The Best Sugar Cookie Recipe
When Nancy and I were little, our favorite time of the year was Christmas (okay, it still is). Our mom would begin baking two weeks before Christmas to make sure she got everything done. One of the first things she would make was sugar cookies. We would sit around the table, listen to Christmas Carols, and frost cookies. Nancy and I have continued that tradition. We have gone through many different recipes. Some didn’t taste good, but held their shape. Some were delicious, but spread so much you couldn’t tell what the cookie shape was supposed to be. We finally found the best sugar cookie recipe. The cookies turn out delicious and keep the shape of whatever cookie cutter you use. Sugar cookies used to be Christmas only for us, and now we make them all year long.
How to Make the Sugar Cookie Dough
Step 1: Add the 4 sticks (2 cups) of butter and 2 cups of white sugar to your mixer. A word about the butter, we use Sweet Cream Salted Butter when we are baking and I think it tastes great with these sugar cookies too. The butter needs to be softened but still cold. A prime culprit for dry sugar cookie dough is butter than is too warm and soft. I let the butter sit out on the counter for just under an hour before I start making the cookies – this seems to be the perfect amount of time for me. The butter is still cold to the touch but you can press into the stick with your fingers. In the past, when in a rush, I have softened the butter in the microwave but inevitably the dough that I get is on the “crumbly” side.
Step 2: Cream the butter and sugar until it is completely mixed (3 minutes on medium-high should do the trick.)
Step 3: Add 2 tablespoons of vanilla and 2 eggs. I know that sounds like a lot of vanilla but this recipe needs a little extra moisture and the cookies will taste great.
Step 4: Mix the cookie dough until light and fluffy (about 3 more minutes.)
Step 5: Add 4 teaspoons of Baking Powder and mix.
Step 6: Mix in the 6 cups of flour two cups at a time. Don’t overmix the dough when you are adding the dry ingredients. Mix it only until the flour is incorporated into the dough.
Step 7: This is what the dough should look like after you have added the 6 cups of Flour. The flour should be completely incorporated and the dough should be firm but not dry or crumbly. If the dough seems drier than this, add a tiny bit of vanilla or milk (start with a teaspoon) and mix again. You do not need to chill this dough before cutting out the cookies. In fact, the cookies come out best if the dough hasn’t been chilled.
Baking Instructions
Step 8: Roll a handful of the dough out on a prepared surface until it’s about 3/8″ thick.
Step 9: Cut out shapes with cookie cutters.
Step 10: Bake in an oven pre-heatd to 350 degrees for 6-10 minutes depending on the size of the cookie cutter you used.
Step 11: Do not over-bake! We like thicker sugar cookies so they will hold a good amount of frosting. If you make your cookies on the thick side as we have done in the pictures here, you should cook them 9-10 minutes. They might not look done to you but they are. Take them out of the oven. You don’t want them to start browning around the edges the way a Chocolate Chip Cookie would, for example. The cookies should be set and just bet starting to slightly brown around the edges. Over-baking is the prime culprit if you feel your sugar cookies seem dry. If you roll out thinner cookies, or use smaller cookie cutters than the ones we have used here, you should only bake the cookies 6 or 7 minutes.
Step 12: These cookies taste amazing and they really hold their shape. And most importantly, they don’t poof up too much or flatten out into a cookie blob.
The Best Frosting for Sugar Cookies
Let your cookies cool and then they are ready for frosting. We use our Best Buttercream Frosting recipe with these Best Sugar Cookies. The frosting is easy to color and tastes so delicious and yummy on these Sugar Cookies. You will have all the tips and tricks to make this yummy homemade sugar cookie frosting right here.
Expert Tips and FAQ’s
This recipe will make a lot of cookies but the actual number depends on the size of the cookie cutters you are using. Using large-ish cookie cutters, we made 36 cookies. If you only need a couple of dozen cookies, you can cut this recipe in half.
Both the eggs and the butter should be at room temperature which will help your cookies turn out lighter and fluffier. For the eggs, room temperature simply means not cold out of the refrigerator. If you forget to take the eggs out before you start making cookie dough you can put the eggs in a bowl of warm water for 5-10 minutes to warm them up. The butter also needs to be softened to room temperature which means if you touch it you should leave an indentation on the stick of butter. Do not use butter that has been over-softened or melted. If that happens you should use a different stick of butter or put it back into the refrigerator to let it set up. We have a whole post about How to Soften Butter, click here if you need more information on how to do that.
Yes. In our opinion, you need some kind of a mixer to make a good cookie dough. A stand mixer, while expensive, is a great investment if you believe you have a lot of homemade baked goods in your future. An electric hand-mixer also works well and you can probably find one for around $20. You can hand mix cookie dough in a pinch (which is how we did it growing up), but you will really have to use a lot of muscle to cream the butter and sugar and eggs properly.
Creaming the butter, sugar and then mixing the eggs in is the most important part of the cookie dough mixing process. Creaming is when you fully incorporate the butter and sugar together and add some much needed air to the dough. We recommend creaming the butter and sugar for 3 minutes on medium-high speed and then mixing the butter/sugar/eggs for another 3 minutes at the same speed. Once you add the flour, you want to mix the dough as little as possible. Mix it too much and you will get tough cookies. Mix in the flour on low speed and continue mixing ONLY until the dry ingredients are incorporated into the dough. Make sure you scrape down the sides and the bottom to make sure all the flour has gotten mixed in.
We always line our cookie sheets with a piece of parchment paper, it keeps the cookie from sticking to the sheet and from over-browning. You can find parchment paper either in rolls or in pre-cut sheets in most grocery stores, and we highly recommend it. Ideally, you should use at least 2 cookie sheets when baking cookies. You don’t want to add the raw cookie dough to a cookie sheet that is hot out of the oven. The dough will start baking even before you get it in the oven.
Everyone’s oven is different. We recommend starting with a test bake with a single cookie to help you hone in on the exact baking time for your oven. You should set your timer for 2 minutes less than whatever the recipe recommends. Once the timer goes off, open up the oven and see how your cookie is baking. Make corrections accordingly. Our oven has a hot spot in the back so we always rotate the cookie sheet half-way through the baking time to get a more even bake. Although this may seem like an unnecessary step, it is better to do this then burn a whole tray of cookies.
Cookies should always be stored in an airtight container. They should be completely cooled before storing them. We usually add a layer of parchment paper between each row of frosted cookies in our plastic container. Cookies stored at room temperature should stay fresh for 3-4 days. You can also keep them in the refrigerator and that extends their freshness for up to a week. If you need them to last longer, you can freeze them for up to 3 months. You can pull them out of the freezer and leave them on the counter for 1 hour and they will be ready to eat.
Other Cookie Recipes You will love
Did you Make This Recipe? Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @twosisterscrafting on Instagram so we can see it!
And don’t forget to follow us on Pinterest, Facebook, and Instagram!
Sugar Cookies How-To Video
The Best Sugar Cookie Recipe
We have The Best Sugar Cookie Recipe ever and we can't wait to share it so that everyone can have super yummy homemade sugar cookies that always keep their shape.
Ingredients
- 2 cups Sweet Cream Salted Butter (softened)
- 2 cups Granulated Sugar
- 2 Large Eggs
- 2 tablespoons Vanilla Extract
- 4 teaspoons Baking Powder
- 6 cups All-Purpose Flour
Instructions
- Add the 4 sticks (2 cups) of butter and 2 cups of white sugar to your mixer. A word about the butter, we use Sweet Cream Salted Butter when we are baking and I think it tastes great with these sugar cookies too. The butter needs to be softened but still cold. A prime culprit for dry sugar cookie dough is butter that is too warm and soft. I let the butter sit out on the counter for just under an hour before I start making the cookies - this seems to be the perfect amount of time for me. The butter is still cold to the touch but you can press into the stick with your fingers. In the past, when in a rush, I have softened the butter in the microwave but inevitably the dough that I get is on the "crumbly" side.
- Cream the butter and sugar until it is completely mixed (3 minutes on medium-high should do the trick.)
- Add 2 tablespoons of vanilla and 2 eggs. I know that sounds like a lot of vanilla but this recipe needs a little extra moisture and the cookies will taste great.
- Mix the cookie dough until light and fluffy (about 3 more minutes.)
- Add 4 teaspoons of Baking Powder and mix.
- Mix in the 6 cups of flour two cups at a time. Don't over-mix the dough when you are adding the dry ingredients. Mix it only until the flour is incorporated into the dough.
- After you have added the 6 cups of Flour the dough should be firm but not dry or crumbly. If the dough seems to dry, add a tiny bit of vanilla or milk (start with a teaspoon) and mix again.
- Roll a handful of the dough out on a prepared surface until it's about 3/8" thick.
- Cut out shapes with cookie cutters.
- Bake in an oven pre-heated to 350 degrees for 6-10 minutes depending on the size of the cookie cutter you used. Do not over-bake! We like thicker sugar cookies so they will hold a good amount of frosting. If you make your cookies on the thick side as we have done in the pictures here, you should cook them 9-10 minutes. They might not look done to you but they are. Take them out of the oven. You don't want them to start browning around the edges the way a Chocolate Chip Cookie would, for example. The cookies should be set and just bet starting to slightly brown around the edges. Over-baking is the prime culprit if you feel your sugar cookies seem dry. If you roll out thinner cookies, or use smaller cookie cutters than the ones we have used here, you should only bake the cookies 6 or 7 minutes.
- Let your cookies cool and then they are ready for frosting. We use our Best Buttercream Frosting recipe with these Best Sugar Cookies. The frosting is easy to color and tastes so delicious and yummy on these Sugar Cookies. You will have all the tips and tricks to make this yummy homemade sugar cookie frosting right here.
Did you Make this Recipe? Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @twosisterscrafting on Instagram so we can see it!
I love, love this recipe! I only came across it about six weeks ago, but I’ve made dozens and dozens of these cookies since then. The only thing I change is to add a little almond extract and reduce the vanilla extract by the same amount. I was looking for a recipe where I didn’t have to chill the dough. The cookies come out perfect every single time.
This is my favorite cookie recipe! I’ve used this one for years and won’t try anything else. I would like to know if you have ever froze the raw dough?
Love, love, love this recipe. I was looking for a new recipe because I hate having to chill the dough. Who has time for that? This recipe delivered on its promise that the cookies would keep their shape without chilling. Plus they taste so good. I made these for a bake sale at school and they sold out so quickly and I got a lot of compliments on them.
this is a really easy and good recipe. i halved the recipe as all i had was 1 cup butter. is there a way/amount to make the cookies a bit more sweet? more sugar? how much?
Excellent recipe! I added zest from one orange and orange extract. I did chill after shaping cookies. They kept their shape and had an delicious flavor and texture. Not too sweet after adding royal icing.
