Easy Sugar Cookies

Satisfy your sweet tooth with this top-rated sugar cookie recipe. It comes together with just a few ingredients you likely already have on hand — and the sugar cookies turn out perfect every time.

Meredith Food Studio

How to Make Sugar Cookies

You’ll find a detailed ingredient list and step-by-step instructions in the recipe below, but let’s go over the basics:

Sugar Cookie Ingredients

These are the simple ingredients you’ll need to make the best sugar cookies of your life:

· Flour: This easy sugar cookie recipe starts with all-purpose flour.· Leaveners: Baking soda and baking powder act as leaveners, which means they help the cookies rise.· Butter: Two sticks of butter add moisture and richness.· Sugar: Of course, you’ll need sugar for sugar cookies!· Egg: An egg lends more moisture and helps bind the cookie dough together.

How to Make Sugar Cookies From Scratch

Here’s a quick overview of what you can expect when you make homemade sugar cookies:

1. Mix the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet ingredients in another.2. Gradually blend the flour mixture into the butter mixture.3. Roll the dough into balls and bake until the edges are golden.

How to Decorate Sugar Cookies

Want to go the extra mile? Try topping these sweet cookies with our sugar cookie frosting and/or sprinkles.

How Long Do Sugar Cookies Last?

Store the cooled cookies in an airtight container for a few days at room temperature or up to one week in the fridge. If you’ve frosted your cookies, stack them with wax paper between each layer to prevent sticking.

Can You Freeze Sugar Cookies?

Yes! You can freeze baked sugar cookies and sugar cookie dough.

· To freeze baked cookies: Allow the baked cookies to cool completely. Arrange them in a single layer on a baking sheet, cover, and freeze for about three hours or up to overnight. Transfer the now-frozen cookies to a zip-top bag or freezer-safe container. Wrap in at least one layer of foil for extra protection. Freeze for up to two months.· To freeze cookie dough: Roll the dough into balls and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Cover and freeze for about three hours or up to overnight. Transfer the frozen cookies to a zip-top bag or freezer-safe container. Wrap in at least one layer of foil for extra protection. Freeze for up to two months.

Allrecipes Community Tips and Praise

“Perfection,” raves TSAF. Was asked to make drop sugar cookies for a wedding, and I’m thrilled with the results. Used a stand mixer and creamed the butter and sugar for at least 3 minutes, scraping down the bowl a few times.”

“I know this will sound melodramatic, but I’ve been looking for a good sugar cookie recipe my whole life,” says ILOVEFOOD!. “I had accepted the fact that I would never find it when I tried this recipe. The cookies baked up crispy and buttery, just the right amount of sweetness, chewy for days.”

“Perfect recipe for a Saturday morning when your 3-year-old wants to make cookies,” according to jkozelj. “Happy to say it’s a toddler-proof recipe! For the adults out there, add some vanilla extract and a good pinch of salt.”

Editorial contributions by Corey Williams

1 hrs 26 mins

Jump to Nutrition Facts

Cookies are the perfect treat to make for any occasion. Celebrating a holiday? Bake cookies. Having a get-together? Bake cookies. Need snacks? Bake cookies. Holding a bake sale? Bake cookies. You get the picture. And of all the thousands of cookie recipes on Allrecipes, this is one of our best sugar cookie recipes, as rated and reviewed by our community of home cooks.

Dotdash Meredith Food Studio

ButterUse unsalted butter that’s just soft enough to be pliable, but not warm enough to be greasy. If you press your fingertip into the butter it should leave a slight indentation, but should not be soft and mushy.

SugarSimply spoon white granulated sugar into your measuring cup and level it off with the flat edge of a knife, spatula, or bench scraper.

EggsUse cool or room temperature large eggs.

Vanilla extractFor the best flavor, use real vanilla extract instead of imitation vanilla.

FlourUse all-purpose flour. To measure flour, fluff it up with a spoon in the bag or container, then use the spoon to scoop it into the measuring cup and level it off. Don’t pack the flour into the measuring cup or the ingredient ratio will be off and your cookies may turn out too dry and crumbly.

Baking powderBaking powder is a leavening agent and helps the cookie dough rise while baking.

SaltUse regular table salt for this recipe.

Tips and Techniques

Cream the butter and sugarThe first thing you’ll do is beat together the butter and sugar with an electric mixer (hand-held or stand mixer) until the mixture is light and fluffy. Depending on the mixer you use, this could take four to five minutes. Why do you cream butter and sugar in the first place? It’s all about incorporating air into the mixture. The micro pockets of air you create by creaming cause the dough to rise as it bakes so your cookies will be light in texture instead of flat and dense. Cool (not cold) butter works best; butter that’s too warm won’t let you create the structure you need.

Add eggs and vanillaAfter the butter and sugar are creamed, add the eggs and vanilla. Many home cooks like to add the eggs one at a time. You’ll want the eggs and vanilla to be thoroughly mixed into the butter and sugar before adding the dry ingredients.

Add flour, baking powder, and saltMeasure these dry ingredients into a separate bowl, whisk them together thoroughly, then turn your mixer to a lower speed and stir the flour mixture into the butter and sugar mixture. Be sure to scrape the sides of the mixing bowl a couple of times so there are no streaks of flour in the dough.

