Best Sugar Cookie Recipe
Best Sugar Cookie Recipe – Hands down, this is the best recipe we’ve ever tested (and tasted!) Learn How to Make Homemade Sugar Cookies that everyone will love. These little guys are light, pillowy, and packed with flavor.
Best Sugar Cookie Recipe
We’ve got a theme going on this week… Called The Best.
I’m sharing tried-and-true recipes I’ve made dozens (even hundreds) of times, because I’ve never tasted anything better. Monday I posted the absolute best yeast roll recipe I’ve ever made, and today I’m sharing The Greatest Sugar Cookie Recipe Ever.
Learn How To Make The BEST Sugar Cookies With This Fun & Easy Homemade Sugar Cookies Recipe!
World’s Best Sugar Cookie Recipe
The Greatest Sugar Cookie Recipe is ultra-light, ever so crispy around the edges, glistening with sugar crystals, and packed with a sweet vanilla-wheat flavor.
These cookies put all other sugar cookies to shame. Friends, this is the end-all of sugar cookie recipes. Better than your mom’s. Better than your grandma’s, may she rest in peace. Better than that fancy bakery down the street. And sure as heck, better than any grocery store sugar cookies you’ve ever tasted.
Easy Sugar Cookies For Christmas (Or Any Holiday!)
There’s something spectacular about a simple, yet perfect, soft sugar cookie.
Today I’m going to show you how to make sugar cookies that will make your head spin. I bake “The Best Sugar Cookie Recipe” for holidays and parties regularly, and have used this recipe as a base for all sorts of sugar cookie variations.
I’ve been asked for The Greatest Sugar Cookie Recipe more times than I can count, always with a statement like, “These are just sugar cookies, right? OMGeeeeee. I’ve got to have the recipe.”
Soft Sugar Cookies
I found the base recipe, at least two decades ago, in an old version of Cook’s Illustrated’s Best Recipe Cookbook.
Over the years, I’ve tweaked it just a tad, so that now I have the absolute best sugar cookie recipe around.
Interested?
Homemade Sugar Cookie Ingredients
- All-Purpose Flour – measured and then sifted into a bowl
- Baking Powder – the main raising ingredient
- Fine Sea Salt – or table salt
- Unsalted Butter
- Granulated Sugar – for both the cookie dough and extra for rolling the dough balls in
- Large Eggs
- Pure Vanilla Extract – for depth of flavor
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line several baking sheets with parchment paper (or a silicone mat). Mix the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl.
- Place the softened butter and sugar in the large bowl of your electric mixer (stand mixer). Cream the butter and sugar together on high until light and fluffy, 3-5 minutes. (Don’t skimp on the time here.) Then turn the mixer on low and add the eggs and vanilla extract. Scrape the bowl.
- With the mixer running on low, slowly add the flour mixture. Scrape the bowl and beat again for 30 seconds.
- Pour some extra sugar into a bowl to coat the cookies. Scoop the sugar cookie dough out with a cookie scoop and roll it into 1-inch balls. The dough should be soft and delicate – don’t over-handle. Shake each ball in the sugar bowl to coat, then place them on the cookie sheets 2 inches apart. Use the bottom of a drinking glass to press down on each ball, until it’s 1/3- to 1/2-inch thick.
- Bake each sheet of sugar cookies for 9-11 minutes, until the edges are slightly golden and the centers are just barely set. Cool completely on the cookie sheets before decorating with the glaze.
How To Make Chewy Sugar Cookies from Scratch – Pro Tips!
- Perfect sugar cookies should always have equal parts butter and sugar. The butter and sugar should be creamed together (beat on high) until the butter is lighter in color and ultra fluffy. You should be able to tell that the sugar crystals have broken down into the butter, because the mixture will no longer look granular. This usually takes several minutes to achieve.
- For extra light and delicate sugar cookies, sift your dry ingredients. Measure first, then sift.
- You need to use a generous amount of good-quality sea salt and pure vanilla extract to bring out the best flavor in the cookies.
- Do not over-beat the cookie dough. Think gentle thoughts.
- Roll the dough into balls, coat in extra sugar, and press the tops flat with the bottom of a drinking glass. This creates a crispy glistening exterior and a uniform shape.
- Do not over-bake. The moment the edges look remotely golden, take the cookies out of the oven and cool.
That’s pretty much it!
Easy Sugar Cookie Recipe with Glaze
Please note: The Best Sugar Cookie is not a roll-out recipe for cookie cutters. It’s just too darn delicate for that.
