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,
They turned out great
Wowza! Friend asked for Sugar Cookies for his birthday party and I don’t have one memorized yet. Thank you for an EASY and delicious recipe!
Love Love LOVE this recipe! I use my homemade cannibutter and they are simple & simply yummy!!
Preparing to make my second batch. 1st batch only lasted three days! The best ever soft sugar cookie I have ever tasted, the easiest to make, bake, and no icing required!! SO grateful I found your recipe. Bless you!
BTW, I followed your recipe item for item. No problems!! Thank you!!!!
I just found your recipe for Soft & Chewy Sugar Cookies last week.It is one of my favs to begin with any time! I made these this morning. I hope I still have some left after the weekend. Considering it is only my husband and myself in the house that might be a problem. Seriously!
This is absolutely the BEST soft and chewy sugar cookie recipe I have ever tried. I do not need to try any others after baking yours today. Your recipe wins, and is by far and away the best EVER!!! At age 70 I have been baking since I was 6 yrs old. That is 64 years of trying every sugar cookie recipe I found. I am hooked. Was going to bake them last night, but the butter did not soften as rapidly as I planned. This morning was better any way. As tired as I was last night I might have screwed up the ingredients and would not have had the chance to taste AND eat the perfection of your recipe today! Thank you!!! My husband, my adult children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren then you also! My weight, hmm, maybe not so much! Oh well. Worth every bite and every step I will take.
Is it mandatory to use a mixer or can I do it manually?
I think some people have said they’ve done it manually. I personally would use a mixer.
This will be the first time I’ve ever used this recipe, and I was just wondering if it would be alright if I frosted them afterward? I’m coaching an 8U softball team and I want to give them a treat after tournaments.
Sure!
I don’t bake often, and this recipe was easy and had good directions- the results taste great! My whole family enjoyed them. The only criticism is the baking time listed didnt work for me- it took at least 12 minutes for mine to cook. Although, it could be because of the oven we used. I found that watching to see when the cookies were moderately cracked on the top worked best to tell when they were done. Overall, great recipe, thank you for sharing and doing all those cookie experiments!
These turned out great! Very soft cookies with the perfect amount of sweetness. Mine did not spread like the pictures, but they had a nice dome shape that still looked great! I think I may have added a tad too much flour, so I will weigh the amount next time.
Could be the flour. Could also be just differences in oven and baking sheets. Glad you enjoyed them!
I love how simple it was. I love these cookies.
My 8 year old is not a baker and she was able to duplicate this recipe well. Cookies look just like the pictures and taste AMAZING!
I’m just starting out baking. So far cookies have been the only thing I have struggled with. I followed the directions to a T and yet they flattened and spread out. Where did I go wrong for this to happen?
I think cookies are one of the hardest things because small differences make a bigger impact than in other desserts. It’s hard to say for sure what caused it. I have noticed differences in cookie sheets and ovens that can make things turn out differently. But also if you don’t cream your butter and sugar together well enough, that can make a difference. And certainly if an ingredient isn’t measured quite right, that can make a difference. Cookies are especially susceptible to differences in ingredients. The best thing to use is a food scale.
I really love this recipe
I’m about to try this recipe for the second time. First time was amazing but I was wondering if I could make these a night in advance and refrigerate overnight before baking?
In theory, yes. However refrigerating cookie dough does actually change the way cookies bake usually. I haven’t actually tested these to see if that holds true for these or if the change is a bad one. You could try it though.
So good! Had a craving for a quick easy cookie and this was right on the money for me. Definitely will be adding to my recipe keepsake.
Love this! Really are soft and yummy! My granddaughters like to help.
Wow. Just wow. These were an act of trust (they just looked so pale after 8 minutes), but I followed the instructions. So soft and delicious with a slightly crispy bottom. This is my go to sugar cookie recipe now.