Perfect Sugar Cookie Recipe is really just that- PERFECT. These sugar cookies come together quickly with only 6 ingredients; butter, sugar, egg, vanilla, flour and baking powder. The cookies keep shape while baking, are soft and chewy, plus there is NO chilling! This Sugar Cookie recipe is PERFECTION!
Sugar Cookie Recipe
Everyone needs a good staple sugar cookie recipe. Trust me, this is THEE sugar cookie recipe for you!
Sugar Cookies are my husband’s favorite, I have been making them for years! I’ve tweaked this recipe little by little until it became absolute perfection.. I haven’t messed with this recipe the past 3 years now because it is THAT good.
Even better news? This is 100% beginner friendly. It is nearly impossible to mess this recipe up! It is so forgiving!
Ingredients in Sugar Cookies
- 1 cup butter (I usually just use salted butter, because that is what I always keep on hand!)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
Yes, that is it!! Only 6 ingredients that I bet you have on hand right now!
How Sugar Cookies are Made
Making your sugar cookie dough is so simple. First, I’d recommend using a stand mixer if you have one. If not, an electric hand mixer will work, too.
The first step is to cream the butter and sugar together for a full 2 minutes. You want this extremely light and fluffy! Next, scrape sides and add in your egg and vanilla. Finally, add in your flour and baking powder.
The dough will look dry, just keep mixing. Mix, mix, mix and it will come together! If it does’t come together, you can add water to the dough 1 tsp at a time. The dough should be the same consistency as play-doh. If it is too dry, add some water. If it is too wet, add some flour. This dough is SO forgiving.
How Thick to Roll and Cut Sugar Cookies
For this recipe, what you cut is what you get. (Hallelujah, right?) They will not spread, they will not rise. If the cookies are smaller, I will roll a little thinner, about 1/4 of an inch. If I am making large, 4-inch round cookies (like pictured here) I roll them out closer to 1/2 inch thick.
How to make Soft Sugar Cookies
The key to making soft sugar cookies is this- do not over bake them! This recipe will yield a very soft and chewy cookie as long as they are not over baked. Keep a close eye on the cookies, you’ll want to pull them out of the oven when the tops are no longer glossy and they have puffed up. If you wait until the edges start turning golden brown, they are overcooked!
Allow the cookies to cool on the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack.
What Frosting should I use on my Sugar Cookies?
I always, always, always frost my sugar cookies with a crusting vanilla buttercream. This cookie will hold up to Royal Icing if that is what you prefer to use. I like buttercream because, to me, it tastes better and it is so much faster and easier!
How to Decorate Sugar Cookies
Decorating sugar cookies is the best part! This is really where they take on personality. Sometimes I just frost them, sometimes I add sprinkles. Pretty piped flowers happen a lot, too. Sometimes I go really overboard, though. Like on holidays. Holidays are meant for overboard cookies, right?
Check out some fun holiday inspired sugar cookie decorations below!
How to store Sugar Cookies
Store un-frosted sugar cookies in an air tight container until ready to frost. They can be stacked and just placed in a zip top bag. If you want to store frosted sugar cookies just overnight until you are ready to serve them, I usually just leave them on my counter and put plastic wrap over the cookies and try to seal it onto the counter.
For ‘long-term’ storing, store in an air tight container, preferably without stacking, for 3-4 days.
Can I freeze Sugar Cookies?
Yes. My sister freezes her sugar cookies all the time! They never last that long at my house. 😉 She freezes them with the frosting on in separate zip top bags and then let’s them sit on the counter for 15 or so minutes before eating.
The Best Sugar Cookie Recipe
Here is a little recap of why this recipe is the recipe you need. Why it is, indeed, perfect and the best!
- The dough is super simple. Now that I have the recipe memorized, I can throw the dough together in 5 minutes flat.
- NO CHILLING THE DOUGH. I can’t be the only one who never has patience for dough chilling.. right?