I love to bake and will do most anything, but until I found this recipe, I avoided making sugar cookies! This is a game changer especially when added to the buttercream icing! I agree with you! The more vanilla, the better. Thanks
Hands down the best sugar cookie recipe ever! Every time I bake a batch I end up getting requests for the recipe (and when I do, I share the link to this webpage because I love how you gave step by step instructions WITH PHOTOS)! This cookie keeps it’s shape beautifully so there is no question as to what it’s supposed to be when it comes out of the oven and is frosted. How many times have you looked at a platter of home baked christmas cookies and wondered, “Is that cookie supposed to be a Santa hat? Or maybe a stocking?” and then come to find out it was supposed to look like a reindeer?? LOL Well, with this cookie dough there is no question as to what shape you have made. Shape aside, because in the grand scheme of things when it comes to cookies, the presentation is only second to the taste and these cookies taste AMAZING! I always make them exactly as the recipe is written, no substitutions, and just like the recipe says, the dough does not need to be refrigerated beforehand which is great! I wish there was a way to post a photo of my cookies with my review so you can see how nice they come out. Just take my word for it and use this recipe! FYI I bought a rolling pin from Amazon that had those little measuring spools you could interchange to get the same dough thickness – I then rolled the cookies out using the 3’8 size like the recipe suggests.
Where has this recipe been all my life? Every year I ask my friends on Facebook about a recipe for sugar cookies. Every year I try a new one that someone has recommended…and every year my family begs me to stop because they are horrible! Until this year! I asked again this year and a friend tagged your website with the ABSOLUTE BEST SUGAR COOKIE RECIPE EVER!!! It worked! It finally worked! My daughter came home from work and said “oh you tried sugar cookies again?” I said “I promise you are going to love them.” And with a chuckle, she tried an non-iced cookie. Her words “oh my, they are really good!” I am so excited about your recipe and finally helping me achieve and master the sugar cookie! My family loves them without icing for now. I’m getting ready to try your royal icing recipe today and sit and ice/decorate these wonderful tasting cookies! I just can not praise this recipe enough! I don’t usually write reviews, but after years of trying and failing, your recipe is definitely one that will be used for many years to come and it deserves to be reviewed as the best recipe ever!!!!
Oh my goodness, these cookies were so easy to make and I didn’t have to refrigerate them for a couple of hours so they will keep the shape you cut them into. It saved me so much time. thank you. This is definitely a reciepe I will keep using. Your cookies were delicious. Thanks again
We love this recipe. My husband would like them a little sweet. Is it possible to add a little more sugar? I don’t want them to lose their shape when we bake.
O.M.G !!! Thank you a thousand times ! This recipe is what I have been looking for ! Delicious ! Basic ingredients! No multi step chilling process, chilling pans (except to cool to put more cookies on to bake)….. I was looking for a recipe that didn’t need chilling, could be made – rolled and baked immediately, that would hold a stamped impression without losing definition and tasted wonderful ( not too sweet). I have officially added it to my recipe binder ! Look no further people ! This is amazing !
I used 1.5 – 2″ cutters with plunger for impressions and it yielded over 200 cookies. Thank you again !!
I’ve made these sugar cookies 3 times ( my favorite sugar cookie recipe )but I’d like to add almond extract. How much vanilla and almond extract do I add? I can’t get it right.
These cookies are delicious! Just wondering if you have ever tried brown sugar instead of regular white sugar before?
We’ve never tried that … what an interesting idea. We’re adding this to our must-try list.
Love these cookies made them for my grandsons wedding now my granddaughter wants them for hers but she wants sugar on top no icing should I sprinkle it on before baking thank you
I just made these yesterday afternoon for Valentine’s Day. The dough came together so fast! This is probably one of the easiest recipes I have ever followed. I followed the recipe to a T and the came out great! These cookies are very tender and have a soft chew, yet hold their shape beautifully.
I will say, I did have two cookies from my first bath break, but that’s because they were too thin, you want to make sure you keep your cookies on the thicker side, and they’ll be perfect!
Definitely saving this recipe, thank you so much!!!
-K
This is definitely the perfect sugar cookie recipe. They taste wonderful, you don’t have to chill the dough, and the cookies do not spread at all. I have been looking for a sugar cookie recipe like this. If you have been–look no further!
Since the most recent comment is over a year old, I just thought I’d leave a more recent comment to assure anyone who is looking to bake a soft, delicious, sweet but not overly sweet, dense sugar cookie that holds its shape beautifully and will get a ton of compliments, that THIS IS THE RECIPE FOR YOU! Best thing about it is the dough doesn’t have to be chilled! I get asked for this recipe all the time and happily share the link to this page. I wish there was a way to insert a photo of the way my cookies turn out on here but since I can’t you will just have to believe me that they look and taste awesome!
Waooo this cookies was just too much. Thanks, everyone was asking for more.
The dough cracked on the edges making it more difficult to work with, But the Cookies are delicious! They have a rich buttery flavor and the cookie seems to melt in your mouth and is very tender. I would give the taste and final outcome a 10
These are the absolute BEST sugar cookies I have ever made! They baked beautifully and no brown crispy edges. The amount of baking powder concerned me – but they didn’t e pans and lose shape! And the buttery flavor is mmmm! I FaceTimed my sis the cookies I made and sent her the link to the recipe. I can’t wait to decorate them! Thank you for sharing this recipe.
I made these tonight. VERY GOOD cookies. My dough was very crumbly and dry. Going to try with 5 cups of flour next time. Anyone else have issues with crumby, dry dough? Still loved them and super easy!
This literally is the first cookie recipe I found on here that actually worked I love them thanks so much!
These turned out wonderful. This will be our go to sugar cookie recipe from now on thank you!!
This is the best recipe! I made as directed, except added some almond extract and homemade vanilla paste instead of the vanilla extract. Used a tumbler to cut circle shapes that are a bit thinner than the pictured ones here, and baked for 7 minutes. Perfectly done! Thanks for the recipe!
I’ve tried making sugar cookies in the past. They never come out right. These though…these are amazing! The texture and flavor is perfect. I love that this is a no-chill dough making it so much easier to work with. Thanks!
Searched for years for a good sugar cookie recipe and I finally found it. This will now be my go to sugar cookie recipe.
One change I made was to bake the cookies longer as I thought baking as directed the cookies came out underbaked. I made large thick cookies as instructed. Baking until edges of tops are lightly browned made the cookies perfect.
This is a simple recipe with delicious results. Best part is the dough can be rolled out as soon as it’s made. No need to refrigerate first. So happy to come across it.
2nd year making these and they are absolutely delicious! We go just a bit thinner at 1/4 inch and they still hold up well to handle. Thanks for all your tips in the recipe they really help! And we had so much fun decorating as a family!
Thank you! This is by far the best sugar cookie recipe. It was so easy to put together and cut out. It held the shape and tasted great.
I have been searching high and low for a no fail, zero refrigeration, and not too puffy sugar cookie. My cookies held their shape and do not resemble anything from the Ghostbusters movie! I can not wait to frost tomorrow night!
By the time I got to putting these on a pan, all my “help” decided they were done. I dropped these with a 1.5-2oz scoop. I got 4 dozen and had around 1/3 the dough left.
Thank you so much, they’re just so easy make and good.
These were nice. Definitely not on the sweet side in my opinion so I dipped them in chocolate!
These are thee best sugar cookies-the recipe is easy and the cookies turn out amazing! Have you ever frozen them (no frosting)? I was going to get a head start on then for my sons birthday on 12/19
This is the perfect cookie recipe. Thank you!! It never fails and is easy.
I have been baking sugar cookies for decades for weddings, Christmas, birthdays, showers and every other occasion. This is THE BEST recipe I have ever used. The dough is wonderful, crisp edges AND they taste good. I only used 5 cups of flour and they turn out perfect. On my 4th batch and am so impressed! Thank you for posting it!
Best Sugar Cookie Recipe BY FAR! Every year I try a different recipe endlessly searching for a good one! The search is over! This was easily the best dough I’ve ever worked with and the cookies taste DELICIOUS!!! Thank you
“THE BEST SUGAR COOKIE RECIPE” absolutely the only sugar cookie recipe I use! It is absolutely delicious and does not spread. I can cut your recipe in 1/2 with no problem BUT is there a way to make a smaller batch than half? Sometimes I just want to practice decorating or need a very small amount of cookies. Appreciate your feedback.
I thoroughly enjoyed making this recipe and have saved it for use in the future! The kids and grandkids loved them! I couldn’t see in the recipe how many it made and knew by the quantity of flour it was going to be a massive batch! In total I made 220 cookies!!!
They lasted mere days in our house!
Be prepared to be baking for a few hours! A+++ recipe
I made these a few weekends ago. Did half of the vanilla extract and subbed the other half with lemon emulsion. The cookies were SO good. They were a tiny bit thicker than I’d like so I’ll try rolling them out to 1/4″ next ti.e and keeping an eye on the baking time. But the cookies were wonderful.
I always try your cookie recipes for our special celebration of Eid; where I usually make camels (with very thin legs and neck). This recipe never fail to suprise me as how good the dough holds the miniscule details. I have to make more cookies for an engagement a month in advance but this time around I have 2 kids so will have to pace myself out with the baking and the icing.
Last time i froze my baked cookies in a container in between parchment paper and aluminium foil but they ended up being soft so i baked them for 2 mins at 350 to crisp them up again.
This time around I want to freeze them as unbaked rolled cut out cookies. Like rolling the dough out and cutting the shapes and then freezing them, then taking them out and baking them. Have you ever tried doing that before? and would it lose its flavor if i do it this way? Should I bake them directly from the freezer or should i wait for them to come to room temperature?
I searched high and low for the “perfect” sugar cookie recipe and something wasn’t right with each recipe I tried. I stumbled upon Two Sister’s and they haven’t failed me yet. The comments I received from each customer has been amazing, I ow that to these ladies.
Last time I made the recipe, I tried using 1 tablespoon vanilla and 1 tablespoon almond extract and they were divine, I probably gained 10 pounds!!
I was skeptical about a no-chill sugar cookie recipe, but these were amazing! They taste great, they kept their shape, and they were super easy to make.
hi Laurie! Very good recipe!..I did have to add more flour but I cut recipe in half..could change the recipe?..I usually use wilton but I wanted to try a diff one..but after I added flour still came out very good!..A+..!
First time ever leaving a comment on any recipe. Made these today, turned out amazing! I followed the recipe exactly except mine baked closer to 10 minutes. They remained soft on inside and semi crunchy on outside. Dough was perfect, not too crumbly at all. Perfect. My new go to!
Wow,, this is THE BEST recipe for sugar cookies I’ve ever made. I did refrigerator for about an hour and then cut out the cookies. They tasted so good. No way to eat just one……or two…….!
This is the best recipe ever! And the buttercream icing on them is a dream come true. When exceptional cookies are required, start with this recipe. Big return and little effort.
With all my heart, thank you for sharing this recipe! When the teacher asked my 5 yr old grandson what to do to make family happy, he replied “make hot chocolate and [these] cookies.” Truly, these are the best!
