St. Patrick’s Day Sugar Cookies are soft, buttery shamrock cut-outs that hold their shape and bake up with clean edges without spreading into green blobs.
If you want festive cookies that are easy to decorate and sturdy enough for classroom parties, this is your recipe.
If you want my most reliable base recipe for cut-out cookies that keep sharp edges, see my no-spread cut-out sugar cookies.
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These shamrock sugar cookies are slightly puffed in the center, lightly crisp at the edges and simple to dress up with green sanding sugar. No royal icing required unless you want it.
The key to keeping this particular cut-out cookie recipe from spreading is to chill the dough twice.
First after mixing, then again after rolling and cutting.
That extra chill time keeps the edges sharp so your shamrocks actually look like shamrocks.
If you’re short on time, I have a no-chill cut-out cookie recipe that’s also excellent.
Whether you use a shamrock cutter or a simple round glass, these cookies are an easy way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.
Lucky Charms Cereal Cookies are also appropriate for St. Patrick's Day as are these Pot O' Gold Rolo Bites.
Why You'll Love These Cookies
- Hold their shape
- Easy to decorate
- No royal icing required
- Perfect for classroom parties
- Can be made ahead
Ingredients
- all-purpose flour
- baking powder
- kosher salt
- butter
- granulated sugar
- eggs
- vanilla
How to Make Shamrock Cookies:
- Beat butter, sugar, egg and vanilla in large mixing bowl.
- Add dry ingredients and mix until thoroughly incorporated.
- Divide the dough in half, wrap each half in plastic or a resealable bag and chill for at least an hour.
- Once you're ready to roll out the dough, let it rest on a countertop at room temperature for five minutes.
- Roll out the dough, one half at a time, between two sheets of parchment paper.Â
- If your dough seems a bit sticky, you could lightly flour the parchment paper.
- Cut out the dough into shapes while still on the parchment paper.
- Transfer the parchment paper onto a cookie sheet and put the sheet in the fridge or freezer for at least a half an hour to chill.Â
- Chilling the shaped cut outs before baking helps them keep their shape.Â
Bake, let cool, then decorate.Â
Recipe Notes
If you roll out the dough to a quarter-inch thick and use a two-inch cookie cutter, you should be able to get at least ten cookies from each half of dough.
This recipe should yield a total of 20 cookies give or take one or two from the batch as long as your cookie cutter isn't too tiny or too large.
If you don't have or don't want to buy a shamrock cutter, use a round cookie cutter to just make circle cookies.
They will still be festive with the green sanding sugar decoration.
No round cutter, use a glass, preferably an upside down wine glass to cut out circles in the dough.
You may have scraps of dough left. Either re-roll the scraps or just bake them as is for your helpers to nibble.
You shouldn't have any sticky sugar cookie dough sticking to your countertops if you're rolling out your dough between sheets of parchment paper.
Too much flour or not enough can ruin your batch of cookie dough. Weighing flour is best using a kitchen scale but failing that, use the dip and sweep method to measure your flour. Pour flour into a bowl and fluff it up with a spoon. Now spoon flour into your measuring cup until slightly heaped. Then slide a butter knife or a bench scraper across the top of the measuring cup to remove the excess.
Tips for Rolled Cookie Success
- Measure ingredients correctly, including flour.
2. Roll dough at the proper temperature--not too warm or too cold.
3. Roll out your dough between two sheets of parchment paper. That way you can simply transfer your parchment sheet of cut-out shapes onto a baking sheet for chilling.
I like to use this parchment and this rolling pin, which has guides to help you roll out your dough to an even quarter inch.
Make Ahead & Storing Sugar Cookies
Store cookies, decorated or undecorated, at room temperature in an airtight container for up to a week.
Freeze unbaked dough in a freezer-safe container for up to three months. Be sure to wrap in plastic wrap or wax paper or parchment before placing in freezer-safe container.
You can also freeze undecorated, baked cookies, if double-wrapped in a freezer safe container, for up to three months.
