Introducing the actual best sugar cookie recipe! My recipe makes simple, versatile vanilla sugar cookies; 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 icing (one that’s not royal icing!).
The Best Sugar Cookie Recipe
If you’re looking for perfect cut-out Christmas sugar cookies, ones that hold their shape and don’t spread in the oven, come together easily with no strange ingredients, and that actually taste incredible, too, I’ve got you covered this year.
If you want a foolproof (and I do literally mean foolproof) easy sugar cookie icing that isn’t royal icing, one that dries firm but not break-your-teeth hard, well I’ve got you covered there too.
I’m adding this flawless sugar cookie recipe to my Christmas cookie tray alongside the gingerbread men, meringues, and hot chocolate bombs (am I the only one including these on my cookie list this year?) and would like to gently suggest you consider doing the same, I don’t think you (or your guests or gift recipients!) will regret it.
Why You’ll Love This Easy Sugar Cookie Recipe:
- My recipe yields cookies that absolutely do not spread in the oven, so you have perfectly defined shapes and clear cookie-cutter edges.
- These sugar cookies have a soft interior texture with a classic, buttery flavor (and instructions for adding other flavors, if desired).
- Recipe includes instructions to easily customize the cookies depending on whether you prefer thicker and softer or thinner and crispier sugar cookies.
- Includes a simple, shiny, and absolutely foolproof (you seriously can’t mess this up!) sugar cookie icing that you are going to love. While royal icing certainly has its place (and I even have a fantastic royal icing recipe, if you’re searching or would like to use that here) I generally prefer this oh-so-easy frosting instead.
What You Need
Sugar Cookies Ingredients
- Butter. I recommend using unsalted butter so that we can best control the flavor. For best results, note that the butter should be softened, but not so soft that it’s melting/oily.
- Sugar. Use granulated sugar, it gives my sugar cookie recipe that classic Christmas cookie flavor you know and love and helps keep them from spreading.
- Egg. A single egg helps the dough bind together.
- Vanilla extract. You can really flavor these cookies with whatever extract you like best (almond and lemon are popular choices), but typically I always include at least a splash of vanilla, even when using other flavors, as it gives the sugar cookies a beautiful depth of flavor. (If you have homemade vanilla extract, now is a great time to use it!).
- Flour. I have only tested and only recommend this sugar cookie recipe with all-purpose flour (often simply referred to as “plain” flour outside of the US).
- Baking powder. My recipe uses just a small amount of baking powder, which helps give the cookies the perfect soft interior texture and crisp edge.
- Salt. I mentioned above that unsalted butter is best, but if you only have salted on hand simply reduce the salt in the recipe to ¼ teaspoon.
Sugar Cookie Icing Ingredients
- Powdered sugar. Also known as confectioners sugar or icing sugar. For best results (especially if you’ll be piping the icing), sift it to remove any lumps before using.
- Milk. I use whole milk, but any variety (low-fat, skim, or even non-dairy milk like almond) will work instead. Just note that if you are using a lower-fat milk you may need less than the recipe calls for, as it is thinner.
- Vanilla extract. If you want pure white icing I recommend using a clear vanilla extract.
- Light corn syrup. Not to be confused with high fructose corn syrup, this ingredient gives my sugar cookie frosting a glossy, shiny finish and helps it to to set firmly. If you must leave it out, I’ve included notes in the recipe on how to do so, but for best results I recommend using it. Dark corn syrup could work but will add a muddy color and additional flavor to your icing. Outside of the US, you may be able to find glucose syrup, which should work instead.
- Food Coloring. Of course this is optional, but for festively decorated Christmas sugar cookies, you’ll probably want to add a bit of color. I love and use gel food coloring for best results (and linked to the kind I use in the recipe). Liquid or powder food coloring will work, but may not be as vibrant.
As always, this is just an overview of the ingredients used here and why they were chosen. For the full sugar cookie recipe with amounts and detailed instructions, please scroll down to the printable recipe.
SAM’S TIP: Don’t have time to decorate? Skip the sugar cookie frosting and just sprinkle colorful sanding sugar over the cookies before baking!
Tips for Making the Best 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. 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 on the same baking sheet. Otherwise the small ones will burn and the large ones won’t finish baking.
- For thinner, crispy sugar cookies: Roll cookie dough thinner (about ⅛″) and look for the edges of the cookies to be beginning to turn golden brown to know that they are done.
- For thicker, soft sugar cookies: Roll dough to about ¼″, 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! Look for a consistency where the icing that drizzles off of the whisk holds its shape for several seconds before dissolving back into the icing bowl.
Frequently Asked Questions
Sugar cookies should always have a distinctly buttery, sugary and (usually) vanilla flavor, but in order to maintain their clean-cut shape they are never quite as rich as drop cookies. Much of their flavor comes from the sweet sugar cookie icing. While my sugar cookie recipe is already flavorful, to make them even more so, you can add different extracts or emulsions to the dough or top the icing off with sanding sugar or decorative candies.
