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 are so delicious!!! Going to make these again for Christmas day. Some of my cookies didn’t seem to settle as much however? And were quite puffed up. They were delicious but I’m wondering what I did wrong for those couple of cookies!
Hmm, strange that it was just a few cookies. If ingredients weren’t thoroughly mixed throughout, maybe that could be why?
Is the + 2TBSP of white sugar meant to go in the mix or just the extra to roll
It goes in the mix, then you use some additional sugar for rolling.
Does this dough do well if it is frozen and then pulled out a little later to bake? Thank you 🙂
Yes, that should be fine.
I’ve been making these cookies for a long time and they’re my favorite! They always turn out amazing even when I scoop instead of weigh. This time I forgot brown sugar at the store and didn’t want to go back out so I took 5 tbsp of white sugar and mixed in 1 tbsp maple syrup (I was making a double batch) and measured out the amount of brown for the recipe from that and it worked so well! I couldn’t tell the difference from any of the other times I’ve made it and the maple doesn’t come through at all. So if you’re like me and don’t have brown sugar just add some maple syrup if you’re like me and don’t keep molasses on hand.
I’m so glad you enjoy them! Thanks for sharing your substitutions for others, as well. 🙂
Sugar cookies are a house favorite. Told everyone it was a new recipe. Long story short. I can’t/not allowed use another recipe for sugar cookies (lol) thank you so much I’m glad to have found one everyone likes.
I’m not sure what I did wrong, but my dough was sticky when I rolled the balls, any suggestions
I’m glad they were a hit! It’s hard to say for sure why the dough would’ve been sticky. It’s possible an ingredient wasn’t perfectly accurate or something. But it sounds like it didn’t affect the final outcome, so that’s good.
Good for rolled cookies, too. Thanks!
I haven’t tried this recipe, but I would like to. I would like to make them bigger so I can decorate with buttercream. Or could I use a cookie cutter with this dough?
These spread a lot, so I don’t recommend a cookie cutter. I do have a cutout cookie recipe though. And you can certainly make them bigger, if you just want to add buttercream.
My granddaughter loves a lemon sugar cookie. Could I use a teaspoon of lemon extract and a teaspoon of vanilla extract and a little lemon zest, to achieve this flavor. I know there are a variety of lemon sugar cookie recipes but I like your recipe and the positive reviews so would like to use this recipe.
That should be fine. You can also check out my lemon sugar cookies, which are based on this recipe but use some lemon juice and lemon zest.
I can’t wait to make these for Christmas! Would you happen to know how many grams 1.5 tablespoons of the cookie dough weighs? I tend to weigh my dough than scoop.
I’m sorry, I can’t remember what the weight was. I hope you enjoy them!
I am hoping to use this as base sugar cookie for an upcoming cookie swap but i want to add rosemary (simple syrup) and candied orange peels. do you have any recommendations on how to make that work and where to make adjustments, without risking the integrity of the cookie?
Hmm, that could be a little tough. I’m thinking you may actually want to replace a little of the sugar with the simple syrup, which I assume will be made with sugar. That said, it may thin out the cookie dough. The candied orange peels should be fine.
Oh my goodness!!! Best cookies ever! My daughter took some to her bf’s parents and the conversation got crazy she said. They were talking about these being as addictive as crack. She is coming home and wants her friend to enjoy them as well but she can’t have gluten. How could I make these gluten free and keep the taste?
So glad they were a hit! I haven’t tried them with gluten free flour, but I imagine they’d be ok.
The cookies are so goood! Can I put leftover dough in the fridge or freezer?
So glad you enjoyed them! Yes, you can refrigerate or freeze leftover dough.
Made these for Thanksgiving and they are fabulous. I did have to cook them about 15 min … But I am using some funky vegan butter so maybe that’s partly why? I kept a close eye …
I’m so glad you enjoyed them!
Omg!! These cookies are amazing, my whole family loved them! I am glad I found your recipe!
I’m so glad they were a hit!
I’m not sure what I did wrong as my cookies spread like pancakes and are very flat but still very soft and the flavor is phenomenal. Esthetically pleasing not so much but absolutely delicious and will continue using the recipe until I get it right because they taste that good
It sounds like maybe an ingredient was a little off. Do you use the food scale by any chance?
Double check that your baking powder and baking soda aren’t expired. That could be the culprit.
I baked this for Thanksgiving (the day before), and they were so good that we could barely save some! Thanks so much! Definitely a keeper.😍💯
Awesome! So glad they were a hit!
Holy crap! Just whipped these up, and we didn’t even get the first batch on the rack. I looked at 50 different recipes and decided to go with yours. So glad I did. Absolutely delish. Thank you
I’m so glad you enjoyed them!
I’ve made this recipe several times, but just wondering, can we freeze the dough to make it at a later time? Would you still recommend the same baking settings?
I haven’t done a lot of experimenting with baking them after freezing. I would recommend thawing them and baking as listed in the recipe. If you’re baking them from frozen, it’s possible adjustments would need to be made.