These easy sugar cookies are so soft, chewy, and not-too-sweet! With only 5 minutes of prep, they’re the perfect quick treat to bake throughout the year.
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❤️ Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- The cookies are simply amazing. I love a chewy, soft sugar cookie. And even though I’m only in my 20’s, I know this sugar cookie recipe is one that will be passed down in my family for generations, haha! They’re that good—I promise.
- You won’t need any special equipment. Simply mix everything in one bowl with a flexible silicone spatula, scoop, roll, and bake!
- It’s versatile. Since this is a basic sugar cookie dough, you could zhuzh it up however you like. For example, you could add in some tea leaves to make delicious earl grey sugar cookies! Or, add a half cup of sprinkles for a colorful look.
Looking for more simple cookie recipes? Try out my mini sugar cookies, black sesame cookies with white chocolate, or teddy bear cookies!
Ingredients
To make the best sugar cookie recipe from scratch, you’ll need the following ingredients:
- Melted unsalted butter makes the sugar cookie dough really easy to mix by hand.
- I like to use a mix of brown sugar and granulated sugar to create the perfect balance of flavor and chew. You can use light or dark brown sugar; dark brown sugar will just give you a deeper butterscotch flavor.
- Adding in both baking powder and baking soda gives us the exact texture and rise we’re aiming for!
- You can use either vanilla extract or vanilla paste (1:1) in this recipe.
For the full list of ingredients and measurements, see the recipe card below.
💡 Baking Tips
- Weigh your ingredients! One of my favorite kitchen tools is a kitchen scale because it’s more accurate than measuring by volume. If you use cups, spoon the flour in gently, then level it with a knife or spatula.
- For rounder cookies, place a large circular cutter or mug on top of a freshly baked, warm cookie. Move it around in a circular motion until your cookie is perfectly round! This step is totally optional and purely for plating purposes! 🙂
How to Make Soft And Chewy Sugar Cookies
Step 1: Mix together melted butter with brown and granulated sugars until fully combined.
Step 2: Add in egg and vanilla until smooth.
Step 3: Stir in dry ingredients until no dry spots remain. Cover and chill in fridge for 30 minutes. Use a cookie scoop (2-3 tablespoon capacity) to gather dough, then roll into sugar. Place cookie dough balls on lined baking sheet 3-4 inches apart—they will spread quite a bit!
Step 4: Bake sugar cookies at 350°F/177°C for 9-11 minutes, or until edges are slightly golden and middles are mostly set. Remove from oven let cookies sit on tray for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to fully cool. Enjoy!
For full instructions, see the recipe card below.
Sugar Cookie FAQs
Sure! Feel free to add half a cup of whatever mix-in you like when adding the dries. You can add M&Ms, chocolate chips/chunks, crushed pretzels, etc.
It helps to use a kitchen scale to ensure you are adding the correct amount of ingredients!
I also recommend scooting the cookies immediately after baking. This makes them rounder and yields that crinkled look as they cool.
They can last at room temperature in an airtight container for up 5 days. See my storage instructions for more information.
Storage
If you’d like to make the cookies ahead of time, you can freeze raw cookie dough balls for up to 3 months. Bake as usual (add 2-3 minutes to the baking time), making sure to roll them in sugar before putting them in the oven!
- Room temperature: Store cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
- Freezing instructions: Store cooled cookies in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months.
- Reheating instructions: Allow frozen cookies to thaw at room temperature for about 15 minutes. Or, reheat in the microwave at 10-second intervals.
😋 More Cookie Recipes
Did you try this recipe?
Please leave a review & share it with me on Instagram, Facebook, Tiktok, or Pinterest!
Thank you so much! -Bianca ❤️
📖 Recipe & Video
Sugar Cookies (Soft & Chewy)
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Equipment
- 1 small bowl or plate for rolling dough in sugar
- 1 medium mixing bowl for dry ingredients
- 1 large mixing bowl for mixing dough
- 1 Medium cookie scoop 2-3 tablespoon capacity
- Parchment Paper
Ingredients
Dry ingredients:
- 1 ½ cups (187.5 g) all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon (2 g) baking soda
- ½ teaspoon (2 g) baking powder
- ½ teaspoon (3 g) fine sea salt or table salt
Wet ingredients:
- ½ cup (113.5 g) unsalted butter melted and cooled
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (55 g) light or dark brown sugar packed
- 1 tablespoon (4 g) vanilla extract or paste
- 1 (1) egg room temperature
For rolling:
- 4 tablespoons (48 g) granulated sugar
Instructions
For the cookie dough:
- In a large bowl, use silicone spatula to mix melted ½ cup unsalted butter, ½ cup granulated sugar, and ¼ cup light or dark brown sugar until smooth.
- Mix in 1 egg and 1 tablespoon vanilla until smooth.
- Add in all of the dry ingredients: 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour, ½ teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda, and ½ teaspoon fine sea salt. Mix until no dry spots remain.
- Cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes or up to 2 days.
Scoop & bake cookies:
- Preheat oven to 350°F/177°C and line two baking trays with parchment paper.
- In a small bowl or plate, add 4 tablespoons granulated sugar for rolling the dough.
- Use cookie dough scoop to gather dough (2-3 tablespoons). Roll into granulated sugar and place on lined baking tray, spacing cookies about 3-4 inches apart.
- Bake one tray at a time for 9-11 minutes, or until edges are slightly golden brown and middles are mostly set. Cool cookies on pan for 5 minutes, then transfer cookies to wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy!Tip (highly recommended!): For rounder cookies, place a large circular cutter or mug on top of a freshly baked, warm cookie. Move it around in a circular motion until your cookie is perfectly round.
Notes
- Weigh your ingredients! One of my favorite kitchen tools is a kitchen scale because it’s more accurate than measuring by volume. If you use cups, spoon the flour in gently, then level it with a knife or spatula.
- Room temperature: Store cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
- Freezing instructions: Store cooled cookies in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. You can also freeze raw cookie dough balls for up to 3 months and bake as usual; just add a few minutes to the baking time.
- Reheating instructions: Allow frozen cookies to thaw at room temperature for about 10 minutes. Or, reheat in the microwave at 10-second intervals.
(I am the author of this recipe)
OBSESSED with these cookies! SO delicious and easy.