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.
Tracie Bright
Love this recipe
Jen
Hi Sam!
I just made the dough, but my dough looks a bit dryer than yours in the video, not sure why because I measured every ingredient exact and I didn’t leave anything out. Any thoughts? Do you think it will still come out ok? I’m going to refrigerate it now.
Sam
Hi Jen! I would just keep mixing the dough. It will warm the butter and it should come together. 🙂
Bren
Can I make this without an electric mixer? I only have a wisk.
Sam
You may be able to stir it by hand but it’s going to be a pretty good arm workout. A whisk won’t be quite strong enough here unfortunately. 🙁
Lois
Hi Sam,
May i know if i can replce sugar with brown sugar?
thanks!!!
Sam
Hi Lois! I think that will work. The cookies may turn a little bit darker and you run the slight risk of the cookies spreading a little bit. A half and half mixture would probably be great. Let me know how it goes! 🙂
Lois
Thanks Sam! The cookies are just as yummy.
But with half cup of brown sugar, the cookies dough got soft and make it a bit difficult to cut and place it on they tray before oven.
Other than that, all good!
Love the recipes
thanks so much!!
Merry Christmas in advance 🎄
Sam
Thank you so much for your feedback. I’m glad you still enjoyed them. 🙂
Annette Handler
Hi
I will be trying this recipe over the weekend. When I am waiting fir the Icing to harden can I leave the cookies out on a dish? I was worried that they will get hard. Also how long can you store them for?
Thank you
Annette
Sam
Hi Annette! I like to leave my cookies out for the icing to firm up so leaving them on a dish will be fine. I would move them to an air tight container after the frosting firms up so they don’t go stale, like you would with any cookie. They should be good for about a week at room temperature. 🙂
Maria
I added a touch of cinnamon to the flour. Soo good. Gave it a “Christmas” flavour!
Sam
That sounds delicious! I’m glad you enjoyed it, Maria! 🙂
merari
hi ok i love the flavor of the cookies but were i live in mexico and its really hard to find unsalted butter or even butter its mostly margarine here so what can i do to get them to be soft i think this is something important and we really like the flavor
Sam
Hi, Merari! While I have never tried it myself, I think margarine would work with this recipe instead of the butter. You can reduce the salt to 1/4 teaspoon. Enjoy! 🙂
Andi
I couldn’t find where to write a comment so I’ll write it here. This was an amazing recipe . My husband and I dearly enjoyed it . Only difference I made them in my air fryer 350 degrees for 6 mins . They were thicker and came out with a nice golden crunch on the outside and a soft slight chew on the inside . Delightful!
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed them so much, Andi! 🙂
Debbie
Hi Sam! Love all your recipes!! Quick question on these sugar cookies…I made jet shaped cookies for hubby’s meeting. Some maintained their shape and others puffed up and spread out, losing their shape. My theory is that the ones baked on the middle rack maintained their shape and the ones on the bottom rack morphed. I have a convection oven. Could this be oven issue such as temperature? I nudged it down, just as I always do to 325 per the oven specs since it’s a convection. Should I chill the cut out cookies in the fridge prior to baking? Appreciate any sage wisdom since I have two more dough packets in the fridge waiting for prep later this week. Thanks so much!
Sam
Hi Debbie! I always advise baking on the center rack for a more even baking. I’m not familiar with baking in a convection oven so unfortunately I don’t have much advice there. If the cookies are puffing too much chilling in the fridge may help. I hope the next two batches turn out great! 🙂
Sydney
Can you freeze these cookies?
Sam
Hi Sydney they should freeze without issue! Be careful stacking them, you may want to separate the layers with wax paper. 🙂
Sydney
Okay thank you!
Doreen Wallace
Do you measure the powdered sugar before or after you sift it?
Sam
Hi Doreen! I measure then sift here. 🙂
Cara
Amazing
Rose
Okay, I made these but not sure what I did wrong. They taste great but they did not hold their shape at all….they completely flattened and looked nothing like the cookie cutter shape I used. What could I have done wrong? They are yummy but it would be nice if they looked great too…thanks!
Sam
Hi Rose! Was the dough really sticky and did you make any substitutions? How long was the dough chilled?
Rose
Hi Sam, no it was fine and no substitutions made. I chilled it for about 2 nd half hours, when I went to roll it out it was cracking so I let it sit for about 10 minutes before I could roll it out properly. By the end it was really sticky. Not sure what happened, I will try it again next weekend and hopefully it will turn out better 🙂 Thanks
Sam
Hmmm if it was really sticky it may have gotten too warm or it may have needed a little bit more flour worked in. I hope they turn out better next time. 🙂
Rose
Going to try this recipe today, is there anything I could use to replace the light corn syrup? I never use it so don’t want to buy a whole bottle just for this icing. Thanks for your help!
Sam
Golden syrup or glucose could work, but outside of that I don’t have any recommendations for anything that would work quite as well, unfortunately. You could also try my royal icing recipe instead, though!
Lori
Having a problem with sugar cookie dough as it chilled overnight now it’s hard to work with it not coming together
Sam
Hi Lori! I’m a little confused. Did you refrigerate it when it was already in a disk? If it’s cracking at the edges when being rolled out just let it sit out and warm up just a little bit before rolling. 🙂