Cover and chill the doughCover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour. This firms up the butter in the dough and helps prevent the cookies from spreading as they bake.

How to Make Sugar Cookie Cutouts

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature for a few minutes while you turn on the oven, prep your baking sheets, and gather your cookie cutters. By the time you’re ready to roll, the dough will be easier to handle. Dust your countertop and rolling pin with flour to prevent the dough from sticking. Roll the dough into an even thickness, about ¼ to ½ inch. Dip the sharp edge of your cookie cutter into flour and cut out shapes. Place them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, leaving an inch or more of space between the cutouts. This space allows the dough to spread slightly and the hot oven air to circulate around each cookie for even baking.

How to Bake Sugar Cookies

Good baking requires more than just popping something into the oven. For one thing, there’s the temperature. Every oven heats differently. That’s why we always recommend you use an oven thermometer to measure the real temperature before you start baking. And then there are the oven hot spots. To make sure your cookies (or any baked goods) bake evenly, its a good idea to rotate your pan halfway through the baking time.

These sugar cookies take only six to eight minutes to bake. You want them to be slightly browned around the edges but still light in color overall. Transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely; they’ll firm up as they cool.

Note: Lining your baking sheet with parchment paper allows you to slide the cookies, paper and all, onto the rack so you don’t have to touch the warm cookies and risk bending or breaking them if you tried to pry them off the sheet with a spatula. This is especially important if you’re baking sugar cookie cutouts with intricate shapes. After the cookies cool for about 10 minutes, you can slide them off the parchment paper itself and reuse the paper for another batch of cookies. Be sure your baking sheet is completely cooled before loading it up again. You don’t want to melt the cookies before they bake.

The main thing to remember is to let the cookies cool completely before applying cookie icing or frosting so the heat from the cookies doesn’t melt it off.

How to Store Sugar Cookies

Sugar cookies can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for about three days before they start losing their freshness. If you’ve decorated your cookies with royal icing, which dries hard to the touch, you can stack the cookies. Cookies decorated with soft frosting should be stored in single layers, or with parchment paper or waxed paper between the layers if you have to stack them. You can freeze sugar cookies in airtight freezer bags for up to three months.

“THESE SUGAR COOKIES ARE GREAT,” says mom2PJnAM. “I highly recommend this recipe. I added 1 teaspoon of pure hazelnut extract (you can add any other flavor, such as lemon). I have a suggestion for those of you who have little counter space (since this recipe yields ALOT of dough). I would immediately roll out the dough in batches between sheets of waxed paper rather than chilling balls of dough overnight.”

“This recipe cut nicely and retained its shape as long as the dough was chilled. I floured and rolled it between wax paper so as not to reflour and over flour,” says home cook RUBINI.

How to Make Soft Frosted Sugar CookiesMy Favorite Sugar Cookie Recipe Is From My Great-GrandmaOur Best Cookie Recipes of All Time

Editorial contributions by Vanessa Greaves

Nutrition Facts (per serving)

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

** Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available nutrient data.

My Sugar Cookies with Sprinkles are a perfect cookie for any occassion! They are soft and chewy vanilla sugar cookies with sprinkles mixed into the dough, just like funfetti cake but in cookie form! The best part is that they come together and bake all in 30 minutes or less.

Sugar cookies are always a crowd pleaser, and I’ve perfected them with my confetti cookies! They have a crisp edge with a chewy center and pops of color from sprinkles throughout. I love to make these into Christmas cookies with sprinkles using red and green jimmies for the holidays.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

They have the perfect crisp edge with a chewy center.
You’ll only need 9 pantry staples to make this recipe for sprinkle cookies.
They’re easy to tweak for any holiday or time of year.
No chilling necessary.

Unsalted butter at room temperature will mix easily into the dough.
Light brown sugar and granulated sugar are added for the traditional sweet cookie flavor and chewy texture.
I highly recommend using pure vanilla extract because it is the main flavoring in these drop sugar cookies.
Baking soda gives the cookie batter just enough lift and spread in the oven for the perfect texture.
Salt balances out the sugars so there is just the right amount of sweetness.
Sprinkles set these sugar sprinkle cookies apart from regular sugar cookies. I recommend using jimmies (the long, cylindrical sprinkles) because the color is less likely to bleed into the dough.

See recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.

Substitutions & Variations

Use holiday or Christmas sprinkles to make festive Christmas sprinkle cookies.
Sandwich two sprinkle sugar cookies with buttercream or ice cream to make an extra fun treat!
Add a few drops of almond extract in addition to the vanilla for a traditional sugar cookie flavor.
Use a small/medium sized cookie scoop for smaller cookies. These may bake quicker though so keep an eye on them after 6 minutes.

This recipe has not been tested with other substitutions or variations. If you replace or add any ingredients, please let us know how it turned out in the comments below!

Sprinkle Recommendations

There are so many pretty sprinkles out there by various brands. Feel free to use your favorite kind! However, if you’re looking for a recommendation, these are the ones that I like to use:

Rainbow Sprinkle Cookies: Watkins Rainbow Decorating Sprinkles have beautiful colors and are made with all natural ingredients! They even hold up without bleeding in my Edible Funfetti Cookie Dough.
Christmas Sprinkle Cookies: I like the Wondershop and Favorite Day selections from Target. I used a mixture of their Red and Green Holiday Sprinkles and Wish List Sprinkles in the cookies pictured here.

