You have just landed on the best Soft and Chewy Sugar Cookie Recipe that is moist and ready to sink your teeth into like those from the bakery. One batch makes 24 cookies that are melt-in-your-mouth good (scratch that, heavenly), ready in less than 30 minutes, and perfect for frosting and decorating. Plus, you don’t even have to roll out the dough!
These cookies are a great texture to eat plain, but they’re also delicious with some frosting slathered on top. Since they do have baking soda and baking powder, you’ll get some puffing and a textured top. This isn’t the right recipe for cut-out cookies or detailed royal icing design that benefits from a smooth top. You can use my cut out sugar cookie recipe for that purpose.
If you are making these for the holidays, be sure to check out my Candy Cane Cookies for a peppermint marshmallow frosting recipe that pairs perfectly with today’s soft sugar cookie recipe. Another holiday favorite are our Amish sugar cookies, which are fluffier than this chewy version.
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Why You’ll Love This Soft Sugar Cookie Recipe
- Makes 24 soft sugar cookies, so it’s great for crowds.
- Can be served with or without frosting.
- No need to roll out the dough!
- Perfect texture, soft and chewy like professional bakery cookies.
- These are the best sugar cookies, perfect for decorating and holiday cookie parties.
🍪 Ingredients:
These chewy sugar cookies contain a number of basic ingredients, and all of them are easy to find at your local grocery store. Let’s talk about the most important ingredients.
- Butter – Allow enough time for it to come to room temperature, never microwave your butter to soften it more quickly, the butter will effect the texture of the baked cookies
- Vanilla extract and almond extract – adds great flavors to this sugar cookie
- Eggs – you’ll need one room-temperature egg, plus the yolk of another, giving richness to the dough and just a bit of lift.
- Lofthouse cookies frosting (this is a sweet, shortening based recipe) or American buttercream and sprinkles (optional)
For a full list of ingredients and their measurements, 📋 please view my printable recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Substitutions and Variations
- These are delicious with a lemon extract if you want to replace the almond extract.
- If you want to omit the frosting, you can sprinkle some cinnamon sugar on the tops of the cookies just as the come out of the oven.
- You can keep these shaped from the scoop or use decorative cookie cutters to jazz it up.
🔪 Instructions:
PREP: Line your cookie sheet with parchment paper and preheat the oven.
Step 1: In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and baking powder and set aside.
Step 2: Use an electric mixer or stand mixer to beat the butter on medium speed.
Pro Tip: Letting your butter soften and eggs come to room temperature before making the cookie dough helps with the overall texture and makes mixing easier.
Step 3: Add the extracts and sugars, then continue mixing.
Step 4: Mix in the eggs (and the extra egg yolk too), scraping the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
Step 5: Add half the flour mixture on low speed. Once combined, add the remaining dry ingredients.
Step 6: Use a cookie scoop to make the cookie dough balls. Drop cookies on the parchment-lined baking sheet (or lined with silicone mats), then slightly press them down.
Step 7: Bake cookies for 8 to 9 minutes or until you see a hint of golden brown. Transfer baked cookies to a wire rack to cool. Frost and decorate if desired.
GARNISH/SLICE/SERVE: We love these when served warm out of the oven. Add some festive frosting for any special occasion.
Recipe Tips for the Softest Sugar Cookies Recipe
- Pressing the cookie dough down makes them spread out more evenly but you don’t have to do this. However, if your cookie dough is cold I would highly recommend it.
- Make sure your baking powder and soda have not expired. These two ingredients react in the dough so the cookies will rise and be light and fluffy.
- Creaming the butter and sugar is very important and helps to keep the sugar cookies soft.
- If desired, you can roll the cookie dough balls in table sugar. This will make them a little crispier around the edges but may change the texture just a bit.
- You don’t have to chill the dough for this classic sugar cookie recipe.
- If you are making these for a holiday cookie decorating party, I recommend baking them the day before so kids don’t have to wait for them to cool.
Fun Fact
Pillsbury earned the record for decorating the most sugar cookies in one hour in 2015. They recruited shoppers at the Mall of America and turned out 1,169 cookies!
Recipe FAQs
Keep leftover sugar cookies in an airtight container for up to 5 days on the counter.
Once they have cooled, keep them on the baking sheet and flash freeze for 30 minutes. Then transfer them to a freezer bag for up to 3 months. It’s best to freeze unfrosted cookies.
Wrap the raw cookie dough in a layer of plastic wrap then in a freezer bag. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight before baking the cookies.
More Yummy Cookie Recipes To Try
If you tried this Soft and Chewy Sugar Cookies Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how you liked it in the 📝 comments below.
Soft and Chewy Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup salted butter softened
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 egg room temperature
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- Lofthouse frosting and sprinkles optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line sheet pans with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a standing mixer, beat the butter until light and fluffy (about 1 minute).
- Add vanilla and almond extracts, granulated sugar and brown sugar. Beat in until well combined.
- Add the egg and egg yolk. Beat for 3-4 minutes on high speed, scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally to fully cream the wet ingredients.
- Add ½ of the flour mixture and beat in on low speed just until combined. Add the other half of the flour mixture and beat in until combined. Do not overbeat.
- Scoop 2 ½ tablespoon size balls of cookie dough. Roll between your fingertips to form smooth balls. Place balls on prepared sheet pans, spaced 2 inches apart. Press down the center of the ball, just slightly.
- Bake for 8-9 minutes or until cookies have just a hint of brown around the bottom edges and are set on top. Allow to cool for 3-4 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack.
- Frost cooled cookies and garnish with sprinkles, if desired.
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Notes
- Pressing the cookie dough down makes them spread out more evenly but you don’t have to do this. However, if your cookie dough is cold I would highly recommend it.
- Make sure your baking powder and soda have not expired. These two ingredients react in the dough so they will rise and be light and fluffy.
- Creaming the butter and sugar is very important and helps to keep the sugar cookies soft.
- If desired, you can roll the cookie dough balls in table sugar. This will make them a little crispier around the edges but may change the texture just a bit.
- You don’t have to chill the dough for this recipe.
- If you are making these for a holiday cookie decorating party, I recommend baking them the day before so kids don’t have to wait for them to cool.
Nutrition
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