My go-to recipe, these Soft and Chewy Sugar Cookies are perfectly tender and soft with just the right amount of chewiness. They take just minutes to make with ingredients you may already have in your kitchen!
Yield:
16 large cookies
Prep Time:15minutes
Cook:10minutes
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. Pros: Fun, simple, and perfect for holidays from Christmas to Valentine’s Day, even 4th of July! Cons: None. Would I make this again? I’ve made this recipe many times, everyone raves about it.
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.
The holiday baking season is almost upon us. 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!
This recipe is actually featured in my cookbook, The Ultimate Cookie Handbook, 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!
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!
Baking powder – this gives the 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!
Eggs – one whole egg with an extra egg yolk lends richness and chewiness to the texture, just 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 your cookies. 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 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.
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 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 drys out the tops before the interior sets, resulting in cracks.
Roll your 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.
If you want to make your cookies festive and pretty without extra work, 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 sprinkles as a last step before rolling the dough balls in granulated sugar to add even more festive colors to your cookies!
Can I make this 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 sugar 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!
Should I line my baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats?
I prefer parchment paper for cookies over silicone mats. Parchment is easier and quicker to cleanup. 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 with nonstick cooking spray when baking cookies. This will lead to too much browning and spread (hello, burnt cookie puddles).
How long to bake drop style sugar cookies:
Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes, or until the cookies 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 recipe was designed for simple drop-style cookies.
I love my Best Buttercream recipe for these cookies. It’s perfect because you can get creative with the flavor suggestions in that recipe post or even with gel food coloring for a festive flair. Another favorite is my Best Cream Cheese Frosting recipe!
How to store sugar cookies:
Store 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! Freeze the uncoated balls of cookie dough in a freezer-safe container, tightly wrapped plastic wrap, or Ziploc bag. Allow them to thaw overnight in the fridge or 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.
My go-to recipe, these Soft and Chewy Sugar Cookies are perfectly tender and soft with just the right amount of chewiness. They take just minutes to make with ingredients you may already have in your kitchen!
Ingredients
2½cups(318 grams) all-purpose flour
2teaspoonsbaking powder
3/4teaspoonfine sea salt
2sticks (226 grams) unsalted butter,at cool room temperature
1¼cups(250 grams) granulated sugar,plus ¼ cup (50 grams) for rolling
1large egg plus 1 egg yolk
1teaspoonvanilla extract
Directions
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. Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla, and beat until combined. 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 Video
Recipe Notes
*If you live in a warmer/humid climate or if you prefer a thicker cookie, feel free to chill the dough balls prior to baking.
Course :
Dessert
Cuisine :
American
Keyword :
sugar cookie recipe, sugar cookies
December 2021 Baking Challenge
This recipe was the December 2021 selection for our monthly baking challenge! Every month you can join the challenge by baking the recipe and snapping a photo for a chance to win prizes! Full challenge details here. Check out everyone’s cookies:
I share trusted baking recipes your friends will LOVE alongside insights into the science of sweets. I'm a professionally trained chef, cookbook author, and cookie queen. I love to write about all things sweet, carb-y, and homemade. I live in Phoenix, Arizona (hence the blog name!)
About Tessa...
I share trusted baking recipes your friends will LOVE alongside insights into the science of sweets. I'm a professionally trained chef, cookbook author, and cookie queen. I love to write about all things sweet, carb-y, and homemade. I live in Phoenix, Arizona (hence the blog name!)
They’re very tasty, don’t get me wrong, but I definitely didn’t get the chewy-cracked sort of thing I was going for that was indicated by the picture. I moved my oven rack between batches which definitely helped some – my first batch, the butter melted out a little quicker than everything else could set, giving me a ‘foot’ on the cookies. Later batches avoided this, but tasted like a pretty standard grocery store sugar cookie. Not a bad thing, but not what I was hoping for.
Made these for a young airman who said he loved sugar cookies. These came out perfect! I had to stop myself from eating them so I could give them away.