Amazing recipe. I loved the way the cookies came out…..so so good. Thank you so much for your recipe.
I saved my dough for the next day and I made sure the dough is room temp but the dough is kind of crumbly… How can I salvage my left over dough…..Should I remix and keep adding milk or water, teaspoon at a time or a tablespoon…..pls help
I have been making sugar cookies for 40 years
Always hated having to chill the dough and using unsalted butter (never have unsalted on hand)
These were the softest , best tasting sugar cookies I have ever made…..the easiest too !!!
this recipe rocks! I halved it since I’ve never made it before and didn’t want to waste if it wasn’t like by my family. Instead of using icing of any kind, I made heart shaped sandwich cookies with a thin layer of creamed honey. The soft crumbly texture of the cookie with the honey was just perfect and light without being super sweet
Omg these cookies are amazing, especially right out of the oven. My family has always believed that the humble sugar cookie was but a conveyance for buttercream frosting, a means to an end. Not these cookies, I have a major sweet tooth but both my husband and I agree that they have such a great taste on their own. The tiniest of snaps on the surface, then that wonderful buttery collapse into dense cookie, deep vanilla and gentle sweetness. Thank you fir this amazing recipe!
Originally we only made a half batch because we were also making so many other Christmas cookie recipes… boy was that a mistake! We ended up making another batch just two days later because we went through the first half batch so quickly! This paired with their buttercream frosting is incredible! I did have to bake these for about twice the amount of time the recipe suggested, this may be because I used an air bake cookie pan or because my cookie cutters were larger or something?? 10/10 would recommend! This recipe will be added to my Christmas recipes for next year too.
These are SO good. They are also incredibly EASY! I rolled my dough 4 times. The first 2 times there was absolutely no spread. The last times 2 only yielded one or two cookies & was done purely for snacking. Even those didn’t spread terribly much.
The day after baking, the flavor was AMAZING. The texture soft, chewy, and a tiny bit sandy. They were so good, they didn’t get icing. We just ate them plain.
I’ve never made homemade sugar cookies before. I usually just buy a mix to make cookies to decorate with my kids for Santa. I decided to try this recipe and they turned out amazing! They were so delicious and did not spread. Thank you so much! My girls and husband loved them.
Let me start with: I am NOT a baker. Chocolate chip cookies are the only baked good I have patience for. I’ve never made sugar cookies before (well, I once made some that turned into big soft blobs) but this one actually worked! I easily halved the recipe and baked the dough without chilling (I thought chilling was so crucial but I trusted in the recipe!) The cookies held their shape and were perfect for decorating. I posted pics on Instagram and I had friends sending me their past failed attempts at sugar cookies. I am evangelizing this recipe because it is a total breeze. BTW, I only have a hand mixer, which was a little challenging because the dough kept building up in the beaters but I just cleared it out a few times. I also might try almond extract next time for a little excitement.
I’ve been using this recipe for a while now after trying many recipes over the years. I needed the perfect sugar cookie for decorating sugar cookies and these are perfect. They hold their shape really well and taste amazing. I use half pure vanilla and half almond extract. I will never use another recipe
for sugar cookies.
These are the best I’ve ever made. They are soft but still hold their shape. I have my grandchildren all day tomorrow so I’ve got all the decorations out but just need to make the icing.. I want to try your recipe but i want to use something that will dry hard so they last longer.
It used to be so frustrating trying to make cut out cookies. Chilling the dough between batches and sticking when transferring to the cookie sheet. Now it’s a joy to make these. I’ve used this recipe for several years and they are perfect every time. The best tasting, too.
Delicious and tasty, very easy to make !
Tonight I am making my second batch of the sugar cookies! First batch was made last week, the marble version, turned out beautiful! I used an ornament, Xmas tree, and a christmas gift cookie cutter. Tonight I’m using a mitten cookie cutter dipping the bottom of the mitt into melted chocolate and sprinkling some with chopped toasted almonds, and pecans on some! As well, chocolate sprinkles on some as well. This recipe is a keeper for my family Christmas baking and giveaway! We love the cookies! Thank you!
This recipe and the one for the chocolate sugar cookies are the best I have ever made. Thanks so much!!!
Just made these today for Christmas. They are amazing. They were so easy to roll out and worked amazing with the cookie cutters. They taste delicious and moist. I was a little concerned when mixing it. I thought 6 cups of flour may have been to much. But as I rolled it out, it was perfect. This is my new go to sugar cookie recipe ❤️
Just tried your sugar cookie recipe for the first time and did not see the part about adding a bit of milk to the dough if it was too crumbly. The recipe I used to use had the same crumbly texture so I thought it was normal . Anyway, they still came out tasty, but I will make sure not to make the same mistake the next time. This will be my go to for years to come!
These really are the best sugar cookies! I’ve been on a search over the years for the best and I’m happy to say I found them!
Thank you for this recipe! I have been making them for 5 years now. Everyone we give them to rave about how good they are! We make them for every holiday ( and sometimes we make up a holiday just to make more)! Thank you!
Made these last night and turned out great. I did half the recipe and came up with about 3 dozen medium sided christmas tree, snowman and stocking shaped cookies. I chilled the dough because I premade it a day before baking. Just extend the baking time a few minutes. For me the cookies are like 1/4 inch thick and I had them in the oven 12-15 minutes depending on the shape. I had unsalted butter and forgot to add salt and it turned out fine. These are the perfect sweetness for my icing recipe.
This really is the BEST sugar cookie recipe! Whenever I make this for anyone, they go nuts. I’ve shared this recipe with so many people. They think I have some special gift and I point them right here. Thanks for this.!
,Thanks for sharing this recipe, so easy to have the ingredients all on hand so I made 3 times this week,
Half of the recipe is much easier to ha
This will be a keeper for me, can’t to decorate them with my Granddaughters
Merry Christmas,
Maria
This is the only sugar cookie recipe I use now. The cookies NEVER spread and they’re so delicious! It does make a pretty large batch, so I often cut the recipe in half.
Hi Laurie, I love this recipe. It is so easy and delicious! And great I do not have to freeze or refrigerate . They turned out so beautiful. Thank you and Merry Christmas! Cindy
This truly is the best sugar cookie recipe ever! The cookies have a wonderful flavor. I made some for my friends kids to decorate and everyone comment on how delicious they were! They really hold their shape. I got just over 50 cookies out of 2 batches, dough rolled to 1/4” thick.
Made these for Christmas cookie decorating! They held together so well as dough and when baked! I let my butter get to room temp which is hard im usually a microwave defrost girl but I waited! Something I did was after stamping my cookies is i put the dough scraps in a seperate bowl and kept grabbing new dough to stamp cookies until the end so that the scraps wouldn’t keep warming/melting up from rerolling until the end where I then re rolled it out and used it up. I did find it a little flour tasting as well but I like savory cookies anyway AND with your butter cream frosting that taste was really complimented. Everyone has more than 1 cookie for sure! I wonder if letting the dough sit overnight would help with the flour taste since letting the dough sits allows the flour to break down into simple carbohydrates. ANYWAY this will definitely be a repeat recipe!
Loved this recipe! Best cookie cutter recipe I have ever made!!
instead of 2 cups granulated sugar we used 1cup granulated and 1 cup powdered ….. amazing. Thanks for the great website and recipe Sisters!
I love this recipe. Makes a Big batch of cookies. You don’t have to make more cookies in a day or so.
Not real sweet , just right down good
Joyce
Hi! Would this recipe still work if I doubled this?
I’ve made these with vanilla extract …awesome! I was wondering if I could substitute almond extract for the vanilla…thanks
This cookie recipe worked absolutely the best for me. Easter 2022 ,with my 4 yr. Old granddaughter .
Thank you
I have made this recipe a couple of times now. It is the best tasting sugar cookie I have ever had!! Also, the dough is so easy to work with. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
HI GREAT RECIPE I LOVE IT CAN I USE 1/4 IN COOKIE CUTTER INSTEAD 5 STARS
Love love love this recipe! I’ve been trying a lot of different recipes and I keep coming back to the one. I add almond extract with the vanilla which adds so much flavor. Thank you very much for sharing!
***** 5 Stars!! Ok honestly the BEST Recipe I’ve ever done for sugar cookies! It was easy, tasted great, and they held there shape perfectly!! Thank you! I will be keeping this and using many times over!
This is my all time favourite cookie recipe, been making it for months if not years. Love it! Thank you so much!
My dads gluten intolerant and Ive tried so many gluten free recipes but non of them were any good. Sooooo… I decided to try this recipe gluten free style… he cant consume dairy either so I made it dairy free too! This morning I got a message to say it was the most delicious biscuits he ever had since being gluten intolerant and its been for a couple of years now. This really warmed my heart to finally spoil him after so many disapointments with something he really enjoys. Im so excited and thankful!
I would love to share it with you and maybe you can post it on your blog for someone else, like me, that really had a hard time baking truely delicious dairy and gluten free cookies. I wish I tried it from the start!
This recipe is great!
I cut the recipe in half and made two dozen, large cookies. Glazed them with a mixture of orange juice and powdered sugar.
Delicious!
Just made these – great recipe. Expensive with all that vanilla- but great. I’ll definitely use again. One thing though – you need to decide when you make these if you care more about them being really soft and melt in your mouth, or if you care more about structural integrity of your cookie. I used gingerbread cookie cutters, and the legs and heads of my cookie folks fell off easily when cooking for only 7 minutes- I’m glad I did a test batch. They did much better when I upped it to 9 or 10 minutes. Even at that long- my cookie bottoms still weren’t brown. I guess it depends on the oven though too. Thank you for a great recipe!
OMG, I totally messed this up and they are still coming out great! I thought I was going to half the recipe, but ended up only holding the butter! Of course, the dough was quite crumbly, so I ended up Addison a little milk at a time until I got a new Playdough consistency, about a quarter cup. These rolled out beautifully between two sheets of wax paper, into the oven for 6 minutes. They are a tad floury while still warm, but that is to be expected with my booboo! I will roll the next ones out a little thinner and see how that goes. These will still be great with frosting I’m sure. I can’t wait to try again with proper amount of butter! In the meantime, if you do like I did, fix it with milk!
Absolutely delicious! I’m not much of a baker but these turned out amazing! I followed the directions exactly as written (I did leave the butter out 30 minutes longer) and they were a hit. I’ve never been able to get the consistency right with cookies but this time was perfect. Thank you!
The first time I made this the cookies turned out wonderful, thank you! But I just made them again and they spread. What could cause that? Canover beating the butter and sugar and eggs cause that or that the eggs were room temperature? What’s your thoughts?
Hi Teri – so sorry you had a problem with the recipe this time. I don’t think it could be the room temperature eggs or the creaming of the butter and sugar. It is hard to say without seeing what the dough looks like but I am guessing it could be not enough flour or maybe old Baking Powder.
Could I cut this recipe in half and still come out ok? Or how would I freeze half the recipe?
Sure! I do this all the time!