Yes, my easy sugar cookie icing may be colored (if desired) and stored in an airtight container at room temperature or in the refrigerator for up to a week before using. To help keep the top from crusting, always place a piece of plastic wrap directly against the surface of the sugar cookie frosting when storing (or keep in a plastic bag and twist to keep the air from reaching the icing). Most likely you will need to stir (or if you stored it in piping bags, massage it) before using.
This is often a result of accidentally mis-measuring an ingredient or over-measuring the flour. Please see my post on how to measure flour properly, and remember to never scoop the flour directly into the measuring cup (for best results, use a scale!).
Add your flour gradually. Adding it all at once can make it difficult for the dough to properly absorb the dry ingredients, resulting in a crumbly, difficult dough. Make sure that your sugar cookie dough is thoroughly combined; if it still seems crumbly after you’ve added all the flour, just keep mixing with an electric mixer (or stand mixer) until dough is clinging together and no flour remains.
This is most often a result of accidentally mis-measuring or substituting an ingredient, using butter that is much too soft (it should never be melting/oily and should not be warmed in the microwave), or not chilling the dough for long enough. Dough that is still slightly sticky after chilling can often be salvaged by chilling longer or by generously dusting your countertop and the dough with additional flour.
Hopefully you love this easy sugar cookie recipe as much as I do, and don’t forget to check out the how-to video in the recipe card!
Enjoy!
Easy Sugar Cookies & Sugar Cookie Frosting
Ingredients
Sugar Cookies
- 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter softened
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract (see note)
- 1 large egg
- 2 ½ cups (315 g) all-purpose flour (Plain flour)
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon table salt
Sugar Cookie Frosting
- 3 cups (375 g) powdered sugar, sifted (weigh before sifting)
- 3-4 Tablespoons milk (I use whole milk, but any kind will work)
- 2 Tablespoons light corn syrup (see note)
- ½ 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.1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- Add egg and vanilla extract and beat until completely combined.1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract, 1 large egg
- In a separate, medium-sized bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.2 ½ cups (315 g) all-purpose flour, ¾ teaspoon baking powder, ¾ teaspoon table salt
- Gradually stir dry ingredients into wet until dough is smooth and 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 dough with clear wrap or wax paper and mold into a flat disk. Wrap tightly. Repeat with remaining cookie dough in another piece of clear wrap. Transfer dough to refrigerator and chill for at least 2-3 hours and up to 5 days.
- Once dough has finished chilling, preheat oven to 350F (175C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper (alternatively bake cookies directly on an ungreased baking sheet). Set aside.
- Generously dust a clean surface with flour and place one chilled cookie dough disk onto the surface. Lightly flour the dough and roll out to ⅛" (for thinner, crispier cookies) or ¼" (for thicker, softer cookies). Add additional flour as needed both on top of and beneath the dough so that it doesn't stick. Note: if dough is cracking as you roll it, let it sit at room temperature for 10-15 minutes to soften before attempting again.
- Use cookie cutters to cut out shapes and use a spatula to transfer shapes to prepared baking sheet, spacing at least 1" apart. If you are not intending to decorate your cookies with icing, you can decorate them with sanding sugar at this point before you bake them.
- Bake on 350F (175C) for 8-10 minutes (this is for cookies that are approximately 3" [7.6cm]; note that smaller cookies will need less time and larger cookies will need more), or until edges just begin to turn lightly golden brown.
- Allow cookies to cool completely on cookie sheet before decorating.
Easy Sugar Cookie Icing
- Combine powdered 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.3 cups (375 g) powdered sugar, sifted, 3-4 Tablespoons milk, 2 Tablespoons light corn syrup, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- If coloring the frosting, divide into bowls and color as desired at this point.Gel food coloring
- 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.Additional candies and sprinkles for decorating
- Allow frosting to harden before enjoying, stacking, or storing (this took several hours for me and may vary for you depending on the consistency of your frosting).
Notes
Flavoring and extracts
You may also reduce the vanilla extract to ¾ teaspoon and add ¼-1/2 teaspoons of either almond or lemon extract (or just about any other extract you’d like!).Corn Syrup
I highly recommend using light corn syrup for the firmest, glossiest finish on your sugar cookies. However, if you must omit it, you may, but note that the frosting will not dry quite as hard and you will likely need to add more milk to get the icing to the proper consistency. Glucose syrup may be substituted, but outside of that I am not sure of a substitute that would give the same effect.Making Frosting in Advance
To make icing in advance, store in an airtight container with a piece of plastic wrap pressed directly against the surface of the icing. It will keep for several days and may be stored either at room temperature or in the refrigerator. Icing will need to be stirred again before using. It may be colored with food coloring before or after storing.Storing
Keep uneaten cookies sealed in an airtight container at room temperature for up to ten days. Cookies may also be frozen for several months.Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
Yael Ilan-Clarke
Hi Sam,
Is there any substitute i can use for the corn syrup for the icing? its not something i can get hold of. Thank you,
Sugar Spun Run
Hi Yael, if you are outside of the US then glucose syrup should work instead. Other than that I’m afraid I don’t have a recommendation for a good substitute. You could always try my royal icing recipe instead, though!