I added 28g freeze dried strawberry powder and a little lemon extract paste to this recipe and the cookies taste absolutely amazing!!!! I didn’t make any other changes. When I previously made this recipe the cookies deflated after baking and were quite flat so I figured the extra dry ingredient would be ok to add. I measure the flour by volume (I use a different brand). I will try lots of other fruits going forward and I will also try peanut butter powder.
That sounds AMAZING, Dani! I am 100% going to try that, so fun and perfect for spring! Thanks for sharing your add-ins 🙂 Excited to hear how peanut butter powder goes as well, yum!
Chewy and just the right texture make these the BEST sugar cookie ever! I love making these cookies — they don’t need to be chilled and are very easy to make. I keep a batch frozen and can simply pop a dozen in the oven whenever I need them. Yum!
They are excellent. Definitely drool worthy and also so easy to add a bit of color to with some colored sugar, sprinkles, etc. Sugary, buttery perfection.
Made these cookies and while they turned out great, they definitely did not look like the picture. I’m hoping for some insight? The only change i made was to add some lemon zest (no juice). The cookies were soft, and had a great chew in the center. No cracks (that’s ok) but they were VERY thick. I would say about twice the height of the cookies in the picture. It’s not a problem (my husband actually preferred this), but I’m just curious as to why that could be? I don’t believe i added more baking powder than called for, so just very curious! Thanks!
Hi Cassie! The lemon zest is a great addition 🙂 Do you use a digital scale to measure your ingredients? It sounds like too much flour may have been added to your cookies. Or, is it possible your butter was too cold? Check out the pink tip box above the recipe for more details, and hopefully our tips will help to perfect your next batch! Let us know how it goes if you give it another try!
I love these cookies are so good they’re so moist to be tender on the outside when I made it for my sister’s birthday party she loved them everyone asked if they can have this recipe. Thank you Tessa for making this sugar cookie recipe it is so good . And also this is my dad’s favorite cookies ever !
These are the best sugar cookies I have ever made. Most are flavorless and dry. These taste delicious and perfect texture! Also they make the best base for mini fruit pizzas. We topped with our favorite cream cheese frosting and a variety of fruit and they were delicious! For those that were getting dry and crumbly cookies, I wonder if they were baking too long. I took them out when they looked underdone and mine were soft and chewy. I also measured all my ingredients with a scale and used just barely softened butter.
5/5 AMAZING!! My sisters loved it and I could make it easily. They said it tasted like that one company’s cookies (crumbl cookies). I didn’t use baking soda, and i used salted butter and less salt. Looked exactly the same, and tasted how it was supposed to. It’s no special occasion but i’d eat these any day.
If your cookies turned out more cakey, that’s typically a sign that too much flour was added. Did you use a digital scale to measure your ingredients? You also want to make sure that your butter is at the correct temperature before creaming with the sugar. Tessa explains this more in detail in the pink tip box above the recipe. I hope you give this recipe another try!
I was looking at the recipe and it looks dang near perfect, I was wanting to add some lemon to it though. How would it affect the dough if I added 2 tbls of fresh lemon juice and the zest of a lemon to the dough… I am thinking it wouldn’t negatively affect the dough too much…
Hi Jared! We haven’t tried that, though it sounds delicious! I’d suggest replacing the vanilla with lemon juice or extract rather than adding an additional 2 tablespoons of liquid to the cookies, as that may alter their texture, but you’re definitely welcome to give it a try. Please let us know how it goes!
Dry and crumbly. No chew at all. Good flavor though. I weighed my ingredients and didn’t deviate from the recipe or instructions. They didn’t even crack. I don’t understand.
I’m sorry to hear of your issues with these cookies, they definitely shouldn’t be dry and crumbly, especially with no chew! I’m so happy to hear that you use a digital scale to measure your ingredients, though it does sound like something may have been mis-measured. Did you substitute any of the ingredients? Check out our tips in the pink box above the recipe on how to get that crinkly top. If only we could bake along with you to see what happened, but hopefully we can still figure out what went wrong! I’d love for you to try this recipe again.
