A simple mixture of butter, sugar, and flour with a few additions, these sugar cookies bake up perfectly and hold their shape. They’re perfect for any holiday, easy to make, and they freeze beautifully!
These easy cookies use simple ingredients. Our family thinks this is the best sugar cookie recipe since they’re soft and have a delicious buttery vanilla taste. Pair them with our favorite sugar cookie icing to make festive cookies for any occasion!
Ingredients for Sugar Cookies
Sugar – This sugar cookie recipe uses regular granulated sugar for sweetness and texture. Butter – The amount of salt in salted butter can vary, so use unsalted butter and add salt for the best flavor. Flour – All-purpose flour brings everything together. Egg – Egg helps bind everything together. Other – Vanilla adds flavor while baking powder helps achieve the perfect texture. Add ½ teaspoon of almond extract if you’d like.
How to Make Sugar Cookies
Sugar cookies are best when baked just until lightly browned on the edges.
Trouble Shooting & Tips for a Perfect Sugar Cookie Recipe
No parchment – Skip the parchment paper or silicone mat for this recipe. They hold their shape best on an ungreased cookie sheet. Room temp ingredients – Ensure butter and egg are at room temperature. Measure flour correctly – It is important to measure flour correctly. Avoid scooping the flour with a measuring cup, or it can pack the flour, resulting in a dry dough. Instead, lightly spoon the flour into the measuring up and use the straight edge of the back of a knife to level it. Roll the dough on a lightly floured surface to 1/4″ thickness. When rolling the dough, if it gets too soft, put it in the fridge for a few minutes. Don’t add too much flour when rolling the dough. Don’t skip chilling the dough or the cookies will spread and not hold their shape. If baking in batches, do not place new batches on a warm cookie sheet. This will cause the dough to spread.
How to Decorate Sugar Cookies
Sugar cookies are one of the most popular cookie recipes for decorating. Feel free to have fun with cookie cutters, stamped rolling pins, or simply cut them into circles. To make Christmas sugar cookies, or any time of year cut-out cookies, ensure they’re completely cooled on a wire rack before decorating (or the icing will melt). You can decorate the baked cookies with soft frostings like buttercream frosting and embellishments, but our favorite is to use a simple sugar cookie icing or royal icing that finishes shiny and firm. Tip! Use gel food coloring for the best colors. Another option is to melt chocolate chips and dip half of each cookie. Once decorated, store cookies in an airtight container. These chewy sugar cookies also freeze well. Keep in freezer for up to 3 months. © SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
