What more can I say about this wonderful Vintage Betty Crocker Rolled Sugar Cookies recipe, other than PERFECT! This is the same recipe that my Grandma Janet and I used when we made sugar cookies every year at Christmastime and I hunted it down when it was time to make the traditional rolled sugar cookies with my own children.
Sometimes the Classics are Still the Very Best
It is the base recipe that I use for any sugar cookies, like my classic rolled sugar cookies which is my adaptation to include my favorite ingredients for the best tasting sugar cookies around!
If you need to cut the prep time down and skip the chilling, you can try out my no chill rolled sugar cookies for another fantastic sugar cookie recipe!
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Need a frosting recipe for your sugar cookies? Try my sugar cookie frosting that hardens, it's ultra white base color works great for adding colors to for amazing sugar cookie decorating!
My amazing glossy sugar cookie icing is also ideal for all of your holiday cookie baking! Like my frosting, this shiny icing will harden once set to make stacking a breeze!
Ingredients You'll Need
These classic cookies are made with 7 simple ingredients that most of us always have in our pantry!
- Shortening - Or a combination of shortening and butter. The original recipe itself calls for shortening and margarine, as do many vintage recipes.
- Sugar - What would sugar cookies be without the staple granulated sugar that makes them so tasty!
- Eggs - To add structure and bind your ingredients together.
- Salt - A touch of salt to keep your cookies from being overly sweet, salt makes everything taste better!
- Baking Powder - To give just the right amount of rise to your cookies.
- Vanilla Extract - Use more if you want, it won't hurt anything! Vanilla helps to heighten all of the delicious ingredient flavors in cookies.
- All-Purpose Flour - The bakers' staple ingredient for adding bulk to baked goods.
How to Make Rolled Sugar Cookies
The instructions in the recipe card below are very true to the original recipe. My preferred method for mixing cookie dough, a one-bowl method, is given here.
Mix the Cookie Dough
- To make Vintage Betty Crocker Rolled Sugar Cookies, for best results, cream together the shortening (plus butter or margarine) and sugar.
- Add the eggs, salt, baking powder, and vanilla and combine well.
- Add the flour until your dough forms, then cover with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour before rolling out your dough for cut out sugar cookies.
Roll, Cut, and Bake the Cookies
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C) and line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- Transfer a portion (I roll my batches in roughly quarter portions of the dough) to a lightly floured working surface. Roll out the dough until it is approximately ¼ inch in thickness. Cut desired shapes out using your cookie cutters.
- Place the cut-out cookie shapes onto your prepared baking sheets and bake for 6-8 minutes, or until the bottoms are just beginning to turn golden.
- Remove from the oven and allow the cookies to set on the baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
How Long Can I Store My Vintage Betty Crocker Rolled Sugar Cookie Dough In The Refrigerator?
Once your dough is made, rather than simply covering the bowl with plastic wrap for the required chilling time, place dough in an airtight container. It can be refrigerated for up to 1 week, but I suggest using your cookie dough within the first 3 to 5 days for best results.
Can I Freeze My Vintage Betty Crocker Rolled Sugar Cookie Dough?
You can easily freeze your dough! Once you have combined all of your ingredients, rather than chilling the sugar cookie dough in the refrigerator, I split my dough into two halves.
Form a disc shaped round between a couple of sheets of plastic wrap (about 1 inch in thickness), then wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Once the discs are formed, they can be stored in a freezer storage bag or an airtight container in the freezer.
How Long Can I Freeze Sugar Cookie Dough?
Sugar cookie dough in general can be stored in the freezer for up to 6 months. How well the dough has been wrapped and stored for freezing will affect your dough's best 'use by' date.
My best results when baking frozen sugar cookie dough, is to use dough no older than 3 months. Other family members say that their dough stores easily for more than 6 months (and even up to 1 year!).