- You want a horse sugar cookie? After these bake, you’ll still have a horse cookie. Not some lumpy unicorn looking thing. 😉 These cookies keep their shape!
- Soft, soft, soft, soft, SOFT. Oh, and chewy.
- They are still sturdy, even though they are soft & chewy.
- The cookies are an amazing base for some serious frosting work. Here is my absolute favorite Sugar Cookie Frosting Recipe!
More Cookie Recipes to enjoy!
Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
Chocolate Cookies with Cheesecake Frosting
Raspberry Lemonade Sugar Cookies
Perfect Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 egg
- 3 cups flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 batch Sugar Cookie Frosting
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- Cream together the butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer for a full 3 minutes.
- Scrape sides and add in vanilla and egg. Mix until combined.
- Add flour and baking powder to the bowl. Mix slowly at first gradually getting faster until the dough comes together. The texture should be like Playdoh. Add a little flour or water if needed to get it to a soft, pliable consistency.
- Turn out onto a floured surface. Use a rolling pin and roll until about 1/4 inch thick. (The cookies will not rise while baking, they will not get thinner while baking. Roll out to your desired FINISHED thickness.)
- Use cookie cutters and cut out desired shapes. Transfer the cookies to a silicone lined cookie sheet.
- Bake at 350° for 6-8 minutes or until the centers are puffy and no longer glossy. Pull the cookies out of the oven BEFORE they start turning brown. If they turn brown, the cookie will be dry and 'crackery' instead of soft and chewy.
- Frost with Sugar Cookie Frosting and Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Karli Bitner
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Selma Bajric says
December 21, 2018 at 12:24 pmAre you able to use this recipe for a “number cookie cake”?
Also, would I be able to store the cookie in the fridge with cream cheese on top of it? Will it still be soft?
Thanks 🙂
karlibitner says
December 22, 2018 at 10:03 pmYes! I see that you found my Birthday Sugar Cookie Cake post about this. I would store in the fridge until about an hour before serving.
Eva says
December 23, 2018 at 8:04 amI never have luck with christmas cookies , I also only have a hand mixer , my sister has requested we bring christmas cookies so my preteen boys and i will be attempting this with hand mixer today I will let you know how they turn out
Any tips for storing for christmas and what is the trick to get the sprinkles to stick after baking the cookies? I will add a little extra vanilla as i dont plan to frost them any tips for this?
Thank you and Merry Christmas
karlibitner says
December 23, 2018 at 8:36 amHi Eva!! I hope you love these! I would sprinkle the dough with sprinkles BEFORE cutting them out and baking. Sprinkle the rolled out dough, lightly roll with the rolling pin to push the sprinkles into the cookie dough and then cut and bake. ? hope this helps! Also for storing, just stack the unfrosted cookies in an airtight container. They will be great!
Eva says
December 23, 2018 at 9:02 amThank you will let you know how they turn out thanks for the tips will try that!
Megan says
February 8, 2019 at 10:52 amI would like to make the dough ahead of time. Can I freeze the dough?
Thank you
karlibitner says
February 8, 2019 at 7:25 pmYou know, I’ve never tried freezing the dough! Now I’m going to have to try it. Haha I would probably suggest rolling it out and cutting the cookies before freezing, if possible. If you do freeze it, let me know how it goes!
AJ says
April 19, 2019 at 4:56 amHi! I would also like to make the dough ahead of time! 🙂 Let me know if freezing worked for you!
Gail Dalton says
February 18, 2019 at 12:29 pmHave you ever used royal icing on these cookies? I want to try some fancier decorating with royal icing & want to make sure it will dry properly on these moist cookies.
karlibitner says
February 18, 2019 at 10:52 pmI personally haven’t, but my friend did for Christmas this past year and they turned out AMAZING! The royal icing will definitely dry properly. Hope you enjoy!
Diliah says
March 17, 2019 at 12:47 pmCan I make these without vanilla extract?
karlibitner says
March 18, 2019 at 12:36 amYou could, although they wouldn’t have much flavor. If you prefer almond extract over vanilla, you could substitute. Hope you enjoy this recipe!
