The Best Sugar Cookie Recipe
We have found The Best Sugar Cookie Recipe ever and we couldn’t wait to share it so that everyone can have super yummy homemade sugar cookies.
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 it was. We finally found the best sugar cookie recipe. It’s delicious and keeps the shape of whatever cookie cutter you use. Sugar cookies used to be Christmas only for us, and now we use them all year long.
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.
Cream the butter and sugar until it is completely mixed. Do not over-mix.
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.
Add 4 teaspoons of Baking Powder and mix.
Then mix in the 6 cups of flour two cups at a time.
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 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.
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 at 350 degrees for 6-8 minutes depending on the size of the cookie. 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 like we have done in the pictures here, you should cook them 7-8 minutes but no longer. 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 you would with Chocolate Chip Cookies for example. 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.
This recipe will make quite a bit of cookies but the actual number depends on the size of the cookie cutters you are using. Using these large-ish cookie cutters, we made 36 cookies. If you only need a couple dozen cookies, you can cut this recipe in half.
These cookies taste amazing and the really hold their shape. They don’t poof up too much or flatten out into a cookie blob.
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.
Pin the yummy The Best Sugar Cookie Recipe for later.
We use this recipe again and again, it truly is The Best Sugar Cookie Recipe we’ve ever tried.
We have found The Best Sugar Cookie Recipe ever and we couldn't wait to share it so that everyone can have super yummy homemade sugar cookies.
Did you Make this Recipe? Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @twosisterscrafting on Instagram so we can see it! 
The Best Sugar Cookie Recipe
Ingredients
Instructions
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.
Great cookie this is a keeper thank you
Thanks! We use this recipe all the time.
5 stars great cookie this is a keeper thank you
Thanks! So glad you liked the recipe. We do too!
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.
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!
Do these cookies expand alot while cooking?
No. That is the beauty of this recipe.
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.
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 ❤️
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 🙂
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 🙂
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.
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.
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.