*Recipe as it was originally printed with very minor exceptions and an additional note or two, such as creaming the shortening and sugar together. Also, although the recipe states that it yields 4 dozen 3" cookies, my batches have never yielded more than 3 dozen 🙂
📖 Recipe Card
Vintage Betty Crocker Rolled Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
- ¾ cup shortening (part butter or margarine, softened)
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla (or ½ teaspoon lemon extract)
- 2 ½ cups Gold Medal (all-purpose) flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
(Note: 2x or 3x only changes the ingredient list)
Instructions
- Mix the shortening, sugar, eggs, and flavoring together thoroughly (best to cream the the shortening and sugar together until smooth first). Blend in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cover and chill for at least an hour.
- Heat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C) and line your baking sheet(s) with parchment paper. Roll the dough to ¼ inch thickness on a lightly floured pastry mat or board. Cut out desired shapes and transfer them to your baking sheet(s). Bake 6-8 minutes or until very lightly brown.
Notes
Nutrition
Susan Rinehart says
The original recipe out of the 1950's cookbook also called for dried orange peel. I have the original.
Diane says
This is the best sugar cookie recipe! I roll them a little thicker and they turn out nice and soft on the inside. I have made these at Christmas since I received the Betty Crocker Recipe Card Library about 45 years ago. I have moved 3 times in the last few years and can't find where I packed the card. I was so happy to find this recipe on the internet. I make some of these every year for me and to give to my grown son. He grew up with these wonderful cookies and his wife loves the thin crispy kind. It is probably the only recipe that beats what his wife can cook. LOL
Barbara says
Have been making these cookies for 50 years.
Lori Mathewson says
This is the sugar cookie recipe that I grew up making with my mom. My kids always loved them when we would spend Christmas with my parents in Denver. Now my grown kids request them when I ask what they want for goodies at Christmas. For all those that had the original Betty Crocker Cookie Cookbook that has fallen apart, you can still get it on Amazon. Just look up Betty Crocker’s Cooky Cookbook 1963 edition.
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
You can find those 'oldies but goodies' on Ebay too. 🙂 This recipe is actually from one of the 1950's cookbooks.
Jacqueline says
Can the baked cookies be frozen and then frosted at a later time? If so, how long will they freeze for? And what is the best way to freeze? Airtight container?
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
Yes! Most definitely! My great-grandma froze these plain and iced (she always had frozen, iced Santa cookies). I prefer to use frozen sugar cookies within 2-3 months at most. Freeze them in plastic storage containers with sheets of parchment paper between them. Enjoy!
Jan Roan says
I’ve been making these for forty years! I add one teaspoon of almond extract in addition to vanilla.
Shelley says
This looks so easy to make with my kids! Can I use all shortening?
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
Yes, you most definitely can! It even helps the cookies hold their shape best 🙂 Have fun!
Shelley says
Perfect, I'll try this soon. Thanks! 🙂
Rosemarie Kiry says
This recipe is from the old Betty Crocker cookbook. My husband loves these but alas my cookbook fell apart after about 60 years or older use as my mother in law used it. I just roll each into a bal and smash it with the bottom of a buttered and sugar dipped glass. I’ve never rolled them out though. It is such and easy recipe. I also just use butter rather than any shortening. Thanks so much for this recipe.
Bobbi-Sue Butterfly says
Is there a Gluten-free version of this incredible classic?
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
I would suggest using Bob's Red Mill gluten-free flour to swap out for the all-purpose flour. Enjoy!
Beverly says
This vintage version with part butter part shortening made all the difference for cookies that hold shape and I love using the lemon pure extract ( never artificial extracts thank you ! Beverly
Diane says
THANK YOU for sharing this recipe!! I have been looking all over for my Momma's recipe box Specifically for THIS recipe!! Ooooohhh! I thought it was gone, forever! There's Nothing that says Christmas Baking than Ethel's Sugar Cookies! THEY REMIND ME OF HOME!! <3 <3 <3 Merry Christmas!!
Lindsey says
What can I do if I can't find parchment paper?
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
I use the silicone (silpat) baking mats interchangeably with parchment paper with great results. However, if you don't have either available to you just do a test batch of a few cookies on your normal, ungreased baking sheet(s). Hope that helps!