Hi Christine! Do you use a digital scale to measure your ingredients? It sounds like too much flour may have been added to your cookies, which would make them a bit cakier. Check out the pink tip box above the recipe for more details. Glad you enjoyed the flavor of the cookies!
My kids and I made this! In addition to sprinkling extra sugar on the dough, we also rolled in sprinkles for some color 🙂 seriously delicious! Thank you!
Sorry to hear you had issues with these cookies, Beckie! They should almost be the opposite of crumbly when finished baking. Do you use a digital scale to measure your ingredients? Did you make any substitutions?
I have been looking for a family recipe that has been lost for years they have baking powder, baking soda and cream of tartar in them big thick melt in your mouth great cut out cookies. The best very little milk and always used crisco. Do you have one. HELP. Thanks
I love how these came together so quickly which was a bonus during this very busy time of year. I got a little creative and added a touch of cinnamon to rolling sugar for the second batch. Definitely a keeper recipe and will be making them again in the future.
Hands-down the best sugar cookies I have ever had! I found this heavenly recipe as a result of a bad recipe I found in TikTok that I made for Christmas. Thanks to this recipe and all of the wonderful tips and tricks included, I redeemed myself!
These sugar cookies are so chewy and delicious! I highly recommend following the directions in using a 3 tbsp scoop. We decided to use a 1 inch cookie scoop and didn’t receive the nice cracking that I believe the 3 tbsp scoop would have. We will be making again!
These were great! I rolled them in sanding sugar instead of regular sugar and they were so festive! Perfect for little plates of cookie presents. Taste great!
Really a delicious sugar cookie. I made three batches for Christmas — some rolled in red & green sugar, some with crushed candy cane pieces in the batter, and some with peppermint flavored white chocolate chips in the batter (didn’t have a chance to bake those yet . . . still in the freezer). Most of all, I love them just as intended—a flavorful sugar cookie that is a little crisp on the edges, and soft in the center. Yum!
I made these for christmas/hanukkah with red + green/blue + white sprinkles rolled on the outside, and they were a huge hit. My SO loves soft sugar cookies, and I was concerned these wouldn’t be soft enough with the sugar baked on the outside, but they were! The centers were perfect, even they were a few days old. Plus this recipe was super easy! I’ll be adding these to my regular holiday rotation. I love a festive cookie that requires minimal work to look pretty!
Okay, so looking over exactly what I did more closely, I realized that I accidentally under measured my sugar. Could that be why the cookies did not spread and crack as much?
And now I realize that it doesn’t look like my first comment uploaded. The cookies were delicious, but they didn’t crack and spread as much as in the pictures. I did weigh my ingredients but may have accidentally used 10-20 grams too much flour, and looking at the recipe, I realized that I underweighed my sugar. I am assuming that one of these was the culprit, but I am not sure which. I carefully creamed my butter according to your blog post about it, and I baked on a light colored, thin steel cookie sheet.
Hi Audriana! That could definitely have been the issue, glad you realized! Do you own an oven thermometer? If not, it’s also possible that your oven temp may have been off (all ovens are! Mine actually takes an extra 15 minutes after the preheat-complete beep to actually be at the right temp). I’d also make sure that your butter starts out at a cool room temperature (67°F) prior to beating with the sugar. If your cookies didn’t spread very much, it’s possible either your butter was too cold or too much flour may have been added. Reducing the sugar (accidentally) can definitely alter the outcome of the recipe as well. Check out the pink tip box above the recipe for more details regarding how to get that crinkly top, I hope you give this recipe another try!
I rolled half of them in sugar and half in cinnamon/sugar like snickerdoodles. Both were delicious! I did make them smaller since I only had a 2 tbs size scoop. They were perfectly done at 10 minutes.
