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,
Hey I would make them a little smaller and cook them for way longer because mine were completely raw so I cooked them for 20 minutes and finally they were done
Can you prep the dough and freeze then bake when you want ?
You can. I do find that they spread a touch less after freezing though. So if you find they aren’t spreading as much as you’d like, you can always press the dough balls down a touch before baking.
Can dough be refrigerated to use later?
Yes, it can. They may not spread quite as much, but you can always push them down a bit before baking, if needed.
Perfect!! My husband saod they taste like his Grandma’s cookies ❤️
I made this recipe and the sugar cookies were the best I’ve ever had. Follow the directions closely and you will enjoy some wonderful cookies. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
I’m so glad to hear that!
Hi Lindsay, love this recipe. I have a question. My dough always comes out sticky and I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong. The very first time I made these the dough came out perfect not sticky at all but every time after they are always sticky. The cookies are still very good they just spread a lot and are very flat.
It’s really hard to say from a distance. Is there something about you ingredients that might be different? Are you using a food scale?
This is my absolute favorite sugar cookie recipe!! I discovered it a few years ago and always come back to it for holiday baking to give to friends and coworkers. I always get compliments and most people ask for the recipe, so I’ve taken to attaching a note with a QR code to this post. They are seriously amazing. Even people who usually find sugar cookies “boring” like these.
How awesome! The QR code is a great idea – thanks for sending people to the site! I’m so glad you enjoy them!
Hello, I noticed your recipe does not call for a dough chilling time in fridge, can the dough still be refrigerated and saved for later?
Correct. And yes, you can refrigerate the dough. I’ve noticed that they may spread a little less after being refrigerated, so just keep that in mind. If you find that to be an issue and want them to spread a little more after refrigerating, you can press the cookie dough balls down just slightly before baking.
Mine would not stick together.
Double-checked measurements.
Crunchy result.
May try again.
It sounds like you probably over measured your flour. If you don’t have a food scale, be sure to use the spoon and level method.
I used a scale with an accuracy to the hundredths of grams and measured all of the dry ingredients. There is either too much flour (358g), or I strongly suspect there is a typo/mistake and there should be two eggs.
I’m sorry, but there is no way the photo you have as the hero for this recipe came from this recipe. I challenge you to do a YouTube video and make this recipe exactly as written and get the same photos.
Nope, they are exactly right as written. I make them all the time. There is a video where I show you on camera how to make them right above the recipe card. You can find the same video on YouTube. There’s nothing wrong with the recipe.
I want to make icing and sprinkle cookies. How should I make the icing?
Could you give me a little more information? Are you wanting to add sprinkles into the cookie dough, or frost them and add sprinkles on top?
The best sugar cookies! I ended up baking for 9 minutes, sprinkled with finishing salt and let them cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. They are very buttery and have a great texture. I used my food scale to measure out the flour and sugars by weight in grams as listed in the recipe. I used a hand mixer to cream the butter/sugar and to mix the wet and then mixed the dry into the wet by hand using a rubber spatula. Great, easy recipe!
I’m so glad you enjoyed them!
I have been making these sugar cookies for years and my friends and family think I am some baking wizard! So, thanks for sharing your recipe.
I was considering adding lemon or orange to the mix… is this a good idea? Should I change up the amounts of other ingredients? Should I use more zest than juice? Thoughts?
I’m glad they’ve been a hit! I’d check out my lemon sugar cookies. You could use that recipe and swap out the lemon for orange.
Hi. How long do you cool the cookies on a wire rack? In the video, it’s 2-3 minutes. In the recipe, it’s 4-5 minutes. Thanks!
The cookies should cool on the hot cookie sheet until you are able to move them without them breaking (should just be a few minutes or so). They should cool on the wire rack until completely cool.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/uJqdvY6FcAfCTToq7
Hopefully you can see my photo! I baked these tonight and they were very easy to make. I ended up with exactly 30 cookies. They were good, but did not puff up and fall when they cooled. My cookies were denser than the pictures in the post, and I weighed the flour. Probably needed 1/4 cup less flour. They could have used less salt, also. I used 1 tsp each of vanilla and almond extract.
Rolling them in sugar…..would it work to roll in colored sugar? Specifically a pink sugar for a baby shower. If so, any suggestions on what colored sugar to use?
Sure, that should be fine. I’d use whatever color goes with the theme.
My cookies came out super crumbly 😒 I followed the recipe exactly and they were practically sand. I squished them together and still made the cookies but it’s still annoying because I really want to make sugar cookies but for whatever recipe sugar cookies hate me
It sounds like you added too much flour, which happens often when using cups to measure. If you can use a food scale (which they often sell at grocery stores now), it’s ideal. If not, you want to fluff your flour, spoon it into the cup and then level it off. Don’t just scoop out of the bag or pack it into the cup. There can easily be up to 1/4 cup difference in the amount of flour added when not measuring properly with cups. That would most definitely dry out your cookie dough and cookies. I’m sorry you had trouble.