This is, without a doubt, the easiest and most delicious Sugar Cookie Recipe. This simple recipe makes versatile vanilla sugar cookie dough that is easy to roll and holds its shape while baked, giving you sharp, beautiful, defined edges perfect for decorating with your favorite homemade or storebought frosting. In this post, you’ll learn How to Make Sugar Cookies for all your holiday baking needs.
The Best Sugar Cookie Recipe
When I originally published this sugar cookie recipe three years ago it was my first time ever making homemade sugar cookies. I had done my research and read all the tips and tricks out there, but honestly, I was dreading the process. The amount of conflicting information regarding this specific cookie is overwhelming!
All this talk about chilling versus non-chilling, meringue powder, and royal icing…it was too much.
So, I did some testing, ultimately baked (and ate) too many cookies, and discovered that sugar cookies are all about simple ingredients, time spent with family, and sharing love through tasty homemade treats. meringue powder, you don’t need it here.
And these cookies? Well, these:
- Hold their shape while baking. In other words, no mystery-looking snowflakes or Christmas trees.
- Make a lot of dough and is easily doubled.
- Freeze well.
- Actually tastes really good!
So, ditch the meringue powder, you don’t need it here.
Sugar Cookie Ingredients
Any good sugar cookie recipe should have just a handful of simple ingredients. This recipe includes-
- Butter
- Granulated sugar
- Eggs
- Pure vanilla extract
- All-purpose flour
- Baking powder
- Salt
You guys, that’s it!
How To Make Sugar Cookies
To make the very best sugar cookies I recommend following the following instructions:
- Mix the dough. Like all cookie recipes, you need to make the cookie dough. Start by creaming together the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl until smooth and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time and on low speed, until just combined. Then add the vanilla. In a separate bowl whisk together the dry ingredients. On low speed, add the dry ingredients to the butter and mix until just combined. Do not overmix.
- Roll the dough. Yes, roll your prepared dough before chilling. The best way to do this is between two sheets of parchment paper. In fact, I may even go so far and say this is the only way to roll out sugar cookie dough. Place dough between two pieces of parchment paper, leaving enough excess parchment paper on both sides, and roll it out to 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick (I leave an overhang of parchment paper on one end which hangs off the counter. I keep it in place with my hip). By using this method, there’s no need to sprinkle the dough with additional flour or have a large clean marble slab to work on. In other words, it’s going to keep your life a whole lot easier.
- Chill the rolled dough. NOW is when you will refrigerate your cookie dough. The best way to do this is to roll out a few slabs of cookie dough, each between their own sheets of parchment paper and carefully stack one on top of the other. Then wrap in plastic wrap. Transfer the stacked slabs of dough to the refrigerator and chill for at least 2-4 hours.
- Cut out the cookies. When ready to cut out your cookies, remove a slab of pre-rolled and chilled cookie dough from the refrigerator. Transfer to a flat surface. Flour your cookie cutter, cut out your desired shapes and leave the shapes on the paper! Simply peel away the extra dough. Transfer the entire piece of parchment paper with the cut-out shapes on to a baking sheet.
- Bake. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Transfer cookies to preheated oven and bake for 6-8 minutes or until the edges are just turning golden (not brown!) Remove from the oven and carefully transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely before decorating.
Can I Chill the Dough Before Rolling?
Yes.
If you run out of time and find that you need to roll and bake your sugar cookies at a later time, you may absolutely roll them the next day or even two days later. When I first made these sugar cookies I made them late one night and didn’t get back to rolling and baking until two days later.
That said, if you’re not in a huge rush and have the chance to roll the dough before chilling, I highly recommend it!
To roll sugar cookie dough after it has been chilled,
-
To roll out on a floured surface – sprinkle flour over a large, clean working area and on your rolling pin. Roll out the dough. You will also need to dust the top of your dough with flour. Roll until the dough is 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Flour your cookie cutter and cut out your shapes. Carefully transfer cutouts to un-greased cookie sheets. Bake at 400 degrees F for approximately 6-8 minutes or until edges are just golden (not brown!).
