Tessa’s Recipe Rundown
Taste: The perfect amount of sweetness.
Texture: My favorite part, each bite is the ideal balance between soft and chewy.
Ease: Super easy 30-minute sugar cookie recipe with no chilling required.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe: Fun, simple, and perfect for holidays from Christmas to Valentine’s Day, even 4th of July. Everyone LOVES these cookies.
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Not to boast, but everyone who has tasted or made this sugar cookie recipe has said it became their instant favorite!! It took weeks of testing to get it just right.
These Soft & Chewy Sugar Cookies require NO CHILLING and are incredibly easy to bake up.
This recipe is perfect for your Christmas cookie boxes or just enjoying with a glass of milk. If it’s a warmer time of year, it also makes a great base for ice cream sandwiches!
What Makes Cookies Chewy, Crisp, or Cakey?
My free guide reveals the ingredients and tweaks that matter.
This recipe is featured in my cookbook, The Ultimate Cookie Handbook: Your Guide to Baking Perfect Cookies Every Time, which has sold out multiple times!! It makes me so glad to see you guys adore cookie baking as much as I do.
Originally, I had created a sugar cookie recipe with cream cheese that was ultra-soft. However, I found that it would become claggy, and each bite would get stuck to the roof of your mouth. I happened to grab a sugar cookie at a bakery one random day and instantly became inspired by its texture.
It was simultaneously soft and chewy. Each bite was so incredibly satisfying! I knew I had to recreate that texture for my cookbook sugar cookie recipe. I’m SO happy with the results… mostly because this recipe turned out to be so easy to make, and they taste utterly delicious.
People will think you went to an expensive bakery when you show up with a box of these cookies. Especially if you stock up on some cute homemade cookie gift packaging.
How to Make the Best Sugar Cookie Recipe
Ingredients For the Perfect Sugar Cookie Recipe:
- All-purpose flour – Make sure to weigh your flour accurately. If you add too much flour, your cookies won’t spread at all and won’t be soft or chewy.
- Baking powder – This gives the sugar cookies lift, without adding too much spread or browning.
- Fine sea salt – So important to balance the sweetness!
- Unsalted butter – It’s important that your butter is at a cool room temperature, otherwise your cookies may spread.
- Granulated sugar – The star ingredient! Don’t reduce the sugar – find out why here.
- Eggs – One whole egg with an extra egg yolk lends richness and chewiness to the texture. Make sure they’re at room temperature.
- Vanilla extract – No sugar cookie recipe is complete without vanilla extract.
How to Make SOFT Sugar Cookies
- The extra egg yolk helps to add more moisture and richness, for a soft and chewy texture.
- The other trick is found in the size of the dough ball…. a whole 3 tablespoons in each! This creates larger cookies that spread out perfectly with ultra-soft centers.
- Whatever you do, don’t overbake this sugar cookie recipe. They should still look ever so slightly ‘wet’ in the center when you pull them from the oven.
Why Did my Sugar Cookies Spread?
To prevent flat sugar cookies that spread into little puddles, it’s important to make sure your butter is at a COOL room temperature.
Your sticks of butter should give slightly when pressed with your finger but still hold their shape. To be precise, your butter should be 67°F.
How to Get a Crinkly Top in Sugar Cookies
Baking powder is one ingredient that gives these cookies their characteristic cracks, so make sure your baking powder is fresh. Check out my Baking Soda vs Baking Powder article for more details and instructions on how to test for freshness.
You also want to make sure that your butter is at a cool room temperature (67°F) as that can affect the appearance of these sugar cookies as well.
PLUS, rolling the cookies in granulated sugar is important! The sugar helps to draw moisture out from the surface of the cookies while they bake, which dries out the tops before the interior sets, resulting in pretty cracks.
Roll Your Sugar Cookie Dough Balls in Sugar Before Baking!
Roll each ball of dough in a shallow dish filled with granulated sugar. This creates that slightly crispy exterior and beautiful sparkly appearance.
Can I Make This Easy Sugar Cookie Recipe With a Hand Mixer?
Yes! A hand mixer will work just as well as a stand mixer.
What Kind of Baking Sheet is Best for Cookies?
A light-colored aluminum half sheet pan is my favorite for baking cookies. Avoid dark nonstick pans altogether, they brown too much and may burn the bottoms of your cookies. The below photo features cookies from the same exact batch of dough, baked for the same amount of time at the same temperature. The only difference was the baking pan!
Check out my Baking Pans 101 post for all the surprising details. Or, just click here to score my favorite baking pans for cookies (and everything else!)
Should I Line my Baking Sheets with Parchment Paper or Silicone Baking Mats?