If you’re looking for a roll-and-cut cookie recipe, use this one. The extra egg yolk and flour make the cookies slightly sturdier, so they can handle the abuse. However, these sugar cookies are marvelous with glaze and sprinkles.
BOURBON GLAZE: Once the cookies are cool, whisk 1 tablespoon of heavy cream, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, and 1 teaspoon bourbon together. Then whisk in 1 cup powdered sugar until smooth. Dip the face of each cookie into the glaze. Allow the excess to drip off, then place them back on the parchment paper to dry.
Check the Printable Card Below to Learn How to Make the Best Sugar Cookies Recipe + Video. Enjoy!
Frequently Asked Questions
Why Are My Cookies Flat?
There are five things that can cause flat cookies…
- Your oven thermostat is faulty. This is a very common baking issue. To fix it, purchase a hanging oven thermometer to hang off the center oven rack. Then you can adjust your oven temperature accordingly.
- You did not use parchment paper. Parchment paper is a magical baking tool to help cookies keep from burning on the bottom, keep from spreading too thin, and to create a consistent bake. Don’t skip the parchment!
- You used melted butter instead of softened butter. Yes, it does matter. When butter is melted, as opposed to softened, it has a different chemical reaction in the oven. Softened butter that is creamed well with sugar will cause cookies to rise before spreading. While melted butter creates a denser chewier cookie.
- You mismeasured your flour. Here in the United States, most bakers don’t weigh their ingredients. Therefore, it’s easy to mismeasure things like flour, which can be sifted or packed into cups. To ensure the best results: When measuring flour, stir the flour in the bag to lift and lighten it. Then scoop the flour and use the flat edge of a knife to level the top.
- Your leavening agents are old. Baking powder and baking soda can lose their lifting power over time. I suggest buying new ones at the beginning of the baking season, even if the old ones aren’t past their expiration date.
Why Didn’t My Cookies Spread?
This goes back to mis-measuring flour. Most likely, your flour was too packed into the measuring cups, so there is too much flour in the recipe.
Can I Make Gluten-Free Cookies?
Yes! We’ve made this recipe with several brands of 1-to-1 gluten-free baking flour, with great success.
The texture is slightly different. Yet the cookies are still light, soft in the middle, and crispy around the edges.
Can I Use This Recipe For Cut-Out Sugar Cookies?
As mentioned above, this recipe produces cookies that are too delicate to roll and cut. You need a sturdier cookie recipe for that. Try this cut-out cookie recipe or this one instead!
Are There Any Substitutes For Butter In This Recipe?
Yes, there are a few options… Try using vegan or plant-based butter, vegetable shortening, or margarine, instead of unsalted (dairy) butter.
Can I store the cookies or the dough in the freezer for later?
Yes! You can keep the unbaked dough, or baked cookies without any frosting, in the freezer for up to 3 months, as long as it is contained in an airtight container.
If you want to freeze baked cookies, separate them with layers of parchment paper so they don’t stick together. You can thaw them out in the fridge or at room temperature.
Can I use raw sugar instead of white sugar?
You can use any sugar substitute, as long as it is measured in a 1-to-1 ratio with granulated sugar.
Looking for more of the BEST cookie recipes?
More Best Homemade Cookie Recipes
- Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
- Frosting Peppermint Sugar Cookies
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Pillow Cookies
- Low-Carb Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Soft Chewy Molasses Cookies
- Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Soft Lemon Poppy Seed Cookies
- Caramel Shortbread Recipe
- Brown Butter Brown Sugar Cookies
- Absolute BEST Peanut Butter Cookies
- Family Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies (No-Chill Cookies!)
- Soft Buttery Oatmeal Cookies
- Brownie Mix Chocolate Cookies
- Lemon Drop Thumbprint Cookies
- Nana’s Snickerdoodles
- Chocolate Snickerdoodle Cookies
- Scottish Shortbread Cookies
- Coconut Macaroons
Check the printable recipe card below for the prep time, total time, and nutrition information including calories, carbohydrates, protein, cholesterol, sodium, potassium, vitamin, fiber, and calcium percentages. Make sure to share this recipe on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest.
Best Sugar Cookie Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour, measured then sifted
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 3 sticks unsalted butter, softened (1 1/2 cups)
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar + extra for rolling
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line several baking sheets with parchment paper. Mix the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl.
- Place the softened butter and sugar in the bowl of your electric mixer. Cream the butter and sugar together on high until light and fluffy, 3-5 minutes. (Don't skimp on the time here.) Then turn the mixer on low and add the eggs and vanilla extract. Scrape the bowl.
- With the mixer running on low, slowly add the flour mixture. Scrape the bowl and beat again for 30 seconds.