How to freeze already baked cookies.
Cookie Baking Advice
You may find these baking posts helpful: from How to Avoid Flat Cookies, How to Freeze Cookie Dough, Room Temperature Butter for Baking to Salted or Unsalted Butter for Cookies? to Do I Need A Cookie Scoop?, Cookie Size Chart to What Should a Beginner Bake? to Where Can I Buy Sprinkles?, Why is my sugar cookie dough too sticky? and Cookie Holidays. What is Sanding Sugar and Do I need Parchment Paper? might also be helpful. This Cuisinart 5-speed is my favorite hand mixer. Why do my hand mixer beaters fall out? Cookie dough freezes great as do already baked cookies but find out what other desserts you can freeze.
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Recipe
St. Patrick's Day Shamrock Sugar Cookies Recipe
St. Patrick’s Day Sugar Cookies are soft rolled sugar cookies that hold their shape making them perfect for decorated shamrock cut-outs.
Ingredients
- ¾ cup butter
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 & ½ cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- For Decorating (optional)
- Egg wash (one egg white beaten with a teaspoon of water until frothy)
- Green sanding sugar (â…› of a cup)
Instructions
- Measure dry ingredients, put in a medium size bowl and whisk together. Set aside.
- Cream butter and sugar for three to five minutes on medium speed using a hand mixer or a stand mixer.
- Add egg and vanilla and beat one minute more.
- Remember to scrape down the bowl.
- Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients.
- Mix until just combined.
- Divide dough in half.
- Put each half in a half gallon resealable bag or wrap in plastic wrap and flatten with your hand to make the dough easier to roll out later.
- Chill dough for at least an hour.
- Bring dough out to rest on counter for ten minutes before using a rolling pin or a wine bottle to roll dough out--one half of the dough at a time--between two lightly floured sheets of parchment paper.
- Use shamrock cookie cutter or your choice of cookie cutter to cut out sugar cookie shapes.
- Return the pan to the refrigerator or freezer to chill for at least 30 minutes. Bake in a preheated 400°F oven for 8–10 minutes.
- Let rest on cookie sheet for a couple of minutes.
- Remove from baking sheet using a metal spatula and carefully transfer to a wire rack for cooling.
- Once completely cooled, decorate using sanding sugar and an egg white/water wash or icing.
- For egg white wash, beat an egg white and a teaspoon of water until frothy.
- Place cookies on a piece of wax paper or parchment so you don't have a sprinkle mess.
- Using a pastry brush and working quickly, brush a bit of the wash over the top surface of each cookie then quickly shake sanding sugar over the top of the cookie.
- Egg white wash dries quickly so just decorate one cookie at a time.
Notes
Bring dough out to rest on counter for ten minutes before rolling out, one portion of dough at a time between two lightly floured sheets of parchment paper.
Chilling the cut-out shapes before baking helps the cookies keep their sharp edges and prevents spreading.
Use shamrock cookie cutter or your choice of cookie cutter to cut out sugar cookie shapes.
Cookies will have puffed slightly and will have slightly golden edges when done baking.
Recommended Products
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Sugar Sprinkles 3.25oz-Dark Green -
Katbite 200Pcs 12x16/9x13 Inch Heavy Duty Parchment Paper, Parchment Paper Sheets for Baking Cookies, Cooking, Frying, Air Fryer, Grilling Rack, Oven（12x16 Inch 200 Pcs)
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Ann Clark Cookie Cutters Shamrock Cookie Cutter, 2.5"
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Pro Dough Pastry Scraper/Cutter/Chopper Stainless Steel Mirror Polished with Measuring Scale Multipurpose- Cake, Pizza Cutter - Pastry Bread Separator Scale Knife (1)
Nutrition Information
Yield 20 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 171Total Fat 8gSaturated Fat 5gUnsaturated Fat 3gCholesterol 39mgSodium 209mgCarbohydrates 22gFiber 0gSugar 13gProtein 2g
Nutrition information is an estimate as I am not a registered dietician.
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