I just halved the recipe but added 2 tsp of 1/2 & 1/2 b/c it was a little dry. Rolled immediately and they came out perfect!
No refrigeration time necessary! And taste great! I can’t wait to experiment next time…with lemon zest or almond extract.
These are so good. They taste like cookie dough, which is perfect. I love that you gave tips for optimizing the cookie. I would have never thought to do a test cookie, but I’m glad I did because it was crumbly. I like that there is no chill time for the dough too.
The butter was probably to warm. It happens to me when my butter gets to hot.
By far the best, and easiest to follow, sugar cookie recipe! I had to make 125 cookies and my old recipe kept failing. (I still have NO IDEA why!) But after finding this one, I am now set. My friends loved them and they were the talk of the shower! Thank you for sharing!
I made many sugar cookie recipes claiming to be the best. This is a recipe I will use from now on. The cookies were soft and held their shape. Thank you for sharing your recipe.
This is a perfect sugar cookie recipe! I halved the recipe and baked each batch 12 mins, at 8 mins in my oven they were still too raw. Without refrigerating dough, I’m very impressed they didn’t spread and kept their shape perfectly! This is my new fave go to recipe!
I just made these! I used a 3″ round cookie cutter and I ended up with about 4 dozen. I was a little nervous that the dough was too soft/sticky, but I floured the board as I went and they held their shape beautifully and came out perfect!!!
Will definitely use this recipe in the future!
This recipe made the best sugar cookies! Love that it doesn’t have to be refrigerated. Cookies kept their shape while baking too. Great flavor also.
Likely the first ever Pinterest comment I’ve ever written; after hundreds of recipes that I’ve tried. I simply want to say, ‘Thank You!’ So many years of funky sugar cookie dough that ends up the weirdest shapes ever – are now a thing of the past. Your recipe was exactly as you described and made the most perfect shapes EVER. Taste amazeballs as well. My cookie decorating kids and I are simply thrilled with the results
Love these cookies! I added a little something extra to this recipe, I had some vanilla chai black tea so I steep it in water for about 7 mins then I poured the tea through a strainer and incorporated the tea pieces that were left in the strainer into my batter! Yummy!
Thank you for the recipe. They’re really good just plain. We are decorating them tomorrow night. My 2 granddaughters (ages 2 and 5 )are decorating so we’ll see how that goes. 5 stars it won’t let me post the stars.
The first time I made these was for my daughters birthday 4 years ago. Since that day, we make them for every event. Along with the icing! This has been a favorite in our family and for everyone that eats them! Thank you!
I cannot believe how wonderfully perfect these cookies are! They are like little pillows of pure heaven. They are soft and the exact amount of sweetness. Thanks for this recipe…I’ll be using it for years to come.
Definitely the BEST Sugar Cookies ever! You have to get over that they look so white but when cooled, they are perfect. My Grandkids will be decorating them for our Annual Christmas Cookie Day. 5 star!!
What flour do you us is it self-rising or all purpose
Hi – We use all-purpose flour.
Do you use unbleached or bleached all purpose flower
Hi – we use Gold Medal Bleached Pre-Sifted All Purpose Flour.
BEST SUGAR COOKIE RECIPE EVER! I did half lemon and half vanilla exact and it’s was perfection! This is my go-to Christmas cookie recipe!
I have made this recipe for years. But I use only 5 cups of flour. . Mine makes about 4 dozen.
Will this recipe work in a cookie press?
Hi! We’ve never tried but I think it might be too thick for the cookie press.
I made these cookies let me add that these are the first cookies I’ve ever made and they are fabulous!!
would this recipe work well with a embossed rolling pin
Yes! I love those embossed rolling pins. What a great idea.
Just finished baking these and they turned out delicious! Followed the recipe exactly except I also added butterscotch flavoring. This was the easiest cookie recipe ever!
I made these for my daughters pre k halloween party. I had a few extra so I gave her one and she said I made the best cookies ever. I thought they were very good as well. Thank you for sharing.
I want to try these cookies but I first want to know how long you leave the cookies in the freezer?
After you bake them? They should be fine for 1-2 months if you wrap them up well, ideally in an airtight container.
We just made this recipe for holiday Xmas baking and the cookies are the perfect balance of butter and sugar! So delicious and so much easier to roll out and cut out. The kids had so much fun and they are incredibly yummy!!!
Do you sift your flour or no?
I know you are supposed to … but I never do and I’ve never had a bad batch of these cookies.
Holy cow! They’re not lying when they say these are the BEST sugar cookies ever! I LOVED them so much even before icing them, I made a second batch so we would enough to decorate as a family Christmas tradition. Like a lot of the comments, I was very skeptical getting them out when they were still almost white. But I did, and I couldn’t be happier!!! That, along with thickness, is DEFINITELY the key to a successful cookie!! So not only do they have a recipe that tastes great, the article explains so much!!! This one is now laminated and I’m sure will be making an appearance well before next Christmas.
I love this recipe!! I would like to try it with lemon extract, I LOVE lemon! Would I replace all the vanilla extract or maybe half? Would this affect the quality of the cookies?
Yum. That sounds delicious. Lemon extract is pretty strong, I think replacing half would be a good start.
I just added the zest of one medium sized lemon along with the recipes suggested amount of vanilla and they were amazing! I loved the fresh lemon accent. I would imagine half and half with the extracts would be great but I highly recommend the lemon zest!
When you freeze them decorated how do you thaw them. I made just a few last week because I want to learn how to decorate with royal icing. Our grandson loved them. He keeps asking for a pumpkin because I tried to decorate like one lol. Thanks for the recipe!
So glad your Grandson loved the cookies!
I haven’t had any royal icing on my cookies when frozen but I always just take my cookies out and put them on a plate to thaw we also like to eat them straight out of the freezer no thawing needed 🙂
I have been making sugar cookies for the 54 years of my marriage to a cookie loving husband. This recipe was perfect for these aging hands–easy to roll out and very delicious!
Hi, I would like to use this recipe to make chocolate sugar cookie. How much cocoa should I add and how much less flour should I use?
We’ve never done this but it is on our list of recipes to work on. Check back this Christmas!
Are theese cookies chewy or crunchy?
I guess I would say they are on the chewier side. They are soft on the inside, not crunchy like a gingersnap.
Tried this recipe (halved it) and the cookies were perfect. I added 1/2 a tsp. of almond extract as well. Great, no-fail recipe!
Could I use half Crisco half butter instead of all butter for the cookie recipe?
We have never tried this. I think it would really change the consistency and especially the flavor. But if you try it, we’d love to hear how the cookies turned out.
These cookies are so flavorful! Awesome recipe! Is it ok to refrigerate them in airtight containers before decorating? I made them a few days early to get a headstart.
Definitely.
How long will the dough keep refirdgerated?
A couple days if you keep it covered but make sure you let the dough come back up to room temperature before you roll and bake them. They won’t bake as nicely if the dough is chilled.
I made these today and they came out perfect. So glad I found this recipe. Could I add food coloring to make the dough different colors or would that change the way they bake? Thanks!
Yes! We do that all the time.
This recipe is fantastic! I cook everyday but baking is not my forte. I cut this recipe in half and I was still perfect. Easy and foolproof! Thank you for posting!
You’re welcome!
I have a question. If I use unsalted butter how much salt should I add to the mixture.
A very little pinch of salt should be fine.
I just made these and they are perfect! Great for decorating and my son approved!
Yay! We love to hear this! Thanks for letting us know that you enjoyed them.
What would the flavor be if I baked with unsalted sweet cream butter? How much salt would I have to add to this recipe?
They’ll be fine without any additional salt, but if you want to add something just a pinch will do.
I’ve tried many sugar cookie recipes and this one truly is the BEST!
Thank you for sharing, I no longer need to search…this one is for keeps!!!
This recipe was perfect! I have been searching for a dough that actually works and now I have found it. Personally I find that a 6mm or 1/4” thickness works best but that is only a personal preference. Thank you for this incredible website, I have found it extremely helpful as I plan the baking for my sisters wedding.
I made these cookies a few months back. I’m not much of a baker and they actually turned out amazing!! I just made them again today and the edges seem to be rounding off a little when baking. Like they didn’t hold their straight crisp edges. I double checked the recipe and don’t feel that I missed or did anything differently this time around. Any suggestions on what I might have done wrong this time? I will say I used regular vanilla and not vanilla extract. But that couldn’t cause that could it?
What do you mean when you say regular vanilla? What it still a liquid or did you use vanilla bean paste or something like that?
Will these last in the freezer? If so do you know how far in advance I can make them? Should I leave them unfrosted or can I frost them?
These cookies freeze up great. We’ve done it both ways, frosted and unfrosted. They always taste great when defrost them.
This is my all time favorite sugar cookie recipe! Do you think that this recipe would work to bake on a cookie sheet as sugar cookie bars instead of cutting them out?
Sure, we use this recipe in a lot of different formats. We also have this yummy Sugar Cookie Bar recipe that you might want to try: https://www.twosisterscrafting.com/sugar-cookie-bars/
This recipe looked pretty easy and I liked that you didn’t have to freeze the dough. The dough was easy to handle and roll out and they baked up beautifully! They taste so good, not too sweet. We are going to try to decorate with the frosting recipe you linked and take them to work to share! Thanks for a great recipe!
Hi my name is Lucy. My daughter and I are using your recipe to make favors for her graduation party. The dough is great. I’m diabetic so I’m not much of a sugar person. However my family love the cookies and my husband takes them to work when we have extra. The recipe does many a lot of cookies. About 28-36 cookies. We are using land o lake stick butter not sure if that’s what you use so far they taste good. However we are having one problem when we cut out the cookies the dough is stick to the cookie cutter. Can you help me how to fix that. We are using a paw cutter. It has the paw designs in the cutter. That’s the only frustration we are experiencing.
Hi – you can press the cookie cutter into flour before you press them into the rolled cookie dough. That might help.
HI! Made these cookies and they taste great and hold shape well! Very excited to practice decorating. My only issue was that my first sheet was very undercooked following your bake times. I know mine were thicker, so I did the longer time. But still very raw. The next few sheets turned out better I thinned them out a bit, but I am wondering how I can nail down a more consistent time since they still appear undercooked even when they are done.
It is tricky and everybody’s oven is a little different. Once they start getting brown, they are usually overdone. Sometimes I tap my finger on one of the cookies while it is in the oven to see if it still feels raw. It should feel firm, not doughy.
Do you bake on cookie sheet paper or just right on the pan?
I bake them on cookie sheet paper if I have it. But they are also fine straight on the cookie sheet.
Hello. This sounds like an amazing recipe. I have a question regarding the “frosting”. The video attached for the cookie recipe is the “The Best Buttercream Frosting”. Do you frost your cookies with this frosting? I am confused as you are frosting cupcakes in the video, not cookies.
Hi LuAnn – yes, we frost the cookies with Buttercream Frosting.
Would these be sturdy enough to make a sugar cookie house with?
