• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Home
  • Recipes
  • About Me
  • Contact
  • Subscribe
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • Youtube
Sugar Spun Run
  • All Recipes
  • Desserts
    • Cookies
    • Candy
    • Bars & Brownies
    • Cake
    • Pies
  • Pastries
  • Breads
  • Savory
  • Breakfast
    • Muffins
    • Scones
  • Seasonal
    • Cozy Winter / Holiday Treats
    • Easter / Spring
    • Fall Recipes
    • Summer Recipes
menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • Home
  • About Me
  • All Recipes
  • Contact/Work with Me
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • Youtube
  • ×
    You are here: Home / Desserts / Cookies / Icebox Cookies

    Icebox Cookies

    April 30, 2020 By Sam 25 Comments

    This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Please read my disclosure policy.
    Jump to Recipe Jump to Video Print Recipe
    icebox cookies with sprinkles

    A simple recipe for old-fashioned Icebox Cookies (AKA Refrigerator Cookies). This recipe uses only a few basic ingredients but must be chilled for at least 4 hours before baking. These are great for preparing then storing in your fridge, ready to slice whenever you catch a cookie craving. I’ve included plenty of add-in options and a how-to video!

    Cookies rolled in sprinkles and mixed with chocolate

    You’re going to need a little bit of patience for today’s recipe.

    Like… 4 hours of patience. Today’s icebox cookie (AKA refrigerator cookie) recipe is not one that you can whip up to satisfy an urgent cookie craving. While making the dough itself is quick and easy (about 10 minutes and done), there’s several hours of chilling in your refrigerator (or, icebox) required for perfect cookies.

    You just can’t be in a desperate, cookie craving mood (basically every minute of my life) when you make these. Every time I make this recipe, I like to think of it as I’m giving myself cookie insurance for future cravings. The dough needs to chill, but once it does it can sit in the fridge for up to a week, ready to slice and bake any time cookie monster mood does strike. 

    Desperate for something fast and easy and ready in 15 minutes? Try my flourless peanut butter cookies.

    I’ve been making this recipe for years and have adapted it from its original form in my family’s favorite cookbook (the same one my angel food cake came from). It’s a family favorite and I think you’re going to enjoy it just as much as we do.

    Ingredients for icebox cookies

    What You Need

    Butter, sugar, egg, flour, baking powder, and salt. That’s it. Seriously.

    Nothing but the basics here. And one of my rare recipes that only uses one type of sugar (you know I love using granulated and brown sugar, sometimes light and dark in the same recipe 😂)

    Optional Add-Ins

    Growing up, we always enjoyed icebox cookies plain, no chocolate, sprinkles, or anything else added to them. And they’re good that way, like sweet, sliceable sugar cookies.

    These days, though, I like to mix things up a little bit. Here are my favorite ways to dress up icebox cookies:

    • Chopped Chocolate. Finely chop two to four ounces of a chocolate bar (semisweet or dark chocolate work well here) almost like you’re mincing garlic and stir it in at the end. Chocolate chips don’t work as well for this recipe because they’re large and leave craters in the cookie dough when you slice it.
    • Chopped nuts. Your preferred type (walnuts and pecans are great here). Toast them for even more flavor. Stir them in at the end, before rolling your dough into logs. About ¾ cup. As with the chocolate you will want to chop them fairly fine.
    • Sprinkles. Stir several tablespoons of jimmies or nonpareils in by hand at the end or use them to make a decorative edge on the cookies, as seen in most of these photos (and described below).
    • Sprinkled Edge. After forming your dough into a log (and before chilling), pour several tablespoons of nonpareil sprinkles into a pie plate. Roll the outside of your icebox cookie dough log through the sprinkles until the outside is completely coated. If the sprinkles aren’t sticking, you may need to warm the dough between your hands first.

    Multiple logs of icebox cookie dough with various mix-ins

    Tips for Icebox Cookies

    • Make sure to measure your flour properly using a scale or the spoon and level method (see my guide on how to measure flour). Too much flour and the cookie dough will be dry and crumbly, not enough and the dough will be too soft and your icebox cookies will spread in the oven.
    • Don’t over-mix. Over-mixing will warm up the butter, making it melty and therefore making the dough too soft and sticky to form into logs. If you accidentally do this, pop the dough in the refrigerator (covered) for 15 minutes or so and then try to form the dough again.
    • Use a towel. Set your cookie dough on a plush, twice-folded kitchen towel. This will keep the bottom of the dough from flattening and keep your cookies rounder when you slice them.
    • Have patience! This dough really does need to chill for hours to keep the cookies from spreading too much. The cookies will spread nicely in the oven if you chill them, but if you don’t wait they’ll melt onto your cookie sheet and be much too flat and crispy. 
    • Store to slice & bake later. Keep icebox cookie dough in the fridge, wrapped in plastic wrap, for up to a week.

    Icebox cookies cooling on cooling rack

    Enjoy!

