Best Sugar Cookie Recipe
The Best Sugar Cookie Recipe โ Hands down, this is the best recipe weโve 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.
The Best Sugar Cookie Recipe Ever
Weโve got a theme going on this weekโฆ Called The Best.
Iโm sharing tried-and-true recipes Iโve made dozens (even hundreds) of times, because Iโve never tasted anything better. On Monday, I posted the absolute best yeast roll recipe Iโve ever made, and today, Iโm sharing The Greatest Sugar Cookie Recipe Ever.
Learn How To Make The BEST Sugar Cookies With This Fun & Easy Soft Sugar Cookie Recipe!
The Best 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 momโs. Better than your grandmaโs, may she rest in peace. Better than that fancy bakery down the street. And sure as heck, better than any grocery store sugar cookies youโve ever tasted.
Soft Sugar Cookies
Thereโs something spectacular about a simple, yet perfect, soft sugar cookie.
Today Iโm going to show you how to make sugar cookies that will make your head spin. I bake โThe Best Sugar Cookie Recipeโ for holidays and parties regularly, and have used this recipe as a base for all sorts of sugar cookie variations.
Iโve been asked for The Greatest Sugar Cookie Recipe more times than I can count, always with a statement like, โThese are just sugar cookies, right? OMGeeeeee. Iโve got to have the recipe.โ
I found the base recipe, at least two decades ago, in an old version of Cookโs Illustratedโs Best Recipe Cookbook.
Over the years, Iโve tweaked it just a tad, so that now I have the absolute best soft sugar cookie recipe around. Interested?
Sugar Cookie Ingredients
- All-Purpose Flour โ measured and then sifted into a bowl
- Baking Powder โ the main raising ingredient
- Fine Sea Salt โ or table salt
- Unsalted Butter
- Granulated Sugar โ for both the cookie dough and extra for rolling the dough balls in
- Large Eggs
- Pure Vanilla Extract โ for depth of flavor
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line several baking sheets with parchment paper (or a silicone mat). In a medium bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, and salt.
- 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. (Donโt 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 โ donโt 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 itโs 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 The Best Sugar Cookies
- 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.
Thatโs pretty much it!
Easy Sugar Cookie Icing
Please note: Our Soft Sugar Cookie Recipe is not a roll-out recipe for cookie cutters. Itโs just too darn delicate for that.
If youโre 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 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.
Get the Printable Card Below with Our BEST Sugar Cookies Recipe + Video. Enjoy!
Frequently Asked Questions
There areย five thingsย that can cause flat cookiesโฆ
Your oven thermostat is faulty.ย This is aย veryย 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.ย 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. Donโt skip the parchment!
You used melted butter instead of softened butter.ย 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.ย In the United States, most bakers donโt weigh their ingredients. Therefore, itโs easy to mismeasure things like flour, which can be sifted or packed into cups. To ensureย the best results,ย 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.ย 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 arenโt past their expiration date.
This goes back to mis-measuring flour.ย Most likely, your flour was too packed into the measuring cups, so there is too much flour in the recipe.
Yes! Weโve 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.
As mentioned above, this recipe produces cookies that areย too delicate to roll and cut. You need a sturdier cookie recipe for that. Try thisย cut-out cookie recipeย orย this oneย instead!
Yes, there are a few optionsโฆ Try using vegan or plant-based butter, vegetable shortening, or margarine, instead of unsalted (dairy) butter.
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 donโt stick together. Then, you can thaw them in the fridge or at room temperature.
You can use any sugar substitute, as long as it is measured in a 1-to-1 ratio with granulated sugar.
Looking for more ofย 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 (with Icing)
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.
I want to make these, but is the glaze essential, (or is the sugar-coating pre-baking adequate)? What could I substitute for bourbon?
Hi Marietta,
The glaze is optional. You can serve them as-is, add holiday sprinkles, or even frost the cookies! Happy Baking!
great
Not the sugar cookies you cut shapes out of. Too floofy. Not sweet.ย
Yeah. She clearly states that it is not for for cutting shapes from; you gotta read the notes.
Excellent! This is now my go to recipe! Thank you
Unbelievably good. I didn’t do the icing, just rolled in turbinado sugar before baking. YUM. Arguably the best cookies I’ve ever made. Thanks for an amazing recipe! Oh, and I used gf flour too!!
This is my go-to recipe for sugar cookies now! I made a batch for my hubby’s work and they absolutely raved about them! Thank you!
these are delicious. crispy around the edges and light. thank u I took a picture but no where to up load. enjoying soft cookies and hot tea.
Will Celtic sea salt work? ย I also have iodized, Himalayan pink or kosher salt
Hi Tara,
Sure! You can use any of these salt varieties… I would just pick the finest grind.
Well I believe it now. Yes the best sugar cookies recipe I have ever tried. The lightest texture crumb and airy taste you could want. Everyone raved about the taste and texture. Thank you so much for this easy, quick delicious recipe. I followed the recipe exactly as written.
This recipe is fantastic! My cookies came out wonderfully soft on the inside with a light crisp on the outside. Only needed for it to be the slightest gold on the edges for it to perfectly set. I mixed in 1/4 cup of rainbow sprinkles which added some color!ย
These are delicious and easy! Perfectly done when baked for 9 minutes for meย
This is my new go-to sugar cookie recipe! I follow the recipe exactly except i roll each cookie ball in rainbow sprinkles and then sprinkle more sugar on top of each cookie. Delicious!!!!!