How To Make Sprinkle Sugar Cookies

Step 1: In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, and salt.

Step 2: In a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the room temperature butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in the egg and vanilla to combine.

Step 3: Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, then gently fold in the sprinkles.

Step 4: Scoop large cookies onto a baking sheet, and bake at 350°F for 9-11 minutes.

Expert Baking Tips

Leave your butter and egg on the counter 30 minutes to an hour before making your cookie dough so they can come to room temperature.
To get the perfect chew, take your cookies out of the oven as soon as they start to tan on the edges and the centers look dry. Leaving them in longer may result in hard, crispy cookies.
To avoid puffy, dry cookies, use a food scale to weigh your flour. Whatever you do, do not pack it into measuring cups!

Recipe FAQs

Can I double the recipe to make more cookies?

Absolutely! You can double all of the ingredients if you’d like to make a larger batch.

Can I make the dough ahead of time?

Yes. Make the cookie dough through step 3 and then roll or scoop the dough into balls. At this point, you can refrigerate the dough for up to 4 days, or you can freeze the dough balls in a freezer bag for up to 3 months. Bake the frozen dough straight from the freezer. They may need an extra 1-2 minutes in the oven.

Can I roll my sugar cookie dough in sprinkles before baking?

Yes. If you’d like even more sprinkles on the outside of your cookies, roll them in sprinkles or place sprinkles on top of cookie dough before baking.

What are the best sprinkles to use?

Jimmies (long, cylindrical sprinkles) work best because they tend to hold their color rather than bleeding into the dough. Nonpareils (tiny ball sprinkles) have a reputation for bleeding.

Storage

Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week, although the cookies’ texture will be best within the first 3 days. To keep them soft for longer, store a slice of bread in the container with them.

Freezing Instructions

Store baked sprinkle cookies in a freezer bag or airtight container for up to 3 months.

Did you try this recipe?Leave a ⭐️ review below and tag @brokenovenbaking on Instagram & Facebook!

Soft Sugar Cookies with Sprinkles

These soft sugar cookies have a delicious vanilla flavor and are filled with fun sprinkles! They’re perfect for Holidays and special occasions!

weighed in grams or spooned and leveled
light brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350°F.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until light and fluffy (2-3 minutes on medium speed). Mix in the egg and vanilla extract.
Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients just until combined. Fold in the sprinkles.
Let the sprinkle cookies cool on the pan for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack.

Sprinkles: Jimmies (long, cylindrical sprinkles) work best since their colors don’t tend to bleed as much as nonpareils (tiny, round sprinkles).

Storage: Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 1 week or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Cookie dough balls can be frozen and baked 1 month later.

Nutrition: The provided nutrition information is an estimate per cookie, assuming 9 large cookies are made. Accuracy is not guaranteed.

Let us know how it was!

Reader Interactions

Soft and Chewy Sugar Cookies

Something about the start of a new school year leaves me craving all the comforting, nostalgic baked goods that shoot me straight back to my childhood. Well, I’ve been busy in the kitchen and you’re in for a real treat today bakers. Let’s all give a warm welcome to the best ever soft and chewy sugar cookies.

Why are these sugar cookies so good?

Who doesn’t love an old fashioned sugar cookie? Slightly crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside – these cookies are as good as it gets! Correction. They’re not just good. They’re GREAT!!! Here’s why you’ll love these cookies:

The perfect texture. Not too thick. Not too thin. These cookies are delicious with their sugar crusted edges and crackly centers. You’ll definitely be back for seconds!
Amazing flavor. These cookies are delightfully buttery and have the perfect hint of vanilla in every bite.
Easy to make. You’ll need just a handful of simple ingredients to bake a batch of these classic cookies in under an hour.
Stay fresh for days. These cookies will stay soft and chewy for 5 days – if they last that long!

Whipping up a batch of these easy drop cookies is a cinch. Made with just a few pantry staples, you can make these classic sugar cookies whenever the craving strikes. Here’s what you’ll need:

Flour
Butter
Sugar
Eggs
Baking soda
Baking powder
Vanilla extract (and almond extract, optional)

Step 2: Add the egg, vanilla and almond extract, mixing to combine well.
Step 3: Whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt together in a medium bowl.
Step 4: Add the dry ingredients to the egg and butter mixture and combine until just incorporated. Do not over mix!
Step 5: Scoop the cookie dough into 2-ounce portions. Roll the dough into a ball using your hands and then roll each ball in a small bowl of granulated sugar. Set the cookie dough balls on a parchment lined baking sheet and chill for 30 minutes.
Step 6: While the dough chills, preheat the oven to 350°F. When the dough is chilled, transfer 6 cookies to a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 11 to 12 minutes. The edges should be set but the centers should look puffy and crackled. Do not over bake.
Step 7: Remove the cookies from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes. The cookies will be super soft fresh from the oven so allow time for them to cool in order to develop moist, chewy centers. Repeat with the remaining cookie dough balls.

Pro-tips for soft and chewy sugar cookies

When it comes to baked goods, cookies are pretty straightforward. But nailing that perfect soft and chewy sugar cookie texture isn’t always easy. Lucky for you, I have all the tips you need!

