The Best Soft Sugar Cookies (2024)

Soft sugar cookies, nothing can beat’em!

These soft and chewy sugar cookies are seriously out of this world. They are our family’s favorite Christmas cookie, require no chilling, and come together in less than 30 minutes! They are so good that you’ll probably need to triple this batch! (Speaking from experience!)

Anyone else extremely excited for the holidays and Christmas especially?! There is something so special about that time that brings me so much joy. Maybe it’s all that baking I do…

I always get so happy when I make my famous Christmas day cookie boxes to share with all my friends and family. Believe it or not, I get a whole lot more joy making all the cookies, decorating them, and then gifting them to everyone else. Seeing their smile and their faces light up when they take a bite from their favorite cookies makes me so ecstatic.

Now here is the thing about sugar cookies, I never loved them. The thing is that the only time I would have sugar cookies was when someone buys them. No one ever made me really good sugar cookies that I was absolutely in love with.

They always were too sweet, topped with a horrible pink or yellow sugar cookie frosting or some other color that just was not appetizing. So I never made them or ate them. This year my sister and I decided that it was gonna be different. We were going to try and make “sugar cookies, but better”. These were my sister’s words.

We did! We made sugar cookies, but better! They were soft, melt in your mouth, super easy to make and the best part not too sweet!!

This is the best soft sugar cookies recipe on the internet!

I know, I know… That’s a pretty big statement but I stand behind it. These cookies are the most balanced white sugar cookies I’ve ever had in my life. They have every component that makes these perfect.

Texture, check.

Sweetness, check.

Perfect little circles with gorgeous cracks on top, check, check, check, and check!

We did it. This Holiday season is gonna be the best one thus far because we have finally found the secret ingredients to make these sugar cookies as best as we could. I’m not going to make you wait too long, here are the 2 secret ingredients that will make your cookies as soft as a 5-star hotel pillow!

Secret ingredient number 1- Brown sugar is what will make your sugar cookies extra soft. The moisture that the sugar cookie contains is extremely helpful in this recipe.

Secret ingredient number 2- Extra vanilla. I love adding extra vanilla to these cookies because otherwise, they would be too plain. The vanilla makes them taste even more luxurious!

Checkout these other holiday cookies!

• 17 days of holiday cookie recipes
• Chocolate walnut slice and bake cookies
• Chocolate peppermint crunch slice and bake cookies
• Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies
• Fudgy Chocolate Cake Mix crinkle cookies

Why are these the best sugar cookies you will ever make?

This is one of the toughest questions because I just want to say everything makes them the best! But here are a few reasons why I think these are so so good:

• These soft sugar cookies require no chilling!
• They are a great alternative to the Christmas sugar cutout cookies, just with a whole lot less work.
• No need to spend all day in the kitchen. These will be ready in about 30 minutes.
• They are one of the most traditional holiday cookies. So these are an easy way to make a staple at home and enjoy it during Christmas or Thanksgiving time.
• Bonus, your house will smell like heaven every time you make these sugar cookies. Oh, and you’ll be everyone’s favorite person if you bring these with you when you go visit friends and family!

Ingredients to make these soft sugar cookies

You will need the following ingredients to make these easy and chewy sugar cookies:

• Butter– You will need to use softened butter for this cookie recipe.
• Granulated sugar– The white granulated sugar will make your sugar cookies nice and chewy.
• Brown sugar– While the little amount of brown sugar will keep your sugar cookies soft and melt in your mouth.
• Egg while– The egg white used in this cookie dough recipe will be the binding ingredient.
• Vanilla– These are vanilla sugar cookies after all so use some good quality vanilla extract or vanilla beans if you can.
• Flour– All purpose flour works great in this recipe.
• baking soda– Baking soda and baking powder will keep your cookies soft and will give them a little lift as well.
• Salt- Salt balances out the level of sweetness in your sweets so always add a tiny pinch of salt when baking.

What makes these sugar cookies so soft?

There are a few things that play a huge role in making these sugar cookies so soft.

The first thing is the combination of the baking powder and the baking soda as well as the high butter ratio.

The next thing is the use of brown sugar alongside granulated sugar together. The brown sugar adds moisture to the cookie batter and keeps your sugar cookies so soft, they will melt in your mouth! The granulated sugar makes these cookies extra chewy, which gives us those chewy edges we all love too much.

How to make the softest sugar cookies?

• Start by preheating the oven to 350F, then line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
• In a stand mixer cream the butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar together using a paddle attachement until light in color and fluffy. Add in the egg white and the vanilla and mix again for 30 seconds or until fully incorporated.
• Add in the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt and mix just until the flour disappears. Using a small cookie scooper, scoop out equally sized cookie dough balls, roll them in the sugar and place them on the parchment lined baking sheet. Make sure to leave 2 inches between each cookie because they will spread.
• Bake the cookies for 8 minutes, pull them out and let them rest on the cookie sheet for 5-10 minutes then transfer to a cooling wrack. Enjoy immediately or store in an airtight container.

Tips for the best sugar cookies

To get the perfect batch of holiday sugar cookies, you will need to keep these few tips in mind.

• Do not over mix- Over mixing your sugar cookie dough will result in a tougher cookie. So stop mixing the second the flour has disappeared.
• Don’t press down the cookies– These cookies are meant to be rolled and baked. No pressing down required. If you press down, they will get too flat and over bake faster.
• Do not over bake– Keep an eye on your cookies. The baking time suggests 9 minutes of baking then 5 minutes of cooling on the cookie sheet. you can play around with the time a bit by baking them for just 8 minutes and see if that texture is better for you. But don’t bake them for more than 9 minutes.
• Use a small cookie scooper– If you don’t have a small mini scooper, make sure that your cookie dough is 1.5 tablespoon worth. Making sure that all your cookie dough balls are the same size as mine will ensure an even bake and of course super soft and chewy sugar cookies.

Customize your sugar cookies for the Holidays!

There are a few things that can be done to customize your sugar cookies and make them look absolutely perfect before putting them in your Christmas cookie boxes. Here are a few ideas.

• Roll them in sprinkles– Instead of rolling these cookie sin sugar before baking, roll them in red and green sprinkles to make them Christmas themed af!
• Ice them– I love icing these sugar cookies and decorating them with different colored icing because it makes them so much more festive

How long can you store sugar cookies for?

Sugar cookies don’t last too long in my house but if you manage to hide these from everyone they can be stored at room temperature for up to 3 days.

If you make an extra-large batch of the softest sugar cookies you can store them in an airtight container and freeze them so they stay fresh for up to 3 months.

Whenever I’m ready to eat one, I usually pull it out and thaw it at room temperature or microwave it for 10-20 seconds.

Can I freeze sugar cookies before baking?

If you would like to make this recipe ahead of time and freeze it, it’s possible, and here is the step to make that happen.

Make your sugar cookie dough as directed. Roll the cookie and freeze them on a silicone-lined baking sheet. When they are fully frozen, transfer them to an airtight container, and back in the freezer. The cookies will last for up to 3 months this way.

Whenever you are ready to bake them, pop them in the oven and bake them for an extra minute or two.

Soft sugar cookies recipe

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