Back to School Sugar Cookies

These Back to School sugar cookies are totally fun to make and decorate with royal icing! Grab the free printable tag below to make a darling gift this year.

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Prep Time: 20

Cook Time: 7

Additional Time: 2

Total Time: 2 27

Author: Heather Painchaud

Servings: 60

Ingredients

1 cup white sugar
½ cup butter room temperature
1 large egg
4 Tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt

Instructions

Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
In a large bowl with an electric mixer or stand mixer with paddle attachment, combine dry ingredients. Add butter, egg, milk, and extract. Mix on medium speed until a soft dough forms.
Chill the dough in the refrigerator for at least one hour. This helps to prevent the dough from spreading when baked.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Dust your surface with flour and use a rolling pin to roll the dough to 1/4" thickness on the floured surface.
Use cookie cutters to cut shapes from the dough. Place the cookies on the prepared baking sheet.
Bake until the cookies are lightly brown around the edges, about 7 minutes.
Place the cookies on a wire rack to cool before decorating with royal icing.

Video

Notes

Use the step-by-step instructions in the blog post to decorate the cookies.
Roll dough between two sheets of parchment for easy cleanup.

Always let royal icing layers dry completely before adding details.

If you are feeling uncertain about your decorating skills, use a piece of wax paper taped to a printed template and pipe royal icing transfers for perfectly consistent shapes.

Let transfers dry at least 24 hours, then gently peel them off and attach with a dot of fresh icing.

Choose gel food coloring over liquid to keep your icing from thinning out and losing shape.

Always mix gel colors a shade lighter than you want and let the color sit in the icing for 15–20 minutes before using so it fully develops. The colors will deepen as the icing dries.

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