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Tender, melt-in-your-mouth Amish Sugar Cookies, incredibly quick and easy to make. They may look simple but they pack a lot of buttery flavor with a super soft and tender texture.
Easy Amish Sugar Cookies
If you’ve been following me for a while now, you know I’m all about simple recipes, and this cookie recipe fits the bill perfectly. A super simple sugar cookie recipe the yields the most tender and buttery cookies. Don’t let their simple look fool you.
One bite in one of these cookies and you’ll get the most delicious taste imaginable explode in your mouth. For real! You’re going to want to enjoy these yummy cookies with a glass of milk which is my favorite, a good cup of coffee or tea.
Amish Sugar Cookies Highlights
- Simple But They Pack A Punch. Don’t let their simple look fool you. These cookies are soft and decadent.
- Very Easy To Make. Anyone can make these simple cookies. You basically mix everything together, scoop and bake.
- Great For Sharing. One batch of these babies will yield enough cookies to share with your friends or family, if you’re the sharing type.
- Super Versatile. Easily turn these cookies into something more. Add some lemon zest or lemon extract for a lemon sugar cookie, or add some cocoa powder for a chocolate version. Just use your imagination.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Flour – I used all purpose flour for this recipe. You can also use bread flour in these cookies. Bread flour has more protein and produces more gluten, therefore you end up with a more chewy cookie. You can substitute gluten-free flour at a ratio of 1:1 if you’re gluten free.
- Butter – You’ll need softened unsalted butter. If using salted butter, you can just reduce the salt amount in the cookies.
- Eggs – You’ll need 2 large eggs as our binder for these cookies.
- Sugar – We’re using both granulated sugar and powdered sugar in these cookies.
- Baking Soda – The leavening agent in our Amish sugar cookies to make them tender. You can use baking powder instead just keep in mind that 1/4 teaspoon baking soda equals 1 teaspoon baking powder.
- Cream of Tartar – Cream of tartar also acts as a leavening agent in our cookies and also prevents the sugar from crystallizing. It acts together with the baking soda to make these cookies nice and puffy.
- Vegetable Oil – The oil will soften our cookies and will make them tender and delicious.
- Vanilla – A little bit of vanilla extract goes a long way in cookies, and it helps bring out all the great flavors.
- Salt – Without salt, any baked goods will taste bland.
- Prep the oven. Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- Combine the wet ingredients. To the bowl of your mixer add the butter, oil, granulated sugar and powdered sugar. Mix over medium speed until well combined. Add the eggs and vanilla extract and beat until combined.
- Combine the dry ingredients. In a bowl combine the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt together.
- Combine wet and dry ingredients. Gradually add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix until the flour is well incorporated into the wet ingredients. Do not over-mix.
- Form cookies. Use a cookie scoop to drop teaspoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheet.
- Bake and cool cookies. Transfer baking sheet(s) to the oven and bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool.
Can I Freeze The Cookie Dough?
Absolutely! Simply follow the instructions up to and including step 5 and place the baking sheet(s) in the freezer. Freeze them for an hour, then place all the frozen cookie balls in a freezer bag or an airtight container. You can now freeze them for up to 3 months. Make sure to label your freezer bag or the container with a date, so you can keep track how long they’ve been in the freezer.
How Do I Bake Frozen Cookie Dough?
The great thing is that no thawing is required! Simply place them on a baking sheet and bake them from frozen as instructed, but add an additional 1 to 3 minutes to the baking time.
Can I Freeze These Cookies After Baking?
You sure can! Cool them first to room temperature, then place them in an airtight container in layers with parchment or wax paper in between the layers. Transfer the airtight container to the freezer and freeze for 8 to 12 months.
Expert Tips
- Chilling of the dough is not necessary but you can totally place the baking sheet with cookie dough balls in the refrigerator to chill for a couple hours before baking, especially if you need to make these ahead of time.
- I love using a cookie scoop to scoop this or any cookie dough, it just makes things so much easier. However, you can also take tablespoonfuls of cookie dough and roll them up, you’re looking for golf ball size balls.
- Love chocolate? Melt some chocolate then dip these cookies halfway in the chocolate for a truly decadent treat.
- DO NOT over bake your cookies. Keep in mind that they will continue to cook once you take them out of the oven.
Storing Cookies
Be sure to store these in an airtight container at room temperature and your Amish sugar cookies will last for 2 – 3 weeks! This will ensure you keep the cookies soft and will prevent them from turning hard. If you don’t have an airtight container, add a slice of bread which will keep them soft. It works the same way as you do with brown sugar.
More Must Try Cookie Recipes
- Chocolate Brownie Cookies
- Italian Peach Cookies
- Peanut Butter Brownies
- Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Soft Oatmeal Cookies
- Rugelach Cookies
- Checkerboard Cookies
- Cinnamon Sugar Donut Holes
- Coconut Macaroons
- Snickerdoodles
- Russian Tea Cakes
- Lemon Sugar Cookies
- Butter Cookies
- Italian Almond Cookies
Amish Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter unsalted, softened
- 1 cup vegetable oil such as canola
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 4½ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Prep the oven. Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- Combine the wet ingredients. To the bowl of your mixer add the butter, oil, granulated sugar and powdered sugar. Mix over medium speed until well combined. Add the eggs and vanilla extract and beat until combined.
- Combine the dry ingredients. In a bowl combine the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt together.
- Combine wet and dry ingredients. Gradually add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix until the flour is well incorporated into the wet ingredients. Do not over-mix.
- Form cookies. Use a cookie scoop to drop teaspoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheet.
- Bake and cool cookies. Transfer baking sheet(s) to the oven and bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool.
Tips & Notes:
- Chilling of the dough is not necessary but you can totally place the baking sheet with cookie dough balls in the refrigerator to chill for a couple hours before baking, especially if you need to make these ahead of time.
- I love using a cookie scoop to scoop this or any cookie dough, it just makes things so much easier. However, you can also take tablespoonfuls of cookie dough and roll them up, you’re looking for golf ball size balls.
- Love chocolate? Melt some chocolate then dip these cookies halfway in the chocolate for a truly decadent treat.
- DO NOT over bake your cookies. Keep in mind that they will continue to cook once you take them out of the oven.
These are so good! Could they be made into bars? If so, what size pan and for how long? Thank you.
I’m thrilled you love the Amish Sugar Cookies! You can certainly try making them into bars. I would suggest a 9×13-inch baking dish for a batch. As for baking time, it will likely take a bit longer than the individual cookies. Start checking at around 20 minutes and keep an eye on them until they’re lightly golden and set in the middle. Happy baking!
Hi Jo thank you for the delicious recipe. You were right, they were deceivingly buttery soft and delicious. Only query I had was the batch I made turned out quite thin as opposed to your thick biscuits. I followed your recipe to a tee other than using a 1.5 Tbs scoop (not a teaspoon scoop size. Any thoughts would be most appreciated. Thanks again 🙂
It could have been the butter was too softened, almost melted, you want it to be soft enough to be able to mix it in the batter. You might also want to try to just scoop them and not roll them after you scooped them. Glad you liked them though.