Sand Dollar Cookies

A plate of round cookies decorated to look like sand dollars, arranged on a blue cloth with seashells and decorative coral nearby.

5 from 1 vote

⏳🐚 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!

Prep Time40

Cook Time12

Chill Time1

Course: Christmas Cookies, Cookies, Dessert

Cuisine: Cookies, Dessert

Keyword: cutout sand dollar cookies, Sand Dollar Cookies, sand dollar sugar cookies, scratch sand dollar cookies

Servings:

Calories: 95cal

Equipment

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.

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