The dough was super soft, when rolled out, the cutout shapes were delicate… my cookies came out so soft (after baking 10 min), cant pick It up without crumbling or breaking.. 🙁 any idea? thanks!!
Hi Eunice – it’s hard to say. My first thought is that it needed more flour.
I would love to try this recipe after reading all the amazing reviews but i am not much of a baker so i am a little unsure about what ingredients are used.
You mention sugar do you mean powdered sugar? When you say vanilla do you mean vanilla extract or essence?
And when you say flour do you mean all purpose flour or self raising flour?
Hi Tori – You will use Granulated Sugar, Vanilla extract and All-Purpose Flour.
Can I use almond extract instead of vanilla?
Of course!
Can you use colored sugars instead of frosting?
Great cookie this is a keeper thank you
Thanks! We use this recipe all the time.
This truly is the best cookie recipe ever! I have tried so many and I have found my fav. Next is to try the buttercream icing recipe
5 stars great cookie this is a keeper thank you
Thanks! So glad you liked the recipe. We do too!
Made these cookies today (cut down recipe to half) and they came out perfect. But, have to agree with one of the comments posted in April. There is an after taste of “baking powder”. Will add less on next batch. Thanks for recipe!
Hi, Laurie This is a good recipe not to sweet. I would have to change one thing about it and that would be to tone down on the baking powder. There is an after taste of the baking powder.
These cookies are so amazing! I made them a week ahead of time in case I needed to tweak the recipe a bit..but they came out perfect!! Wondering..how long do you think they would last without freezing? I plan to decorate them with royal icing
Maybe a few days if you wrapped them up tightly in an air-tight container.
Absolutely the BEST sugar cookie recipe ever! I made dozens for my daughter’s senior class, and there wasn’t one left!
My daughter has asked me to make them again for her graduation party. Question: The party is on a Thursday night. Would Tuesday be too early to make and ice the cookies?
Thanks again for sharing this AWESOME recipe!
Hi I made my cookie dough last night so I can make the cookies the next day , I refrigerated and it got hard , so I leave them at room temp to get soft or what do I do?
Yes, it might take a couple of hours to get back up to room temperature.
This is absolutely the BEST cookie recipe for shapes!! It went together fast, cut like a dream, baked perfectly, made a lot, and is extremely tasty. This is my new go-to recipe for cut-outs! Thanks!!!
These look super yummy! Do they stay soft? How would you suggest storing them to keep them soft?
We keep them in the refrigerator. Sometimes we freeze them. Both work. If you put them in airtight container they will last for a couple of days at room temperature like most cookies.
Hi Laurie thanks for sharing. I’m going to bake those cookies for a 2 years old birthday and hoping they come out great. I’m just wondering you said cream the sugar and butter but dnt over beat. I normally beat mine for 5 mins is this too long? How long do you cream the butter and sugar. And u have mentioned that butter should be out the fridge 1 hour prior baking but u haven’t mentioned if the eggs should be room temperature? And the all purpose flour do you use the Normal measurements cup do you how much in grams is it fine to use the converter bcz I prefer to weight my flour. And is it better to put the baking powder before the flour ? Bcz normally I mixed the flour with the baking powder. Sorry if I asked too many questions and hope to hear from you soon bcz I was thinking to bake them tomorrow. Thank you
Hi Mona – I normally beat the butter and sugar for about 3 minutes. The butter definitely needs to be room temperature, but not the eggs. I use the normal cup measurements for the flour and you can mix the baking powder with the flour if that is what you usually do. Good luck with the cookies!
Hey thanks for the reply I normally when I bake sugar cookie I have a bitter aftertaste flavour from the baking powder. Is the ratios of baking powder in this recipe doesn’t give that bitter aftertaste?
Do these cookies expand alot while cooking?
No. That is the beauty of this recipe.
Can I use cream cheese frosting on these sugar cookies?
Sure. That sounds yummy. Everything tastes better with Cream Cheese Frosting.
Will these keep their shape? I keep having issues.
Definitely. That is the beauty of this recipe.
Can I use banana instead of vanilla?
We’ve never tried that but I don’t see why not.
How long would the cookies last at room temperature? Would they be okay for a week. Planning on making them for a friend’s party for Saturday (5 days from now). I’m in Australia. It’s early Autumn. This will be a warm week. Temperatures will be in the mid to high 20 degrees Celsius with cool nights.
I would keep them in the refrigerator, or better yet, freeze them.
I added 1/4 teaspoon almond extract and reduced the vanilla by the same amount. I made 4 batches of cookies in the same day to do the ultimate cookie taste test. The slightly modified recipe won!! (Now I have a tremendous amount of sugar cookies to donate to the shelter!!) It’s so nice to have a recipe that doesn’t require chilling! Took less than an hour to make, bake and eat! Thank you!!
Yay! So glad to hear that you enjoyed the cookies.
I made these cookies for Valentines day – THEY ARE THE BEST!!! i have been looking for a good sugar cookie recipe for years. THIS IS IT!! thanks
Do these cookies need to be refrigerated after being iced? I am making a couples days ahead and don’t need to freeze them but was wondering what is the best way to store them to ensure they taste fresh.
thanks!
You should keep them in an air-tight container in the refrigerator. If you don’t have one big enough, I have wrapped them in a couple of layers of aluminum foil and stored them in the refrigerator.
I halfed the recipe it made 27 cookies. And yes eat and turned out perfect . Easy.
I made these cookies for christmas and now for valentines day….i wreck everything and these were perfect both times…Thank you for sharing
I tried to read through comments before asking but there’s soooo many! Can I use butter flavored crisco sticks instead?
We’ve never tried that. I would worry that it would change the consistency of the dough.
I just made these with my kids and I’m not sure why but the dough is really dry and crumbly, it won’t roll. I measured carefully so not sure what happened. Can/should I add another egg or some milk to moisten?
I usually add a little bit of milk or even water. Or if you like Vanilla, you can use that too. Try it a little bit at a time.
Hello! Love this recipe. Can dough be frozen ahead of time?
The buttercream frosting recipes are the best, they are my go to. I tried your sugar cookie recipe this past Christmas and it was so good! Ive been a little intimidated to work with rolled out cookie dough in the past but this was so easy to work with and held the cookie cutter shapes perfectly. I did find that rolling them out a tad thinner and baking them for 9 1/2 minutes worked best in my oven. I made an assortment of Christmas trees and cow shaped cookies and they were a huge hit with friends, family, and coworkers. Do you have a recipe for a cutout chocolate cookie? I’d love to try one! Thanks!
We are working on a Chocolate version of this recipe! Stay tuned. But so glad to hear that you enjoyed the sugar cookies!
Hi, can I use royal icing instead of the buttercream frosting?
Of course!
I love the flavor of these cookies,and how well they hold there shape,but are still soft
Hey Laurie
Wondering how many minutes did you beat sugar and butter ? That’s the one step I think I’m doing wrong. We have to beat or whip hard for cakes but not for cookies right?
Another question I have is do u cool the cookies on the baking sheet or immediately move it to cooking rack or ….
Thanks in advance !
Hi – I’ve never timed it but next time I make these cookies I will and I will update the recipe. If you watch the video we made for this recipe you can see what the creamed butter and sugar should look like. It should be fluffy and fully incorporated. If you still see clumps of butter you have creamed it enough. Hope this helps.
Hello, thank you for the amazing recipe. I’d like to try adding cocoa powder and I’m scared of doing it wrong and ruining such a great cookie. I’m curious if you have a modified version of this to make it a chocolate sugar cookie? Or should I just whisk cocoa powder into the flour before adding it to the mixture? How much cocoa powder? Or does it not work out and I should just follow one of your Chocolate Cookie recipes? Sorry for all the questions, thank you very much for your help and advice.
We are working on one for Christmas. Stay tuned!
I just made these, are they supposed to have a slight flour taste?
Maybe you used too much flour when you rolled them out? They shouldn’t taste like flour, they should be buttery and taste like vanilla.
Hey guys! Thank you for sharing. I would like To test this sugar cookies but wiuld you help me with two things id love to clarify?
Can i use normal not salted butter with no sweet cream in it ?
Wouldd royal icing work on those cookies?
I thanknyou so much
Yes and yes!
Hey, I want to back a small batch,can I cut the ingredients by half?
Definitely.
This is the best sugar cookie!! I made it exactly as laid out but added just a touch of almond extract. I frosted with your recipe also. I can’t say enough. Soft and buttery and perfect!!!
Yay!
I don’t have a stand mixer can I use a hand held for Will it change the end result? Thank you!!
You really need a mixer. The dough is very hard to mix throughly when you add all that flour. A hand mixer would work though.
Fantastic recipe! Thank you!!! We 1/2 the recipe for just 3 of us. Using small size cutters
it made a little over 3 dozen cookies!
Looking forward to making your cookies, but can you make the dough ahead of time? Will refrigerating the dough overnight ruin the integrity of the cookie?
Thanks in advance from a first timer making cookies from scratch gal!!
It is best if you don’t refrigerate the dough. But if you have to make sure you let it come back up to room temperature before you roll and bake them.
I made these today they turned out great easy dough to work with will definitely keep using this recipe
I had been looking for a good, easy sugar cookie recipe. I know now that I have found it! Loved not having to refrigerate the dough before rolling . The dough also held up really well with none breaking as I transferred them to the sheet. And best of all, they taste great
Hi I’m new to this N am very inspired to try the cookies.. Just wanted to know if u need to pre heat the oven..
Yes.
Hi! I was wondering if you use unsalted butter, how much salt should you add to the recipe?
Thank you!
You can do without the salt. But if you want to add some, just a tiny touch should do it.
Can you sprinkle colored sugar on them before you cook them?
Sure. They taste great like that.
I made these cookies last weekend and they came out awesome!!!!! Thanks for sharing this recipe ❤️
I decided I was going to bake some cookies for Mother’s Day to gift to my mom when I stumbled across this recipe, and all I can say is how incredible it is!! I’m so glad I decided to use it. I halved the recipe and used 1tsp vanilla and 1tsp almond extract. So, so good! The cookies are soft, sweet, and have such a great buttery flavour. Thank you for sharing this recipe, it’ll be my go-to for sugar cookies from now on!
Hello and Merry Christmas!! I have to tell you I was leery of this recipe, but loved the idea that the dough did not have to be chilled…..just mix, roll, cut. Now i have to tell you you’re right. This IS the BEST sugar cookie I’ve tasted. This is definitely a keeper. Thanks so much for sharing 🙂
hi can i use unsalted margarine butter
We’ve never made this recipe with Margarine. If you try it, we’d love to hear how they turned out.
Can I use unsalted sweet cream butter instead of The Salted sweet cream butter and if so how much salt should I add
Yes, and just add a pinch of salt.
This is the absolute BEST sugar cookie recipe I have ever used! I have made them five times now and they come out impeccable every time! They hold their shape and taste amazing! Thank you for sharing this amazing recipe and detailed how to with us. I will never use another recipe 🙂
Love, love this recipe! In the last 3 days I have made the top two sugar cookie recipes from All Recipes and yours. By far yours are the best! Thank you!
