This Sugar Cookie Recipe has been a crowd favorite for YEARS because it produces a consistent cookie with the perfect buttery flavor. These cookies hold their shape beautifully when cut with cookie cutters and one of the best things is that you can choose to bake these sugar cookies soft and thick, or thin and crisp and both ways are phenomenal! You can cut them out with cookie cutter shapes, or simply roll balls in sugar and flatten with the bottom of a glass. We love them topped with our Classic Fluffy Buttercream or for something more fun and fancy, our Glace Icing.
Ingredient and Equipment Notes
- Butter – unless you have a dairy allergy or preference that prohibits butter, I recommend real butter for these cookies. I have not tested with plant-based alternatives so I cannot speak to that. Your butter should be a room temperature. If it’s not at room temp already, I like to cut my butter into small pieces and leave on the counter for 20-30 minutes. This generally works better than softening in the microwave, which often leads to uneven melting.
- Sugar – These cookies use white granulated sugar for sweetness and texture.
- Egg– It’s important to use a large or extra large egg in this recipe. If you use a small egg, there might not be enough liquid to bring the dough together.
- Extract – You may use vanilla or almond extract in these cookies, or a combination of both! My personal favorite is almond extract.
- All Purpose Flour– Use all purpose here, and make sure to measure carefully. Too much flour and the dough will be dry and crumbly. I recommend using a scale to measure by weight, but if that is not available, fluff your flour first with a spoon before measuring, then measuring by lightly spooning the flour into the measuring cup and leveling off with a knife.
- Stand Mixer – You can absolutely make these cookies with a hand mixer, but if you have a stand mixer, I recommend you use it. After your dry ingredients are added, the dough will sometimes look a little dry and crumbly but it will come together quickly into a soft, cohesive dough. It takes a little more time with a hand mixer, but a stand mixer will whip it up in a hurry!
Instructions
- Start by beating your real butter and sugar and continue creaming for a full 2 minutes or so. Your mixture will turn light and creamy in texture. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as you go.
- Add egg and extract and mix to incorporate.
- In a separate bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt.
- Slowly add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix until completely combined. Your dough will first look crumbly, but keep mixing with a stand mixer and it will quickly turn into a soft cohesive dough.
- You’ll need to chill your dough for about 1 hour. You can do so with dough gathered into one large mass, or use my preferred method which not only cuts down on chill time, but saves effort by rolling dough while it’s soft!
How to Easily Roll Sugar Cookie Dough with no Additional Flour
One of the problems with dusting your surface with flour before rolling cookies, is that you add a bunch of extra flour to your dough. Try to handle it as little as possible. Here is the best method to do that.
- Start by taking half (or all) of your dough and forming it into a rough ball and then flattening a little onto a silicone baking mat. If you don’t have a silicone baking mat, you can use parchment or plastic wrap but they tend to slide around the counter so it just takes a little more effort.
- Then place a piece of parchment paper (or plastic wrap) over your dough and use a rolling pin to roll out the dough between the baking mat and the parchment. This makes it so you can easily roll the dough with no flour needed, and nothing sticks to anything.
- What I do next is pick up my silicone baking mat and flip the whole “package” over, so the parchment is on the counter, the dough in the middle, and the baking mat on top. Peel off the baking mat and place your parchment and dough on a baking sheet that can now go in the fridge or freezer to chill. I put it on a baking sheet or directly onto a flat surface in the fridge or freezer.
How to Cut the Best Sugar Cookies
This dough retains its shape incredibly well, just make sure it’s chilled. I like to place mine in the freezer for 15 minutes or so, but you can also place it in the fridge. If you’ve used my method of rolling the dough out first, it needs far less time to chill. Then cut out shapes and repeat the rolling process with the remaining dough. If you want super crisp edges on your finished baked cookies, you can even pull out your cutter again and re-cut when they are hot right out of the oven.
How long do I bake Sugar Cookies?
The great thing about this recipe is that you can roll these cookies thick and under-bake them and they will be crazy soft and delicious. OR you can roll them thinner (1/4 inch or less) and bake until you see the edges start turning golden brown and they are perfectly buttery-crisp on the edges. Many recipes will simply be dry when baked till golden brown, but these are incredibly good- similar to a shortbread cookie that melts in your mouth. I love them both ways! Here’s a photo example of what you’d be looking for:
Frosting the Best Sugar Cookies: 3 Ideas!
For straight up flavor, we love our Classic Buttercream Frosting on sugar cookies. It’s the most traditional combination!
If you’d like something a little more fun and artistic, try our popular Glace Icing and glaze.
And if you’d like to top them with royal icing, you can try my hand painted decorating technique!
How do I store Sugar Cookies?
If I’m making a large amount of sugar cookies I will almost always make them ahead of time because sugar cookies freeze beautifully! Simply cool completely after baking and then layer between parchment in the freezer. When you are ready to frost, just pull them out of the freezer- you can even frost them while still frozen and let them come to room temperature on the counter. Alternately, you can simply place baked cookies in an airtight container and store at room temperature.
