These are the best sugar cookies! This recipe makes a simple, versatile vanilla sugar cookie; the dough is easy to roll and to work with and doesn’t spread when baking, so your cookies will always have sharp, defined edges! You can decorate these cookies with sanding sugar, or you can use my recipe below for a simple (and tasty!) pipe-able sugar cookie frosting (one that’s not royal icing!).
The Best Sugar Cookie Recipe
This is just a friendly reminder that Christmas is officially less than one month away, so if you aren’t freaking out yet about not having all of your Christmas shopping done, or even started, now is the time to start freaking out.
Wait. Breathe. Have a (sugar) cookie.
While my gift buying situation is not at all under control, I at least have the Christmas cookie situation locked down with this easy sugar cookie recipe. I started working on this recipe a long, long time ago, but made myself wait until after Thanksgiving to finally share it. It was a lot of work, but the end result was perfect cut-out sugar cookies that were well worth the wait.
This recipe yields perfect homemade sugar cookies that:
- Don’t spread in the oven, so you have perfectly defined shapes.
- Have a soft texture and buttery flavor (and instructions for adding other flavors, if desired).
- Can be made thicker and softer or thinner and crisper, depending on your preference.
- Have a simple, shiny, foolproof sugar cookie icing that you are going to love (and it’s not Royal Icing!).
This is an easy cut-out sugar cookie recipe and is destined to be your future cookie platter staple. Sugar cookie dough always shocks me with its simplicity; it only calls for a few ingredients and no fancy techniques.
When you first make your dough, it will be a bit sticky and tough to manage so you are going to need to chill it before you can roll it out. I divide my dough into about two equal parts, wrap each in cling wrap and form it into a disk, then chill for 2-3 hours (though you can certainly chill it overnight, or even make it several days in advance).
I know, chilling is a pain. I played with some no-chilling-required recipes, though, and this recipe that required chilling beat out all of my no-chill sugar cookie recipe versions, so trust me when I tell you that the wait is worth it! It also makes your dough very easy to manage when it comes time to roll it out, simple and frustration-free.
An Easy Sugar Cookie Icing
For the frosting for these cookies, I did not use a royal icing, which I know is popular. Truthfully, I don’t really love the taste of royal frosting, and I know many of you don’t keep meringue powder in your cabinets or feel comfortable making egg white frosting.
Instead, I used the same frosting that I used for my Galaxy Cookies. It’s easy to make, easy to pipe, and dries hard for stackable cookies. This recipe uses light corn syrup (which is not the same as high fructose corn syrup!) for a nice shiny frosting.
I frosted my cookies and then topped a few of them off with colored sugars, but if you want to skip the frosting you can sprinkle your cut-outs with sanding sugar just before baking. This is the way my mom always makes her sugar cookies, they still taste delicious!
Tips for making perfect sugar cookies:
- When cutting out your sugar cookies, make sure to keep your cuts as close together to get as many cookies out of your dough as possible. You will want to re-roll any scraps so that you use all of your dough. Keep in mind that with each re-roll you’re adding more flour into the dough, so you want to get as much as possible out of that first roll.
- Bake cookies that are about the same size together. Otherwise the small ones will burn and the large ones won’t finish baking.
- For thinner, crispier sugar cookies: Roll cookie dough thinner (about 1/8″) and look for the edges of the cookies to be just beginning to turn golden brown to know that they are done.
- For thicker, softer sugar cookies: Roll dough to about 1/4″, and watch for cookies to be just beginning to turn lightly golden around the edges. Let them cool completely on the cookie rack as they may break if you try to move them while they’re still warm.
- When making the sugar cookie icing: It’s hard to mess this one up, because if you make it too thin, just add more powdered sugar. If it’s too thick, just add more milk!
Alright, that’s how to make the best Sugar Cookies from scratch. Hopefully you guys love cookies as much as I do because I have so many more coming up this month that will be great for your holiday cookie platters (especially excited to share my gingerbread cookie recipe!).
Enjoy!!
More Classic Christmas Cookies to Try:
I included a brief video on how to make this Sugar Cookie Recipe in today’s post. If you are looking for my detailed video, you can see my Sugar Cookie Video on YouTube.
Easy Sugar Cookies & Sugar Cookie Frosting
Ingredients
Sugar Cookies
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened to room temperature (226g)
- 1 cup sugar (200g)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract²
- 1 large egg
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (315g)
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
Sugar Cookie Frosting
- 3 cups powdered sugar, sifted (375g)
- 3-4 Tablespoons milk
- 2 Tablespoons light corn syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Gel food coloring optional
- Additional candies and sprinkles for decorating optional
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
Sugar Cookies
- Combine butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a large bowl and use an electric hand mixer) and beat until creamy and well-combined.
- Add egg and vanilla extract and beat until completely combined.
- In a separate, medium-sized bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Gradually add dry ingredients into wet until completely combined.
- Lay out a large piece of plastic wrap and transfer approximately half of the dough onto the wrap (dough will be quite sticky at this point, that's OK!).
- Cover with clear wrap and mold into a disk. Repeat with remaining cookie dough in another piece of cling wrap. Transfer dough to refrigerator and chill for at least 2-3 hours3
- Once dough has finished chilling, preheat oven to 350F (175C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Generously dust a clean surface with flour and deposit one chilled cookie dough disk onto the surface. Lightly flour the dough and roll out to 1/8" (for thinner, crispier cookies) or 1/4" (for thicker, softer cookies). Continue to add flour as needed both on top of and beneath the dough so that it doesn't stick.
- Use cookie cutters to cut out shapes and use a spatula to transfer shapes to prepared baking sheet.4
- Bake on 350F (175C) for 9-10 minutes5, or until edges just begin to turn lightly golden brown.
- Allow cookies to cool completely on cookie sheet before moving and frosting.