Bigger is better – larger cookies bake more evenly. For best results, measure the cookie dough balls into 1.8 – 2.0 ounce portions using a kitchen scale. Space the cookies out 2 to 3 inches apart on the cookie sheet.
Chill the dough – just 30 minutes of chill time helps enhance the cookie’s flavor and control their spread in the oven. Making sure your oven is fully pre-heated is also helpful. Do as I do: place the cookie dough in the fridge to chill for 30 minutes and at the same time, preheat your oven to 350°F. When the cookies are ready to bake the oven will be fully preheated.
Roll the dough in sugar – the sugar acts to help draw out the moisture from the surface of the cookies as they bake. The tops of the cookies dry out before the centers fully set, resulting in the crackly top.
Do not over bake – over baked cookies will be dry and crumbly. Don’t be tempted to leave the cookies in the oven too long as they will continue to bake from the residual heat once removed from the oven. As a general rule, I always err on the side of under baking cookies slightly for the very best texture.

Decorating sugar cookies

These homemade sugar cookies are incredibly delicious fresh from the oven – they’re anything but basic! To make them extra festive, try these easy decorating ideas:

Frost them with vanilla buttercream or cream cheese frosting. Yes, please!
Toss them in a bowl colored sugar. Red and green would be so fun & festive for the holidays!
Dunk them in a bowl of cinnamon sugar for a delicious snickerdoodle flavor.
Make them into ice cream sandwiches. Just add a scoop of your favorite ice cream flavor between two cookies and press them together to form a sandwich. SO GOOD!!

These cookies keep nicely stored tightly covered at room temperature. If you can manage not to eat them all in one sitting, they’ll stay fresh for up to 5 days.

FAQ’s

Can these cookies be frozen?

Yes! You can chill the dough before baking the cookies by freezing the cookie dough balls on a baking sheet until firm. Then pop them in a plastic freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Place them directly on a parchment lined cookie sheet and bake for an additional 1 or 2 minutes. To freeze baked cookies, cool them completely and then place them flat in a freezer bag or storage container. Freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost at room temperature before serving.

Why are my cookies flat?

Your cookies may bake up flat for several reasons. Be sure to use room temperature butter that is not too soft. For best results, measure the flour using a digital kitchen scale. And finally, check that your oven isn’t running too hot with an oven thermometer. If needed, chill the dough longer to help prevent the cookies from spreading too much in the oven.

Can I use a hand mixer to make the dough?

Absolutely! A hand mixer will work just as well as a stand mixer.

Can I use salted butter?

I recommend using unsalted butter for this recipe as that will allow you to better control the amount of salt going into the cookie dough. If you only have salted butter on hand, omit the additional salt listed in the ingredients.

How do I make my cookies perfectly round?

As they bake, these cookies will hold a fairly uniform circle shape. To make the cookies perfectly round, use a biscuit cutter or large round cookie cutter to “swirl” around the outside edges of each cookie immediately after they come out of the oven. This helps to nudge the edges of the cookies in towards the center making picture-perfect circles. You can also use the inside arch of a fork to work your way around the edges of each cookie.

Description

These classic soft and chewy sugar cookies are so easy and so delicious that they’re bound to be your new favorite cookie. Made with a handful of simple ingredients, they bake up perfectly every time.

(218 g) all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
baking soda
baking powder
salt
(200 g) granulated sugar, plus 1/4 cup (50 g) for rolling
(113 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
large egg, room temperature
vanilla extract
almond extract (optional)

Add the egg and mix until well combined.
Add the vanilla and almond extract, mixing on low speed until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Scoop 2-ounce (3 tablespoons) portions of the cookie dough and use your hands to roll the dough into balls. Roll the dough in a small bowl filled with the 1/4 cup granulated sugar and coat all sides.
Place the cookie dough balls on a parchment lined baking sheet and chill for 30 minutes. While the dough chills, preheat the oven to 350°F. When the dough is chilled, place the balls on a separate parchment lined baking sheet, spacing them 2 to 3 inches apart.
Bake for 11 to 12 minutes or until the edges are set and begin to turn a golden brown. The tops of the cookies should by puffy and cracked. Do not over bake. Remove the cookies from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before using a spatula to transfer the cookies to a wire cooling rack.

Notes

Store cookies tightly covered at room temperature for up to 5 days.

Cookies may be frozen. To freeze the cookie dough, freeze the cookie dough balls on a parchment lined baking sheet until firm. Place the frozen dough in a large plastic freezer bag or storage container and freeze for up to 3 months. Bake the cookies directly from the freezer and add 1 to 2 minutes of baking time.

To freeze baked cookies, cool completely and then store flat in a large plastic freezer bag or storage container for up to 3 months. Defrost at room temperature before serving.

Keywords: soft and chewy sugar cookies, sugar cookies

Easy Sugar Cookies- this is the BEST sugar cookie recipe. The cookies are soft, chewy, and perfectly sweet. They are made with basic ingredients but taste incredible! They are the perfect cookies for any occasion.

Are you ready for the BEST sugar cookie recipe? I sure hope so because these Easy Sugar Cookies are absolute perfection!

I am normally not a huge sugar cookie fan because I don’t think there are that many GOOD sugar cookie recipes out there. BUT this soft and chewy sugar cookie recipe is our family’s favorite and seriously the best out there.