I just had one problem. They did not spread out as much and crack like your pictures. They puffed up a bit instead with only minimal cracking on the edges. I weighed my ingredients, and used a thin steel with a light colored coating for my baking sheet. I will admit that even though I weighed the ingredients, I may have been off by as much as 10 grams potentially, but that’s it. I followed your blog posts on creaming to get the butter creamed properly. Did I possibly have too much flour? Wrong baking temperature?
This is the perfect sugar cookie recipe! So easy and so good! I love that you can switch up the rolled sugar coating to colored sugar candies to make them festive for any holiday or event! Every time I make these, I’m amazed at how fast they disappear!
These were much easier than roll out sugar cookies and the chewy centers were great! I enjoy customization, so sprinkles of any holiday or season were a must, and they looked festive and tasted great!
Hello! I made these cookies and not sure what I did wrong . They came out flat and spread a lot.. my butter was room temperature it was not left out too long and followed instructions… what can this be?
Hi Angie! That could be from a few things, but typically it’s due to too warm of butter. You want your butter to be at a cool room temperature, which is about 67°F. Check out the photo of what cool room temperature butter looks like in this article HERE (it’s about halfway through the article), it might help with your next batch! Feel free to chill the dough balls prior to baking as well, especially if you live in a warmer/humid climate. Secondly, do you use a digital scale to measure your ingredients? Mis-measuring your flour or sugar can impact the outcome of these cookies. Lastly, do you own an oven thermometer? Everyone’s oven is different, and sometimes even though your oven beeps signaling that it’s done preheating, your temperature may still be too cool. My personal oven is at 275°F when it beeps and takes an additional 15 minutes before it’s set to 350°F. I hope that helps! If you give this recipe another try, please let us know how it goes 🙂
Best sugar cookie recipe I’ve ever made! My husband doesn’t like sugar cookies but loved these. I took a batch to a family get together and they were gone before we even ate dinner!
I’ve never made a sugar cookie before and these were amazingly simple to whip up! Loved adding in a few festive sprinkles for a holiday touch as well. Thanks for the wonderful recipe!
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Crispy edges soft middles perfect sugar cookies !
They’re very tasty, don’t get me wrong, but I definitely didn’t get the chewy-cracked sort of thing I was going for that was indicated by the picture. I moved my oven rack between batches which definitely helped some – my first batch, the butter melted out a little quicker than everything else could set, giving me a ‘foot’ on the cookies. Later batches avoided this, but tasted like a pretty standard grocery store sugar cookie. Not a bad thing, but not what I was hoping for.
I made these this morning and enjoyed myself! They didn’t get the pretty cracks but still were tasty ☺️
Made these for a young airman who said he loved sugar cookies. These came out perfect! I had to stop myself from eating them so I could give them away.
I loved these.. I think they came out perfect.. The recipe was easy to follow and I had no complaints..
Easy and delicious
I added 28g freeze dried strawberry powder and a little lemon extract paste to this recipe and the cookies taste absolutely amazing!!!! I didn’t make any other changes. When I previously made this recipe the cookies deflated after baking and were quite flat so I figured the extra dry ingredient would be ok to add. I measure the flour by volume (I use a different brand). I will try lots of other fruits going forward and I will also try peanut butter powder.
That sounds AMAZING, Dani! I am 100% going to try that, so fun and perfect for spring! Thanks for sharing your add-ins 🙂 Excited to hear how peanut butter powder goes as well, yum!
Delectable sugar cookies! Turned out exactly as described, everyone loved them.
Chewy and just the right texture make these the BEST sugar cookie ever! I love making these cookies — they don’t need to be chilled and are very easy to make. I keep a batch frozen and can simply pop a dozen in the oven whenever I need them. Yum!
These are some of my go-to, quick and universally loved cookies. They are so yummy!
I’ve made these numerous times and they are perfect! Just perfect. So simple and tasty.
They are excellent. Definitely drool worthy and also so easy to add a bit of color to with some colored sugar, sprinkles, etc. Sugary, buttery perfection.
The BEST sugar cookies EVER!!
Very tasty sugar cookies!! Definitely will make again. They are soft and delightful.
