[1] Sugar cookies may be formed by hand, dropped, or rolled and cut into shapes.

Decorative shapes and figures can be cut into the rolled-out dough using a cookie cutter.

People would cut out these sugar cookies into different shapes and hang them on their Christmas tree.

Some of these early variations included sour cream or large amounts of milk, in addition or in place of the now-standard ingredients.

[4] In 1885, The Boston Globe published a recipe for sugar cookies that omitted liquid dairy ingredients, included baking powder, and had a ratio of one cup of sugar to one half cup of butter.