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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Gail Growden-Coates says
I had never made sugar cookies in my entire life, until this year. I found your recipe and gave it a try. I couldn’t have been more thrilled with these cookies! The recipe is easy to follow and the cookies are amazing. My husband says that they are the best cookies that he has ever eaten, EVER. Thanks for the great recipe. I will definitely be making these cookies for years to come!
Sugar Spun Run says
Congrats on making your first batch of sugar cookies, Gail! I am so glad that you found my recipe easy to follow and delicious. I hope that you enjoy it for years to come! 🙂
Minkamok says
I tried baking these but the dough got soft very quickly which made it frustrating to cut out. I put a batch in that spread quite a bit and so what I did after was to stick the remaining dough in the freezer to harden it, cut out the shapes and then stick the tray with the cutouts in the freezer again, and then when it’s nice and cold, I put it in the oven and the shape held much better. It does taste really good though. Wish I knew what went wrong with the dough. I wonder if it’s because I’m in a tropical climate so it gets soft quite easily.
Sugar Spun Run says
Hi, Minkamok! Yes, the dough gets soft in high heat or humidity. I am glad that you were able to adjust to get it to work for you and that the sugar cookies tasted delicious! 🙂
Sandi S says
Great recipe!
My dough was not super sticky as described, so I was a little worried that I may have added too much flour. However, the cookies were so perfect. They did not spread too much, were not too sweet, and had a perfect butter flavor.
Sugar Spun Run says
I am so happy to hear that you enjoyed the sugar cookies, Sandi! Thanks so much for commenting. 🙂
Renee says
Can food coloring be used?
Sugar Spun Run says
Hi, Renee! Yes, it can. In the post, I share what I use. 🙂
Affini says
Made exactly as directed! Tastes so good with or without icing!
Rolled with powdered sugar instead of flour.
Sam says
So glad to hear the sugar cookies were such a success, Affini! Thank you so much for commenting! 🙂
Brenda says
The cookie texture was very good and it kept its shape well.
However, they were extremely SALTY. I was surprised by the amount of salt required by the recipe, but decided to trust it. Huge mistake. If I make this again, I will definitely use much less. But besides this, the cookies came out fine.
Sam says
Hi Brenda! You didn’t use salted butter by chance, did you? that’s the only reason I can think of that it might taste that salty.
Brenda Johnston says
No, we definitely used unsalted butter as that’s all we had. 🙁
Sam says
I’m really not sure what might have happened then. I just made these twice over Christmas and they didn’t seem salty to me, I’m sorry I’m not sure what might have happened.
Linda Alexander says
Have been looking for a good sugar cookie and icing recipe for cut outs. They look delicious and reviews were very good. Will be trying this next Christmas. Thank you for sharing.
Sam says
You’re very welcome, Linda! I hope you love the sugar cookies 🙂
Sue says
I never ever imagined being able to make a cookie like this. Honestly, the recipe was so so easy with tons of tips and tricks that helped. I wasn’t as accurate in cookie thickness as I wanted to be, but as it turns out, it didn’t matter. The cookies turned out amazing – every single batch. Your frosting recipe is also brilliant. So easy and my first ever time making and piping frosting. The cookies weren’t just delicious, they looked a dream, too.
I ONLY use your recipes, ever since making your upside down pineapple cake for the first time last year (made many times since). Thank you so much and congratulations on your baby!
Sugar Spun Run says
Thank you so much for your sweet comment, Sue! I am so glad that you enjoyed the sugar cookies among many other of my recipes. Thank you for following my blog and for being a fan of my recipes. It means so much to me, I truly appreciate it! 🙂
Sarah says
This is my favorite cookie dough I’ve made so far! Can it be made in advance and frozen for later use?
Sugar Spun Run says
Thank you, Sarah! I am so glad that you enjoyed the sugar cookies. Yes, you can freeze the cookie dough or pre-baked cookies. 🙂
Barbara says
These cookies and icing are so easy and yummy. I added a few tablespoons of lemon zest to the cookie batter for flavour and my family loved them so much that they were eating them before I could frost them.
Sugar Spun Run says
That is wonderful, Barbara! I am so glad that the sugar cookies were a hit! 🙂
Megan says
Can you make these cookies and freeze them for later use?
Sugar Spun Run says
Hi, Megan! Yes, that will be fine. Enjoy! 🙂
JayJay says
My dough came out crumbly and dry, did I use too much flour? Am I able to still cut them out and bake them without them falling apart?
Sugar Spun Run says
Hi, Jay Jay! It sounds like too much flour was added. This is a common mistake in baking, so I created a guide on how to properly measure flour that can be referenced for next time. If you knead the dough with the warmth of your hands, it should help make it more manageable (fingers crossed). Someone added a splash of milk and that seemed to help her. Unfortunately, there isn’t much else you can do. I hope that your sugar cookies turn out well and taste delicious! 🙂
Savannah says
How long will I cook it if I double the recipe
Sugar Spun Run says
Hi, Savannah! Same bake time. 🙂
CharlieDoll says
This has got to be the best sugar cookie recipe I have tried. They turned out beautifully and everyone that tried one said how nice they were. I will definitely be using this recipe again. I highly recommend that everyone try this recipe if they are looking to make sugar cookies. I am a novice baker and even I did not manage to mess this one up lol.
Sugar Spun Run says
That is wonderful, Charlie! I am so glad that you enjoyed the sugar cookies and you found this recipe, fool-proof. 🙂
Anne says
the best Christmas sugar cookie and icing I have ever made. A friend found your recipe and share on facebook. Let me tell you that I am beyond thankful, and literally full as I can hardly stop eating these scrumptious cookies. I have a question for you, Do the cookies need to be refrigerated once iced as the icing has milk in it, although a tiny amount? Thanks!
Sugar Spun Run says
I am so glad that you enjoyed the sugar cookie recipe, Anne, and happy your friend shared it over facebook for you to find! No need to refrigerate, room temperature will be fine. Enjoy! 🙂
Celeste says
These were great! I’ll be saving this recipe for future use 🙂
Sugar Spun Run says
Thank you so much, Celeste! I am glad that you enjoyed the sugar cookies. 🙂