    More Recipes You May Enjoy:

    • Sprinkle Cookies
    • The WORST Chocolate Chip Cookies
    • Snowball Cookies
    • Edible Cookie Dough

    Be sure to check out the how-to Video in the recipe! 

    icebox cookies with sprinkles

    Icebox Cookies (Refrigerator Cookies)

    A simple recipe for old-fashioned Icebox Cookies (AKA Refrigerator Cookies). This recipe uses only a few basic ingredients but must be chilled for at least 4 hours before baking.
    Adapted from Good Housekeeping.
    5 from 10 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Dessert
    Cuisine: American
    Prep Time: 20 minutes
    Cook Time: 10 minutes
    Chilling Tine: 4 hours
    Total Time: 4 hours 30 minutes
    Servings: 30 cookies
    Calories: 133kcal
    Author: Sam Merritt

    Ingredients

    • 1 cup unsalted butter softened (226g)
    • 1 ½ cups granulated sugar (300g)
    • 1 large egg room temperature preferred
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    • 2 ½ cups all purpose flour (315g)
    • 1 teaspoon baking powder
    • ¾ teaspoon salt
    • Optional add-ins sprinkles, non pareils, chopped nuts, chopped chocolate

    Recommended Equipment

    • Mixing bowls
    • Cookie sheets
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions

    • Cream together butter, sugar, egg and vanilla. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl with a spatula to make sure all ingredients are well-combined.
    • In a separate, medium-sized bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. With mixer on low speed, gradually add to butter mixture until completely combined. Be sure to pause and scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
    • If stirring in any add-ins, mix them in here.
    • Divide dough into two halves and lightly flour your hands. Form each half into a log about 1 ½" - 2” in diameter. To roll in sprinkles (as seen in the photos), pour several tablespoons of non pareils into a pie plate and roll the dough through the sprinkles until the outside is completely covered.
    • Wrap dough logs in plastic wrap and refrigerate. To prevent the dough from getting a severely flat edge I like to place it on a plush folded hand towel while it chills. Chill dough for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight and up to one week.
    • When you are ready to bake, preheat oven to 350F (175C). Remove dough from the refrigerator and slice into ¼” slices.
    • Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing cookies at least 2 inches apart.
    • Bake on 350F for 10-12 minutes or until edges are just beginning to turn a light golden brown.
    • Enjoy!

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1cookie | Calories: 133kcal | Carbohydrates: 18g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 22mg | Sodium: 61mg | Potassium: 29mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 197IU | Calcium: 10mg | Iron: 1mg

    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.

    Tried this recipe? Show me on Instagram!Mention @SugarSpun_Sam or tag #sugarspunrun!
    « Pineapple Upside-Down Cake
    Crumbs »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Kim Warren

      March 20, 2022 at 9:17 am

      5 stars
      Made the dough last night and the cookies this a.m. confused the towel thing and get it now. Pulled the dough out of the fridge and put on towel and thought this makes no sense. It does when you read directions carefully. Great cookies. Beautifully decorated. Some decorations on outside of cookie. Sanding sugar on others. Perfect. Easy and just plain delish!

      Reply
    2. Nikki

      May 12, 2021 at 6:55 pm

      5 stars
      My go to cookie for my family. We absolutely love these! I roll them in fun sprinkles and always keep a few logs in the freezer. Quick and easy mid week dessert or treat.

      Reply
      • Sam

        May 12, 2021 at 9:36 pm

        I’m so glad everyone enjoyed them so much! 🙂

        Reply
        • Susie

          July 07, 2021 at 6:43 am

          I have been Watching a lot of your’s Show’s. And got a lot of your Recipes. I Like how you do and say everything about it. Not Like Other People that are in a Hurry. And talk to Fast. Thank You So Much for all I watched. Now I have some great Recipes to make with my Daughter and Grandchildren up North. Thank You for Sharing with Everyone. Be Safe and Have a Happy Holiday. Gif Bless. Susie in Florida 🌴

    3. Blenda

      December 27, 2020 at 4:42 pm

      5 stars
      These were amazing and will show up for Christmas again and again!

      Reply
    4. Dorah

      December 13, 2020 at 6:56 pm

      5 stars
      My mom use to make these when I was little. I’ve searched for this recipe for a while and am so happy to finally have found it. She would make the dough and let it sit over night and then we would make the cookies the next day.

      Reply
      • Sam

        December 13, 2020 at 9:43 pm

        I hope you love this one just as much! 🙂

        Reply
    5. michelle

      October 27, 2020 at 11:01 am

      Hate to ask but are the cookies soft and chewy not crunchie right? Looking for family recipie thats a gooey soft cookie.

      Reply
      • Sam

        October 27, 2020 at 11:05 am

        Hi Michelle! These are more on the crisp side, any slice-and-bake style cookie will be. They melt in your mouth and have softer interiors (so long as you don’t over-bake them) but I definitely wouldn’t call these gooey.

