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Celebrate the special occasion with this easy sugar cookie recipe! This is my go-to for a simple cookie! These drop sugar cookies are an all-time favorite because they’re so soft and chewy. Plus, this soft sugar cookie recipe is a blank slate so you can vary the recipe in so many ways.

stacked sugar cookies with white icing and sprinkles on top

I’ve fine-tuned this cookie recipe to make them soft, chewy, and delicious with or without frosting. These are even better than cut out sugar cookies!

Why you’ll love this recipe

  • This is a drop cookie: you can just mix, drop and bake! The easiest sugar cookie recipe yet! 
  • These are perfect soft sugar cookies that melt in your mouth but are also chewy at the same time.
  • The best part about this easy sugar cookie recipe is that they’re amazing with frosting, but they’re also so good plain. They’re even good frozen! I’m not going to explain how I know, lol…
Ingredients in SUGAR COOKIES

Ingredients Needed

  • Butter – a good sugar cookie uses butter. Butter-flavored shortening is okay, but to get that traditional sugar cookie flavor, you need butter. Use unsalted butter to control the amount of salt. If you’re using salted butter, reduce the amount of salt in the recipe by 1/4 teaspoon.
  • Sugar – this drop cookie recipe uses granulated sugar. My cutout sugar cookie recipe uses powdered sugar but granulated makes for a chewy cookie.
  • Egg plus egg yolk – eggs provide structure in baking. The extra egg yolk adds a bit of chew to the cookie.
  • Cream of TartarCream of Tartar works in tandem with the baking soda, keeping the cookies soft.

Be sure to see the recipe card below for full ingredients & instructions!

6 photos showing how to make sugar cookies.

How to make easy sugar cookies

  • Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two cookie sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper.
  • Cream butter and sugar in a bowl until the mixture is fluffy..
  • Add the room temperature egg, egg yolk, and vanilla and mix until smooth, then mix in baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt. Add flour and mix until the sugar cookie dough forms.
  • Scoop 2 tablespoon-sized balls on a baking sheet. Bake for 11-15 minutes, or until the bottoms start to get golden and the top is no longer glossy. 
  • Cool for at least 10 minutes on the cookie sheet before removing. Cool completely before frosting.
stacked sugar cookies

You don’t need frosting on these sugar cookies, but I love a quick and easy vanilla buttercream. It makes the best sugar cookie icing, ever! I use a ratio of unsalted butter to powdered sugar and add vanilla, salt, and a bit of milk for consistency. To decorate these sugar cookies, you can tint the icing any color too, and don’t forget the sprinkles! 

  • Omit the frosting and first roll the sugar cookies in granulated sugar for a sweet crunchy outside. Use colored sugars for holiday drop sugar cookies!
  • Make these 1 tablespoon or 2 tablespoon size, just adjust the baking time.
  • You can turn these into sugar cookie bars by baking them in a 9×13-inch pan for approximately 18-25 minutes.
  • Make M&M Cookies by adding candy or any mix-ins (about 1 1/2 cups).
  • Add 1 cup of sprinkles to the batter to make a sprinkle cookie (omit frosting).
  • Roll the cookies in sugar or cinnamon sugar (reminiscent of snickerdoodles) and skip the frosting.
  • You can even turn these into chocolate sugar cookies really easily.
stacked sugar cookies with white icing and sprinkles on top

Expert Tips

  • Use real butter, not margarine or imitation butter.
  • Equal parts butter and granulated sugar gives these the perfect amount of sweetness and spread.
  • Buy yourself some cream of tartar so that your cookies have some chew without the spread of just using baking soda.
  • Add an extra egg yolk to complete the perfection of this chewy soft sugar cookie.
  • You can make these dairy-free sugar cookies by using Earth’s Balance Vegan Butter Sticks in place of the butter.

FAQs

What makes sugar cookies soft or hard?

The cream of tartar keeps these soft. It’s also important not to over bake sugar cookies to keep them nice and soft and not crunchy.

How can I make my sugar cookies taste better? 

Add a bit of vanilla extract or almost extract to enhance the buttery flavor we love! 

What makes cookies soft and chewy or crispy?