- To roll out cookie dough between parchment paper – place your dough between two pieces of parchment paper, leaving enough excess parchment paper on both sides, and roll it out to 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick (I leave an overhang of parchment paper on one end which hangs off the counter. I keep it in place with my hip). Once desired thickness is reached, flour your cookie cutter, cut out your desired shapes and leave the shapes on the paper! Simply peel away the extra dough. Transfer the entire piece of parchment paper with the cut-out shapes on to a baking sheet and bake for 6-8 minutes.
Sugar Cookie Icing
Before I get started with this, I should probably note that this icing recipe is not a classic or traditional Royal Icing Recipe. Remember how I mentioned the meringue powder above? Well, that is one of those ingredients required to make royal icing- at least in many cases.
That said, this icing recipe isn’t a soft, buttercream icing either.
This is a Sugar Cookie Icing Recipe entirely on its own- in the best possible way.
Like royal icing, it hardens so that you can stack them or pack them away as gifts (which I definitely did), but I didn’t have to order any special ingredients so I could get started on these cookies right away. After all, I wanted something easy.
With that said, for best results I highly recommend acquiring a Wilton No. 5 Tip and popsicle sticks to help make decorating easy, breezy, and a total blast!
Sugar Cookie Icing Ingredients
- Confectioners’ sugar (aka powdered sugar)
- Pure vanilla extract
- Light corn syrup
- Water (room temp)
- Pinch of salt
Tips, Tricks, Frequently Asked Questions
- Always try to cut your cookies as close together as possible to get as many cookies from each “roll” as possible. This is still a concept I am struggling to explain to my 6-year-old (3 years after the original publishing date of this post).
- Don’t waste the scraps. Save the remaining dough and re-roll. This is, once again, best done between two sheets of parchment paper as it prevents the cookies from becoming dense and heavy from too much added flour.
- For softer cookies, slightly undercook and roll them so that they are between 1/4-1/2 inch (shown in the images).
- How thick do I roll sugar cookies? In order to get soft, thick centers, you want to roll your dough so it’s approximately 1/4-inch thick.
- Will this recipe work for any cookie cutter? Yes! Absolutely. From stars to hearts, trees to puppies, all shapes love this dough recipe.
- Can I flavor my sugar cookie dough with flavor extracts? Yes! Popular extracts like almond, lemon, maple, and peppermint are all delicious added to this recipe. Skip the vanilla and add one of these extracts in its place.
How to Freeze Leftover Sugar Cookie Dough
In the event that you only want to use some of your cookie dough, OR you want to make extra and save the rest for a rainy day, good news! You can freeze the leftover cookie dough.
Here’s the thing, though…there’s a small process to freezing the leftover dough.
- Prepare the dough and set aside however much you want into a large ball (approximately half to one-third of the total amount).
- Transfer the dough to a large freezer-friendly gallon size zip-lock bag.
- Before removing all the air, flatten the dough into a disc. Now, remove as much air from the bag as possible.
- Transfer the dough to a flat surface in the freezer.
To thaw your frozen cookie dough, remove the bag containing the cookie dough from the freezer. Allow the dough to thaw on the counter for one hour before removing from the bag and rolling. Alternatively, thaw the cookie dough in the refrigerator overnight and roll cookies the next day.
More cookie recipes,
- Pumpkin Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Best Ever Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Sprinkle Confetti Cookies
- Bourbon Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Caramelized Apple Oatmeal Cookies
- 5 Ingredient Chocolate Cake Mix Cookies
If you try making this Easy Sugar Cookie Recipe, please leave me a comment and let me know! I always love to read your thoughts and feedback!
RECIPE CARD
Easy Sugar Cookie Recipe (with Icing!)
Ingredients
For the Cookies:
- 1.5 cups butter - softened
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 4 eggs
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 5 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
For the Icing:
- 3 cups confectioners' sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoon light corn syrup
- ½ cup room temperature water - start with less, add more as needed
- pinch of salt
Instructions
Cookies. Roll then Chill (recommended method)
- Make the Dough. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth and fluffy, approximately 2-3 minutes. Beat in eggs, one at a time, on low speed, until just combined. Beat in the vanilla extract. In a separate large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt until combined. On low speed, carefully add the flour mixture to the butter and sugar and beat until just combined.
- Roll the dough. Place dough between two pieces of parchment paper, leaving enough excess parchment paper on both sides, and roll it out to 1/4 to 1/2 inch thickness with a rolling pin (I leave an overhang of parchment paper on one end which hangs off the counter. I keep it in place with my hip).