Hi there,
Getting ready to make these but I only have unsalted butter. How much salt should I add?
Thank you!
Just a pinch of salt is all you need.
These look perfect!! We’re beginning or Christmas cookie baked and my son really wants a chocolate peppermint sugar cookie. Would it be possible to add Cocoa powder if so how would I make adjustments?
We are working on a Chocolate version of this Sugar Cookie recipe as we speak. Look for it this Christmas.
I made these a few weeks ago, and they came out so beautifully. The dough was so easy to work with, rolled out and cut like a dream. They held their shape during baking, and came out sturdy and delicious. This is definitely going to be my new go-to sugar cookie recipe!
If I don’t have sweet cream butter, can I use normal butter? If so, can do I use unsalted or salted??
You can use either. We usually use salted.
I love this recipe! Thank you for posting it. My question is have you ever halfed this recipe? Sometimes I don’t need 52 cookies thanks again
Wende
Yes, I do that all the time.
These cookies are amazing! The dough was PERFECT! It wasn’t sticky like other recipes. And they taste great! Will definitely make them again!
This is indeed the best sugar cookie recipe I’ve ever used. My only complaint is that I never see published recipes with orange peel, which adds some depth and cuts the sweetness.
That’s a good idea.
Thank you for your recipe, i will definitely be making these this Christmas baking season. Would i be able to use my Cuisinart Food Processor? I dont have a heavy duty mixer.
You could use a hand mixer.
Thank you for sharing the recipe.
The cookies at the store looked good but your recipe had flavor.
Consistency was excellent too. ]
So grateful. Thanks
Hi, if using unsalted butter, do you know how much salt I should add?
Just a pinch of salt.
Super easy to make and delicious! Thanks so much!
Hi there!
We would like to try this for my sons birthday. But can I freeze them? And if so what’s the best way to do so?
Hi! We store them in the freezer in an airtight container with a layer of foil or parchment paper between the layers of cookies to protect the frosting. Hope that helps!
Hi! Can I make the dough and freeze it so I can bake later?
Sure – but let it come back up to room temperature before you roll out and bake the cookies.
For the flour measurement, do you scoop into the flour and level, or whisk to lighten then spoon into measuring cup and level off? There is a huge difference with each technique. Maybe a weight measurement per cup would help.
Hi! I scoop into the flour and level. It is a good idea to add a weight measurement. The next time we make Sugar Cookies I will do that and update the recipe. Thanks for the suggestion!
I just wanted to say that I’ve been making these for 2 years now and my family and friends LLLOOOVVVEEEE then. I also use your icing recipe. These are a huge hit in our house. My husband stands close by and eats all the broken ones. 🙂 we make them for birthdays and holidays. Actually making some tomorrow! Thank you so much for this recipe!!
Hi i found your recipe and am excited to try it, i will be using a superhero theme 3d cutter, will it hold the shape ?thank you in advance.
Yes! That is one of the great things about this particular Sugar Cookie recipe.
I am going to be making these cookies today but I don’t have any cookie cutters. What can I do?
Hi – you could use a glass or a coffee cup to make round cookies.
My boss wants me to make sugar cookies for the patients at the hospital I work at (small hospital for 300-400 people… I think) and what would you recommend for the proportions of the recipe
Hi – this recipe makes a big batch of sugar cookie dough. But the number of cookies you can make from it really depends on how big of a cookie cutter you use.
What rack position in oven is best and should I bake one tray at a time?
Hi Mary – I use the middle position in the oven and I usually bake one tray at a time.
Hi
Can you use dusting sugars as opposed to icing with this recipe?
Sure!
What type of flour do you recommend I use, self rising or all purpose?
Hi Lynette, we always use all purpose.
I’ve used this recipe so many times and it’s perfect – I even made it with holiday spices and they come out perfect
I used powdered sugar to roll out my cookies and they looked awesome. Once baked, I couldn’t get them off of the baking sheets! It was almost as if they were glued on, super hard to get off so they all cracked. I even tried spraying the sheet with baking spray for another batch and they still stuck! Not sure what’s going on but I’m getting frustrated that it’s wasting all the dough! They tasted great, but not sure that matters when they’re all in pieces
Hi Lindsay – maybe next time use the flour to roll out the dough instead of the powdered sugar. The Powdered Sugar tip came from a reader and I think I mentioned that it makes the cookies stick a bit to the cookie sheet. I usually use flour to roll out the cookies.
Hi Lindsay,
Line your cookie sheets with parchment paper. this will help keep the cookies from sticking. I do not use the powdered sugar for rolling the dough, but I want my cookies to come off the cookie sheet with ease.
I intend to bake these cookies …would like to know when I can bake them prior to Christmas …how many days prior. Thank you.
It would be my first time.
If you put them in the freezer, you can bake them up to a month before. Just make sure your store them in an airtight container.
Hi. I am a little confused as to how many days in advance you can bake them. You say they last up to a month if they are freezed. Do you mean bake them and then freeze them? Or freeze them for a while and then bake and keep in an airtight container for a month?
We usually bake them and then freeze them.
I just made these cookies with my grandson and we both are delighted. They are the best I have ever tasted and he said they are so good without the frosting. What!! Mine were thick so I baked a few minutes longer. Came out perfect. Thank you for this keeper!
You’re so welcome!
Just made two batches tonight. I measured out the 6 cups of flour, but whisked the flour before adding it. It seemed to measure more than 6 after that but not by much. So I kept at it. Dough looked great, felt great and rolled great. I don’t want to bake these until Tuesday. So I cut them out and put them in the frig. You keep saying they bake best not chilled. So I should put them out for a bit before baking them? Looking forward to trying them!
Hi! I would let the cut-out cookies sit out a bit before you bake them. Or, if you bake them while the dough is cold, you should watch the time. You might need to bake them a little bit longer.
I have tried to find a cut out cookie recipe for years. This is the *BEST* recipe I’ve ever tried! The cookies taste amazing and they hold their shape when baked. Thank you so much!! These cookies will always be a part of our Christmas tradition!
Yay!! We love them too!
Any suggestions for high altitude? I live in Colorado. Or will they still rise here? I find a lot of sugar cookie recipies don’t rise here.
Hi – we live California so we don’t have to worry about altitude issue but these sugar cookies don’t rise very much. So it probably would be fine.
i too live fairly close to the Canadian Rockies! I’ve added 1/2 a tsp of baking powder, and substitute granulated sugar for the confectionary powdered sugar.
I just made this batch of cookies except I use one tablespoon vanilla and 1 tablespoon almond but everything else followed exact and they turned out awesome! They’re just cooling right now but everything went really well I didn’t find them to be overly sticky at all I just use a little flour while rolling them out. No problem! Now all I have to do is ice them and eat them! Thanks for the great recipe I will use this going forward.
Hi Jackie! We are really glad you like the recipe. We use this sugar cookie recipe for so many fun things!
I found this recipe on Pinterest today and made them this evening. Omg I’m in love. I’ve been the family baker for 30 ish years and finally found the recipe of dreams! Easy to make, no chill required (though, I had to acclimate rolling a softer dough). They taste phenomenal (unsalted butter), held cutter shape, baking time was spot on. Totally. Perfect. Sugar cookie.
Hi Chanda! That is the exact same way we felt when we found this recipe!!! We are so glad you liked it too.
Hi….is the 3/8 thickness baked at 6-7 minutes, or longer? I found the directions a bit confusing
Is the 3/8 thickness cookie your thick cookie? Thank you for your help.
Hi … you should bake the cookies anywhere from 6-8 minutes. How long depends on both the thickness of the cookie and the size of the cookie cutter you use. For the first batch, keep an eye on them. You don’t want them to get too brown around the edges.
Hi Laurie, Well I added red food coloring and they look great even added some almond extract I used Christmas cut outs, trees, snowflakes, bows. holly leaves, ginger men. This is such an easy recipe to work with next time I will put peppermint into it. Thanks
You’re very welcome. We are so glad you enjoyed the cookies!
Hi, I want to make these for a cookie decorating party and was wondering if I could color the dough with red liquid food coloring so that they are different from the other sugar cookies people bring that are frozen sugar Christmas shapes that are than baked? Thanks
Sure – we’ve colored this sugar cookie dough many times!
Thanks Laurie does the liquid coloring change how much vanilla I put in or does that stay the same? I guess I am worried the coloring will change the dough texture.
Vanilla flavoring has nothing to do with coloring. Use whatever amount green or red you desire. The Vanilla is for the taste.
Laurie said the flavoring is the liquid so she uses a lot to add liquid and taste. Is youbuse liquid dye, then you “may” need to cut down on the flavoring by a few drops, but not much;)
Do you use plain flour or self rising?
Hi Carol – We use all-purpose flour.
When using that buttercream icing recipe on cookies… does the icing dry or stays “sticky” on the cookies? I was planning on decorating my cookies with that icing recipe, but wrap them in a plastic (ziploc type bag) as thank you gift/loot bag after my daughter’s party. Will the icing stick to the bag? Thanks in advance!
Hi – We have done this many times at parties. It is a fun party gift. The top dries but the frosting underneath still is soft. It won’t stick to the bags but you can’t stack them on top of each other because the weight the cookies will slightly smash down the frosting decorations. Here is a post of Party Favor cookies we made for a Sesame Street Party (https://www.twosisterscrafting.com/sesame-street-cookies/). If you look closely at the picture of the cookies in the bags you can see how some of the frosting decorations are smashed. But the kids didn’t notice and the cookies are delicious! Hope that helps.
To avoid any extra flour on cookies, roll dough between two sheets of parchment paper. Chill dough in frig on a cookie sheet. Peel off top sheet of parchment and Cut out shapes. Cookies come off easily from parchment. I reuse the sheets for baking by keeping them in a ziplock bag in freezer.
Hi Sharon – these are great tips. Although this particular dough bakes up better if it is not chilled. But what a great idea about reusing the parchment paper and storing in the freezer. We’re going to have to try that next time!!!
This really is the best sugar cookie recipe I’ve ever used.
Thank you Mary Kay! We have tried a lot of different recipes and this was definitely the best.
Can I had the recipe for a smaller batches of cookies?
That should be half not had
Absolutely, we do it all the time.
Hello. Have you made these not using frosting? I need about 100 or so cookies for an event and time is limited! How are they plain? Could they be sprinkled with colored sugar to save time and effort if something is needed? Thank you.
Hi – we’ve done that before … we usually do add the sprinkled colored sugar on top. This isn’t a super sweet sugar cookie recipe. But we think the cookies taste great just on their own.