        Reply
    6. Brett

      September 02, 2020 at 10:06 am

      5 stars
      These are delicious and so fun! My toddler loved them, perfect size for kids and they can choose the sprinkles etc. My grandma used to make these so fun to carry on the tradition! Her recipe uses a ton of shortening though. 🙁 Thought I would try something new.

      Reply
      • Sam

        September 02, 2020 at 9:57 pm

        I’m so glad everyone enjoyed the cookies, Brett! Thank you so much for giving my recipe a try, I appreciate it 🙂

        Reply
    7. Elle

      August 06, 2020 at 10:49 am

      5 stars
      Great cookies!

      Reply
      • Sugar Spun Run

        August 06, 2020 at 8:52 pm

        I am so glad that you enjoyed them, Elle! Thanks for trying my recipe! 🙂

        Reply
    8. Pam

      May 19, 2020 at 1:36 pm

      5 stars
      Loved these cookies! So good! So easy to make!

      Reply
      • Sugar Spun Run

        May 19, 2020 at 1:49 pm

        I am so glad that you enjoyed them, Pam! 🙂

        Reply
    9. Joan

      May 04, 2020 at 1:53 pm

      I just got done making my dough. In one batch I finely chopped maraschino cherries and 1/2 teaspoon of almond extract 😋. Can’t wait to bake these tomorrow. Love, love, love your recipes!

      Reply
      • Sugar Spun Run

        May 04, 2020 at 2:17 pm

        Thank you! I love the sound of your cookie flavor combination, Joan! Thanks for trying my recipe. I hope that they turn out perfectly when you bake them tomorrow. 🙂

        Reply
    10. Corrin

      April 30, 2020 at 10:03 pm

      Oh my gosh! These look sooooo good! :p I can’t wait to try them!

      Reply
      • Sugar Spun Run

        May 01, 2020 at 7:55 am

        Thanks, Corrin! Enjoy! 🙂

        Reply
    11. Renee

      April 30, 2020 at 3:32 pm

      Thank you for clarification. One question: Where do you get brown parchment paper? I’ve only seen white. Will this make a difference in baking?

      Reply
      • Sugar Spun Run

        May 01, 2020 at 8:53 am

        You are welcome, Renee! I was able to find brown parchment paper at my local Target. Amazon carries it as well. The brown parchment paper doesn’t make a difference in baking, both will work. I also use it to make my own Parchment Paper Muffin Liners. I love the look that it adds to my muffins. 🙂

        Reply
    12. Renee

      April 30, 2020 at 2:44 pm

      In the video, you mention the preheated oven should be 375. The written recipe states 350. Will the bake time remain the same?

      Reply
      • Sugar Spun Run

        April 30, 2020 at 3:01 pm

        Hi, Renee! You want to preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Thanks for pointing that out. I will work to get the video corrected. 🙂

        Reply
    13. Kimberly Goethe

      April 30, 2020 at 12:26 pm

      Can the dough logs be frozen? if so how long would they be good in the freezer

      Reply
      • Sugar Spun Run

        April 30, 2020 at 12:52 pm

        Hi, Kimberly! Yes, they can. Typically cookie dough will last 9-12 months in the freezer. 🙂

        Reply

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    Primary Sidebar

    The author (Sam) in blue shirt holding donut Hi, I'm Sam! I'm dedicated to bringing you sweet, simple, and from-scratch dessert recipes. My life may or may not be controlled by my sweet tooth. Send help (or chocolate). Read more about me.

    Spring Recipes

    lemon cake on white plate

    Lemon Cake

    close-up view of a thick slice of lemon blueberry cake frosted with lemon frosting

    Lemon Blueberry Cake

    pink strawberry cake on white plate

    Strawberry Cake

    three colorful easter sugar cookies decorated like bunny peeps

    Easter Sugar Cookies

    Carrot cake slice

    The Best Carrot Cake Recipe (with Video)

    Assembled strawberry shortcake.

    Strawberry Shortcake

    Most Popular

    flaky biscuit on white cloth

    Easy Homemade Biscuits

    Pizza dough in glass bowl, after rising

    The Best Pizza Dough Recipe

    one bite missing from a slice of vanilla cake with chocolate frosting

    The Best Vanilla Cake Recipe

    stack of 5 chocolate chip cookies

    The WORST Chocolate Chip Cookies

    NEVER MISS A RECIPE!

    places sugar spun run has been featured (Women's Day, Redbook, Good Housekeeping, Country Living, the huffington post, People, Delish, MSN, TLC, Parade, Better Homes & Gardens, Buzzfeed)
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • Youtube

    Privacy Policy|Accessibility Statement

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    ABOUT

    • About Me
    • Policies, Disclosure & Privacy
    • Terms of Use

    CONTACT

    • Contact
    • Work with Me!

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • Youtube

    © 2020 Sugar Spun Run. All Rights Reserved