I love this easy sugar cookies recipe, especially when I want to do some spur-of-the-moment baking. The cookie dough doesn’t need to be chilled, and the finished cookies stay wonderfully chewy for DAYS.
If you love soft sugar cookies, try my copycat Lofthouse cookies for a frosted, bakery-style treat.
Next to a good snickerdoodle, chewy sugar cookies are a total favorite of mine any day of the week. And unlike, say, cut-out sugar cookies, which are definitely a Christmas staple, I feel like this easy drop sugar cookies recipe is perfect for year-round baking.
I tested SO many versions of these homemade sugar cookies. I’m pretty sure my mother-in-law (who watches the twins while I work) thought I was losing my mind. I’d be all, “Just one more version!” and then a week later there’d still be new batches on the counter. But finally, I found the perfect sugar cookie recipe. Everything about these buttery cookies is just right.
So Many Reasons To Love This Easy Sugar Cookie Recipe
- These cookies are the perfect thickness to have crisp, golden edges without losing their soft centers.
- They’re chewy, buttery sugar cookies without being cakey.
- There’s no need to chill the dough, cut out the cookies, or even press the balls flat. They spread perfectly on their own.
- I’m happy to say these homemade cookies stay soft and chewy for days when stored properly.
- These are delicious baked as-is, rolled in sugar for a crunchy finish, and they’re great for decorating with sugar cookie icing or sprinkles.
- They’re easily adaptable for holidays like Christmas, Easter, and Valentine’s Day. See my favorites in the Variations section later on.
Ingredients Needed
Let’s talk about the key ingredients you’ll need to make chewy classic sugar cookies. See the recipe card for the full recipe with exact measurements.
- Flour – Use a kitchen scale or spoon and level the flour to avoid overmeasuring. See how to measure flour correctly so you don’t end up with too much flour in the dough.
- Baking soda and baking powder – In all my testing, I found that my favorite sugar cookies used a combination of baking soda and baking powder. Cookies made with only baking soda are chewy but thinner (see my coconut sugar cookies). Meanwhile, just baking powder yields a thicker, more cakey cookie. The combination of the two was just right for these bakery-style sugar cookies.
- Butter – I use unsalted butter. Bring the butter to room temperature before you start. If you forget, microwave it for 5 seconds at a time, turning a quarter turn after each interval, just until it’s softened but not melted. You can also slice the butter into thin slices and it’ll come to room temperature much more quickly.
- Granulated sugar and brown sugar – Brown sugar has more moisture than white granulated sugar because it contains molasses. I swapped out two tablespoons of white sugar for brown sugar in this sugar cookie recipe, and the results were fantastic. It makes a much softer and chewier cookie that stays fresh longer. It also adds a touch of extra flavor.
- Egg – Also at room temperature.
- Vanilla extract – Please use pure vanilla extract for your homemade sugar cookies, and not imitation vanilla. You’ll taste the difference.
How to Make Chewy Sugar Cookies
Follow along to make the best soft sugar cookies from scratch. Before you begin, preheat your oven to 350ºF and line your baking sheets, either with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
Whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
Cream the butter and sugars together until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes).
Mix in the egg and vanilla extract.
Add the dry ingredients and mix to form a thick dough.
Portion the dough into 1 ½ tablespoon-sized balls. Roll the dough balls in sugar.
Bake the cookies at 350ºF for 7-8 minutes, until they’re just set in the centers.
The cookies will look a bit puffed up when they leave the oven…
… And they’ll settle as they cool on the baking sheet.
How Long to Bake Sugar Cookies
Mine baked just enough at 7 minutes, but keep an eye on them to see how they do in your oven. I removed mine when they had spread nicely, looked just done enough without looking undercooked, and the edges weren’t quite golden. Don’t worry if the centers of the cookies are still quite soft; they will firm up as they cool.
Variations and Decorating Ideas
These make great holiday sugar cookies, but they’re also wonderful for everyday baking. Here are some of the many ways I’ve adapted this sugar cookie recipe over the years.
- Frosting: You can make simple decorated sugar cookies with royal icing or use vanilla buttercream frosting to follow my tutorial for rosette cookies.
- Sprinkles: If you’re looking to make sugar cookies for a holiday or an event, these cookies would be great rolled in sprinkles instead of sugar. See my Christmas sprinkle cookies. Use any color you like!
- Christmas: Make peppermint sugar cookies or turn these into Grinch cookies with green food coloring and red heart sprinkles.
- More flavors: Try my chocolate sugar cookies, strawberry sprinkle cookies, and lemon sugar cookies for fun flavor variations.
Tips for Chewy Sugar Cookies
- Make sure your butter is at the right temperature. Room temperature can be a little misleading if your house is too warm or too cool. Your butter shouldn’t be so soft that your finger goes right through it if you press on it, but it should also be able to make an imprint. If it won’t, or it barely does, it’s likely still too cold.
- Be sure to use just two tablespoons of brown sugar. It adds just enough additional moisture to the cookies to help them spread correctly and stay soft and chewy for days!
- Avoid overmeasuring. Measure the flour correctly using the spoon-and-level method or a digital kitchen scale for accuracy. Don’t scoop directly from the bag. You’ll end up adding too much, which makes the cookies dry.
- Don’t over-mix the dough after you add the flour. It can over-develop the gluten and cause the cookies not to spread as nicely or to be tough.
- Make sure your cookie dough balls are 1 ½ tablespoons each, or you’ll want to adjust the baking time. I also found this size to be just right for a perfect spread.
