Classic, quick and easy sugar cookies recipe, homemade with simple ingredients from scratch. Soft and chewy! No chilling required. Flavored with vanilla and almond extracts. Enjoy them plain or frost them in buttercream icing.
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These traditional and classic cookies have been in the family for years and we make them for all occasions like birthday parties, weddings and especially Christmas holidays. This is absolutely a no fail recipe and even beginners who have never baked in their life can make them. They are even easy enough to make with kids just like my Best Shortbread Cookies (3 Ingredients) and these Rolled or Cut Out Sugar Cookies.
Key ingredients
- Flour- All-purpose works best for this particular baked good.
- Butter- Be sure to use unsalted butter for best results.
- Sugar- Granulated is all you need to bring in that delicious sweetness.
- Eggs- These always mix best with other ingredients when at room temperature.
- Extracts- Both almond and vanilla are used for the ultimate flavor.
- Leavening agents- Both, baking powder and baking soda, are used in this recipe to help these cookies expand and rise during baking and help with their texture.
Variations
- Instead of vanilla extract- You can also use vanilla bean but that will add little black specks in the dough.
- Make frosted cookies or cookie sandwiches- Use this Classic American Buttercream Frosting or Marshmallow Frosting or White Chocolate Buttercream Frosting or even Cream Cheese Frosting. Icing can also be tinted with gel coloring to make them more festive (E.g. Pink for Valentine's Day, green for St.Patrick's Day e.t.c.)
- You can color cookie dough with food coloring- I highly recommend using gel food coloring since it's thicker and more concentrated and doesn't the make the dough wet and sticky.
- Pack them up nicely- To make a lovely homemade gift. Check out this post on easy Food and Cookie Packaging Ideas and this post on how to make Homemade Christmas Cookie Boxes.
- For cookies and cream flavor- Mix in ⅓ cup cup chopped Oreos.
- Drizzle on- Some Royal Icing or Glace Icing or even melted chocolate on top of the cookies once they cool fully. These will dry hard. For a semi-hard topping, you can drizzle glazes such as Powdered Sugar Glaze (Vanilla Cake Glaze) or this Easy Chocolate Glaze and even this Lemon Glaze (Drizzle Icing).
- For birthdays- Mix in colorful rainbow sprinkles in the dough like I did with these Easy Funfetti Cookies (Cut Out).
- Try other extracts- Such as peppermint, orange, maple, or lemon.
- Mix in zest- From an orange or lemon for a little zing.
- Mix in chopped nuts- Such as cashews, walnuts, pistachios, or pecans.
How to make best easy soft and chewy sugar cookies recipe from scratch?
- Cream together- Butter and sugar.
- Mix in- Eggs and extracts.
- Add in- Flour, baking powder, and baking soda.
- Make dough- Into small balls.
- Roll- The dough in sugar.
- Bake- Until done, cool, and enjoy.
Tips and techniques
- All ingredients should be at room temperature- Because that allows them to blend together smoothly and evenly.
- Don't over-mix the dough- Because that will make very tough cookies
- Use unsalted butter- To prevent cookies from becoming too salty.
- Don't replace butter with oil- Because that will change the consistency of the dough and make it very sticky.
- I have tested this recipe with other types of flours- And all-purpose gave the best soft and chewy texture.
- Almond extract is optional- It only adds a hint of flavor. It is a strong extract and I highly advise you to go easy on the quantity. A small amount goes a long way.
- If the dough is difficult to handle or feels sticky- Cover bowl with saran wrap and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes to make it easier to roll into balls.
- Line pans with parchment paper- To ensure cookies don't stick to the pan.
Recipe FAQs
This can happen if you don't chill the dough for about 15 minutes before baking or if you are not careful in measuring your ingredients. Too much butter is often the culprit. Also, some people like to flatten the cookie dough balls before baking, but don't do this if you want them to look right.
This can happen if over-baked or if ingredients are measured properly. Too much flour, for example, can do this.
No, they are not the same. My Best Snickerdoodles Cookies have a spiced flavor and are rolled in cinnamon sugar. They also typically have cream of tartar as one of the main ingredients. These cookies, on the other hand, are loaded with vanilla flavor and rolled in granulated sugar. Both cookies have a soft and chewy texture though.
Storage
- Refrigerate- Store in a sealed container for up to 1 week.
- Freeze- Place in an airtight container for up to 1 month. Thaw, frost if desired, and enjoy. You can even freeze cookie dough balls in an air-tight container for up to 1 month. When you are ready to enjoy them, remove from freezer and bake. Just note that the baking time will be slightly longer since the dough was frozen.
- Room temperature- You can leave this in the cookie jar for up to 3 days.
- Make ahead- Make them 1-2 days in advance. You can also refrigerate or freeze them beforehand for longer if you follow the directions above.
More classic cookies
- Chocolate Sugar Cookies (Cut Out Recipe)
- Red Velvet Cookies (With Cake Mix)
- Easy Gingerbread Cookies (With Cake Mix)
- Snowball Cookies (Wedding Cookies)
- Chocolate Haystack Cookies (No Bake)
Recipe
Easy Soft and Chewy Sugar Cookies
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Ingredients
- 1 cup Butter Unsalted, Room temperature
- 1 cup Granulated sugar
- 1 Egg Large, Room temperature
- 1 tablespoon Vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon Almond extract Optional
- 2.5 cups All-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon Baking soda
- ½ teaspoon Baking powder
Topping
- ½ cup Granulated sugar For rolling cookie dough balls
Instructions
- In a large mixing bow, cream together butter sand sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add egg, extracts and mix until smooth.
- Add flour, baking powder, baking soda and mix until just combined to a cook dough consistency.
- Scoop out small portions of the dough and make balls.
- Roll in a bowl of granulated sugar.
- Place them on a cookie tray, lined with parchment paper.
- Bake at 350 degrees F for 12 minutes or until edges are firm and light golden brown.
- Allow them to cool to room temperature and enjoy!
Notes
- All ingredients must be at room temperature so that they blend together smoothly and evenly.
- Be sure to line your pans with parchment paper to ensure cookies don't stick to the pan.
- Please use unsalted butter so that the cookies don't end up too salty.
- Almond extract has a strong flavor. A small quantity goes a long way.
- Instead of vanilla extract, you can use vanilla bean paste too.
- Color dough if you like, to make colorful cookies. Use gel food coloring.
- If your dough is sticky (although it really shouldn't be if you measured all the ingredients properly), chill in fridge for 30 minutes to make it easier to handle.
- Read additional tips and variations above.
- Leftovers can be stored in a sealed cookie jar at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Nutrition
An automated tool is used to calculate the nutritional information. As such, I cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information provided for any recipe on this site.
Sharon
Made these cookies for office luncheon for valentine’s. The cookies were soft and tasty. Rolled in pink and red sugar. Turned out great and will definitely make again.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Lisa
I've made these cookies several times and they are always perfect. Best sugar cookie recipe I've tried. it's now my go to recipe. Thanks for sharing.
Nicole
I think this is my third or fourth year making these and they are the best sugar cookie ever! I used salted butter!
Abeer Rizvi
You have no idea how happy that makes me. Have a great holiday!