be involved!! & I’m going to post a whole post dedicated to the cake later in the week so no worries there!



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