Nothing beats the charm of classic sugar cookies. Soft, sugary, and buttery, these are sure to delight for the holidays or anytime you feel like making them. My kids always ask for these and I’m happy to oblige since they’re made with wholesome ingredients instead of pre-made dough with preservatives. This chewy sugar cookie recipe is their favorite!
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Best Sugar Cookie Recipe
My husband calls this the world’s best sugar cookie recipe because the cookies will come out perfect every single time. The flavor and texture is spot-on, and you’ll get lots of requests for this recipe! So be ready.
Sugar Cookie Ingredients
- All-purpose flour – it’s the base of any homemade sugar cookie recipe (and you can use gluten-free!).
- Baking soda – makes these cookies wonderfully soft.
- Baking powder – this ingredient gives your cookies some rising power which is good when making a sugar cookie recipe for decorating.
- Butter – for a rich taste, though choose unsalted or else these will be too salty.
- Sugar – can you have a sugar cookie without it? (the answer is no!).
- Vanilla extract – for a well-rounded sweet flavor.
- Salt – just a teensy bit balances it all out.
Easy Sugar Cookie Recipe
Making your own homemade sugar cookies is easy too with this recipe. There’s only a few steps to follow and before you know it, you’ll be inhaling the heavenly scent of baking sugar cookies in your home with this simple cookie recipe!
How do you Make Sugar Cookies from Scratch
- It’s so simple to whip up a batch of easy sugar cookies!
- You’ll combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in one bowl. In another bowl, you’ll cream the butter with the sugars and then add in the egg.
- Combine them together, and you’ll have a dough.
- You’ll want to refrigerate it for at least one hour prior to baking and then it’s cookie time!
Expert Tips for the Best Homemade Sugar Cookies!
- Cold butter – Keep your butter cold. This will keep the cookies from spreading too thin.
- Measure flour properly – for this perfect sugar cookie recipe, do not pack flour into the measuring cup. It can change the texture and make your cookies dense if you add too much flour.
- Refrigerate your dough – I know you want your cookies fast, but the dough will roll out so much better when you put it in the fridge first. Room temperature sugar cookie dough can become difficult to work with.
- Don’t forget to roll them in sugar before baking – This gives them that sugary taste and texture we all love about sugar cookies!
How to make Soft and Chewy Sugar Cookies
The secret to what makes cookies soft and moist as you’ll find in this soft sugar cookie recipe, is using brown sugar AND white sugar. Brown sugar gives it plenty of moisture to keep these cookies from becoming hockey pucks!
How do you make sugar cookies taste better?
Sugar cookies taste better with more sugar, hence the name. Using both light brown and granulated white sugars gives it more depth, plus the butter gives it a richness that will make you want to eat them all.
Abs aren’t made in the kitchen…but cookies are.
Anonymous
Can I Make Gluten Free Sugar Cookies?
Yes, you can make these sugar cookies gluten-free. However, it depends on your gluten-free flour. Some will have a binding agent in it which gives it the elasticity it needs to hold its structure. If it doesn’t have it, you can use xanthan gum.
Can I use baking powder instead of baking soda for sugar cookies?
This simple sugar cookie recipe uses both baking powder and baking soda. I recommend you use them each because they give special attributes to your sugar cookies (namely rising power and softness) that will give them the perfect texture.
How do you keep sugar cookies from spreading?
If you use too much sugar or butter, they can lose their shape. Make sure you follow the recipe and be sure to refrigerate the dough to avoid this problem.
Why Are My Cookies Flat?
The problem you might be experiencing is that your butter wasn’t cold enough. If you added butter in when it was too soft, your cookies will go flat. Also, you need to refrigerate the dough long enough.
Why Didn’t My Cookies Spread?
Make sure you measure your flour correctly. Too much flour can keep a cookie from spreading out enough.
How to Decorate Sugar Cookies
You can cut your sugar cookies out with cookie cutters (my kids LOVE doing this!). You can find all sorts of themed cookie cutters for making cut-outs online. Or you can leave them to form into circular shapes. Decorating is easy as you can frost them, add sprinkles, and do all kinds of things. Piping bags will definitely make it easier to add intricate designs, especially for the holidays. Don’t have one? Put your frosting in a plastic bag and cut one corner off. You can create all sorts of unique designs to craft the perfect cookie for the occasion.
How To Store Leftover Sugar Cookies
You can keep sugar cookies on the counter as long as they are wrapped well with plastic wrap. They need to be in an airtight container and each layer of them should be separated with wax paper. You can also put them in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Can You Freeze Sugar Cookies?
Yes, you can freeze sugar cookies though I recommend you freeze them before decorating if that’s your intention. You can also freeze the dough ahead of time which will make holiday baking even easier.
How to Reheat Frozen Sugar Cookie Dough
The great thing about freezing sugar cookie dough is that, as long as you have formed them into balls and kept them well, you can just bake them from there. Heat your oven to 375F and then bake them for 12 minutes.