The cookies are made with basic ingredients, you don’t have to chill the dough, you don’t need cookie cutters, and they turn out perfect every single time. The cookies are soft, chewy, sweet, and pretty because they are rolled in sparkly sugar!

So the next time you want a sugar cookie, you HAVE to make this recipe! I promise it will be your forever favorite.

I love this recipe because I always have the ingredients in my kitchen.

Flour– use regular all-purpose flour!
Baking soda and baking powder– make sure they are fresh!
Butter– I use unsalted butter so I can control the salt in the recipe.
Salt– salt to add flavor and to balance out the sweet.
Granulated sugar– you will need white sugar to make the cookies AND for rolling the cookies in before baking.
Egg and egg yolk– I always use large eggs when baking. The eggs don’t have to be at room temperature. I actually prefer cold eggs for cookies.
Vanilla extract– always use pure vanilla extract, the good stuff!

Tips for Making the Best Sugar Cookies

I don’t have any secrets when it comes to cookies. I am here to help you make the BEST cookies! Here are a few tips to help you make perfect sugar cookies every single time.

Make sure your butter is at COOL room temperature. It shouldn’t be super cold, but cool to the touch and NOT warm or greasy. When you press the stick of butter with your thumb it should give just a little. If your butter is too soft, the cookies will spread and be flat. I usually take it out of the refrigerator 15 to 20 minutes before I want to start mixing.
Don’t pack your flour when measuring. Fluff the flour, spoon it into the measuring cup, and level. If you use too much flour, the cookies will be puffy and dry.
Use a large egg and large egg yolk. Adding a yolk will make the cookies extra chewy.
Don’t be shy with the vanilla extract. I use 1 tablespoon, it’s not a typo:)
After you add the dry ingredients, don’t over mix. Mix on low until just combined. It is ok if there are still a few flour streaks.
Roll the cookie dough balls in sugar before baking. The sugar will give the cookies extra flavor and pretty crackly tops!
Don’t over bake the cookies! You want them to be soft and chewy! Check the cookies early to be safe, every oven is different.

Are you ready to make the best sugar cookies in the world? Let’s do it!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with a Silpat baking mat or parchment paper and set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed for 1 minute. Add the granulated sugar (1 ¾ cups) and beat until light and fluffy.
Add the egg, egg yolk, vanilla extract and mix until well combined.
Add the dry ingredients and mix on low until just combined. The dough might look a little crumbly at first, but it will come together and be just fine.
Bake for 10 to 14 minutes or until the bottoms are light golden brown and the cookies start to crack. Check early, every oven is different. Don’t over bake or the cookies won’t be soft and chewy.
Remove the pan from the oven and let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack or eat up!

Store the cooled cookies in an airtight container on the counter for up to 3 days.

Pro tip, if you want to keep the cookies super soft, you can put a piece of bread in the container with the cookies. The bread will get rock hard but the cookies will stay super soft. It’s magic!

How to Freeze Sugar Cookies

You can freeze the cookie dough balls BEFORE baking and you can freeze the baked cookies! I always love having a well stocked freezer.

To freeze the cookie dough: Roll the sugar cookies into balls and place on a baking sheet. Freeze the balls for 30 minutes or until firm. Transfer the balls to a freezer bag or freezer container and freeze for up to 3 months. When ready to bake, preheat the oven and bake! You don’t have to thaw first, just add a couple of minutes to the baking time.

To freeze baked cookies: Make sure the cookies are completely cooled. Place in a freezer bag or freezer container and freeze for up to 2 months. If you are going to stack them, you can put a piece of parchment paper in between the layers. Thaw and eat or even eat the cookies frozen. I love a good frozen cookie:)

Sugar Cookie Recipe FAQ

How do you make soft sugar cookies?

Don’t over mix the dough and don’t over bake the cookies. Take the cookies out of the oven when they are slightly under baked. They will finish baking as the cool on the baking sheet.

How do you make sugar cookies more flavorful?

Make sure you use butter, not margarine. Use pure vanilla extract and not imitation vanilla extract for the best flavor. Roll the cookies in sugar before baking. If you want to add a little almond extract, you can! I recommend ¼ teaspoon because it is strong.

What kind of baking sheet is best for sugar cookies?

Always use a light colored baking sheet so your cookies don’t get too dark. You don’t want to burn the bottoms. I love the Goldtouch pans from Williams Sonoma.

Why did my cookies turn out flat?

Your butter was probably too warm or not enough flour. I also recommend using parchment paper or a Silpat baking mat.

Can this recipe be used for cut-out sugar cookies?

No, this is an EASY sugar cookie recipe. You don’t have to chill the dough, roll the dough, use cookie cutters. The cookies are perfect little circles.

Can I frost the sugar cookies?

These sugar cookies don’t need frosting, they are good plain, but you certainly can add your favorite frosting.

More Cookie Recipes

Find all of our cookie recipes HERE!

at cool room temperature
large egg plus 1 large egg yolk
pure vanilla extract
for rolling cookies in

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with a Silpat baking mat or parchment paper and set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and baking powder. Set aside.
Add the egg, egg yolk, vanilla extract and mix until well combined.
Add the dry ingredients and mix on low until just combined. The dough might look a little crumbly at first, but it will come together and be just fine.
Bake for 10 to 14 minutes or until the bottoms are light golden brown and the cookies start to crack. Check early, every oven is different. Don’t over bake or the cookies won’t be soft and chewy.
Remove the pan from the oven and let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack and cool completely.
Store the cooled cookies in an airtight container for up to 3 days. You can also freeze the baked cookies for up to 3 months in a freezer bag or container.