- Pour some extra sugar into a bowl to coat the cookies. Scoop the dough out and roll into 1-inch balls. The dough should be soft and delicate – don't over-handle. Shake each ball in the sugar bowl to coat, then place on the cookie sheets 2 inches apart. Use the bottom of a drinking glass to press down on each ball, until it's 1/3- to 1/2-inch thick.
- Bake each sheet of sugar cookies for 9-11 minutes, until the edges are slightly golden and the centers are just barely set. Cool completely on the cookie sheets.
Just wanted to post this in case someone did not have butter readily available. We substituted vegetable oil in place of the butter our second go around. My wife and I made this recipe twice in the past couple of days. We first tried it on Saturday because we had a sweet tooth and didn’t have anything sweet in the house. We made exactly as the directions said and they came out PERFECT. We were able to get about 54 cookies out of it though. Our cookies may have been a bit smaller. We made them again this morning for a cookout we are going to, but this time we had to substitute vegetable oil for the butter because we did not realize we used the rest of our butter the other day making them. We used 3/4 cup plus 6 tbsp of the oil in place of the butter and they still turned out PERFECT. We also rolled them in cinnamon and brown sugar the second time and they tasted delicious. Again, we were able to get about 54 cookies.
Oh, my goodness. Soo good. Adding this to my collection. I didn’t know there were sugar cookies that weren’t cut-outs.
I have never made sugar cookies but wanted to make them for my husband because he loves sugar cookies. I accidentally used salted butter and instead of 1 Tbsp of vanilla extract I used 1/2 Tbsp of Vanilla and 1/2 Tbsp of Almond extract. The cookies were AMAZING. My husband said they were the best cookies he’s EVER eaten. I made them again today and he is a very happy camper. 🤗
I’m surprised that you stress the importance of correctly measuring the flour but then don’t include the weight. Is there any chance that you could give the weight for those of us who do make it a practice of using our kitchen scales? Can’t wait to make your recipe!
Hi Doris!
I hear your concern. Most Americans (who make up 95% of our visitors) won’t measure by weight so it makes the recipe more complicated for them. However, if you click on the metric measurement button in our recipe form, it will show you the measurements by weight. Hope this helps!
i like to add some cinnamon to it. makes it a bit special =) great cookies.
I tried it and it tastes awesome and delicious. thank you for sharing this great recipe.
Great
Definitely the BEST sugar cookie recipe I’ve used! I add the tiniest amount of cinnamon to the rolling sugar (measured with the heart) like my grandma always did and it adds that extra bit of love!
if I use salted butter do I need to cut salt in half? Thank you.
Hi Eileen,
Yes, that is a good idea. Happy Baking!
Thank you for your excellent Best Sugar Cookies. Although an experienced cook & baker, I followed your recipe to the letter…perfect! They’re traveling to the University of South Carolina to Mason, his favorite cookie.
Love from Pittsburgh!
(My first online review…ever)
Delicious and easy! I needed to bake some sugar cookies for a friend who does not like frosting. They are a little plain just rolled in granulated sugar so I rolled some in coarse decorative sprinkles and it added a sweet crunch that we really enjoyed. I baked one batch on parchment and one on a silicone baking mat to see what the difference would be. The parchment lined pan came out a little fluffier (my preference). The silicone mat cookies cooked more quickly and didn’t rise as much. Both delicious! Thank you for the recipe and the tips for success.
I’m not a baker. I love to cook. These cookies turned out absolutely fluffy as a cloud. I would say it’s probably user error which is great because you can try again. ❤️ Ensure you’re using softened butter and not over mixing after adding the flour.
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My kids and I adore this sugar cookie recipe. It is simple and easy to implement. Rolling the dough in sugar creates a delectable crunch that, when combined with the soft inside, is incredibly satisfying. Kudos!
These are super simple to mix and make. I made some with butter and some with shortening. I actually was suprised to find that I enjoyed he shortening more. They were all pillowy out of the oven but after they cooled off they became crunchy on the outside and chewy in the middle. This has got to be the perfect sugar cookie. To coat mine, I made a korean treat made from melted sugar and a pinch of baking soda. It is called “dalgona” and though I am not a hug fan of it alone… ground up into a powder and rolled onto the cookies it really gives a complexity to the flavor.
Yes, you missed it. Quantities are present.
These are delicious and easy
Was really excited about these cookies! Although they tasted great, they came out really airy and fell apart easily. So I refrigerated them for about 30 minutes and bake a few again and still the same results. Will add more flour to the current batch and hopefully that’ll suffice. Still delicious!