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    Home » Baked Goods

    Vanilla Bean Sugar Cookies

    Modified: Nov 10, 2023· Published: Dec 16, 2020 by Alaine · 2 Comments

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    Vanilla bean paste provides a delicious flavor for these roll-out Vanilla Bean Sugar Cookies. Only 6 ingredients! Perfect for making cut-out sugar cookies year-round.

    I can’t seem to bake cookies fast enough around here. Turns out I’ve got a couple of little cookies monsters living here. My two oldest boys have a new system of helping each other climb onto the kitchen counters to sneak cookies. 

    One night, I stayed up after getting all three kids to bed and whipped up a batch of these Vanilla Bean Sugar Cookies. My plan was to decorate them the next day with the kids. That morning, my two-year-old was up at 5 AM, playing quietly in the living room – turns out he was so quiet because he had gotten a hold of every sugar cookie he could reach! Broken pieces and crumbs trailed from the kitchen to the dining area and the living room. Our old hound dog looked happy but guilty, so I’m sure he had a few too!

    Vanilla Bean Paste

    These cookies call for one special ingredient -  Vanilla Bean Paste. My local grocery store didn’t carry it so I used Heilala Vanilla Paste from Amazon Prime. 

    To substitute the vanilla bean paste in this recipe:

    • Use 1 Vanilla Bean, cut in half length-wise, scraped + ½ teaspoon vanilla extract.
    • Mix vanilla bean in with the butter and add vanilla extract after the egg.

    I really love using the Vanilla Bean Paste and have been using it in cakes (like this Vanilla Cake from Modern Honey) and cookies. It gives the cookies visible flecks of vanilla bean, like in Blue Bell Vanilla Bean Ice Cream, which just feels a little bit fancy to me.

    Cutting Out and Decorating

    Roll out dough to ¼" on a floured surface. Cut with desired cookie cutters. Standard 3" cookies will take around 8-10 minutes to bake. Add additional time for larger cookies, 10-12 minutes is a good point to check.

    We loved this little vintage truck with the Christmas tree cookie cutter!  

    To decorate, I used the recipe for Simple Cookie Glaze from King Arthur Flour to quickly and minimally decorate my cookies this year. 

    I used Chefmaster Natural Food Coloring to color my glaze and got the perfect shade of winter blue!

    christmas tree cookie

    Recipe

    📖 Recipe

    Vanilla Bean Sugar Cookies decorated

    Vanilla Bean Sugar Cookies

    Vanilla bean paste provides a delicious flavor for these roll-out Vanilla Bean Sugar Cookies. Only 6 ingredients!
    5 from 1 vote
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 10 minutes mins
    Cook Time 10 minutes mins
    Course Dessert
    Cuisine American

    Ingredients
      

    • ¾ cup Butter softened
    • ¾ cup Sugar
    • 1 ½ tsp. Vanilla Bean Paste
    • 1 large egg lightly beaten
    • 2 ¼ cup All-Purpose Flour
    • ¼ teaspoon Salt

    Instructions
     

    • Beat butter in stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment until creamy. Add sugar and vanilla bean paste, beating until mixture is light and fluffy. Add egg, mixing well.
    • Combine flour and salt in medium bowl. Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture. Beat until a smooth dough is formed.
    • Shape dough into 3 discs. Wrap individually in plastic wrap and chill for at least one hour.
    • After chilling, roll each disc to ¼” thickness on a floured surface. Cut into desired shapes.
    • Bake in preheated oven at 350°F for 8-10 minutes. Larger cookies may take longer, recommend baking cookies over 4” for 10-12 minutes.
    • Cool for one minute of baking sheet and then remove to wire racks. Cool completely before frosting.

    Notes

    To substitue vanilla bean paste: 1 Vanilla bean, scraped + ½ tsp. Vanilla Extract
    Tried this recipe?Mention @mytxkitchen or tag #mytxkitchen!

    Recipe adapted from Christmas Southern Living 2000.

    This is a good sugar cookie recipe to use for your roll-out cookies year-round!

    baked and decorated vanilla bean sugar cookies

    Merry Christmas y’all!

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    Comments

    1. Angel

      December 20, 2023 at 9:42 am

      How many will this make?

      Reply
      • Alaine

        December 20, 2023 at 3:14 pm

        The recipe should make around 2 dozen using a smaller 3" cookie cutter.

        Reply
    5 from 1 vote (1 rating without comment)

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    Hey y'all, I'm Alaine! Wife, mom of three, and Registered Dietitian. Welcome to My Texas Kitchen where I share recipes and bits of life from Central Texas. Thanks for stopping by!

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