Made these cookies and while they turned out great, they definitely did not look like the picture. I’m hoping for some insight? The only change i made was to add some lemon zest (no juice). The cookies were soft, and had a great chew in the center. No cracks (that’s ok) but they were VERY thick. I would say about twice the height of the cookies in the picture. It’s not a problem (my husband actually preferred this), but I’m just curious as to why that could be? I don’t believe i added more baking powder than called for, so just very curious! Thanks!
Hi Cassie! The lemon zest is a great addition 🙂 Do you use a digital scale to measure your ingredients? It sounds like too much flour may have been added to your cookies. Or, is it possible your butter was too cold? Check out the pink tip box above the recipe for more details, and hopefully our tips will help to perfect your next batch! Let us know how it goes if you give it another try!
I love these cookies are so good they’re so moist to be tender on the outside when I made it for my sister’s birthday party she loved them everyone asked if they can have this recipe. Thank you Tessa for making this sugar cookie recipe it is so good . And also this is my dad’s favorite cookies ever !
These are the best sugar cookies I have ever made. Most are flavorless and dry. These taste delicious and perfect texture! Also they make the best base for mini fruit pizzas. We topped with our favorite cream cheese frosting and a variety of fruit and they were delicious! For those that were getting dry and crumbly cookies, I wonder if they were baking too long. I took them out when they looked underdone and mine were soft and chewy. I also measured all my ingredients with a scale and used just barely softened butter.
So happy your cookies turned out perfectly, and I love your idea for making these into mini fruit pizzas, YUM!!
5/5 AMAZING!! My sisters loved it and I could make it easily. They said it tasted like that one company’s cookies (crumbl cookies). I didn’t use baking soda, and i used salted butter and less salt. Looked exactly the same, and tasted how it was supposed to. It’s no special occasion but i’d eat these any day.
So happy to hear how much you both loved them!
Made these today and they are delicious! Mine didn’t come out looking like yours, no cracks. But, still tasted great.
BEST SUGAR COOKIE RECIPE
Wow this was amazing My baking usually never turns out so this was a 10/10 but since there’s no 10 I’ll put a 5
So happy you love this recipe so much!
Made these and they turned out delicious! Thanks for sharing!
It turned into cookie cakes. Where did I go wrong. It’s also mildly sweet. I followed everything….
If your cookies turned out more cakey, that’s typically a sign that too much flour was added. Did you use a digital scale to measure your ingredients? You also want to make sure that your butter is at the correct temperature before creaming with the sugar. Tessa explains this more in detail in the pink tip box above the recipe. I hope you give this recipe another try!
I was looking at the recipe and it looks dang near perfect, I was wanting to add some lemon to it though. How would it affect the dough if I added 2 tbls of fresh lemon juice and the zest of a lemon to the dough… I am thinking it wouldn’t negatively affect the dough too much…
Hi Jared! We haven’t tried that, though it sounds delicious! I’d suggest replacing the vanilla with lemon juice or extract rather than adding an additional 2 tablespoons of liquid to the cookies, as that may alter their texture, but you’re definitely welcome to give it a try. Please let us know how it goes!
Dry and crumbly. No chew at all. Good flavor though. I weighed my ingredients and didn’t deviate from the recipe or instructions. They didn’t even crack. I don’t understand.
I’m sorry to hear of your issues with these cookies, they definitely shouldn’t be dry and crumbly, especially with no chew! I’m so happy to hear that you use a digital scale to measure your ingredients, though it does sound like something may have been mis-measured. Did you substitute any of the ingredients? Check out our tips in the pink box above the recipe on how to get that crinkly top. If only we could bake along with you to see what happened, but hopefully we can still figure out what went wrong! I’d love for you to try this recipe again.
this is delicious and I had a great time making them.
Made these, taste good and are soft but didn’t “settle” so they are puffy (if I had preserves, I’d put some in the middle).
Hi Christine! Do you use a digital scale to measure your ingredients? It sounds like too much flour may have been added to your cookies, which would make them a bit cakier. Check out the pink tip box above the recipe for more details. Glad you enjoyed the flavor of the cookies!