I made these back in june for my sons birthday and i’m getting ready to make another batch of requested cookies for my little cousin’s birthday party tomorrow 🙂 They were a big hit at my son’s party, definitely the BEST sugar cookie recipe. My MIL normally buys pre made cut outs that you bake and frost, and now i’m in charge of sugar cookies for christmas this year 🙂 Thanks for all your recipes. I have sooooo many of them pinned <3
Hi!! Thanks for letting us know that you like our recipes! That makes us really happy. This recipe makes the best Christmas Cookies ever. Decorating them is our most beloved family Christmas tradition. Happy Birthday to your cousin!
This really is the Best Sugar Cookie Recipe…only one I use now and I get rave reviews all the time…Thanks! And I tell them where to find you!
Thank you Betty, we are so glad that you like it!
How many cookies does this recipe make on average?
Hi Rebecca – this recipe makes a big batch of dough. How many really depends on you – how big are the cookie cutters you are going to use? How thick do you roll out the cookies. The flower cookies that are in these pictures are very big and I made about 3 dozen cookies with one batch of dough. Hope that helps.
Thank you for this great recipe. Searched and tried several different recipes and yours always came out the best and its easy to make. Get raves about my cookies….ah can’t take the credit, been sharing the recipe and sending people to your pinterest posts. I’m a beginner cookie decorater and i love doing this. Your cookies (recipes) are perfect for my new hobby, and folks love ’em plain,
they are so good!
Hi Betty! Thank you so much for your kind words. We are so happy you like the recipe. It really is the best we’ve ever used too. Happy Baking!!
Hello! Can unused dough be put in freezer for later use?
Sure!
Hi from New Zealand! I just wanted to say this recipe is amazing I’ve adapted the dough into a whole new flavour Mint Choc chip, Orange Choc Chip, Lemon, Chocolate, Pinapple Lump (nz Lollie thats amazing) and Cherry Chocolate and I can’t keep my cookie containers full. Thank you so much for sharing!
hi, im from the philippines, i just wanna ask if you could use ordinary salted butter instead of sweetcream salted butter since it is not available in our country…tnx
Hi Cecille. Of course, regular salted butter is fine.
I only have unsalted butter at home. Can I use this butter and add some salt to the recipe? If so, how much?
Hi Jen – sure. I’d add minimal salt. 1 teaspoon should be fine.
I need to make 150 cookies for my son’s wedding do these freeze well?
Yes, these cookies freeze up great.
Can you process the cookies then freeze them?
Hi Crystal – Sure! These cookies freeze up great.
Hi. Just found this on pinterest.
A tip for no extra powder needed to for rolling, sugar or flour.
Put the dough between two sheets of wax paper. (May take x4 or so)
We also use a mat with dowels with our one piece rolling pin to get a uniform thickness everytime.
Not sure if that was covered in the comments already.
That’s a great idea. We’re going to have to try that trick next time.
Freezer paper works great to roll cookies on. I use one piece on bottom and top and don’t have to use much flour. Freezer paper is also heaver than wax paper and holds up better.
hi I made these but i accidentally mixed the eggs with the flour–it came out really grasy and the cookies had no life to them it seemed very wet and oily -how can i fix this? do you think it was because i mixed the eggs in the beginning?
Hi Jen – I’m really sorry but I don’t think this can be fixed 🙁 The eggs and the vanilla need to mixed into the creamed butter and sugar. And then the dry ingredients should be added. I don’t think there is anything that you can do now to fix the dough so that it is the right consistency and taste right. We are really sorry that we don’t have a solution for you.
I don’t have a stand mixer. How difficult will these be to mix by hand? We are hoping to make these tomorrow to leave out for Santa…
It will be fine. You will just need to use some elbow grease to get all the flour mixed in at the end. Have made this by hand many times 🙂 Merry Christmas! Santa is going to get some of these cookies at our house too!!!
Hi,
I baked these this weekend, they shape nice make a large batter so you don’t have to double it. With the icing it is now my sugar cookie recipe. I’ve tried the pre made cookie dough and it never tasted good to me. Thank you for a great recipe.
Hi there, thanks for the recipe! How long do you think the dough would keep in fridge if we don’t use it all?
Hi Susie – I have kept it in the refrigerator for a couple of days. If it is going to be longer than that, I would freeze it.
when would you add colored sugar to the top of cookies before or after baking?
Before baking. We’ve found that if you try to add the sugar after they come out of the oven the sugar doesn’t stick to the cookie unless you press it in.
I am making the cookies right now and I am using them for a swirl cookie recipe and they seem sort of sticky. I was wondering if there is anything I could do other than just add some more flour.
I think that you need to add a little bit more flour 🙂 Try a couple tablespoons at a time until it handles better.
These cookies look amazing! The recipe says Salted Butter but in baking it’s usually Unsalted Butter. I’ve been baking for years and have never used Salted Butter. Thanks for sharing!
Hi Caroline – this is a really great sugar cookie recipe. We like to use Salted butter for these cookies because you don’t add any salt to the dough. I think it adds a little something extra to the flavor of the cookie but I’m sure they will still taste great if you use unsalted butter.
Hello! would this recipe be ok to bake on parchment paper?
Hi Katie – Sure. We use parchment paper all the time when making these cookies.
Roughly how many cookies did one batch make? Wondering if I need to double or not.
Hi Amanda – this recipe makes a lot of cookie dough. If you use a standing mixer it will fill the bowl – you won’t be able to double the recipe, you’ll have to make two batches. The key factor is how big the cookie cutters are that you are going to use and how many cookies you need to make. The flower cookies that are in these pictures are very big and I made about 3 dozen cookies with one batch of dough. Hope that helps.
That is great. Thank you!
What do you use to actually decorate the cookies using the Buttercream frosting? I normally use squeezy bottles found in the cake supply area but wasn’t sure if this frosting was too thick to put in those bottles.
We usually use Wilton decorating bags with decorating tips but we have also used baggies with the tip cut off!
I use a regular buttercream frosting and add 3/4 of a cup of karo corn syrup. The frosting sets up with a crust on top and the cookies can be stacked without ruining the art work. It is very glossy and tastes wonderful.
Hi Susan – that’s really interesting. We’ve never tried that. What is the ratio of corn syrup to butter?
Thank you!! Does this icing harden so that it doesn’t smear if the cookies touch each other?
Hi sisters! I live in Norway and discovered your blog when searching for Frozen themes (my daughter is truning 4 on Saturday). We don’t have cookie dough mix’es here, so I will try this one. My only question (that you actually can help me with) is – when you say 350 degrees – do you mean celsius or fahrenheit? 🙂 – And actually one more thing; By “Vanilla” – do you mean liquid or powder?
Hope to hear from you soon (I need to bake them on Wednesday!).
Thank you for all the very relevant inspiration.
All the best – Henriette 🙂
Yes, 350 degrees Fahrenheit! And we mean liquid vanilla.
My memories of Christmas are the same. My sister and I loved decorating cookies at Christmas!! After my mother passed away, I got all of her cookie cutters. I’ve been wanting to make some and am so glad to have this recipe!! Do you by chance have the icing recipe? I asked my mom a few years before she passed away about what recipe we had used. She said they don’t recommend using it anymore because it had raw eggs in it. She looked up recipes online and suggested royal icing, but I’ve never tried it. Is that what you use? I wish I had some pictures of the cookies we made back then, they were really cute!!
Hi Linda, what a lovely comment. Thank you! We always use Buttercream Frosting on our Sugar Cookies. Here is our recipe: https://www.twosisterscrafting.com/buttercream-frosting/ (It is deliciously and tastes really great on these sugar cookies.)
Does the icing in this recipe get somewhat hard so it doesn’t smear if you have to stack the cookies?
Hi Linda, the icing does get somewhat hard, but it does not completely harden like royal icing does. We have stacked the frosted cookies (carefully) before without problem.
Hi dear
Can I know amount of butter in gr ?
Hi. I found this butter converter app here: http://www.traditionaloven.com/conversions_of_measures/butter_converter.html. I use 4 sticks of butter in this recipe which (according to the converter app) would be 453.6 grams of butter. Hope that helps!
Hi would you let me know what type of flour to use self-rising or all purpose?
Hi Tiffany, we use all purpose flour.
Can you tell me how many cookies this makes?
Hi – It really depends on how big of a cookie cutter you are using and how thick you make the cookies. We made approximately 3 dozen of the flower cookies you see in the picture on this post. Hope that helps.
Made thsee cookies last week for a friend’s baby shower- I actually had to add a bit more flour but the recipe is fantastic!! Because I like a little big of almond flavor I subbed out 1/2 a tablespoon of the vanilla with almond extract (SO yummy!!). This was my first time making sugar cookies myself and it was great- delicious! Since I ended up short on time I just used premade frosting from the grocery store but still good. Will be making again for another baby shower in two weeks! Thanks!!!
Hi Emily! We’re so glad you liked the cookie recipe! That’s a great idea about adding the almond extract.
HI I made these cookies and most turned out awesome. A few when broken in to had large gaps of air. Could you tell me what would cause this?
Hi Sam – the only thing I can think of is that it is happening after you cut out the first batch with the cookie cutters and then re-roll the remaining dough to cut-out a second batch of cookies. I knead the ball of dough a tiny bit before I re-roll it. Could that be it?
Thank you for this wonderful recipe. My only problem and I’m not sure what I did because I know it is something I did!! — is that some of the cookies when I started to frost them, started to crack. I’m hoping the frosting will sort of set it but not sure what I did?? Any ideas.
Do you mean they broke in half? That can be a couple of things. One, the cookie could have been a little too thin. Or it could be that the cookie cutter shape is too delicate. We tried once to make Mickey Mouse Cookies and the way the cookie cutter was shaped, the ears kept breaking off. Finally, it might be that the cookies were slightly undone? Maybe they needed an extra minute in the oven?
This recipe saved me. I signed my girls, 6 and 9, and I up for a beginner cookie decorating class yesterday at Joann’s. We need to bring 18 bunny cookies. I got the slice and bake kind for the first time ever because it was more about the decorating than the cookie and we were cooking a ton of other things. Well, after following the directions to roll out the slice and bake, the cookies deformed in the oven to the point of ridiculousness. I had a little over 1 hour to figure something out. Found your recipe on Pinterest. It said all the right things, won’t lose shape, easy to work with, etc. I made a half batch. It was perfect. It made EXACTLY 18 perfectly shaped bunny cookies In EXACTLY the amount of time I had to spend. It felt like an Easter miracle, the dough yielded exactly what we needed out of it. My girls and I had a great time and now have a fun rainy day activity to look forward to for many years.
Thanks, Twin Sisters! Cindy
P.s. the only problem is that none of us want to eat any of our masterpieces!
I made two batches. The first one came very dry and crumbly. The second batch, I used 4.5 cups of flour and it was perfect! Cookie were amazing!
I have made this recipe twice now and love it! The cookies bake perfectly, keep their shape, and taste good! Thanks for sharing!
I have finally found my go to sugar cookie!! I have been making cookies for close to 45 years. I have always hated the battle to roll out chilled dough, and the have them warp out of shape in the oven. With the advent of pinterest may I never lose this recipe. PERFECTION.