Have you tried this recipe?

Vegetarian Summer Fall Spring Winter

Other recipes you may like

Jump to Recipe

Finally, an easy sugar cookie recipe that makes a small batch of just 6 cookies. I absolutely love that the dough doesn’t require any chilling, plus it’s made with melted butter. So, if you forgot to soften the butter for your cookies, it is not a problem! This is such a great recipe to make with kids, too.

This small batch cookie recipe is a classic sugar cookie. It is a simple, easy cookie recipe with a base of sugar, butter, and flour.

I consider this one of my easy cookies recipes with few ingredients (6 total not including salt), that makes a small batch of sugar cookies.

Another reason this cookie recipe is quick and basic is that there is no chilling required for these sugar cookies. No chilling required sugar cookies can go from bowl to bake without any wait time in between.

Butter. I prefer unsalted butter for baking. In the case of this easy sugar cookie recipe, we will melt it before using, so it’s okay if it’s frozen or cold from the fridge. We only need half a stick, or 4 tablespoons/ 2 ounces.
Granulated Sugar. When you read ⅓ cup of sugar, you might think that’s a small amount, but remember we’re only making 6 cookies.
Egg Yolk. Please, do not use the whole egg for this recipe. We only need the egg yolk. Separate the egg and save the egg white for any of these recipes that use egg whites. If you double the recipe, use two egg yolks only. Similarly, if you triple, use three egg yolks. The reason I don’t use egg whites in my small batch sugar cookies is because the fat of the egg yolk makes for superior chewy cookies. I happen to love the crisp edge and chewy center style of cookie.
Vanilla Extract.
Flour. All-purpose regular flour that has been fluffed, scooped and leveled with a knife in the measuring cup.
Baking Soda. We need a small amount of baking soda and a pinch of salt to round out this recipe.

How to Make this Easy Sugar Cookie Recipe

First, preheat the oven to 350-degrees Fahrenheit, and have your favorite cookie sheet pan ready. I like to line with parchment paper or use a silicone reusable mat.
Melt the butter in a heat-safe bowl in the microwave. Be careful not to let the butter heat too long in the microwave, otherwise it can pop and sputter.
Stir the sugar, egg yolk, and vanilla into the bowl with the melted butter.
Next, sprinkle the flour, baking soda and salt evenly over the surface of the bowl, and stir everything together to combine.
Once the dough comes together, I have a trick for making all the cookies the same size that doesn’t require a scale. Use your spatula to press the dough into a flat disk in the bowl. By eye, divide the dough in half, making a line down the center of the dough with the spatula. From each half, you need to get 3 cookies, for a total of 6 cookies.
Evenly space the cookies on the baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes. The cookies are done when they spread and start to crackle on top. They might puff up in the oven, but as they cool, they will deflate and crackle beautifully. You can press a chocolate candy on top as they cool, if you like.

This recipe is based off the sugar cookie recipe in my third cookbook: Sweet & Simple: Desserts for Two, and so if you love a simple small batch recipes, you should really grab a copy. All of the recipe have less than 10 ingredients to make sweet, simple desserts.

Frequently Asked Questions about this Easy Sugar Cookie Recipe

Can you decorate this easy sugar cookie recipe?

These sugar cookies bake up crackly, which isn’t the type of sugar cookie that you decorate with royal icing. If you’re looking for a small batch sugar cookie to decorate, I can absolutely help you there.

Can I double this small batch recipe?

Is this easy sugar cookie recipe no chill?

Yes, absolutely! You do not need to chill this dough. Just melt the butter, stir together the dough, scoop out the cookies and bake.

While I always encourage humility, in this particular case, I feel confident saying I make the best homemade sugar cookies in the world, ever. They are soft, chewy, easy and quick. I understand this is a bold statement, but it’s one I am committed to stand behind for the rest of my life.

Scroll through the comments and hundreds of 5-star reviews on this recipe below, if you’re inclined not to believe me. Also don’t miss my , which have the same dough.

This easy sugar cookie recipe makes cookies that keep well at room temperature in an air-tight container for up to 3 days. Although, if the container isn’t completely air-tight, they could dry out, so make sure to use something that snaps tightly. I don’t recommend freezing these cookies once baked.

I also don’t really recommend freezing the dough, because it will add several minutes to the baking time. You might end up with puffy, not crinkly cookies if you bake these from frozen. Truly, these small batch sugar cookies are so quick and easy to whip up, you don’t need to make them too far in advance.

Equipment

The best pan to use for these easy small batch sugar cookies is a quarter sheet pan. It’s what you see in the photos here, and I happen to love them.

I recommend baking this easy sugar cookie recipe on parchment paper or a silicone mat. Using a nonstick surface on top of your cookie sheet keeps the cookies from sticking to the pan, but there is another benefit. Using these items helps with even heat distribution while baking. This makes the cookies spread uniformly and cook evenly, similar to the benefits of roasting the pan half-way through baking.

