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    Home » Recipes » Desserts » Cookies

    Giant Sugar Cookie Recipe (+ Video)

    December 6, 2022 By Brandy 2 Comments

    ↓ Jump to Recipe

    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!

    giant sugar cookie

    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.

    giant pink sugar cookie in pizza box

    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.

    giant sugar cookie sliced into triangles

    How big are these giant sugar cookies?

    8" wide and a little over ½" 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.

    pizza box with velvet ribbon bow

    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.

    giant sugar cookie sliced into triangles

    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!

    hand holding slice of sugar cookie

    Giant Sugar Cookie Ingredients

    (scroll to the end of the post for a printable giant sugar cookie recipe)

    Cookie Dough

    • ½ cup (1 stick) softened butter
    • ¼ cup shortening
    • ¾ cup sugar
    • 1 large egg
    • ½ teaspoon vanilla
    • ½ teaspoon almond extract
    • 1 ¾ cups all purpose flour
    • ¼ cup corn starch
    • 1 teaspoon baking powder

    Buttercream Frosting

    • ¼ cup softened butter (½ stick)
    • 2 cups powdered sugar
    • ½ teaspoon vanilla
    • 2-3 Tbsp. milk

    Items Helpful For Making Cookies

    (with links)

    angled spatula (for frosting)

    8" cake pans

    9" pizza boxes

    parchment paper

    food coloring

    knife slicing cookie dough ball in half

    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.

    giant unfrosted sugar cookie

    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.

    spatula spreading green buttercream on giant sugar cookie

    Beat frosting ingredients together and spread over cooled cookies. Add sprinkles.

    giant pink sugar cookie in pizza box

    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 ½ 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!

    sugar cookie triangles covered with buttercream frosting

    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 pink sugar cookie in pizza box

    Giant Sugar Cookie Recipe

    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!
    5 from 1 vote
    Print Pin Rate
    Prep Time: 12 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 18 minutes minutes
    cool: 30 minutes minutes
    Total Time: 1 hour hour
    Servings: 16 servings
    Calories: 224kcal

    Ingredients

    COOKIE DOUGH

    • ½ cup softened butter (1 stick)
    • ¼ cup shortening
    • ¾ cup sugar
    • 1 large egg
    • ½ teaspoon vanilla
    • ½ teaspoon almond extract
    • 1 ¾ cups all purpose flour
    • ¼ cup corn starch
    • 1 teaspoon baking powder

    BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

    • ¼ cup softened butter (½ stick)
    • 2 cups powdered sugar
    • ½ 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: If you use salted butter, no additional salt is required. If you use unsalted butter, add ½ 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. 😉

    Nutrition

    Calories: 224kcal
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    About Brandy

    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!

    Comments

    1. Sheryl Sveinson says

      April 10, 2023 at 7:19 pm

      Do you have to use the almond extract?

      Reply
      • Brandy says

        April 11, 2023 at 11:12 pm

        Nope! You can leave it out.

        Reply
    5 from 1 vote (1 rating without comment)

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