Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Begin by sifting the flour and salt into a large bowl and set off to the side.
Place the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large bowl if using a hand mixer) and cream with the granulated sugar using the paddle attachment. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Then add the vanilla and almond extracts.
Add the flour mixture in three additions so the flour doesn’t fly all over your kitchen and beat until just combined. Scrape down the bowl periodically to ensure that all of the ingredients are incorporated into the dough.
The dough will be a little crumbly after the flour is added so dump the dough onto the counter and knead it together until it is in a cohesive ball. This recipe makes a large amount of cookie dough and while the recipe doesn’t need to be chilled for the dough to not spread, I typically put half of the dough in the fridge while rolling out the cookies, so the dough doesn’t get too soft. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap if putting the dough in the fridge.
Roll the sugar cookie dough on a lightly floured surface or between two pieces of parchment paper until it is approximately ¼” thick. Press cookie cutters into the rolled dough to make the desired shapes. Then, place the cookies on parchment or silpat-lined baking sheets and bake for 10-12 minutes. Typically, sugar cookies are removed from the oven before they begin to get golden brown (although, I sometimes bake them a little longer because I like the flavor).
To freeze unbaked cookies, place the baking sheet into the freezer until the cookies are frozen. Then, place the cookies into a freezer-safe container and store in the freezer until you want to bake them. If baking frozen cookies, add a few minutes to the bake time.
After the cookies are baked, let the cookies cool for approximately 5 minutes and transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Once cooled, the no-spread sugar cookies are ready to decorate.