How to Store and Freeze
- Counter: Store these cookies on the counter in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
- Fridge: If you want to extend their shelf life, you can pop the container in the fridge. The cookies will keep in the fridge for up to 7 days.
- Freezer: These cookies freeze nicely too! Just let the baked cookies come to room temperature, then pack them in a Ziploc bag and freeze them. Thaw them in the fridge or on the counter when you’re ready to eat them.
More Classic Cookie Recipes
Easy Sugar Cookies
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Ingredients
- 2 ¾ cups (358g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (224g) unsalted butter (room temperature)
- 1 cup + 2 tbsp (233g) granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons (28g) light brown sugar (packed)
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¼ cup (52g) granulated sugar (additional for rolling)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
- Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a medium sized bowl and set aside.
- Cream the butter and sugars together in a large mixer bowl on medium speed until light in color and fluffy, 2-3 minutes. You should be able to see the change in color happen and know it’s ready.
- Add the egg and mix until well combined.
- Add the vanilla extract and mix until well combined.
- Add the dry ingredients and mix until the dough is well combined. It will be thick and shouldn’t be sticky. Do not over mix. Once it’s well combined, use a rubber spatula to help it come together to form a more cohesive ball.
- Create 1 ½ tablespoon sized balls of cookie dough. Gently roll into a ball, then roll each ball in the additional sugar to coat. Set the balls on the baking sheet.
- Bake cookies for 7-8 minutes. The cookies will spread and the centers will look soft, but should look done. Remove just before the edges begin to turn golden. Don’t over bake. The cookies will be a little puffy when you take them out of the oven but will fall a bit as they cool.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool on baking sheets for 4-5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
The nutrition facts provided are calculated using a third-party tool and are estimates only. Actual nutritional content may vary based on the ingredients and brands you use, as well as portion sizes. For accurate results, please consult a registered dietitian or nutritionist.
Categories:
Christmas, Cookies, Easter, Holidays, Recipes, Recipes with video, Sweets and Treats, Thanksgiving, Valentine's Day,
Hi Lindsay! This looks so so good, I love chewy cookies AND you have such great reviews! i was wondering if this dough could be frozen before baking, and then put into the oven straight from the freezer (adding on time) or whether it would be better for the dough balls to be brought to room temperature and then baking? Thank you! I did read through the comments to see if you answered a question like this, as I’m sure it can be annoying for you to reply to the same comments multiple times, but I didn’t find an answer (I might have missed it though).
I haven’t tried it to be able to say for sure. They’d be fine, I’m just not sure if they’d spread quite as well. I would say it’d be best to thaw the cookie dough first.
I have been looking for a good sugar cookie recipe for a long time, and I finally found one — yours! Just to put my two bits in, I have cooked them a little past where you say to go — when they’re definitely a little golden on the edges, and just a touch crispy on the outside. OMG, so good. Your way is delicious too. 🙂
Hello!
I’ve made your cookie recipe a few times now and I’ve followed the recipe and it’s steps exactly, and every time I make them they come out very flat. Do you have any tips for me?
(By the way, I’m still pretty new to baking, but usually I don’t have this issue. Please help!)
Thank you.
It’s possible that an ingredient is a little off. Maybe not quite enough flour? Also, what is your cookie sheet like? Is it very light in color?Often lighter pans can allow cookies to spread more.
This recipe is perfect.
These are the best sugar cookies.
Thank you so much for this delicious recipe. I love all of the recipes that i’ve try and will continue to try some other ones you have posted. Keep up the good work.
Would I be able to make these without baking powder? That’s the only ingredient I’m missing…
I wouldn’t recommend it.
This is the best Soft and Chewy sugar cookie recipe, it was easy to prepare, didn’t need to be refrigerated before cooking and they do stay soft and chewy. I love a good homemade sugar cookie but don’t like how they get hard the next day. I was thinking to get a cookie to stay soft I would need some kind of artificial ingredient but you figure out how with the addition of brown sugar.
I followed the recipe as written and weighed the flour and sugars. The cooking time in my old oven was 8 1/2 minutes, and they turned out just like the pictures.
Thank you for a delicious sugar cookie recipe.
These cookies are delicious! However mine didn’t spread much at all and are pretty thick. They are still very delicious but don’t look as pretty. Not sure what the difference was, but ill definitely be making them again! Thank you!
This was a great recipe! After reading the reviews, I decided to reduce the flour just a bit. I used 2 1/2 cups of flour. They look just like the ones pictured, and my kids loved them! I put M&Ms on the tops of some, put sprinkles in the dough for some, and then just left some plain. You won’t regret this recipe.
can i use salted butter instead of unsalted ?
Yes, you just may want to leave out the additional salt.
I made these today for my daughter’s birthday. They came out delicious. I did cook them an additional 7 minutes for a total of 14 though. I had 3 baking sheets in at once. Next time I will do one at a time and see if that makes a difference. Thanks for the recipe!
My granny has a sweet tooth, and she loves cakes and cookies no matter what season is going on. Well, I will make these soft, chewy cookies for my lovely grandmother to whom I am visiting next week. Thanks for the recipe!
Help! I don’t have a mixer, I have to cream the butter and sugar by hand. Any tips??
Not sure I have any tips, just maybe a helper for all the mixing.
I LOVE these cookies. I have been looking for a really good sugar cookie recipe and this is it. They are so soft and chewy and have a perfect sugar cookie flavor. I did have to cook mine for about 13 minutes per batch but I may have made my cookie dough balls bigger than it said. Everyone loves them!
Amazing they were really soft and chewy and they were absolutely delicious. Although I don’t know if it’s our oven but we had to bake them for more than 7 minutes.