The extra egg yolk and cream of tartar in this recipe helps keep these nice and chewy. A crispy sugar cookie would have no cream of tartar and more baking soda so it would spread more.

Can I use this cookie recipe to roll cut-out cookies?

No. For cut-out cookies you will need powdered sugar to stop the spread. In cut-out sugar cookies or snowball cookies, you don’t want spreading. Powdered sugar includes cornstarch, which helps with binding and reducing spread, thus no spreading. 

Can you freeze sugar cookies

Yes – you can freeze the baked cookies unfrosted OR frosted! Freeze plain cookies in a gallon-size resealable bag with paper towels between layers. Freeze frosting in an airtight container. You can freeze frosted cookies in a single layer in an airtight container.

stacked sugar cookies with white icing and sprinkles on top

Sugar Cookies Recipe

4.32 from 63 votes
This is the BEST soft sugar cookie recipe! These drop sugar cookies are chewy and soft and perfect with or without frosting.
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Yield 17 cookies (depending on size)
Serving Size 1 cookie

Ingredients
 

For the Cookies

  • ¾ cup (170g) unsalted butter, softened
  • ¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups (248g) all-purpose flour

For the frosting

  • 4 tablespoons (57g) unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 ⅓ cups (151g) powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon (15ml) milk
  • Food coloring if desired
  • Sprinkles optional

Instructions

Make the Cookies:

  • Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two cookie sheet with silicone baking mats or parchment paper.
  • Cream butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or a large bowl with a hand mixer). Cream until the mixture is fluffy, about one minute.
  • Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla and mix until smooth, then mix in baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt. Add flour and mix until cookie dough forms.
  • Scoop 2 tablespoon sized balls 2-inches apart on cookie sheet. Bake for 11-15 minutes, or until the bottoms are just starting get golden and the top is no longer glossy. Cool at least 10 minutes on cookie sheet before removing. Cool completely before frosting.

Make the Frosting:

  • Mix butter in a large bowl with a hand mixer until smooth, then slowly mix in the powdered sugar a bit at a time. The mixture will be very crumbly. Add the vanilla and mix, then mix in the salt and milk. Beat until smooth and creamy.
  • Tint with food coloring, if desired.
  • Frost cooled cookies. Store loosely covered.

Alternate preparation:

  • Scoop balls of cookie dough and roll them in sugar or cinnamon sugar before baking. Skip frosting. OR
  • Add 1 cup of sprinkles to the dough before scooping. Skip frosting.

Recipe Video

Recipe Notes

  • Use real butter, not margarine or imitation butter.
  • Equal parts butter and granulated sugar gives these the perfect amount of sweetness and spread.
  • Buy yourself some cream of tartar so that your cookies have some chew without the spread of just using baking soda.
  • Add an extra egg yolk to complete the perfection of this chewy soft sugar cookie.
  • You can make these dairy-free sugar cookies by using Earth’s Balance Vegan Butter Sticks in place of the butter.
  • You can make 1 tablespoon (8-13 minute) or 2 tablespoon (13-17 minutes) size cookies. Or bake in a 9×13-inch pan (18-25 minutes).
  • Store leftover cookies in an airtight container for up to 4 days or freeze cookies for up to 3 months, with or without frosting.

Recipe Nutrition

Serving: 1cookie | Calories: 222kcal | Carbohydrates: 27g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 51mg | Sodium: 130mg | Sugar: 17g
Nutritional information not guaranteed to be accurate
Course Dessert
Cuisine American

Easy Sugar Cookie Recipe – this sugar cookie recipe is the perfect drop sugar cookie – it’s soft and chewy and perfect with frosting!

Last Updated on May 24, 2023

Dorothy Kern

Welcome to Crazy for Crust, where I share recipes that are sometimes crazy, often with a crust, and always served with a slice of life.

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28 Comments

  1. I made the cookies plain (no icing, nor rolled in cinnamon) and they were very good sugar cookies! Perfect actually.

  2. Not what I expected. My cookies didn’t really spread out much at all. They remained dome shaped. Maybe my butter wasn’t quite room temperature. They are however, quite tasty!