Other Easy Cookie Recipes

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
⅓ cup granulated sugar, plus extra for rolling
1 large egg yolk, egg white reserved for another use
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon baking soda
⅛ teaspoon fine salt

Preheat the oven to 350, and line a small baking sheet with parchment paper (or use a silicone mat).
Stir together the melted butter, sugar, egg yolk, and vanilla extract. Stir very well to combine.
Next, sprinkle the flour, baking soda and salt evenly over the dough, and stir just to combine.
Press the dough flat and evenly in the bowl, and then divide it in half by eye. You should get 3 cookies from each half.
Roll each dough ball in your hands, roll lightly extra granulated sugar, and then space evenly on the prepared baking sheet.
Bake for 10-11 minutes, until they spread, start to crackle and appear dry on top.
Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for 2 minutes before moving them to a wire rack to cool completely.
After the cookies have cooled for 10 minutes, you can press a chocolate heart into the center of each cookie, if you like. Move the cookies to the fridge (so the hearts don’t melt too much) to set for 30 minutes.
Bring to room temperature before serving.

Egg Yolk: This recipe does not use the whole egg for this recipe, just the egg yolk. Separate the egg and save the egg white for another recipe. If you double the recipe, use two egg yolks only. Similarly, if you triple, use three egg yolks. Never use the egg white for this recipe if you want perfect, chewy cookies.Flour: All-purpose flour that has been fluffed in the bag or jar, scooped and leveled with the back of a knife in the measuring cup.

Yield

1Amount Per Serving: 14g 7g 0g 7g

In Absolute Best Tests, Ella Quittner destroys the sanctity of her home kitchen in the name of the truth. She’s boiled dozens of eggs, mashed a concerning number of potatoes, and seared more Porterhouse steaks than she cares to recall. Today, she tackles the sugar cookie.

Most sugar cookies are just fine. Good, but not great.

I don’t mean to toss undue ill will toward the entire category of sugar cookies, which in name alone contains two of the very best words. It’s just that most variations taste like a missed opportunity.

Perhaps that’s due to their roots. The sugar cookie can be dated back to the 1700s, when a group of Pennsylvania settlers set out to create a cookie that contained only the most basic ingredients and shaping techniques. Though simplicity as a holy grail doesn’t necessarily mean a dish has to be dull in flavor or texture—unsweetened whipped cream is, after all, one of the best arguments for getting out of bed in the morning.

Unfortunately, the vast majority of sugar cookies offer no such argument. They can taste of nothing, or even worse, hit the mouth with a saccharine punch. Their texture can hover between soft and crumbly in a way that checks neither box. But then, once in a while, a sugar cookie will be exceptional. It will taste of buttery blankets draped over pockets of crystalline caramel. Its carapace will delicately crunch as your front teeth pass through into the lush center. It will bend almost ninety degrees before its chewy center gives way and it finally snaps into two pieces. It will whisper in your ear that you are beautiful and perfect and that the only way in which you could improve would be to eat another cookie.

This latest round of Absolute Best Tests was conducted in the pursuit of that exceptional sugar cookie.

Used an oven thermometer religiously
Used the same brand of ingredients for each batch
Weighed all ingredients on a digital scale
Used butter and eggs that were at the same temperature

Each batch was a riff on this classic Chewy Sugar Cookie Recipe.

1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup (99 grams) granulated sugar
1/4 cup (52 grams) light brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 ½ cups (180 grams) all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup turbinado sugar

Heat oven to 375°F. Line two large sheet pans with parchment paper.
In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl using a hand mixer, cream butter and sugars for 1 minute. Scrape sides of bowl. Continue beating for another 1 to 2 minutes, until lightened and fluffy. Scrape bowl again. Add vanilla. Beat for 1 minute. Scrape sides of bowl. Add egg. Beat for 1 minute, until combined. Scrape sides of bowl.
Add flour, salt, and baking soda. Beat 1 minute. Scrape sides of bowl and beat for 1 minute or until combined and no flour clumps remain.
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, turning pans midway through baking, until cookies have spread into rounds and the edges look set. Resist the urge to bake your cookies longer, or they won’t be chewy. The tops don’t get much color, but the bottoms will be nicely golden.
Place pans on cooling racks. When cool, store cookies in air-tight containers up to a week.

Findings

The control batch yielded a thick and chewy cookie with a satisfying crunch on the exterior from turbinado sugar, and a plushy interior. After cooling, each center was sunken and gratifyingly chewy. My only complaint was flavor. They tasted faintly of vanilla and cane sugar, which was neutral—maybe net positive, but ultimately not thrilling. The recipe would be an admirable blank canvas on which to splatter or swirl flavor like with caramelized pumpkin purée, cinnamon, or hunks of fresh ginger.

Sliced From Log

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, turning pans midway through baking, until centers look set. Resist the urge to bake your cookies longer, or they won’t be chewy. The tops don’t get much color, but the bottoms will be nicely golden.
Place pans on cooling racks. When cool, store cookies in air-tight containers for up to a week.

While this sliced from log batch had the same exact dough preparation as the control batch, they were more gratifying to eat, owing to the textural difference. They had mostly flat tops, which were buttery and crisp like shortbread, with only a stripe of the sweet turbinado crunch around their waists. The interiors were still soft and chewy, but without the thick centers of the control batch. The reduced surface area coverage of turbinado gave the other flavors of the dough some room, which allowed the butter to mount a more prominent position than the sweetness alone.