I prefer parchment paper for cookies over silicone mats, to line my cookie sheets. Parchment is easier and quicker to clean up. Silicone mats like Silpats can actually lead to more spreading and browning. Check out the details here.
Whatever you do, never spray your baking sheet, parchment paper or silicone mat with nonstick cooking spray when baking cookies. This will lead to too much browning and spread (hello, burnt cookie puddles).
Why Use a Cookie Scoop?
- One of the KEYS to beautiful, uniform, evenly-shaped cookies.
- Saves you *so much time* in forming the balls of dough.
- Ensures each ball is evenly sized so the cookies bake evenly.
- No small overbaked cookies or large underbaked cookies.
- I love using a 3-Tablespoon size cookie scoop for this sugar cookie recipe.
- Learn more about Cookie Scoops and how to use them here!
Do You Need to Chill Sugar Cookie Dough?
It’s not required for this sugar cookie recipe. Immediately baking after mixing will result in absolutely delicious cookies; however, if time permits, chilling the dough for 24-72 hours does result in cookies that are thicker, chewier, and more flavorful. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap before refrigerating. When ready to bake, let dough sit at room temperature just until it is soft enough to scoop. Learn more about chilling cookie dough here.
How Long to Bake Drop Style Sugar Cookies
Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes, or until the sugar cookies are set and are just beginning to brown around the edges. The longer you bake, the crispier your cookies will be.
Can This Recipe be Used For Cut-out Cookies?
No, this sugar cookie recipe was designed for simple drop-style cookies. If you want cookie cutter sugar cookies instead, check out my Cut Out Sugar Cookie recipe here.
How to Decorate Sugar Cookies
This is totally optional, as these cookies are so pretty by themselves – but if you want to make them a more colorful treat, here are my top tips:
- Roll the balls of dough in colored sugar before baking. I like to have one bowl filled with green-colored sugar and a separate with red, for easy Christmas sugar cookies!
- You can also fold in 1/4-1/2 cup of multi-colored jimmies or holiday jimmies or sprinkles as a last step before rolling the dough balls in granulated sugar, to add even more festive colors to this sugar cookie recipe!
- Use my Best Buttercream Frosting recipe for decorating. You can get creative with the flavor suggestions in that recipe post or use gel food coloring to add colorful flair.
- Another favorite is my Best Cream Cheese Frosting recipe!
How to Store Sugar Cookies
Store sugar cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. Store cookies with a tortilla, apple wedge, or piece of bread to keep them soft for longer.
Can You Freeze Sugar Cookies?
Yes! This sugar cookie recipe freezes beautifully. Freeze the uncoated, pre-portioned balls of cookie dough in a freezer-safe container, tightly wrapped in plastic wrap, or in a Ziploc bag. Allow them to thaw overnight in the fridge or for 30-60 minutes at room temperature, then bake as directed below.
You can roll the cookie dough balls in the sugar before freezing – however, the dough will absorb some of the sugar, and it won’t have quite the same visual or texture impact compared to rolling in sugar right before baking.
Check out my How to Freeze Cookie Dough article for step-by-step instructions (and how to bake from frozen).
More Easy Cookie Recipes:
- Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Crispy Gingersnaps
- Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Soft & Chewy M&M Cookies
- Soft Batch Double Chocolate Cookies
- Black and White Chippers
Soft and Chewy Sugar Cookies
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Ingredients
- 2½ cups (318 grams) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 sticks (226 grams) unsalted butter, at cool room temperature
- 1¼ cups (250 grams) granulated sugar, plus ¼ cup (50 grams) for rolling
- 1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt to combine.
- In a large bowl, use an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment on medium-high speed to beat the butter and 1¼ cups sugar until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the mixing bowl. Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla, and beat until combined, scraping the bowl down as needed. Slowly beat in the flour mixture.
- Place the remaining 1/4 cup sugar in a shallow dish. Using a large (3-tablespoon) spring-loaded scoop, divide the dough into balls, then roll in sugar to coat evenly. Place the dough balls on the prepared baking sheets, spacing 2 inches apart, and flatten slightly with the bottom of a measuring cup.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the cookies set and begin to brown. Cool for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Recipe Notes
The Ultimate Cookie Handbook
Learn the sweet SCIENCE of cookie baking in a fun, visual way to customize your own recipes frustration-free. Plus, my best 50+ homemade cookies!
I scrolled through the entire blog and couldn’t find the measurements for the recipe. Please make it easier to find next time
Hi Clair! I’m sorry you experienced that issue! At the top of the page, please click “Jump to Recipe!” to be taken right to the recipe and instructions.
Thank you awesome recipe!
