Cut-Out Coffee Cup Cookies Recipe
There’s nothing like decorated sugar cookies to put me in the holiday spirit. These cut-out coffee cup sugar cookies are fun and so festive! If you’re looking for very traditional Christmas Cut-Out Sugar Cookies, I’ve got you covered with the recipe I just linked that’s a reader favorite. But these cut-out sugar cookies in the shape of coffee mugs — and decorated with red and white royal icing! — are unique and such fun Christmas cookies sure to impress all your friends and family. The cut-out Christmas sugar cookies are perfectly soft, buttery, and are just beautiful to set on your dessert table at your holiday parties Cut-out coffee cup sugar cookies also make thoughtful hostess gifts.
Even if you’re not a cookie decorating expert, I promise, these Christmas cookies are easier than they look! There are lots of photos in this post and my detailed, step-by-step information walks you through everything you need to know. But if you’re already a cut-out sugar cookie pro, feel free to scroll straight down to the recipe and skip the photos and my cookie making tips and tricks.
Ingredients in Cut-Out Coffee Cup Cookies and Icing
These fun Christmas cookies you’ll need the following easy to find fridge and pantry ingredients. Cut-Out Coffee Cup Cookies:
All-purpose flour Baking soda Salt Unsalted butter, softened Granulated sugar Egg Vanilla extract
For the Icing you will need:
Confectioners’ sugar Meringue powder Water Red food coloring gel
How to Make Cut Out Cookies
To make this basic and easy sugar cookie dough, which you can use for any shape of cut-out cookie, not just coffee mug cookies, follow these simple steps: Step 1: Whisk together the dry ingredients and set aside. Step 2: Beat together the butter and sugar until light and creamed. Step 3: Add the egg, vanilla, and beat to incorporate. Step 4: Mix in the dry ingredients until a smooth dough forms. Step 5: Divide the dough in half, pat it into two balls, and wrap each tightly with plastic wrap. Step 6: Refrigerate for 30 minutes to chill the dough.
After you’ve chilled the dough, it’s time to roll and cut out the dough: Step 7: Roll out the dough to into a rough ¼-inch thick circle on a lightly floured countertop.
Step 8: Using a coffee mug cookie cutter, cut out as many cookies as you can and place them on lined baking sheets. Step 9: Ball together the unused dough, re-roll it, and cut out additional coffee mug shaped cookies using your cutter and place on the baking sheets.
Step 10: Bake the cookies for about 10 minutes or until lightly browned around the edges. Step 11: Allow cookies to cool completely before decorating them. While they cool, make the meringue powder icing.
How to Make Meringue Powder Royal Icing
To make meringue powder icing, which is what you’ll be using to decorate your festive and unique sugar cookies, follow these straightforward steps: Step 1: Beat together the confectioners’ sugar and meringue powder.
Step 2: Gradually add warm water and beat until stiff peaks form. Add more water or sugar to achieve the proper consistency. Tip: The proper consistency for icing for decorating the cookies is when you lift the beater and the ribbon of icing that falls into the bowl remains on the surface of the icing for 2 to 3 seconds and then disappears. Step 3: Tint three-quarters of the icing with red gel food coloring and leave the other half white. Step 4: Decorate the cookies right away after the icing is ready!
What Is Meringue Powder?
You may be wondering what in the heck is meringue powder and is it really necessary? The simple answer it’s a substitute for egg whites in icing, often in royal icing. Traditional royal icing like I use in my Classic Cut-Out Sugar Cookies has egg whites in it but not everyone wants to use egg whites in their icing nor can everyone find pasteurized egg whites, which is where meringue powder comes in. When you use meringue powder, it substitutes for egg whites, and is almost better than using real egg whites because it dries hard, glossy, and doesn’t fall flat.
Do I Have to Use Meringue Powder in the Royal Icing?
Not necessarily. For royal icing like I used in the coffee mug sugar cookies, you either need to use meringue powder or you can use my recipe for royal icing with real (pasteurized) egg whites. Without using one or the other, your icing will not set up properly, it will appear duller, it will spread, and won’t give you the results you’re looking for in a decorated sugar cookie.
How to Decorate the Coffee Cup Cookies
After you’ve baked the soft cut-out sugar cookies, allowed them to cool fully, and made sugar cookie royal icing, you are ready to get started decorating them. Although they do look impressive and tricky to decorate, these unique cut-out Christmas cookies are easier than you think to master! Step 1: Transfer the red and white icing into separate pastry bags. Step 2: Use a #8 tip for outlining and filling the mug part of the cookie and a #32 tip for filling in the cream part. Tip: Wilton tips numbers 1, 2, 3 and 4 work as well in place of the #8 tip.
Step 3: Begin decorating your least favorite or least pretty looking cookies first. Outline the mug part of the cookie with red icing, then fill it in.
Step 4: Fill in the cream part with the white icing. Optionally dust with coarse sugar for extra pizazz!
Step 5: Draw a white snowflake in the center of the red mug portion.
Step 6: Optionally draw a thin horizontal line with caramel between the mug and cream part. Step 7: Repeat the process with all the cookies and allow them to set up fully before storing or enjoying.
Can I Double This Recipe?
