Best Soft Sugar Cookies
This is the best soft and chewy sugar cookie recipe that is so quick and easy. A classic sugar cookie recipe that doesn't even need frosting!
Servings: 24
Ingredients
- 1 cup Unsalted Butter
- 1 1/2 cups Sugar
- 1 large Egg
- 1 large Egg Yolk
- 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
- 2 1/2 cups Flour
- 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
- 3/4 teaspoon Salt (if using salted butter, use 1/8 teaspoon)
- Sparkling or Sanding Sugar
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar for 4 minutes or until light and fluffy. Scrape the sides of the bowl. Add egg and egg yolk and vanilla and mix for 1 minute longer.
- Fold in flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Don't overmix or it creates too much gluten, which leads to tough cookies.
- Chill the dough. Wrap tightly and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. After the dough has chilled, remove from the refrigerator. Line baking sheets with parchment paper sheets. Roll into balls and place on the light colored baking sheet.
- Place on a light-colored baking sheet and bake for 9-12 minutes or until lightly golden on the edges but still soft in the center. As soon as you remove from the oven, sprinkle with sparkling or sanding sugar. See below for making round circles. Let cool.
Notes
Can I use salted butter in this sugar cookie recipe?
Yes! If you use salted butter in this recipe, just reduce the salt to 1/8 teaspoon in the recipe. I suggest using unsalted butter to control the amount of salt in the sugar cookie recipe, but you can use salted butter, no problem.
How do I make my cookies perfectly round?
To make the cookies perfectly round, as soon as you remove the cookies from the oven, use a large round cookie cutter or biscuit cutter and place it around the cookie and move it around until it forms a round circle. You can also use a small turner and press the edges towards the center of the cookie to make a uniform circle.
Store sugar cookies in an airtight container for them to stay soft and chewy.
CAN SUGAR COOKIES BE FROZEN?
Yes! You can freeze both the cookies and the cookie dough. You can chill the dough before baking the cookies by freezing the cookie dough balls on a baking sheet until firm. Then put them in a Ziploc freezer-safe bag until ready to bake. When ready to bake, place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and bake for 1 minute longer.
To freeze already baked sugar cookies, let them cool completely and then place them in a Ziploc freezer-safe bag.
Nutrition
Calories: 166kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.001g | Cholesterol: 15mg | Sodium: 101mg | Potassium: 95mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 14g | Vitamin A: 21IU | Calcium: 17mg | Iron: 1mg