Tori Gordon says
March 23, 2019 at 12:41 amI just made these and they tasted amazing!! Just a question they expanded a bit and I planned to do a fondant icing on top but they were now quite a bit bigger then the original cookie cutter size. Would I have done something wrong?
karlibitner says
March 24, 2019 at 7:32 pmIt sounds like maybe your cookie dough needed a little more flour. They shouldn’t expand at all. Try adding a little more flour next time!
Stephanie says
March 23, 2019 at 3:49 pmI make a mistake and end up using protien power had 2cups in when I noticed and then put 1 cups of flower turned out really good. You can make these cookies semi healthy I also used sweetener and not sugar and no icing on the top great cookies.
Tess says
March 26, 2019 at 1:24 pmMy 12 yr. old son found your recipe and made the dough all by himself! So easy to make and like you say, the dough is so forgiving! Note: The dough even works for cookies that are approx. 1/2 inch thick, which is what my son wanted for some reason. We just increased cooking time.
Question – Testing for done-ness. Do the cookies spring back when touched if they’re done?
karlibitner says
March 26, 2019 at 10:35 pmThis comment seriously made my day! I love that your son is in the kitchen baking you cookies! 😉 As for your question, The cookies don’t really spring back when they are done, because they are such a dense chewy cookie. I test by looking at the cookie. The tops of the cookies should be puffed up and they should no longer be glossy. You’ll want to pull them out just before they start turning brown to insure a nice soft cookie. I hope this helps!
Jolene says
April 7, 2019 at 11:53 amHave you ever put the cut outs in the freezer for a little bit before baking to hold it’s shape?
karlibitner says
April 8, 2019 at 10:34 pmHi Jolene, you shouldn’t need to do that with this recipe. This recipe will keep shape without any chilling. Hope you enjoy!
Kay Jay says
April 10, 2019 at 10:04 amHave you made these cookies with decorating sugar or sprinkles instead of frosting? If so, how do you apply them so they will “stick”? I’m tasked with making a LOT of cookies for a school function and just won’t have the time to decorate with icing.
karlibitner says
April 11, 2019 at 8:37 pmHi Kay- I actually have a sprinkle cookie recipe on my site you should check out! It is basically a scoop and roll sugar cookie that is rolled in sprinkles before baking! Much faster than rolling and cutting. 🙂 You are a saint for making so many cookies! Here is a link to the sprinkle cookie recipe: https://cookingwithkarli.com/sprinkle-cookies/
Cynthia says
April 25, 2019 at 7:49 amIn my case the batter was falling apart and I read your tip on the water… except I added about 2 tsp licor 43 and 1 tsp water then just a little bit of flour to give it back its texture.
They were a hit!, I have a 1 yr old cookie monster who tried them and was incredibly upset when I didn’t let her have more, 😎
Thank you so much for sharing, this is going into my recipe book 🙂
karlibitner says
April 29, 2019 at 10:07 pmGlad they were a success!! Thanks for the comment and stars! <3
Laurie Ledbetter says
May 18, 2019 at 10:27 amQuestion. I need to make these cookies, frosted with white icing and then red piping for the seams of a baseball ⚾️ What do you recommend to use for the seams? I’d prefer to have regular icing versus gel icing for sure. Am I crazy to try that as a first-timer? I need them for my 8-year old’s team party next Saturday. Thanks!!
Karli Bitner says
May 20, 2019 at 8:56 pmHi Laurie! First, sorry it has taken me a few days to get back to you! Life has been crazy! You are totally capable of this!! I would just use buttercream as your frosting (see my sugar cookie frosting recipe). Frost the cookies white and then use food dye to color a small portion red and then either use a small round piping tip and bag or snip the corner of a zip top bag and pipe the seams. After you frost the cookies with the white, use your round cookie cutter and press lines into the frosting where the seams will go as a guide. I hope this helps!! Send me pictures, I want to see!! 🙂