My kids and I made this! In addition to sprinkling extra sugar on the dough, we also rolled in sprinkles for some color 🙂 seriously delicious! Thank you!
Very crumbly after it was done. Sticky. But still good.missing something
Sorry to hear you had issues with these cookies, Beckie! They should almost be the opposite of crumbly when finished baking. Do you use a digital scale to measure your ingredients? Did you make any substitutions?
I have been looking for a family recipe that has been lost for years they have baking powder, baking soda and cream of tartar in them big thick melt in your mouth great cut out cookies. The best very little milk and always used crisco. Do you have one. HELP. Thanks
Here is a link to our Cut Out Sugar Cookies, though they don’t contain crisco. I’m sorry I can’t help further, best of luck finding your recipe!
Crispy outside, soft chewy inside. Delicious!
Yummy!
Love how simple and tasty these were!
Simple perfection. Perfect texture and delicate flavor profile. Would be a great recipe to bake with kiddos.
Soft, chewey and delicious! Such a fast and easy recipe too!
I love how these came together so quickly which was a bonus during this very busy time of year. I got a little creative and added a touch of cinnamon to rolling sugar for the second batch. Definitely a keeper recipe and will be making them again in the future.
Hands-down the best sugar cookies I have ever had! I found this heavenly recipe as a result of a bad recipe I found in TikTok that I made for Christmas. Thanks to this recipe and all of the wonderful tips and tricks included, I redeemed myself!
Oh no, I’m so happy you didn’t give up after finding a bad recipe! Thrilled you love this recipe and Tessa’s tips so much, thanks for the comment 🙂
These sugar cookies are so chewy and delicious! I highly recommend following the directions in using a 3 tbsp scoop. We decided to use a 1 inch cookie scoop and didn’t receive the nice cracking that I believe the 3 tbsp scoop would have. We will be making again!
These were great! I rolled them in sanding sugar instead of regular sugar and they were so festive! Perfect for little plates of cookie presents. Taste great!
These where so fun and festive! I rolled them in colorful sanding sugar and they were a hit. Taste – fabulous!!
A year-round favorite! Perfect as is, or dressed up with sprinkles, frosting, and/or flavoring for any occasion.
Really a delicious sugar cookie. I made three batches for Christmas — some rolled in red & green sugar, some with crushed candy cane pieces in the batter, and some with peppermint flavored white chocolate chips in the batter (didn’t have a chance to bake those yet . . . still in the freezer). Most of all, I love them just as intended—a flavorful sugar cookie that is a little crisp on the edges, and soft in the center. Yum!
Such a great idea, Becky! Each cookie sounds incredible, I’ll definitely be trying your add-ins myself 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
These delightfully chewy sugar cookies were so easy to make!
Easy and delicious!
I made these for christmas/hanukkah with red + green/blue + white sprinkles rolled on the outside, and they were a huge hit. My SO loves soft sugar cookies, and I was concerned these wouldn’t be soft enough with the sugar baked on the outside, but they were! The centers were perfect, even they were a few days old. Plus this recipe was super easy! I’ll be adding these to my regular holiday rotation. I love a festive cookie that requires minimal work to look pretty!
So happy you loved this recipe so much! Thanks for the comment!
These cookies are so easy and very very tasty! I will certainly be making them again and again! My family loves my recipes from Tessa!
Okay, so looking over exactly what I did more closely, I realized that I accidentally under measured my sugar. Could that be why the cookies did not spread and crack as much?
And now I realize that it doesn’t look like my first comment uploaded. The cookies were delicious, but they didn’t crack and spread as much as in the pictures. I did weigh my ingredients but may have accidentally used 10-20 grams too much flour, and looking at the recipe, I realized that I underweighed my sugar. I am assuming that one of these was the culprit, but I am not sure which. I carefully creamed my butter according to your blog post about it, and I baked on a light colored, thin steel cookie sheet.
