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,
These cookies are really tasty – the perfect consistency for my tastes! The only thing is they are quite salty (I used unsalted butter). Next time I will make with 1/4 tsp of salt instead of 1/2 a tsp
Thank you so much for the recipe, it’s so yummy. I’ll definitely be saving it and doing it many times. Very addicting!
Finally found the ONE! This recipe is so simple and so fast to make! I hate having to plan for chilling my dough so I am so happy to have found this one that can be made on a whim! I weigh my ingredients (kitchen scale is SO worth the investment!!! Makes clean up so fast because you can just keep dumping the ingredients right in and zero out the scale after each ingredient). I let the butter and sugar mix for quite a bit to make sure it’s gone through the “change.” They come out perfect everytime! I like a little crunch on the outside so I bake it just a tad longer to get a little golden brown but so chewy on the inside. Wow!!!! Now just have to find an ice cream scoop size that I’m happy with. Can’t wait to try the similar chocolate chip cookie recipe you have posted. Thank you!
Excellent recipe and perfect cookies!
I tried this and it was terrible. It did not even make a cookie dough consistency and only a powder. Before anyone says “maybe you added too much of a dry ingredient”, I did not. I followed the recipe exactly and it made powder. So I added milk/water to try and help. I played it smart and added butter first, in hopes it would help and it just was a mess. So I ended up using the powder and mess to make a sugar cookie-cake, it was wonderful. But I will not be using any of these recipes anymore.
Wow! I love this recipe! Mine puffed up a little more and didn’t sink as much, but Oh my god!! So chewy, like a chocolate chip cookie without the chocolate! I loved it so much, that I made another batch and tried adding other things into parts of the dough like making a smore’s cookie with chocolate, marshmallows, and ghram crackers. Great Recipe! I TOTALLY recommend this!
This is by far the best soft and chewy sugar cookie recipe I’ve ever come across! If you follow these directions to the letter, you get exactly what is pictured here, & they are just perfection with the right amount of sweetness, chewiness, softness, and they really do hold up to the test of time with freshness, but in my house, with the hubby’s midnight sweet tooth + my teenaged cookie monster, they’re gone the very next day! Admittedly, I scarf a few right when they slightly cool, LOL! 😊😍😋
Could I substitute monk fruit sugar or date sugar in these cookies?
This is honestly the best sugar cookie recipe I have ever used !!
Since I didn’t use brown sugar and I used salted butter, I thought that it was going to come out a bit cakey. But it came out exactly like the picture and it tastes delicious !! So soft, sweet and chewy.
I have a lot left over though so I’m going to add chocolate to them to make chocolate chip cookies 😀
I was wondering if I could make these cookies into shapes. My little sister loves shapes, and she learns with food! I hope you can get back to me.
I’d recommend cutout cookies. https://www.lifeloveandsugar.com/cutout-sugar-cookies/
Absolutely the best sugar cookies EVER!! Easy to follow recipe & I like the way you explain things. You must have gone through a lot of cookies to get it this good. Thank you.
These truly perfect and reminiscent of bakery style sugar cookies. This is my new favorite sugar cookie recipe! Thank you!
I’m curious if you’ve ever weighed your dough balls, before sugaring and baking. I weighed mine at 30 grams, then rolled in sugar and baked at 350 for a total of 10 minutes. The first batch was much too raw at the 7 – 8 minute mark. The second and third batches came out perfect at 10 mins. My yield was 30 cookies (and a tiny crunchy half sized cookie), which makes me think I wasn’t too far off in grams.
These are amazing and truly soft and chewy like the recipe says. I live at high altitude, didn’t change anything and they turned out perfect! I also didn’t have vanilla and substituted almond extract and I don’t think I’ll make them any other way! They were SO good! 😚🤌
These are incredible. I had to make a few adjustments in my oven (340 for about 10 minutes). But once I figured that out, WOW!!!
The trick for me honestly is (a) butter at the right temp, and (b) creaming it the right amount of time. This is the third time I’ve made this recipe and I’ve finally got it just right!!
This was a really great recipe and the cookies were nice and soft! I do recommend being careful with the flour measurements if you don’t have a weigh or baking cups. Overall great cookies and i’ll definitely bake them again.
Can you use salted butter?
Yes, you just might want to leave out the additional salt so that they aren’t too salty.