- Chill the rolled dough. Refrigerate your cookie dough. The best way to do this is to roll out a few slabs of cookie dough, each between their own sheets of parchment paper and carefully stack each on top of each other. Transfer the stacked slabs of dough to the refrigerator and chill for at least 2-4 hours.
- Cut out the cookies. When ready to cut out your cookies, remove a slab or pre-rolled and chilled cookie dough from the refrigerator. Transfer to a flat surface. Flour your cookie cutter, cut out your desired shapes and leave the shapes on the paper! Simply peel away the extra dough (and save to re-roll). Transfer the entire piece of parchment paper with the cut-out shapes on to a baking sheet.
- Bake. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Transfer cookies to preheated oven and bake for 6-8 minutes or until the edges are just turning golden (not brown!) Remove from the oven and carefully transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely before decorating.
Cookies. Chill then Roll
- Make the Dough. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth and fluffy, approximately 2-3 minutes. Beat in eggs, one at a time, on low speed, until just combined. Beat in the vanilla extract. In a separate large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt until combined. On low speed, carefully add the flour mixture to the butter and sugar and beat until just combined.
- Chill the dough. Cover the dough and chill for at least 2 hours or overnight.
- Roll the dough. When ready to roll, preheat oven to 400 degrees F and grab a couple of baking sheets, parchment paper, additional flour, desired cookie cutters, and rolling pin. There are a couple ways to roll out your cookies- on a floured surface or between two pieces of parchment paper.
- To roll out on a floured surface- sprinkle flour over a large, clean working area and on your rolling pin. Roll out the dough. You will also need to dust the top of your dough will flour (careful! don't add too much extra flour!) Roll until the dough is 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Flour the cookie cutter and cut out your shapes. Carefully transfer cutouts to un-greased cookie sheets. Bake at 400 degrees F for approximately 6-8 minutes or until edges are just golden (not brown!).
- To roll between parchment paper- Place dough between two pieces of parchment paper, leaving enough excess parchment paper on both sides, and roll it out to 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick (I leave an overhang of parchment paper on one end which hangs off the counter. I keep it in place with my hip). Once desired thickness is reached, flour your cookie cutter, cut out your desired shapes and leave the shapes on the paper! Simply peel away the extra dough. Transfer the entire piece of parchment paper with the cut-out shapes on to a baking sheet and bake for 6-8 minutes.
- Cool and decorate. Remove from the oven and carefully transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely before decorating.
For the Icing
- In a medium bowl whisk together the confectioners' sugar, vanilla, corn syrup, salt and 1/4 cup of water. Your icing will probably be far too thick, or still powdery. To test if your icing is ready, allow the icing to run off the end of whisk and into the bowl. It's ready when the line of icing holds on the surface for 2-3 seconds before being reabsorbed back into the icing. If it is too thick, slowly add water, 1 tablespoon at a time until consistency is reached. If too much water is added, simply add more confectioners' sugar and whisk to combine.
- If making different colors, divide icing between bowls, adding 1-2 drops of liquid or gel food coloring to each bowl.
Jessica's Notes
- I decorated these cookies with a Wilton No. 5 Tip and a popsicle stick.
- Always try to cut your cookies as close together as possible to get as many cookies from each “roll” as possible.
- Don’t waste the scraps. Save the remaining dough and re-roll. This is, once again, best done between two sheets of parchment paper as it prevents the cookies from becoming dense and heavy from too much added flour.
- For softer cookies, slightly undercook and roll them so that they are approximately 1/4-1/2 inch (shown in the images).
- Will this recipe work for any cookie cutter? Yes! Absolutely. From stars to hearts, trees to puppies, all shapes love this dough recipe.
- Can I flavor my sugar cookie dough with flavor extracts? Yes! Popular extracts like almond, lemon, maple, and peppermint are all delicious added to this recipe. Skip the vanilla and add one of these extracts in its place.
Nutritional Information
(Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and specific brands of ingredients used.)
I made this recipe today and loved it. It was so delicious! Also LOVED the tip on rolling between parchment sheets GENIUS! This one’s for sure a keeper! 😎
Thank you for the delicious feedback, Julie 😀