Name: Sable Cut Out Sugar Cookies
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 8 min
Total time: 1 h 18 min
Yield: 24
Ingredients: 8 ounces organic grass-fed butter, softened, (2 sticks); 1/2 cup white sugar; 1 large egg; 1 Tablespoon vanilla; 3 cups organic white flour; 1/2 teaspoon baking soda; 2 Tablespoons water

These sable cookies are satisfying cut out sugar cookies that are buttery yet delicate and light on sugar, but not on flavor. They are the just right cookies to decorate with frosting!

We love holiday cookies. We make our olive oil chocolate chip cookies, our Paleo gingerbread men, and these sable cut out sugar cookies every year for Christmas.

We love this sable cookie recipe because there is less sugar than your average sugar cookie recipe, which means adding frosting on top doesn’t make things too overwhelmingly sweet. They taste like French butter cookies, which means they taste great undecorated as well.

They are called “sable”, or “sand” in French, because during the process of making them, the dough looks like sand. You’ll be able to see this during the step by step instructions below.

What makes this recipe work

You only need 6 ingredients to make these cookies.
There is less sugar in them than your classic cut out sugar cookie recipe.
They work for any season, occasion or holiday.
You can frost them or leave them plain.

Recipe Ingredients

Ingredients needed to make sable cookies.

Flour– an unbleached all purpose flour works best for this recipe.
Sugar– we like using organic cane sugar here because it has a finer texture.
Egg– a large egg is what we use for this recipe.
Vanilla extract– you can use any kind of vanilla extract that you like.
Butter– use a good quality butter because it affects the taste of the cookies.
Baking soda– this helps the cookies rise.

See recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.

Step by step instructions

Butter and sugar creamed together in a bowl.

Step 1

Step 1- Beat the butter and sugar with an electric hand-held mixer.

Vanilla and egg added to the cookie batter.

Step 2

Step 2- Add an egg and vanilla and mix.

Step 3

Step 3: Add one cup of flour to the mixture and mix.

After all the flour is added the batter looks like sand.

Step 4

Step 4: Add another cup of flour and mix. Add the last cup of flour and mix.

You will end up with a “sand” or “sable” texture, which is what gives the cookies their sable name.

Step 5

Step 5: Add 2 Tablespoons of water to the dough and then mush the dough with your hands until a dough forms.

Cut Out Sugar Cookie dough going into the fridge.

Step 6

Step 6: Divide the dough into four pieces, put them into plastic bags and refrigerate for one hour.

Mushing the sable cookie dough in ones hands.

Step 7

Step 7: Take out the refrigerated dough and squish it in between your hands until the dough has softened.

Step 8

Step 8: Roll out your dough and then cut into it with cookie cutters.

Sable cut out sugar cookies before baking.

Step 9

Step 9: Place the cut out cookie dough onto a cookie sheet.

Sable cut out sugar cookies after baking.

Step 10

Step 10: Bake!

Sable cut out sugar cookies frosted and decorated.

Step 11

Step 11: Frost and decorate!

Expert tips

This dough tends to be on the dry side. Don’t add any more than the 2 Tablespoons of water in this recipe.
If your dough feels too hard after refrigerating, just keep massaging it in your hands and it will soften.
If you are looking for a more classic American sugar cookie, this is not the recipe for you. These are more of a French tart/ sablé combination type cookie. They are not very sweet.
- Check out these Paleo Sugar cookies or these Maple sugar Cut out Cookies for gluten-free, Paleo options of sugar cookies.
Use cut cutters of your choice. We like these holiday cookie cutters for Christmas and these heart cookie cutters for Valentine’s day.
- For another fun holiday dessert option, try Texanerin’s Snowman Cupcakes.
If you like sugar cookies for the holidays, check out this 4th of July Fruit Pizza, which would be great any time of year.

Frosting options

Option 1

Option 1- From-scratch beet coconut oil frosting

We have used a beet juice coconut oil frosting to decorate these cookies in the past. Which is great because there are no food dyes or crap inside of them.

Beet juice frosting ingredients:

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3 Tablespoons melted coconut oil
1 Tablespoon vanilla
1 Tablespoon canned coconut cream
2 Tablespoons beet juice

To make it: Put all of the ingredients into a food processor and mix.

Store in an airtight container so it doesn’t harden.

Option 2

Option 2- Store bought frosting

Our favorite store bought frosting is Mrs Jones frosting. Not only is it dairy-free and made without dyes or crazy chemicals, but it tastes satisfying!

If you look at the other frosting brands in the grocery store, you will find high fructose corn syrup, titanium dioxide and food dyes, among other unhealthy ingredients. Mrs. Jones frosting is Vegan, organic and made with only 6 ingredients.

Option (3)-This Gluten-free, Vegan, and Dairy-free Sugar Cookie Icing Recipe by Veggie Balance is a wonderful lighter frosting option. It is made with just 3 ingredients and results in the most beautiful glossy sugar cookie frosting.

Cookies decorated in beet coconut oil frosting.

Prep 10 minutesCook 8 minutesTotal 1 hour 18 minutesMakes 24

Ingredients

Cookie Ingredients:

8 ounces organic grass-fed butter, softened, (2 sticks)
1/2 cup white sugar
1 large egg
1 Tablespoon vanilla
3 cups organic white flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 Tablespoons water

Method

In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar with an electric hand-held mixer at low speed. Increase the speed to high and beat until creamy. ( The color will turn light yellow).
Add the egg and vanilla and beat at a low speed until well mixed.
Add the baking soda and 1 cup of the flour and beat until just blended. Add another cup of flour and beat until well blended. Add the third cup of flower and beat until just blended. You’ll notice that this is where the mixture looks like “Sand”. It will be in smaller pieces.
Add 1 Tablespoon of water to the dough and put your hands into the dough and push down. Try to get the whole thing to form into a ball. Add one more Tablespoon of water and mix into the dough well until the ball is evenly textured. Be careful with the water though, a little goes a long way!
Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces and roll each piece into a ball. Put each piece into a separate plastic bag and refrigerate the dough in the fridge for one hour or in the freezer for 20 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Then take one of the balls out of the fridge or freezer. Knead the dough in your hands or on a clean surface until it becomes smooth and buttery.
On a lightly floured surface, or in between two sheets of parchment paper, roll the dough to about 1/8 of an inch thick (or however thick you like it). Use cookie cutters to cut the dough into shapes.
Roll the scraps of the dough into a ball and roll the dough out again. Cut shapes and keep rolling out the dough until you don't have enough to make shapes with.
Do this with all the refrigerated balls of dough. Then combine all the scraps together, roll it out and cut the dough into shapes with cookie cutters.
Place the cookies onto a cookie sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes (only put one cookie sheet into the oven at a time). Let the cookies cool on a wire rack. You'll be baking multiple batches of these.