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a bowl of decorated mini christmas cookies.

Mini Sugar Cookies

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These Mini Sugar Cookies are buttery, soft, and perfectly bite-sized. Flavored with vanilla and almond, they hold their shape beautifully and are topped with a smooth, glossy icing, perfect for decorating and gifting any time of year.
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Prep Time2 hours
Cook Time9 minutes
Total Time2 hours 9 minutes
Servings: 200 mini cookies
Author: Molly Thompson

INGREDIENTS

Mini Sugar Cookies

  • 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 cup unsalted butter room temperature
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 egg room temperature
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon almond extract

Icing

  • 3 cups powdered sugar sugar
  • 4 Tablespoons milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • Assorted gel food coloring
  • Assorted sprinkles for decorating

INSTRUCTIONS

  • Whisk dry ingredients (2 min): In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
    2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • Beat wet ingredients (5 min): In a large bowl with a hand mixer, or in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar on medium-high speed for 2-3 full minutes. Add the egg, vanilla, and almond extract and beat for another 1-2 minutes. Scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl as needed.
    3/4 cup unsalted butter, 3/4 cup granulated sugar, 1 egg, 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract, 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
  • Combine dough (2 min): With the mixer on low, add the dry ingredients until combined.
  • Roll out and chill (2 hours): Divide the dough in half and place each on floured parchment paper. Place another piece on top and roll each out between two pieces of parchment paper 1/4 inch thick. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or up to 2 days.
  • Cut the cookies out (10 min): When you’re ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. Remove the cookies from the fridge and use mini cookie cutters to cut the dough out. Pick the cookie cutters up slowly so the cookie comes out with the cutter. I find this is the easiest way for the more intricate designs to keep their shape. Use the bristle end of a small brush, like a cookie decorating brush (or kid’s paint brush), to help nudge the dough out of the cutter. Arrange the cookies on the baking sheet. They don’t spread so you can arrange them closely.
  • Bake (9 minutes): Bake in the preheated oven for 8-10 minutes (9 was perfect for me), until the tops are set and the bottoms are just barely golden. Re-roll any dough scraps and repeat until the dough is gone. Cool completely on the baking sheet before icing.
  • Make the icing (3 min): Add the powdered sugar to a large bowl with the vanilla and 4 Tablespoons of milk. Use a fork to mix until smooth. It should be difficult to combine then start to smooth out. When you lift the fork out of the icing it should drizzle like a ribbon back into the bowl before melting back into the icing. Add a tiny drop of water or a smalls poonful of powdered sugar to to reach this consistency.
    3 cups powdered sugar sugar, 4 Tablespoons milk, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • Decorate (30 min): Divide the icing into separate bowls. Add food coloring to reach your desired colors (see notes for what I used). Dip the tops of each cookie into the icing and let it drizzle off slightly before setting it back on the parchment lined baking sheet and decorate with sprinkles. I like to dip 5-10 at once then sprinkle and repeat. If any of the icing starts to set on top, stir well with a fork before dipping again. The cookies take 1-2 hours to full set after dipping.
    Assorted gel food coloring, Assorted sprinkles for decorating

Notes

Cookie Cutters: I used these mini Christmas cookies cutters and loved all the shapes. Feel free to use any shape depending on the holiday! Use a paint brush to push the dough out of the mini cutters
Food Coloring: you must use gel food coloring for the best results when it comes to icing cookies. I used 2-3 drops of brown, 1 drop of pink, 3 drops of red, and 3 drops of green to reach the color hues in these pictures.
Cooling Tip: you should be able to get all of the dough baked on 2-3 cookie sheets. Because these are so small and there’s so many of them, I find it easiest to allow them to cool completely on the sheet pan so I don’t have to transfer so many little cookies to a wire rack. But you can if you don’t have enough sheet pans or if you want them to cool faster.

Nutrition

Serving: 1mini cookie | Calories: 22kcal | Carbohydrates: 4g | Protein: 0.2g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 0.5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.04g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Trans Fat: 0.03g | Cholesterol: 3mg | Sodium: 7mg | Fiber: 0.04g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 23IU | Calcium: 2mg | Iron: 0.1mg
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