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,
I have made these cookies several times and always use 2 and 1/2 cups of flour because someone commented that they did that and cookies were perfect. I agree! I don’t have a scale and I’m not sure if my cups are off but 2 1/2 cups is a sweet spot. Hope this helps those that say their cookies were off
I’m glad that works for you! Are you using a scale, or cups? If using cups, that could indicate that you over measure your flour a bit. Maybe try a food scale? Either way, glad you enjoy them! 🙂
I followed this cookie recipe exactly as described. Balls were not sticky. They did not spread out as described. Had to flatten them with a fork. They taste ok though. Would not make again.
If the cookie dough wasn’t the right consistency at the end of mixing, then it’s likely you added too much flour. Even just a couple tablespoons extra can cause them to not spread enough, which is easy to overmeasure using cups. I highly recommend a food scale, or the scoop and level method (but really a food scale).
Thank you for the recipe. I will make my own sugar cookies.
I have been trying to make a good sugar cookie forever, finally found a recipe that turns out!! Tastiest sugar cookie I’ve ever had. Thank you!
I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed them!
I made this recipe and the dough always came out perfect! I did notice this time I had let the flour set out in my warm kitchen for a few hours. So it dried out the flour making the dough drier. I had to add extra eggs to get it to hold into a little ball. But it was crumbly flour. Did you let your dough out to dry out for a while before baking? Just a thought. Other this recipe has always been awesome! I always use it!
I’ve never let my flour sit out, so I’m not really sure what exactly you experienced.
This was so frustrating to make. I swore so many times out of frustration. The wet mixture was so dry with only 1 egg. 1EGG! They did not flatten in the oven even though I added some milk to the dough and flattened them before baking and had to bake longer for a slight golden edge. Luckily they turned out okay even though the edges were cracked. Without the changes I made, I don’t even want to know how they would have turned out. I kept checking the recipe and I followed it correctly, till they started to crumble. Also claiming your recipe is the best, is a big claim and it is unfounded here. Will not be making these again. Idk how this recipe worked for anyone else.
I’m sorry you had trouble with them. It’s a very popular recipe and one I make myself all the time. I have full confidence in it (and it being the best, in my opinion). That said, I’m sorry you had trouble with it. Honestly, it sounds like you way over measured your flour, which happens very easily if you’re using cups measurements. That’s why I highly recommend a food scale. You can use cups, but you need to be sure to spoon and level, not scoop and level. You also don’t want to pack in the flour. Small differences in how you measure can make a big difference, especially in cookies, where you don’t have a big amount of wet ingredients (because then your cookies would spread too much). It’s a delicate balance, but your flour was definitely off. Here’s a blog post on how to measure flour properly. I hope that helps!
Can the dough be made ahead? If so, how do you recommend baking it — increased temp, return to room temp, adjust bake time?
Yes, it can. You can refrigerate the dough for up to 3 days and freeze for up to 3 months. I like it bring them back to room temperature and then bake them for the most similar results to what is shown. That said, you can bake them cold from the fridge. You may need an extra minute or two and they may spread a touch less. They can also be baked from frozen, but they need an extra 2-3 minutes and do spread a little less. I think they’re best when baked from room temperature, but it’s up to you. 🙂
These cookies are on repeat at my house! We love them. The only problem I have with them is trying to not eat all the dough before we bake it!! 🤪
LOL! I’m so glad they are a hit!
Love these cookies. Been making them for years! Today I experimented and used some jolly rancher sugar along with the other two. Came out perfectly, as usual. Thank you so much! These were the first cookies I made with my first born, and we still make them together today.
I’m so glad you enjoy them!
This is a great recipe! Perfect cookies each time. I like to frost them with a little almond buttercream. Very addictive
I’m so glad you enjoy them!
Have you tried freezing the dough before cooking? I’m looking to make it ahead of time so I can pull it out to bake but I’m not sure how that would affect the dough.
I don’t think I have. It’s so easy to make, I htink I usually just make it when I need it. But I really don’t see any issue with making it ahead. I would totally freeze it, if I needed to.
I love this recipe! I’m wondering if these will work as cut out cookies or will they lose their shape?
I’ve only made these as a pan cookie. Thank you!
I’m glad you enjoy them! They won’t work well as cut outs, but I have two other recipes you could try. My classic cutout cookies (which are more of a classic sugar cookie flavor, but spread if they get too thick) and these soft cutout cookies (which still have great flavor, but also don’t spread when made more thick).
So I added 2 table spoons of water to it and it made perfect cut out cookies 🙂
These turned out delicious! My dough was kind of crumbly and dry, i may not have mixed/whipped long enough, i’m not sure. Anyway, i added 1-2ish tbsps of milk and they were perfect!
I’m glad you enjoyed them! It sounds like you may have over measured your flour just a touch. I always recommend a food scale, if you can use one. 🙂
They were really hard to roll, they didn’t flatten in the oven, and they were crumbly. I’d say this recipe needs to be adjusted for the flour (as I used the exact measurements in the recipe).
I’m guessing you didn’t use a food scale though. It seems quite clear that the flour was over measured. I’d take a look at my post on measuring flour the right way. People often don’t realize how small differences in how they’re weighing it make a big difference in the final result.
This is by far the BEST sugar cookie. After trying many many recipes I found the ONE!! Which one of you cutouts taste like these? I would love the same AMAZING taste and ability to make my cut outs.
I’m so glad you enjoy them! I feel like both cutouts have great flavor. These cutout cookies are a little more traditional, so may be most similar.
Made these for Christmas! They were so good!
I’m so glad to hear that!