24 Hour Rest

Cover with plastic wrap and let chill in refrigerator for 24 hours.
After 24 hours, bake for 10 to 12 minutes, turning pans midway through baking, until cookies have spread into rounds and the edges look set. Resist the urge to bake your cookies longer, or they won’t be chewy. The tops don’t get much color, but the bottoms will be nicely golden.
Place pans on cooling racks. When cool, store cookies in air-tight containers for up to a week.

It pains me to recommend something more labor intensive than an old standby (I hate to sous vide, for example), but these 24-Hour Rest cookies really were orders of magnitude more delicious than the Control batch. The stock reasons that recipes will provide for the resting and chilling of dough are that the respite in the process allows the moisture to distribute more evenly among the dry ingredients, and that it deepens the flavor. Both proved true in this case. The cookies had a better texture throughout, were chewier in the centers and crispier on the exteriors, spread less, and the flavor was leagues more interesting, with more intense brown sugar notes than the control batch.

Bread Flour

Bread flour has a higher protein content than all purpose flour, so I hoped this batch would produce even chewier cookies. I was disappointed to bite into one and find that instead, it only produced a firmer specimen, with less overall chew. The texture was also extremely consistent all the way through, whereas the other batches had more chew in the center and more softness toward the sides.

Brown Butter

The ingredients for this variation are the same. Use the ingredients in the original recipe as written.

Heat oven to 375°F. Line two large sheet pans with parchment paper.

Brown the butter: In a small saucepan, heat butter over medium until it foams and sizzles and subsides, leaving golden brown bits in its wake, about 5 to 7 minutes. Pour browned butter into a heat-safe glass measuring cup and let cool about 10 minutes. Add a splash of milk or cream to get the browned butter to meet the ½ cup mark (some water will have evaporated during the browning process). Stick in the refrigerator to bring butter back to room temperature, stirring occasionally. Once the butter is solid again, proceed with the steps of the original recipe as written.

For the first batch, I only let the butter brown to a midpoint, a sort of golden walnut tone; the flavor in the resulting cookies was so subtle, I went back for another round. For the second batch of Brown Butter sugar cookies, I let the butter brown until it was a dark mahogany. It lent the cookies nutty undertones that played nicely with the vanilla-sweetness. That said, the cookies lacked the toffee flavor of brown butter chocolate chip cookies; the effect was more understated, and likely could’ve been heightened by swapping out some of the all-purpose flour for a toasted nut flour.

Extra Yolk

The Extra Egg Yolk batch proved to be a delightful, custardy surprise, with richer centers that were just as chewy as the Control cookies. The exteriors were also crisper and slightly more browned, which meant a little more flavor in each bite.

Confectioners’ Sugar

The Confectioners’ Sugar cookies sort of bummed me out. From a texture-only perspective, they were pleasant, soft and puffy, like those frosted grocery store cookies. But flavor-wise, they tasted like almost nothing. (That was partially because I swapped the sugar by weight, so there was less overall sugar in the cookies, but I also suspect that the sugar also did not pick up as much flavor when it hit the heat on the pan.)

Baking Powder

Baking Powder doesn’t need an acidic element in order to react and cause leavening, so I was excited to swap it into these (fairly non-acidic) cookies, in place of the baking soda. Doing so produced a much puffier cookie that did not spread quite as much as the control. It was still chewy, but less so, with a plusher, softer crumb.

A classic composition, deeper flavor, and maximum chew, use the control recipe above, but let the dough rest 24 hours before baking.
Extra crispy flat outsides and soft interiors—like a shortbread-sugar cookie hybrid—roll into a log and slice.
Custardy texture with a crisp and browned exterior, add an egg yolk
More nuanced flavor, use deeply browned butter in place of regular.
Less chewiness, use baking powder.

These sugar cookies are perfectly sweet and chewy, with a slight crispness around the edges. If you don’t have a stand mixer, feel free to use an electric hand mixer. An ice cream scoop makes portioning the dough quick and easy, but measuring spoons will get the job done as well.

The steam function of the Anova Precision Oven ensures these cookies stay moist and tender. Only a handful of staple baking ingredients are required and the dough comes together in no time!

1.5 cups (187g)

½ cup (113.5g)

¾ cup (150g)

1 tsp (5ml)

Steps

Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Have additional sheets of parchment ready for multiple batches of cookies.

Combine Dry Ingredients

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

Beat Butter, Sugar, and Egg

Combine the butter and granulated sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat the mixture on medium-high speed until combined, 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Reduce the speed to medium and beat in the egg and vanilla until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Add Flour and Milk

Add the flour and beat on low speed just until combined. Add the milk and beat until just combined.

Portion Dough

Use a 1 1/2 tablespoon ice cream scoop to portion the cookie dough onto a parchment-lined sheet pan, leaving 2 inches in between each cookie. (You should be able to fit 6 cookies per batch.) Keep the remaining dough at room temperature.

Transfer to the oven and bake until golden around the edges, about 14 minutes.

Cool and Continue to Bake

Transfer the sheet pan to a wire rack and let cool for 5 minutes. Slide the sheet of parchment with the cookies onto the rack and continue to cool to room temperature.

Repeat with the remaining cookie dough, using a clean sheet of parchment with each batch.

Serve

Serve cookies at room temperature. Store any leftovers in an airtight bag at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the freezer for months.