Hi Audriana! That could definitely have been the issue, glad you realized! Do you own an oven thermometer? If not, it’s also possible that your oven temp may have been off (all ovens are! Mine actually takes an extra 15 minutes after the preheat-complete beep to actually be at the right temp). I’d also make sure that your butter starts out at a cool room temperature (67°F) prior to beating with the sugar. If your cookies didn’t spread very much, it’s possible either your butter was too cold or too much flour may have been added. Reducing the sugar (accidentally) can definitely alter the outcome of the recipe as well. Check out the pink tip box above the recipe for more details regarding how to get that crinkly top, I hope you give this recipe another try!
I rolled half of them in sugar and half in cinnamon/sugar like snickerdoodles. Both were delicious! I did make them smaller since I only had a 2 tbs size scoop. They were perfectly done at 10 minutes.
I just had one problem. They did not spread out as much and crack like your pictures. They puffed up a bit instead with only minimal cracking on the edges. I weighed my ingredients, and used a thin steel with a light colored coating for my baking sheet. I will admit that even though I weighed the ingredients, I may have been off by as much as 10 grams potentially, but that’s it. I followed your blog posts on creaming to get the butter creamed properly. Did I possibly have too much flour? Wrong baking temperature?
Absolutely delicious! I added a tiny bit of orange oil with the vanilla and some cardamom, allspice, and clove into the dough and they were amazing.
Ooo that sounds incredible! I need to try that next time, yum!
This is the perfect sugar cookie recipe! So easy and so good! I love that you can switch up the rolled sugar coating to colored sugar candies to make them festive for any holiday or event! Every time I make these, I’m amazed at how fast they disappear!
So happy they’re such a hit!
These were much easier than roll out sugar cookies and the chewy centers were great! I enjoy customization, so sprinkles of any holiday or season were a must, and they looked festive and tasted great!
So happy you loved them, Hillary!
Perfect sugar cookie recipe. Soft with a delicious crispy exterior. Can’t wait to make again!
My husband favorite cookies are sugar cookie. When I made this recipe his only words are- Perfect Sugar Cookie. Thank you for the amazing recipe..
Hello! I made these cookies and not sure what I did wrong . They came out flat and spread a lot.. my butter was room temperature it was not left out too long and followed instructions… what can this be?
Hi Angie! That could be from a few things, but typically it’s due to too warm of butter. You want your butter to be at a cool room temperature, which is about 67°F. Check out the photo of what cool room temperature butter looks like in this article HERE (it’s about halfway through the article), it might help with your next batch! Feel free to chill the dough balls prior to baking as well, especially if you live in a warmer/humid climate. Secondly, do you use a digital scale to measure your ingredients? Mis-measuring your flour or sugar can impact the outcome of these cookies. Lastly, do you own an oven thermometer? Everyone’s oven is different, and sometimes even though your oven beeps signaling that it’s done preheating, your temperature may still be too cool. My personal oven is at 275°F when it beeps and takes an additional 15 minutes before it’s set to 350°F. I hope that helps! If you give this recipe another try, please let us know how it goes 🙂
Best sugar cookie recipe I’ve ever made! My husband doesn’t like sugar cookies but loved these. I took a batch to a family get together and they were gone before we even ate dinner!
That’s amazing!! So happy everyone loved them, thanks so much for letting us know!
So, so delicious and easy to make
Great cookies! This was one of my Christmas recipes, a big success! 🙂
Easy and delicious recipe – per usual!
Delicious recipe!
It was my first time baking sugar cookies and I loveee how they turned out, super soft and delicious!!
Yay! So happy you enjoyed them, Ammarah! 🙂
I’ve never made a sugar cookie before and these were amazingly simple to whip up! Loved adding in a few festive sprinkles for a holiday touch as well. Thanks for the wonderful recipe!
Happy you loved them!
A favorite this Christmas! Will definitely make these again.
Oh my goodness! These are so good and remind me of my grandmother’s cookies when I was little! I will definitely be making these again!
Aw, so happy to hear that! ❤️️