Getting ready to make these they look so yummy. Are they sturdy enough for icing?
This is one of Team HTH’s favorite holiday recipes! Can’t wait to hear what you think when you give them a try 🙂 They’re sturdy enough for icing, though it’s not required! You can always roll them in festive-colored sugar or sprinkles too! 🙂 We link our favorite sprinkles and frosting recipes in the pink tip box above the recipe. Enjoy!
Best cookies I have ever baked. They were gone the day I made them!
So happy to hear that!
How much sugar do I add? The ingredients say 1¼ cups all together but the steps say add 1¼ cups to the dough and roll in another ¼ cup. So do I need 1½ cups of sugar all together then?
Hi Rachel! The recipes lists “1¼ cups (250 grams) granulated sugar, plus ¼ cup (50 grams) for rolling” so yes, 1¼ cups go in the cookie dough, and another ¼ cup is for rolling just before baking. Let us know what you think of these cookies once you have given them a try! 🙂
Does this dough work well using a cookie press?
Hi Debbie! We haven’t tried that, so I can’t say for sure! Let us know if you give that a try 🙂
I am not one to substitute ingredients in recipes….. but I found out last minute I ran out of vanilla extract, so I used maple extract instead. The cookies turned out delicious! Texture is perfect.
Positive thoughts first:
These are absolutely delicious. They taste as good as any bakery sugar cookie I’ve ever had. My husband can’t stop eating them.
The recipe is very simple and it comes together quickly.
I decorated mine with Christmas colored sprinkles and sugar. They’re awesome.
My problems:
I couldn’t bake them in a consistent manner.
I baked a couple immediately and they were perfect.
I chilled the dough overnight and baked the rest.
The cookies I baked chilled were great, the ones that warmed up for 15 or so minutes spread too much.
Also, when I removed the dough from the fridge, it looked like dough you would roll and cut. I always weigh my ingredients, so I’m not sure what went wrong.
When I made the dough, I was worried that my butter was too warm so I threw it in my freezer for 3 minutes (I used a timer). When I creamed it with sugar, it was not smooth but chunky like sand. There seems to be a fine line between warm, cool, and cold butter. The eggs helped, but when I added the flour, I brought the dough together with my hands rather than my hand mixer (I don’t have a stand mixer). I didn’t mix it for long. I’m at a loss.
All this being said, I HIGHLY regret these. They really do taste fantastic. I’m just a perfectionist.
Hi Melissa! Glad to hear that you enjoyed these cookies, even if you experienced a few issues. You can always pop the dough in the fridge until right before you bake them – straight from fridge to oven is just fine! As for the butter, it sounds like it may have been under-creamed and possibly not the right temperature. Using a digital thermometer to ensure the butter is right about 67°F when creaming takes out the uncertainty, so you know your butter will cream perfectly. Learn more about creaming butter and sugar, and the importance of butter being the correct temperature, here. I hope that helps! Happy baking 🙂
Thanks for the response. I do agree with your assessment about the butter. Next time, I will use a thermometer. Even with that issue, they are SO delicious.These are now my husband’s favorite holiday cookie.
Typo edit for original comment: I highly recommend these cookies, I definitely don’t regret them.
Haha so glad to hear they’re such a hit, Melissa 🙂 Happy holidays!!
Made these today. Rolled in red and green sugar. So fun and festive.
Oh wow… these are probably the best sugar cookies I’ve ever had… definitely the best ones I’ve made! SUCH a good tip about the butter, you can tell that’s what really made a difference here – loved the pictures to tell you how soft was too soft. Actually did manage to cream the sugar with a manual hand mixer – basically got it soft, mushed it all with a spatula, then mixed it again to make it fluffy, and just used a Tbs measuring spoon to measure out 3Tbs balls. We’ve only eaten one to test them (one didn’t quite spread out as much), but I’m assuming the others aren’t any different. This will definitely be my go-to recipe from now on!!
Followed the recipe to the T and it came out so good!! I am not normally a fan of sugar cookies because it’s usually too dry and way too sweet for me but this one definitely changed my mind. It’s so buttery and has the right amount of sweetness to it. The outside is crisp enough for texture while the inside is so soft and moist. Saved the recipe for future use!
To avoid dealing with leftover egg whites, could these be made with only 1 egg or two full eggs? If so, any other changes to the recipe? Thanks so much!
Joel
Hi Joel! I recommend making the recipe as written and simply freeze the leftover egg white for later use – but if you don’t want to do that, I recommend skipping the extra yolk, rather than adding the full egg. Too much egg white creates paler, cakier cookies that aren’t as chewy and delicious to eat. Let us know what you think of these cookies once you have given them a try 🙂