Sugar Cookie Frosting
- Combine sugar, 2 Tablespoons of milk, corn syrup, and vanilla extract in a medium-sized bowl and stir until combined. If frosting is too thick, add more milk, about a teaspoon at a time, until the frosting is thick but pipeable. If you accidentally add too much milk, add powdered sugar until desired texture is reached.
- If coloring the frosting, divide into bowls and color as desired at this point.
- Transfer frosting to a piping bag with a piping tip (I used Wilton 5), or place in a Ziploc bag and snip a small piece of the corner off (not as neat, but this will still work, just take care that the frosting isn’t so thick that it breaks open the seam of the bag when you are squeezing).
- Pipe frosting on cookies and decorate with decorative candies, if desired.
- Allow frosting to harden before enjoying (this took several hours for me and may vary for you depending on the consistency of your frosting)
- Keep uneaten cookies sealed in an airtight container at room temperature.
Notes
Full-Length Video:
I shared a quick, short video for how to make this sugar cookie recipe in today's post. If you prefer my longer, more detailed videos, please check out the detailed video I made for my YouTube channel.Nutrition
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Emily says
Hello! Two questions.
1. Do you recommend putting the cookies in the fridge to help the icing settle faster? Or will that mess it up?
2. Do you recommend waiting for the cookies to cool down completely before starting to ice then to help with settling? Or does it not really matter?
Thank you!
Sam says
Hi Emily! I have never put them in the fridge but that would probably help speed up the setting process. Yes, definitely let the cookies cool completely before icing. I hope you love the sugar cookies!
Desiree says
Do these cookies hold their shape well when baking? I have a roller skate cutter and don’t want them to just look like blobs 🤣
Sugar Spun Run says
Hello, Desiree! Yes, these sugar cookies hold their shape. I hope that your roller skate cookies turn out beautifully. If you post a picture on Instagram please tag me (#sugarspunrun), I’d love to see the finished product! 🙂
Lucía says
Hi sam! I was if you could put the dough in the freezer and if so how long should I keep it in there? Thanks
Sugar Spun Run says
Hello, Lucía! Yes, you can freeze the Sugar Cookie Dough. I recommend storing the dough in a plastic freezer bag or airtight container. The dough should be good up to 3 months. Enjoy! 🙂
Emma says
Made the cookies for the first time! Yummy and super easy!!
Sugar Spun Run says
I am so glad that you enjoyed the sugar cookies, Emma! 🙂 Thank you for your comment.
Sarah says
Can you freeze the cookies and ice at a later date?
Sam says
Absolutely! I hope you enjoy, Sarah!
Fatema says
Hi
What is corn syrup?
Sam says
I can usually find it in my grocery store near the maple syrup. 🙂
Pizza says
Hi can I use cake frosting with a ziplock bag for the cookies?
Sam says
You can use cake frosting on your cookies. It won’t set up as well, and probably won’t be nearly as easy to decorate. 🙂
Chasity says
Hello i just recently tried this recipe and everything turned out perfectly. My only question is, how can I safely transport my cookies? I noticed a few smudged right away after being stacked in a container and i had them out to harden for hours prior (separately) . I just need them to not mess up on my way to the event.
Sam says
Hi Chasity! It can take quite a while for the frosting to fully set up. Once you believe it has, the best way to ensure they don’t get messed up is to lay them flat and put a piece of wax paper in between each layer. The frosting should set up and be firm enough to stack without smudging or sticking to each other. 🙂
Vanitha says
Tried the recipe using the metric amounts, and the dough was very sticky. When rolling out, and cutting, it was falling apart despite as Not sure where I went wrong. Three stars because the cookies taste good. Just need advice on where I can improve regarding dough texture.
Sam says
Hi Vanitha! If your sugar cookie dough is too sticky you can add a little more flour. The dough may also be too warm and may need more time to chill. Cookie dough can be tough to work with in the summer time just due to the heat. 🙂
Casey says
Hi!
I am new to trying to frost my cookies like you do and I want to make sure I am doing it right with the right materials. Do I need to have the gel food coloring or will the liquid work okay? Also, I am going to try to write on my cookies…do you have any tips or what will be the best piping tools to use?
Thanks, any help would be appreciated.
Sam says
Hi Casey! You can use regular food coloring, but the colors won’t be quite as vibrant. If you are going to write on the cookies, you can use a really small piping tip, or cut a very small hole in the corner of the piping bag. I hope this helps, and have fun! 🙂
Sally Guerra says
Hi Sam, could i substitute the butter for vegetable shortening (Crisco)?
Sam says
Hi Sally! I haven’t tried it. I think they will still turn out, but they probably won’t taste as good. 🙂
🦄🦄🦄 says
These cookies were great! I made them into star shapes and colored them red and blue for Independence Day. The only reason I didn’t give for stars is because icing was very difficult.
Sam says
Glad you enjoyed! What was difficult about the icing, maybe I can help troubleshoot.
Ivette says
Hi Sam, Can I use skim milk to make my sugar cookie frosting?
Sam says
Hi Ivette! That would be fine, start with using a bit less than the recipe calls for, though, as skim milk is thinner. Enjoy! 🙂
Jamie says
I absolutely love this recipe!!! I make these cookies and icing all the time. Can you make the icing ahead of time?? If so how do you store it?
Sam says
Hi Jamie! Unfortunately, I don’t really recommend making the frosting in advance because it will start to harden and won’t be pipable any longer. 🙁
Monica says
When I made the dough, it wasn’t really sticky and kind of crumby. Do you know if there might’ve been something I missed?
Autumn Nguyen says
Mine too!! I added an extra egg, kinda helped
Aggie says
Perfect! Thank you! Gonna make them soon 🙂
Sam says
Enjoy! 🙂