Our 8″ giant sugar cookie is a show stopper, easy to make, and so delicious spread with buttercream frosting. Packaged in a small pizza box, these make great gifts for friends, teachers, and bus drivers!
You might also like our sugar cookie bars, our lemon sugar cookies, or our bakery style sugar cookies!
Watch our step by step video!
Giant Sugar Cookie
Chocolate chips cookies are my absolute favorite cookie, closely followed by sugar cookies. This might be why these two cookies are featured on my site more than any other! I have a jumbo chocolate chip cookie recipe, but it was time to really take things up a notch and create a GIANT sugar cookie using my favorite recipe. These 8″ cookies are show stoppers and fit inside a small pizza box for the perfect packaging. Can you imagine receiving one of these as a holiday gift or birthday present? They are pretty fun to make too.
My recipe makes 2 giant sugar cookies. One for you, and one to give away. You can double the recipe to make 4 cookies—if you have enough cake pans to bake them in. Yep, these are baked in cake pans. You can press the dough onto a cookie sheet and bake, but I find that cake pans work great for keeping the cookies all a uniform size.
How big are these giant sugar cookies?
8″ wide and a little over 1/2″ thick. Now THAT IS A COOKIE. Each cookie can easily be sliced into 8 or 16 portions. These cookies are baked slightly longer than traditional sugar cookies because they need to be sturdy enough to lift into the box without breaking.
How To Package Giant Sugar Cookies
I ordered these 9″ pizza boxes on Amazon and they are PERFECT for packaging up these giant sugar cookies. You can decorate the box or add a simple ribbon like I did. You can also serve them on a plate, wrapped in plastic.
Soft, thick sugar cookies spread with a delicious buttercream frosting. The combination of butter and shortening create the perfect texture. You can taste the hints of vanilla almond extract and they are rich with a buttery flavor. Ready to make some? Let’s get started!
Giant Sugar Cookie Ingredients
(scroll to the end of the post for a printable giant sugar cookie recipe)
Cookie Dough
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) softened butter
- 1/4 cup shortening
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup corn starch
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
Buttercream Frosting
- 1/4 cup softened butter (1/2 stick)
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 2-3 Tbsp. milk
Items Helpful For Making Cookies
(with links)
angled spatula (for frosting)
How To Make a Giant Sugar Cookie
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 (8″) cake pans with parchment paper.
Tip: wad the parchment paper into a ball then open and press it into the pan. It will be more flexible this way and easier to fit into a round pan.
In a large mixing bowl (or bowl of a stand mixer) combine butter, shortening, and sugar. Beat until fluffy. Turn the electric mixer down and add egg, vanilla extract, and almond extract. Add baking powder. Stir in flour and cornstarch and mix until soft dough forms. Form dough into a ball and slice in half.
Press dough into cake pans.
Bake for 15-18 minutes. Cookie will be soft, and the edges should be LIGHT golden.
Allow cookie to cool completely IN THE PAN. It will continue to set up as it cools.
Once cookie has cooled, gently remove cookie from the pan by pulling up the edges of the parchment paper.
Beat frosting ingredients together and spread over cooled cookies. Add sprinkles.
Place cookie in a pizza box, on a piece of parchment paper, or place on a platter and cover with plastic wrap once the frosting has set.
TIPS AND FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS FOR MAKING Giant SUGAR COOKIES:
- Tip: If you use salted butter, no additional salt is required. If you use unsalted butter, add 1/2 tsp. of salt in with your dry ingredients.
- Tip: when you cut the cookie, use a sharp knife and clean the frosting off with a paper towel after each line of cutting. This makes for clean edges and beautiful sugar cookie triangles.
- Tip: Use an angled frosting spatula for perfect spreading!
How Do You Store Leftover Sugar Cookies
I recommend making these the day you want to give them away, or the day before, as they will be the softest the first couple of days. DO NOT slice the cookie into triangles until ready to serve. Wrap leftovers in plastic to keep them fresh up to 3 days.
CAN YOU USE STORE-BOUGHT FROSTING ON THE COOKIE BARS?
Absolutely, but my vanilla frosting recipe is super easy and super delicious! I definitely recommend trying it!
CAN YOU USE MARGARINE INSTEAD OF BUTTER TO MAKE SUGAR COOKIE BARS?
I don’t recommend using margarine in baking EVER. It just doesn’t produce the same results, but you could substitute it for the butter. Just don’t come back and give my recipe a negative review if they aren’t as soft. 😉
Giant Sugar Cookie Recipe
Giant Sugar Cookie Recipe
Ingredients
COOKIE DOUGH
- 1/2 cup softened butter (1 stick)
- 1/4 cup shortening
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup corn starch
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
BUTTERCREAM FROSTING
- 1/4 cup softened butter (1/2 stick)
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 2-3 Tbsp. milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 (8") cake pans with parchment paper.Tip: wad the parchment paper into a ball then open and press it into the pan. It will be more flexible this way and easier to fit into a round pan.
- In a large mixing bowl (or bowl of a stand mixer) combine butter, shortening, and sugar. Beat until fluffy. Turn the electric mixer down and add egg, vanilla extract, and almond extract. Add baking powder. Stir in flour and cornstarch and mix until soft dough forms. Form dough into a ball and slice in half.
- Press dough into cake pans.
- Bake for 15-18 minutes. Cookie will be soft, and the edges should be LIGHT golden.
- Allow cookie to cool completely IN THE PAN. It will continue to set up as it cools.
- Once cookie has cooled, gently remove cookie from the pan by pulling up the edges of the parchment paper.
- Beat frosting ingredients together and spread over cooled cookies. Add sprinkles.
- Place cookie in a pizza box, on a piece of parchment paper, or place on a platter and cover with plastic wrap once the frosting has set.
Notes
Tip: when you cut the cookie, use a sharp knife and clean the frosting off with a paper towel after each line of cutting. This makes for clean edges and beautiful sugar cookie triangles.
Tip: Use an angled frosting spatula for perfect spreading! HOW DO YOU STORE LEFTOVER SUGAR COOKIES I recommend making these the day you want to give them away, or the day before, as they will be the softest the first couple of days. DO NOT slice the cookie into triangles until ready to serve. Wrap leftovers in plastic to keep them fresh up to 3 days. CAN YOU USE STORE-BOUGHT FROSTING ON THE COOKIE BARS? Absolutely, but my vanilla frosting recipe is super easy and super delicious! I definitely recommend trying it! CAN YOU USE MARGARINE INSTEAD OF BUTTER TO MAKE SUGAR COOKIE BARS? I don’t recommend using margarine in baking EVER. It just doesn’t produce the same results, but you could substitute it for the butter. Just don’t come back and give my recipe a negative review if they aren’t as soft. 😉
Nutrition
Welcome! I'm Brandy, mother to 5 darling kiddos and a cute black lab named Toby. My husband is in the Coast Guard so we've lived all over the place, turning each house into a home. I love baking, sewing, making cute things with my kids, and sharing what I've learned with all of you!
Do you have to use the almond extract?
Nope! You can leave it out.