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My Easy Sugar Cookies made with only a few basic ingredients are mouthwatering, and oh so delicious. A classic holiday recipe that is an absolute favorite.
I love this time of year! I get to bake lots of cookies and share it with all my friends and family. These are made every single year around the holidays and it’s still one of my family’s favorite. I always cover these cookies with my Sugar Cookie Icing recipe.
Why Make These Sugar Cookies?
- Uses simple staple ingredients
- Classic Holiday cookies
- Easy to make
- Everyone’s Favorite
These cookies are simply the best. Your house will smell incredible, I couldn’t wait until they came out of the oven, to anxiously sink my teeth in them.
Ingredient Notes
- Sugar – We’re using white granulated sugar today.
- Butter – Unsalted butter that’s room temperature.
- Vanilla – To enrich the taste.
- Egg – Our binder for this recipe.
- Flour – I use plain all purpose flour.
- Baking Powder – a leavening agent.
- Salt – Balances the sweetness and enhances taste.
How To Make Easy Sugar Cookies
- Cream butter and sugar: To the bowl of you mixer add the sugar and butter. Mix on medium until creamy, light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and continue mixing until combined. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
- Combine the dry ingredients: In another bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt together.
- Finish the cookie dough: Turn down the mixer to low and add half the flour mixture to the butter/sugar mixture and beat until just combined. Add the rest of the flour and continue mixing until just combined. If the dough is a bit too soft add another tbsp of flour, this should help with rolling.
- Chill and set the cookie dough: Cover the dough with plastic wrap and chill for 1 to 2 hours to overnight.
- Preheat the oven: Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- Roll and cut the dough: Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to 1/4″ inch thickness. Cut into desired shapes. Re-roll leftover dough and cut into shapes.
- Bake the cookies: Place cookies 1 inch apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet and bake 9 to 11 minutes. Allow to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before icing.
FAQs and Expert Tips
FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions
What’s The Difference Between A Sugar Cookie And A Shortbread Cookie?
Sugar cookies are typically sweeter than shortbread cookies, and have a lighter, crisper texture. Like shortbread, they are often elaborately decorated.
Should Sugar Cookies Be Soft Or Hard?
While overcooked sugar cookies are certainly still palatable, they’ll be hard and crunchy, instead of soft and chewy.
Can I Skip Chilling Cookie Dough?
Popping your dough in the fridge allows the fats to cool. As a result, the cookies will expand more slowly, holding onto their texture. Cookies made from chilled dough are also much more flavorful.
Tips
- Don’t over mix the dough – Once you add the flour don’t over do it on the mixing or the cookies will become more flat. Over mixing, activates gluten.
- There’s no need to create extra mess – Greasing baking sheets isn’t necessary, it’s easier to use parchment paper to line your baking sheets. You’ll thank me at clean up time!
- Don’t over bake – Keep in mind your cookies will continue to cook once you take them out of the oven.
Storing
Be sure to store these sugar cookies in an airtight container and they last anywhere from 2-3 weeks!
Freezing
You can place these cookies together or individually in an airtight container and they will last up to 3 months!
More Related Recipes
Easy Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup butter unsalted, softened to room temperature
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Cream butter and sugar: To the bowl of you mixer add the sugar and butter. Mix on medium until creamy, light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and continue mixing until combined. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
- Combine the dry ingredients: In another bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt together.
- Finish the cookie dough: Turn down the mixer to low and add half the flour mixture to the butter/sugar mixture and beat until just combined. Add the rest of the flour and continue mixing until just combined. If the dough is a bit too soft add another tbsp of flour, this should help with rolling.
- Chill and set the cookie dough: Cover the dough with plastic wrap and chill for 1 to 2 hours to overnight.
- Preheat the oven: Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- Roll and cut the dough: Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to ¼" inch thickness. Cut into desired shapes. Re-roll leftover dough and cut into shapes.
- Bake the cookies: Place cookies 1 inch apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet and bake 9 to 11 minutes. Allow to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before icing.
Tips & Notes:
- Don’t over mix the dough – Once you add the flour don’t over do it on the mixing or the cookies will become more flat. Over mixing, activates gluten.
- There’s no need to create extra mess – Greasing baking sheets isn’t necessary, it’s easier to use parchment paper to line your baking sheets. You’ll thank me at clean up time!
- Don’t over bake – Keep in mind your cookies will continue to cook once you take them out of the oven.
- Be sure to store these sugar cookies in an airtight container and they last anywhere from 2-3 weeks!
- You can place these cookies together or individually in an airtight container and they will last up to 3 months!