Sugar Cookies
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: About 30, 2 1/2 inch cookies
Description
Perfect buttery sugar cookies that can be baked either thick and soft or thin and crisp. They hold their shape well and are perfect for decorating! Pair with our Best Buttercream Frosting for the perfect cookie!
Ingredients
1 cup real butter at room temperature
1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
1 large or extra large egg
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract
3 cups flour (390g) lightly spooned into measuring cups and leveled (don’t scoop!)
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon table salt
Instructions
Note: I recommend a stand mixer for this recipe, if you have one. If not, a hand mixer will work just fine.
- Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy- about 2 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl occasionally. Add in egg and extract and mix to incorporate.
- In a separate bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt. Tip: Don’t use your measuring cup to scoop up the flour. Either weight it, or use a regular sized spoon and lightly spoon the flour into the cup and then level it off with a knife.
- Slowly add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix until completely combined. Your dough may at first look crumbly, but keep mixing and it will quickly turn into a soft cohesive dough.
- Refrigerate for at least one hour, OR use my method of pre-rolling as explained below.
- Preheat oven to 350 F and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Roll chilled dough and cut into shapes.
- Bake for 8-12 minutes depending on the thickness of your cookies. Baking time is a personal preference. Watch for the edges and tops to be set. If you like your cookies crisp on the edges, roll them thinner and bake until just golden brown on the edges. If you want thick, soft cookies, remove from oven when cookies are puffed and set, but no browning is visible.
Suggested Pre-Rolling Method:
Gather half (or all) of your dough and form into a large ball. Place on a silicone baking mat (or a large piece of plastic wrap) and press down gently. Place a sheet of parchment paper on top of your dough and then roll on top of the parchment into an even layer about 1/4 inch thick, or thicker if you desire thick cookies. Pick up your silicone mat and flip the entire thing over. Peel off silicone baking mat so you are left with your sheet of parchment with your rolled dough on top. Place this parchment-lined dough on a baking sheet and place in the fridge or freezer. Repeat with remaining dough. (See recipe tutorial for photos of this process.) Refrigerate for about 20 minutes or pop in the freezer for about 10. Continue with recipe as written.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: baking
Questions & Reviews
Hi, I love this recipe and I’ve been using it for years! I was wondering if you have a weight measurement for the flour yet. Also, it seems like in some places you say to use unsalted butter, and then other places you say to use salted butter, unless otherwise specified. I’m curious what you prefer here.
For my recipes, you can always assume salted butter, unless a recipe specifies unsalted. In most cases for every day baking I’m using salted butter. When I weight flour, I use 135g per cup. Hope that helps!
I love your site, you do a great job. One thing I thought of with the sugar cookie recipe when you mentioned how essential it is to measure the flour correctly was that giving weights for your ingredients would be very helpful. I have been using scales (OXO is my favorite) for years. It really helps with consistency in a recipe.
I agree! I’ve been updating older recipes with weight measurements over the past year or so. Thanks for the reminder to do this one!
Ive tried many sugar cookie recipes over the years and this is the BEST!!!!
This recipe is great, I’ve made them a few times now! Can the dough be made and frozen? Or made a day or two ahead of time and kept in the fridge? Thanks!!
absolutely! This is one of the best recipes to make ahead of time. You can keep in the fridge for a day or two, or freeze, OR freeze baked, unfrosted cookies. I will say it’s a huge time saver to roll out your dough first before freezing or storing, if you have the room and can wrap it well.
I halved the recipe and used a whole egg while babysitting my grandkids. They loved decorating them. My granddaughter is allergic to nuts, so I used vanilla. They were the best!! Thank you!
My go to cookie! We love them with our without frosting.
Am I totally missing the temperature for the oven in the recipe?! I just made them before Christmas and it looks like you changed it a little/added more tips, etc. I can’t for the life of me find the temperature and can’t remember! It’s my favorite sugar cookie recipe ever…and I’m making them again for Valentines Day.
Yes, in the update that was missed! It’s 350 F. Sorry about that. All updated now! 🙂
Perfect Christmas sugar cookie! I spent time going through the reviews and made sure to spoon the flour (no scooping!) and had no problem with the dough. Perfect bake and taste!
Is the flour all purpose or self rising? I want to try these very soon.
Always all purpose flour, unless specified otherwise
Hi,
Do you have the recipe for the pink frosting that you decorated them with?
Christine
https://ourbestbites.com/the-best-buttercream-frosting/
Can you make these cookies ahead of time? I’m making some for a baby shower. If I make them on Sunday and glaze them on Wednesday would they still be good on Saturday?
They will not be great if you keep them for almost a full week, however you can bake them and then immediately after cooking, freeze them. That way they will be nice and fresh. I would eat as soon after glazing as possible for best results!