This is a small batch recipe as cut-out Christmas cookies go, making just 8 large coffee mug-shaped cookies. Of course, you can double the recipe if you want to make more. You can also use a smaller sized coffee mug cutter, so that you yield more cookies. Note that in doing so, baking time will be reduced. Additionally, the smaller the cookie, the more precision that’s required when decorating them. If you’re not an experienced baker, I recommend sticking with the size coffee mug cookie cutter I used rather than going smaller so that you have an easier time decorating them.
How to Store Cut Out Cookies
I recommend storing your decorated holiday sugar cookies airtight at room temp for up to 5 days. While you can likely get away with storing them for up to 2 weeks at room temp, they won’t taste as fresh. However, I’m certain that so many “fancy” department stores, coffee shops, and the like store cookies like this for weeks on end during the holiday season. And yet people continue to buy these overpriced, yet semi-dried out cookies, because they are just so beautiful that it’s hard to resist them!
Can Frosted Cut-Out Sugar Cookies Be Frozen?
Once they’ve been decorated, do not freeze them because it will cause the icing to smear, run, and bleed together. Although, you can freeze the unbaked cut-out sugar cookie dough. Freeze it airtight in a large disc for up to 4 months, allow it to thaw on the counter, and then roll it out after it’s soft enough, and bake off your fun cut-out sugar cookies.
Tips For The Best Cut-Out Coffee Cup Cookies
Add lemon zest: For an interesting flavor twist, feel free to add 3/4 teaspoon lemon zest to the coffee cup cookie dough. It adds a bright pop of citrus and for any lemon lovers, it’ll just make these unique cookies even more irresistible! Chilling the dough: Do not skip chilling the dough as I already mentioned. The dough is too soft to roll out if you don’t chill it. Apart from being too soft to roll out, warm dough spreads in the oven when it bakes. Therefore, you will not end up with discernible coffee mugs or coffee cups. Instead you would end up with blobs. You definitely need to chill the dough!
Baking the cookies: If you can, bake the cookies one sheet at a time, on the center oven rack, and rotate the pan midway through baking for optimal results. Keep the baking sheet that’s waiting to be baked in the fridge if possible. Coloring the icing: Gel food coloring — as opposed to the more watery, old school types — is my preference. It thins out the icing less, the colors are more vibrant, you use less overall, and it’s just a superior result. Wilton Gel in Christmas Red is what I used for the coffee cup sugar cookies.
Decorating the cookies: When you’re decorating the cookies, start with your least favorite or least pretty looking cookies. It’s kind of like pancakes, the first couple can be throw-aways as you get the hang of it, so chose the least perfect cookies as your early guinea pigs.
Caramel sauce: If you decide to optionally draw a thin horizontal line with caramel sauce in between the mug and the cream part, a thicker caramel sauce works best such as Trader Joe’s, Cold Stone or my Salted Caramel Sauce.
Removing air bubbles: Once you’ve finished applying the icing to the cookie, shake it very gently to help settle the bumps if there are any. You can also use a toothpick to help smooth out any lumps, bumps, or bubbles.
Enjoy!
More Cute Christmas Cookie Ideas:
25 Holiday Cookie Favorites – The tried-and-true favorites are all here! If you need a holiday cookie recipe, this collection has you covered!! Tried this recipe? Leave a review! Consider leaving a 5 star rating if you’ve made and loved one of my recipes!
Christmas Cut Out Sugar Cookies – These traditional sugar cookies are just like Grandma used to make!! They’re thin but still soft, topped with a simple 2-ingredient royal icing, and loaded with sprinkles! So festive and perfect for cookies exchanges or hostess gifts!!
Classic Gingerbread Cookies – Soft and chewy cutout gingerbread cookies filled with plenty of ginger and warming spices! Decorated with a sweet, soft royal icing and topped with cinnamon candies, these gingerbread men are a nostalgic favorite Christmas cookie that everyone adores!
Glazed Eggnog Cookies — Soft, buttery tea cakes topped with a creamy eggnog glaze are a Christmas treat that everyone will love!! EASY to make, not at all dry, and great for cookie exchanges or hostess gifts!!
Snowflake Linzer Cookies – Linzer cookies are the ultimate sandwich cookies! A layer of raspberry jam is tucked in between two buttery, nutty cookies and dusted with powdered sugar! Great Christmas cookies that are perfect to serve at your holiday parties or to include in cookie exchanges!
Soft and Chewy M&M’s Chocolate Chip Cookies – If you’re looking for a new M&M cookie recipe, this is THE ONE! Soft, buttery, and irresistible!!
Soft Frosted Holiday Sprinkles Cookies – Tender, buttery cookies topped with cream cheese frosting and loaded with sprinkles! Easy, no-roll holiday cookies that everyone goes crazy for!
Ritz Cookies (No-Bake Christmas Cookies) — If you need a ridiculously easy, no-bake dessert for a party, holiday cookie exchange, or just have a spur of the moment craving for chocolate and peanut butter, these Ritz cookies are perfect!
Santa’s Kitchen Sink Cookies — Santa and everyone else won’t be able to resist these AMAZING cookies loaded with everything but the kitchen sink!! EASY, festive, salty-sweet treats with a FUN ingredients list!!
Double Chocolate Peppermint Sandwich Cookies – Rich, decadent, soft and chewy double chocolate cookies are sandwiched together with a tangy cream cheese filling. Rolled in crushed candy canes and drizzled with white chocolate for extra flavor and holiday festiveness! They’re the PERFECT Christmas cookie!