Merari
Hi sam i did the recipe and loved it but i have a problem the two times that i made them they keep getting hard and we live them but what can i do?
Poppy
hey, I’m just wondering if you know how many cookies this recipe would usually make
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Poppy! How many cookies this recipe yield varies greatly depending on how thick you roll the dough and the size of the cookie cutters that you use. I use a 3″ cookie cutter typically and can get approximately 40 cookies out of one batch. I hope that helps! 🙂
Sue
Love this recipe! Cookies are great! Made them for my granddaughter’s birthday party. We were planning a cookie decorating station. Unfortunately she is sick with the flu and has postponed her party for a week. I have froze the decorated & undecorated cookies, but wondered how long the icing will last in individual squeeze bottles? Thanks!
Sugar Spun Run
I am so sorry to hear that your granddaughter is sick on the day of her party, Sue. I hope that she feels better soon. The cookies will be fine frozen and thawed day before the party, however, the icing dries rather quickly and can not be frozen. It is best to make it when you are ready to decorate the cookies. 🙂
Morgan
First off, this is absolutely the best sugar cookie + icing recipe I have ever come across! I was making some for valentines day and ended up with a lot of extra dough (double batch); would I be able to freeze the dough for about a week? If so, how do I go about getting it soft again for roll-out?
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that you enjoyed the sugar cookies and frosting, Morgan! If you’d like to freeze the dough I recommend storing it in an airtight container before freezing. I would allow the dough to thaw in the refrigerator for a few hours or until manageable. 🙂
Amal
Would I be able to replace the corn syrup with honey in the royal icing ?
Sugar Spun Run
Hi Amal, if you are outside of the US then glucose syrup should work instead. Other than that I’m afraid I don’t have a recommendation for a good substitute. You could always try my royal icing recipe instead, though!
Fiona
I was wondering if we can use regular food colouring?
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Fiona! Yes, you can, however the colors may not be as vibrant. 🙂
Kim G
Would this be a good icing recipe for kindergartners to decorate cookies?
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Kim! I recommend using the icing on my soft frosted sugar cookies instead. This icing drys rather quickly so it isn’t best for little hands. I hope they have a blast! 🙂
Michelle
Loved this recipe! Made it twice this week for Valentine’s class treats. Did better the second time, add the flour mix a bit at a time, not all at once to curb ending up with crumbles.
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that your class enjoyed the sugar cookies, Michelle! Thanks for using my recipe! 🙂
Kerrie
This was a great recipe! I just made a batch of heart shaped cookies to send to my college kids. I used store bought icing because I had to get them in the mail. Will save this recipe! Thanks!
Sugar Spun Run
What a thoughtful gesture, Kerrie! I hope that your kids enjoy the cookies. Thanks for trying my recipe. 🙂
Claire
Can I use liquid food coloring or is the gel necessary?
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Claire! The gel is not necessary however I do recommend it as it will give you the most vibrant colors. 🙂
Mary Crain
Can i mix in apple pie filling (small amt to add different favor)? If so..would i need to adjust other ingredients?
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Mary! I have never tried mixing apple pie filling into this cookie recipe before so unfortunately, I can not provide you any recommendations. If you try it, I’d love to know how it turns out for you. 🙂
Amanda
I can only find the corn syrup that says it has real vanilla in it. Is this the right stuff?
Sam
Yup! That’s probably Karo brand, I use it in my own kitchen often.
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Amanda! Yes, that will work fine. 🙂
Sophie
How long can you cook these in advance ?
Sugar Spun Run
Hello, Sophie! If stored in an airtight container, the cookies will stay fresh for up to one week. They also freeze well. 🙂
Nicole Groves
Do you freeze them already baked? Have you ever tried freezing them already baked AND decorated? I need these for a baptism and I’m moving at the same time, so I need to do all the work abt 2 weeks before I actually will use them.
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Nicole! The sugar cookies themselves freeze well. If you are using my royal icing to decorate, I think that you will be fine. I have not tried freezing the icing listed with this recipe so I am not certain how it will do. If you do decide to freeze the decorated cookies, I would reccomend wrapping them individually to prevent any sticking. Good Luck with the baptism and move! Keep me posted on how your cookies turn out. 🙂
Mr. UwU bakes
Great recipe I made it for Valentine’s Day and worked out great! Totally recommend thank you!
Sugar Spun Run
Thank you, Miles. I am so glad that the sugar cookies turned out well. Happy Valentines Day to you! Thanks for commenting. 🙂
Sandi
I have made this recipe so many time! It is delicious & easy to follow. The icing is great too but I am going to experiment with royal icing the next time I make it.
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that you have enjoyed this sugar cookie recipe many times, Sandi! I released a royal icing recipe over the holidays that you are welcome to experiment with the next time. Keep me posted on how it works out for you. Thanks for commenting. 🙂
Michelle
Can you use margarine instead of butter?
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Michelle! I am not sure. I think it would work but I have only tried it with butter. If you try it let me know how it turns out. 🙂
Jenn
I used margarine for mine they brown up a little quicker but they still work good 🙂