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,
This is THE best sugar cookie recipe. I have made dozens!!! In fact I almost always make a double batch because the go so fast. I’ve been using this recipe for a long, long time and every single time I get rave reviews and people beg me to make them again.
I don’t typically leave comments but I accidently scrolled too far and saw a negative comment and it killed me. Lol. If it didn’t turn out well you made a mistake. Try again.
Thank you for this recipe!!
I’m so glad to hear that you enjoy them!
I’m new to baking cookies and I want to try a recipe that i can use cookie cutters. Will this recipe work with cookie cutters ?
No, you need a cut out cookie recipe. Here’s a good one – https://www.lifeloveandsugar.com/soft-cut-out-sugar-cookies/
Terrible cookies. Measured everything perfectly. Not soft at all and took longer to bake. Not sure if I will even keep the cookies. So disappointed. Guess next time I will buy them from the bakery!
I’m very sorry you were not happy with them, but I promise that the cookies are excellent when done correctly. It sounds like you may have either baked them for too long or over measured your flour.
If using lightly salted butter should I skip the salt?
Probably. Or at least reduce it. You just don’t want the cookies to be too salty tasting.
Would you see any issue with added sprinkles? I’d like to use this recipe, but also make them into funfetti cookies!
You can actually find that recipe here – https://www.lifeloveandsugar.com/sprinkle-sugar-cookies/
These cookies are amazing! Everyone was fighting over them haha. Also, I tried using coconut palm sugar with some molasses and it came out fine. Thank you for sharing this! Now I can contribute to parties
Glad you enjoyed them!
I love this so much, I make it for my grandchildren all the time, but i’m having some trouble because it makes TOOO much cookies. can anyone please give me the conversions for half of this recipe, because I do not need 30 cookies I wish to have about 15. I would love and appreciate it. I can not do math because I didn’t go to school so I don’t know how to half it. please help I need this before next week.
Hi Elanor, here’s the recipe for half the dose!
180g all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup (112g) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup + 1 tbsp (116g) granulated sugar
1 tbsp (14g) light brown sugar
1 medium egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp sugar (additional for rolling)
Hope this helps! I hope your grandchildren enjoy the cookies!
Thanks for sharing! The only thing is the egg. One medium egg may still be more egg than half an egg, which is going to cause the cookies to spread too much. The only ideal way to half an egg is to mix it up, weigh it and then divide it in half that way. Another option may be to make the full batch of cookie dough and then freeze half of it for later.
I am about to make this recipe, and I was wondering if you can substitute the brown sugar for coconut palm sugar plus a little water. Thanks for this awesome recipe!
I haven’t ever tested that to be able to say if it’ll change the result.
Best sugar cookie I’ve ever made. I used the metric weights and I honestly think it does make a difference. This will be my all time recipe for sugar cookies. Thank you so much for sharing it.
So glad you enjoyed them!
If anyone had their cookies turn out poorly in any way, they simply didn’t follow the recipe correctly. This is the best sugar cookie recipe!
Glad you enjoyed them!
Literally came out perfect!
So glad to hear that!
Can I refrigerate this recipe. it came out well.
You shouldn’t need to refrigerate the cookies, but you can.
I’m trying to find some cookie recipes that will freeze well so I can prep the dough ahead of time. If I made the dough and roll into balls, do you think they would freeze good for a few days?
Yes, I think they’d do fine.
I LOVE this recipe!!! tried it yesterday! I placed 4 pine nuts on top, and it’s perfect! thank you so much!
if I double the recipe will it turn out ok?
It should be fine.
Can these cookies be made with Stevia and are they soft?
These cookies are soft the way the recipe is written. I don’t know how they would turn out with Stevia.