The Best Sugar Cookie Recipe – Hands down, this is the best recipe we’ve ever tested (and tasted!) Learn How to Make Sugar Cookies that everyone will love. These little guys are light, pillowy, and packed with flavor.

Side view of this stack of best sugar cookie recipe

Learn How To Make The BEST Sugar Cookies With This Fun & Easy Sugar Cookie Recipe!

This Sugar Cookie Recipe is ultra-light, ever so crispy around the edges, glistening with sugar crystals, and packed with a sweet vanilla-wheat flavor.

Sommer headshot.

Sommer’s Recipe Notes

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 Cookies” 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 this 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.”

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 soft sugar cookie recipe around.

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.

Top view of mixing bowl with raw dough ready for baking these homemade sugar cookies
sugar cookie recipe - after baking

Ingredients You Need

  • All-Purpose Flour – measured and then sifted into a bowl
  • Baking Powder – the main raising ingredient
  • Fine Sea Salt – kosher 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 (or half vanilla and half almond extract)

How To Make Sugar Cookies

Find the full Sugar Cookies recipe with ingredient proportions, detailed instructions, and video tutorial in the printable recipe form at the bottom of the post.

  • Perfect sugar cookies should always have equal parts butter and sugar. The butter and sugar should be creamed together (beaten on high) until the butter is lighter in color and ultra-soft and 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 sugar cookie dough.
  • Do not over-beat the cookie dough. Stay by your stand mixer and think gentle thoughts.
  • Roll the dough into balls, coat the cookie dough balls 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 start to look remotely golden, take the cookies out of the oven and let them cool.
Side view of a stack of the worlds best sugar cookies recipe

Baker’s Note: Our Soft Sugar Cookie Recipe 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 our Cut Out Cookies with Sugar Cookie Icing recipe. The extra egg yolk and flour make the cookies slightly sturdier, allowing them to withstand the abuse of cutting and decorating. However, these chewy sugar cookies are marvelous with glaze and sprinkles. You can add gel food coloring to bake in fun colors.

BOURBON ICING: 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.

Homemade sugar cookie with icing on top
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Best Sugar Cookie Recipe

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Hands down, The Best SOFT Sugar Cookie Recipe we've ever tested! Learn How to Make Sugar Cookies that everyone will love.
Servings: 45 cookies

Video

Ingredients

US Customary – Metric

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.

Notes

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 dip off, then place them back on the parchment paper to dry.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cookie, Calories: 113kcal, Carbohydrates: 13g, Protein: 1g, Fat: 6g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Cholesterol: 23mg, Sodium: 55mg, Potassium: 26mg, Fiber: 0g, Sugar: 6g, Vitamin A: 200IU, Calcium: 10mg, Iron: 0.4mg
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Author: Sommer Collier
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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 that helps cookies avoid burning on the bottom, prevents them from spreading too thin, and ensures 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. 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 Sugar Cookies Spread?

This goes back to mis-measuring flour. Most likely, your flour was packed too tightly 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. Then, you can thaw them 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.

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