Say hello to unique and show-stopping Sand Dollar Cookies ⏳🐚 with only 6 ingredients! Light and buttery with a crisp texture that softly crumbles in your mouth and perfumed with almond extract. Whether you need a standout Christmas cookie for holiday platters or a light summery cookie, these are cutout sugar cookies are perfect!
Easy Sand Dollar Cookies Recipe
- We’ve all made Classic Cutout Sugar Cookies and these Sand Dollar Cookies remind me of those but are even easier and they’re totally from scratch – no dough-in-a-tube here.
- I love that there’s only six ingredients in these cookies and you don’t need to frost them like you do with most sugar cookies.
- They’re not an overly sweet cookie so they’re perfect paired with morning coffee, afternoon tea, or with an after dinner drink when you want something a little sweet, but not too sweet and not a heavy dessert.
- During the cold winter months leading up to Christmas, cookies like these that capture the charm of coastal life and have a beachy vibe feel so fun and transport me to a warm sunny beach. Guaranteed that everybody at your holiday and Christmas partie will comment on how unique and pretty these cookies are!
- Or maybe you need cookies for Mother’s Day, the Fourth of July, or a warmer time of year when something lighter is in store, this is a great recipe.
Ingredients in Sand Dollar Sugar Cookies
- Butter: If you use salted butter, you won’t need to add salt to the dough. If you use unsalted butter, you will.
- Granulated sugar: As cookies go, there’s very little sugar which is a good thing I’d say.
- Large egg: This is going to bind the dough together and help give the cookies structure.
- Almond extract: I love the flavor of almond extract these cookies and in general it’s one of my favorites! However, if you prefer to use vanilla extract or add a bit of vanilla extract, along with the almond extract, go for it.
- All-purpose flour: In recipes like this, I especially like King Arthur All-Purpose Flour because a slightly higher protein content than other flour, which helps give baked goods structure.
- Sliced almonds: They really help give the sand dollar appearance and also can help cover up any imperfections in your dough.
- Noticeably absent: Baking powder and baking soda. That’s because either one of the ingredients will cause the cookies to rise and this is a rare cookie recipe where we don’t want the cookies to rise. We want them to stay flat like sand dollars.
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How To Make Sand Dollar Cookie Recipe
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for step-by-step photos and process shots of the cooking process.
- To the mixing bowl of a stand mixer or large bowl and handheld electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
- Add the egg, almond extract, and beat to incorporate. Then add the flour and beat until a smooth dough forms.
- Pat the cookie dough into a large ball, wrap it in plastic wrap, and place it in the refrigerator for 1 hour. After one hour roll it out into a 1/4 inch thick disc or two discs.
- Using a 2 1/2-inch round cookie cutter, cut out circles and place them on a parchment lined baking sheet. Place 5 almond slices around the center of each cookie.
- To create the sand dollar appearance, I squeeze a plastic straw into an oval and then press that into the cookies. Use a toothpick to remove the little pieces.
- Bake the cookies in a 350F preheated oven for about 12 minutes and cool completely on wire racks. Optionally after baking, you can sprinkle the cookies with confectioners’ sugar or with a cinnamon sugar mixture.
Sand Dollar Cookies
⏳🐚 Unique and show stopping with only 6 ingredients! Light, buttery, perfumed with almond extract, and they have a crisp texture that softly crumbles in your mouth. Whether you need a standout Christmas cookie for holiday platters or a light summery cookie, these are scratch cutout sugar cookies are perfect!
Equipment
- Stand Mixer OR
Ingredients
- 12 tablespoons butter, softened to room temperature (I use salted butter but unsalted may be used and also add 1/2 teaspoon salt when you add the flour)
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 ½ teaspoons almond extract, or to taste (vanilla extract may be substituted or added in addition to the almond extract)
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- Sliced almonds, as needed
Instructions
- To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or a large mixing bowl and handheld electric mixer) add the butter, sugar, and be on high speed to cream them until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Add the egg, almond extract, and beat to incorporate, about 1 minute. Stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Add the flour (and 1/2 tsp salt if you're using unsalted butter) and beat on low speed until just incorporated and a smooth dough forms.
- Pat the dough into a large ball, wrap it with plastic wrap, and place it in the refrigerator to chill for 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 350F and line 3 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Lightly flour your clean countertop, place the chilled dough on it, and using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll out the dough to about 1/4-inch thickness. I make two rounds of dough because I think it's easier to work with, but you can make one. Tips – If the dough seems too sticky, put a little more flour on the rolling pin or lightly sprinkle it on the dough itself. Or place it back in the fridge for a 5-10 minutes and that'll help it firm up and you can try again to roll it out.
- After the dough has been rolled out, cut the dough into round discs using a 2 1/2-inch cookie cutter. Place the discs onto a parchment lined baking sheet, adding no more than 12 per baking sheet. You can re-roll the dough scraps and cut them out.
- Place 5 almond slices gently into the center of each disc, arranged like flower petals, to create a sand dollar appearance.
- Squeeze a plastic straw into an oval shape or use an exacto knife to create the small holes on each piece. Then use a toothpick to remove the dough from the straw. Discard these little pieces of dough. Tip – You don't have to make as many holes as I made in my cookies because it is a bit time-consuming and they don't have to look perfect, just do your best.
- Bake the cookies for approximately 10-12 minutes (start checking earlier than that) or until the edges are lightly golden brown. Baking Tips – Keep a very close eye on the cookies because they're very thin and they'll bake quite quickly. Although all ovens very, so you should bake until the cookies are done in your oven, whatever that means on the clock. In some ovens, the baking time may be more than I suggest. If possible, I recommend baking one sheet of cookies at a time, using the center oven rack, and rotating the baking sheet once midway through baking to ensure the most optimal browning. I always find that if I bake two sheets of cookies at once, that the cookie sheet underneath never bakes quite as nicely as the one above that's on the center rack but do as you wish.
- Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet until they're cool enough to transfer to wire racks to cool fully.
- Optionally before serving, you may dust the cookies with a bit of powdered sugar or cinnamon sugar, depending on your preference.
Notes
Storage: Cookies will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Freezing: Because these are a thin and delicate cookie, if you do choose to freeze them, you’ll need to be very careful how you’re doing it so that you don’t accidentally crushed them and break them. I recommend instead freezing the dough into two large dough balls, and let the dough come to room temperature before rolling it out, cutting out the cookies, and baking them off.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving, Calories: 95cal, Carbohydrates: 10g, Protein: 2g, Fat: 5g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g, Monounsaturated Fat: 1g, Trans Fat: 0.2g, Cholesterol: 42mg, Sodium: 48mg, Potassium: 22mg, Fiber: 0.2g, Sugar: 3g, Vitamin A: 184IU, Calcium: 7mg, Iron: 1mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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