Rose says
For most of the years that I have baked cookies I never used parchment paper just the cookie sheet they came out wonderful and they wipe clean but the pan is still not burning hot but very warm wipe it with a paper towel the crumbs come off very quickly today I do use parchment paper only because it makes cleanup easier for me I'm 62 now until 5 years ago I'd never used it and I've been baking since I was 9.
Alyssa says
Can you use all butter and no shortening?
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
Yes, indeed and it's my favorite way to make these sugar cookies. Having the shortening helps the cookies hold their shape too (it melts slower so you get thicker sugar cookies with less spreading). However, I love the taste of all butter sugar cookies especially with some lemon zest added. Enjoy!
Anonymous says
Are they crisp on the outside but soft on the inside?
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
These are soft and tender throughout, with a crispy bottom. Another minute or so of baking (play with your baking times) will help you achieve a crispier cookie. Hope that helps and thanks for asking!
Melanie Kennedy says
Was this recipe from the Betty Crocker Red Pie Cookbook? That was my go to recipe for years
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
It was one of the red cookbooks 🙂 but no, it wasn't the pie cookbook as far as I can remember. That's assuming it wasn't the same recipe in both books though. This was published in the late 50's.
Anonymous says
I got the cookbook with the same recipe. My moms cookbook had the same recipe also. this are my go to sugar roll outs. The recipe in the new book uses powered sugar.
E says
Is this Melanie Kennedy from PA? If so your Aunt just used this recipe 😋
Cathy Cox says
What is the ratio of butter to shortening? It doesn't specify in the recipe & I dont usually bake using Crisco, so I'm unfamiliar. Thanx so much for your help!!
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
It can be in any combination, but I do a 1/2 cup of one and a 1/4 cup of the other to make it easy. Enjoy!!
Anonymous says
I've been making this recipe for a long time, but have always used butter, but they spread, so I'm definitely going to try using 1/2 c. butter and 1/4 c. shortening.
Jerilyn Zwolinski says
this is the recipe I use every year, I have an old Betty Crocker cookbook and this recipe is in there I use the lemon flavoring instead of the vanilla flavoring and I like the lemon better.
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
I love lemon in mine too! Add lemon zest and it's even better 🙂
Kallie says
What icing do you use for these, if any? I have the same recipe, but mine came from my mom's Betty Crocker Recipe Boxed Library-circa 1971. I have become an avid baker and realized that I have been doing the the icing recipe WRONG (from the same recipe library) for nearly 30 years!
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
Hello Kallie, I have many different icings or frostings that I use for these but typically my simple icing that my Grandma always made (water or milk, flavoring extract, powdered sugar until you reach your desired consistency then add coloring). My shiny icing (using corn syrup) will harden into a glossy appearance, and I also use my frosting that hardens.
Hope that helps! If you want I can dig through one of my old recipe books for something vintage to match 🙂
Grace says
I have used this recipe every year since the 1970's and agree with both of your additional notes. I no longer have the cookbook from which the sugar cookies came; it literally fell apart from being used so much. In searching for a recipe for braided honey bread that I believe was in the same book, I came across your website and look forward to trying some of your recipes especially the beef stew; both my husband and I love beef stew and your recipe sounds quick, easy and delicious. Could you let me know which BC cookbook you used for the cookie recipe.
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
Hello Grace, we love that cook book too! That is one that my mother still has, that and the old Joy of Cooking book...did you ever have that one? The one that I'm referencing in the recipe is if I remember correctly (and I'm pretty sure of this date) the 1969 Betty Crocker Cook Book. Hope that helps! Angela
Anonymous says
I actually went out looking for the actual cookbook as this is all the cookies my mom used to make when I was a kid. You can still find the book today as I need to go out and buy another one
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
Found a few of the old Betty Crocker cookbooks when we moved into this old farmhouse, wish we still had them but I know they are available on ebay for pretty reasonable prices. I love my updated version and hassle my mom for anything from the 1969 edition!
Amy says
I looked all over for this recipe. Thank you!!
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
I looked for it too and thought for sure that it would be easy to find, but I was wrong! So I thought I'd share it here 🙂