This is exactly how we felt when we found this recipe. We’re glad you like it too!
I am planning on using royal icing on these cookies, will they be sweet enough without the buttercream you use? And what do you do the the dough that you aren’t using while the other batch is baking
I would think so. We often have these sugar cookies with only sugar sprinkles on them and they taste great. I guess it depends on what you are used to – this recipe definitely isn’t as sweet at the refrigerated sugar cookies that you buy at the grocery store as a comparison but it always seems plenty sweet to us.
been looking for a recipe that holds it’s shape when baking and taste good at same time and this recipe was perfect! Made them last night for a 2yr old boys birthday party shaped into elmo cookie and they were a hit!! Will definitely use this recipe from now on!!
I made these at Christmas and they were great. I can’t remember, though if I used unsalted or salted butter???? Which is it? I am making them for church tonight as Lions
That’s great. I’m glad you liked the recipe! I normally use salted sweet cream butter.
The recipe calls for two cups of butter (which would be 4 sticks), but I’m assuming it meant two sticks?
You need 4 sticks of butter or 2 cups for this recipe. I just realized that the picture I used showing the sugar and butter was from a time that I only made a half-batch. Sorry for the confusion.
If i only have unsalted on hand, would I add salt and of so, how much? Thanks! Looking so forward to trying these!
Just finished making these. Thanks for the easy & delicious recipe! I cut the recipe in half & they came out perfect! Also made the buttercream frosting recipe that you suggested to finish them off. Yum! Yum! Two enthusiastic thumbs up! 🙂
Yay!!! I’m glad you liked them.
So I felt like a sneaky little girl…searching through loads of sugar cookie recipes, looking for a new one to secretly try. It was long overdue, because quite honestly, our “top secret best ever” family recipe wasn’t really a secret at all and it definitely was not the best. (Sorry Mom, Grandma, Great Grandma, and all generations before!) My guilt has been put to rest, and I am here to tell you that I have found the recipe that my kids will pass on to their kids as our new, maybe not so top secret, but definitely “best ever” sugar cookies! They hold their shape like no other sugar cookie I have ever baked, and the soft texture and melt-in-your-mouth buttery flavor is AMAZING! LOVE LOVE LOVE these cookies!
Ha ha ha ha!! That’s how I felt when I first went looking for a new sugar cookie recipe!
Hi – we made the sugar cookies yesterday and the dough was crumbly. I figured the 6 cups of flour was too much, it looked fine at 4 cups of flour. So I fixed this by adding another stick of butter and an egg. It worked and tasted great!
Hi Laurie! I just wanted to comment on how amazing these cookies turned out. I had my first Christmas cookie baking day with my 2 year old niece last weekend. We had the best time, and these cookies made it absolutely amazing! I am not one to really leave reviews on anything, but I just had to for this. All of my sisters and husband continue to tell me how awesome these cookies are (4 days later). The shapes turned out so perfect, and the taste is truly bakery caliber! I’m not one to bake a lot either, so this is really saying something. So thank you for the recipe! I will definitely be using this for every special occasion. Merry Christmas!
Hi Tiffany! Your comment made our day! Thank you so much!!! My sister and I made these cookies with my niece this year too and it was so fun. We are so glad that you and your family are enjoying these sugar cookies Merry Christmas!
Hi I made your cookies today and they are very delicious but the dough was very crumbly so I added milk and they are still a little dry, maybe next time I won’t use all the flour suggested.
Hi Michelle, glad you liked the cookies. I had to add some milk once when I made the cookies on a hot, dry day. It’s a good idea.
I made this recipe and followed everything to a T. My cookies came out tasting very plain and not sweet at all.
Hi Shayla – sorry that the cookies didn’t come out the way you had hoped. We always frost them, so we like the contrast between the sweet buttercream frosting and not as sweet sugar cookie recipe.
Any high altitude changes to the recipe?
Hi Shawna – we live at sea level 🙂 so we’ve never had to worry about that. Sorry that we don’t have anything specific to suggest.
It’s almost like there is too much flour in this recipe or not enough liquid. I used about a cup less sugar plus added a little water and the cookies are still a little dry. The cookies look pretty but I don’t think I’ll be using this cookie recipe again.
We are so sorry that the cookies didn’t turn out the way you hoped. Thanks for visiting the blog!
Hi Laurie,
I’m making these tomorrow for my son, and will be shipping them. Shipping time should take approx. 5 days. How long do you think the the cookies will last for? i planned on putting them in the freezer for a little while before mailing them. How do you suggest I package them?
Hi Lisa – I would definitely keep them in the freezer right up until the time you are about to ship them. And I would wrap them up tightly in aluminum foil and then put that package in an air tight plastic container. They should last that long but he should eat them immediately when he gets them!!!!
I made these last year and they were so good. I was wondering if I can make them now, them freeze them. I will pull them out before Christmas and frost them. Can I freeze them and how should I wrap them for freezer.
Hi Crystal – YES! Definitely!!! We do this every year. I usually bake the cookies at the beginning of December and then we have our frosting party closer to Christmas. I store the cookies in an airtight plastic container in the freezer. I usually use wax paper to separate the rows of cookies inside of the container.
Thank you v
i made the cookies, followed your recipe exactly besides using a mixer and they tasted like cardboard. what did i do wrong?
Hi Michelle – my hunch would be that they were a little too thin and therefore baked a little too long.
I got my days mixed up, thought it was Saturday instead of Friday. DUH! Can I refrigerate to dough until Sunday
Or will they be fresh on Monday if I bake them today?
See my note below! Good luck!
I have never refrigerated this sugar cookie dough but I have definitely done that with chocolate chip cookie dough. I really think it should be fine. I would cover the actual cookie dough with saran wrap – so the saran wrap is laying right on top of the dough and then wrap it up around the side of the bowl. That way you’ll keep as much of the air off the dough as you can. Then cover the top of the bowl with aluminum foil. When you take out the dough to bake the cookies, let it come back up to room temperature. The cookies will bake best if the dough is not chilled.
I baked these last night and halved your recipe exactly. My dough turned out very crumbly. Do you know what could of went wrong? Should I not add as much flour next time?
Hi Marie – This happened to me once when I made the cookies in a hot dry day in summer. It is easily fixed, just add a little bit of milk (only a tablespoon at a time) to the dough until it moistens up.
I acaccidentally melted my butter when softening it. Do you think they will still make ok?
The consistency of the baked cookie might turn out differently.
Can I freeze the cookies once they are baked?
Sure. We do that every year. They taste fine once they are defrosted. We wrap the frosted cookies in foil (after the frosting has had a chance to set up a bit) and then store them in the freezer in a air-tight plastic container.
I want to use this recipe and mke the spiral different colored sugar cookies would this recipe work for that because I would just be slicing the cookie and baking no cut outs.
Sure. This is a great sugar cookie recipe that can be used all different kinds of ways.
Hi, might seem like a silly question but will the cookies turn out the same if I don’t have a mixer like yours? I’ll have to mix mine the old fashioned way.
Hi Tiffany – they definitely will. I haven’t had the mixer that long and have made plenty of batches of cookies “the old fashioned way”. 🙂 Just make sure you really cream the butter and sugar well before you add the eggs. Merry Christmas!
Hello. Is the flour you use self rising or all purpose? Thanks
Hi Kristal – We use All Purpose Flour.
Can you use margarine or is butter preferred? All I have is margarine.
Hi Danielle, you can always use margarine if that’s all you have. It might change the cookie a little bit but I’m sure it will still be delicious.
Just made these. So yummy. Definitely one of the best sugar cookies and so easy. Just one question. Can I mix the dry ingredients and put them in a mason jar for a Christmas gift? And then tell them to mix in the dry a little at a time with the butter, vanilla, and eggs?
Hi Shana – we’re so glad you liked the cookies. I’m not sure if the gift jar idea would work. You really need to get the sugar, butter and eggs mixed up first. Maybe you could do layers somehow?
I just made this dough and it came out extremely dry to the point that its more of a crumble. How do I fix this?
Hmmm … you could try some melted butter, milk or vanilla. I would add a tablespoon at a time. But not a tablespoon of vanilla – just a teaspoon of that.
I think i messed up. Mine turned out really sticky. Is it fixable?
Yes Audrey. Add some more flour. Try 1/3 of a cup and see if that helps.
The first time I tried this recipe I added extra minutes to the bake time and they were crisp and crunchy but had a wonderful flavor! I tried it again today and used 8 minutes and they were soft and fluffy! Same beautiful taste! Thanks so much, this recipe is perfect.
Hi Eva. I’m so glad you like the recipe. This is a great point that you make and I should update the post to include it. After 6-8 minutes (depending on how hot your oven runs) the cookies might look like they are not done because they don’t brown up. Thanks for the comment, really helpful tip!
Thank you SO much for this recipe! I’m making cookies for my daughter’s first birthday, but am by no means a baker. I used your recipe with my sad little hand held electric mixer and the cookies turned out beautifully! 🙂
Hi Zinnia – this makes us so happy!!! We are so glad that the you liked the recipe and the cookies turned out well. And by the way, we have made many batches of cookies with a hand held mixer (or even a wooden spoon!!!) We hope your daughter has a very happy birthday!
Thank you Laurie!!
I was wondering if you have a good frosting recipe to go with this?
YES!!! We have a great buttercream frosting recipe that tastes amazing on these cookies. Here is the link.
Do u use salted or unsalted butter
Hi Tami – we usually use unsalted butter when baking. But I have made these cookies with salted butter when that is the only kind of butter I had in the house and they taste fine that way too.
Hi. Is the recipe able to be cut in half? I just want to make a few cookies. Don’t need many. Or would it be better to freeze the remaining dough not used?
Hi Vicky – Sure, I cut it in half all the time. The dough comes out exactly the same! Never had a problem.
2 cups butter ( 4 sticks) or 2 sticks of butter??
Hi Anna! 2 cups of butter/4 sticks. That will make a batch that will give you approximately 36-40 cookies using a medium sized (4″ diameter) cookie cutter.
Hi, is it possible to make dough in advance and freeze it? I need to bring cookies to my son’s Halloween party and don’t want to leave it all until the last minute. Thanks
Sure. Just make sure you take the dough out of the freezer and let it get back to room temperature before you start making the cookies. The cookies will turn out best if you don’t bake with chilled dough.
I just made this dough and it came out like chocolate chip cookie dough consistency . Not sure what I did….
Do you mean it was too sticky to roll out? Did you use butter or margarine?
Just found your blog. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for the sugar cookie recipe. Finally a cookie that holds its shape. Having much more fun now with the cutouts.
It’s a great recipe isn’t it? We felt the same way when we first discovered it! Glad you like it. Have fun with the sugar cookies!!!
They look so cute! how many does your recipe make?
Hi Sarah – it really depends on how big your cookies cutters are and how thick you roll out the dough. But this is a big recipe and makes a good amount of cookies – I think we got over 3 dozen cookies using these big snowflake cookie cutters.