This Super Soft Sugar Cookies Recipe is the perfect cookie to make this holiday season.
With a light, buttery texture, and fluffy vanilla frosting, this cookie recipe is one that you’ll come back to time and time again. They’re somewhere between the texture of lofthouse cookies you can get at the grocery store and those crispy cookies filled with chocolate chips.
Soft frosted sugar cookies are a favorite for gatherings during the holiday season, because you can easily decorate them for any special occasion – just change up the sprinkles! There are no secret ingredients here, just simple pantry stapes and easy steps to follow.
We like to make simple circles (no cookie cutters necessary!), but you can also use this easy sugar cookies recipe for classic Christmas cookies with your favorite cookie cutters.
Recipe Ingredients:
- Butter: use your favorite softened unsalted butter
- Sugar: you will need both granulated white sugar and powdered sugar
- Eggs: use large eggs at room temperature
- Extract: use vanilla extract or even almond extract
- Salt: kosher salt will work great for this recipe
- Leavening agent: baking powder is the powerhouse to rise these cookies
- Flour: you will need to use all-purpose flour
- Milk: use whatever milk you have on hand for when making the frosting
How to make super soft sugar cookies:
- Combine. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar.
- Mix. Mix in eggs and vanilla until combined.
- Add in dry ingredients. Add flour, baking powder and salt, and mix until well incorporated.
- Rest. Cover dough bowl with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for one hour.
- Preheat. Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Prepare. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Roll cookies. Roll cookies into 1-inch balls, place them on the prepared baking sheet, and flatten with the bottom of a drinking glass until 1/4-inch thick.
- Bake. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until slightly golden brown on the bottom.
- Cool. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely.
- Make frosting. In a stand mixer or large mixing bowl, beat together powdered sugar and butter until creamy. Mix in vanilla and milk until smooth.
- Frost cookies. Frost cooled cookies with frosting and top with sprinkles, if desired.
Frequently Asked Questions for making chewy sugar cookies
Do not overwork the dough. The more you work the dough, the tougher the cookies will get. Also, use room temperature butter so that the butter can permeate the flour to make for the best results.
After the cookies are no longer wet looking, have begun to puff up a little, and just as the edges begin to start to golden brown.
Generally, this would mean that there either wasn’t enough butter in the dough or too much flour.
If the cookies were dry after cooking, there wasn’t enough butter, the cookies were cooked too long, or possibly the dough was rolled too thin with the rolling pin (aim for cookies that are 1/4-inch thick before baking).
Yes, they can. Check out these great articles for the best tips before you start making our easy sugar cookie recipe.
Baking at High Altitudes
Baking and Cooking at High Altitudes
Expert Tips
- Use a sheet of parchment paper. If you don’t have parchment paper use a silicone baking mat.
- Chill the cookie dough in the fridge for at least an hour before baking the sugar cookies. This will make the cookie dough easier to work with, and will produce a chewier, tastier cookie.
- Pull cookies from the cookie sheet after taking them out of the oven to stop the baking process. Use a cooling rack for the most even cooling, or you can place them on a tea towel in a pinch.
- If you want pure white frosting you might want to consider getting clear vanilla flavor extract as the regular vanilla extract will tint the color of the frosting.
Storage Instructions:
Freezer: Place these cookies in a freezer bag or airtight container and store them for up to 2 months. Just pull them out and let them thaw 12 hours in advance.
Counter: Store the completed chewy cookies in an airtight container and store them for up to 4-5 days.
Other dessert recipes:
Super Soft Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
- ¾ cup butter, (softened)
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 3 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
Frosting:
- ½ cup butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 1 Tablespoon milk
Instructions
- In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar.
- Mix in eggs and vanilla until combined.
- Add salt, baking powder and flour and mix until well incorporated.
- Cover dough bowl with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for one hour.
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Roll cookies into 1-inch balls and flatten with the bottom of a drinking glass until ¼-inch thick.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until slightly golden brown on the bottom.
- Let cool completely.
- In a stand mixer or large mixing bowl, beat together powdered sugar and butter until creamy. Mix in vanilla and milk until smooth.
- Frost cooled cookies with frosting and top with sprinkles, if desired.
Notes
- Use food coloring to add to the frosting if you want to! Then frost the cooled sugar cookies with frosting and top with sprinkles of your choice if you desire it.
- If the frosting is not thick enough, add a little more powdered sugar. If it’s too thick add in a little more milk.
- For an extra creamy frosting, add in a few tablespoons of shortening. (It’s so delicious!)
Nutrition
Video
Did You Make This Recipe?We’d love to hear your thoughts! Leave a review or a question in the comment section below the post.
I adore soft sugar cookies! These look so delicious, I can’t wait to try them!
Made these for Memorial Day and my family loved them. I’m always on the look out for soft cookies, and these were wonderful. I used cream in the frosting and it also was delicious. It’s great to have a sugar cookie recipe that I don’t have to roll out and cut. Thanks so much.
Can this recipe be doubled?
love these! So
So Easy my husband loves them! Wish I could post a photo of mine! The icing was also great and made 2 dozen. I used neon food coloring and Was awesome for Christmas
Sure, this recipe can be doubled!
I made this recipe for my family as a little desert. Sadly, I found that the cookies tasted too much like baking soda. I would not bake this recipe again, but if I were to, I would not use as much baking soda and also add sugar to the cookie dough recipe.
I know you don’t have to with this recipe, but will it still work if you want to roll them out and cut them into shapes or is it too soft to hold form?
You could roll it out for shapes. We also have other sugar cookie recipes on our blog for rolling out and using cookie cutters.
https://www.sixsistersstuff.com/2012/12/santa-sugar-cookies.html
Try the recipe again. I think it’s because you used baking soda instead of baking powder. I just got through frosting my cookies and they’re really good!
about how many cookies and how much frosting does this recipe yield?
It makes about 24 to 30 cookies.
Amazing recipe!! I made these with coconut in the batter and half dipped them in melted chocolate and defenitley recommend it!
Hi Sue! Coconut in the batter sounds delicious! Thanks so much for stopping by our blog! Have a great week.
Unsalted or salted butter. Excited to make these!!
Whoops, That was actually a question not a statement…. Unsalted or salted butter?
Hi Becca, We have actually made it with both. But I think unsalted is best.
How many does it make?
This recipe makes about 3 dozen cookies.
These are AMAZING! It only yielded 23 cookies for me because the dough was sitting in the fridge and some hungry hands got into it haha! Both the dough and the finished cookies are delicious!
Could I make the dough and refrigerate overnight, and bake the next day?
Hi Sara! You can totally make the cookie dough a day ahead and keep in the fridge overnight. Keep covered in an airtight container.
Do you need to do anything different for high altitudes
There are adjustments you can make with high altitude baking. I’m not sure what altitude you are at, but here are some links that may be helpful to you –
http://www.bhg.com/recipes/how-to/bake/baking-at-high-altitudes/
http://www.pillsburybaking.com/bakers-corner/baking-basics/methods/high-altitude-baking
Hi how are you.. can we start with the cookies right away instead of putting it in the fridge for one hour will it still come out soft.. and thank you
We chilled the dough for about an hour if it was too sticky. You will know when you roll them into balls if it needs to be chilled. Sometimes adding a small amount of flour will help with stickiness.
If you don’t have milk to thin the frosting, is there something else you can use?
Adding water will work. Milk makes it a little creamier.
Can you roll it out and use cookies cutters?
Wow! I just baked these sugar cookies and coming from someone who does’t like sugar cookies. ( I made these for my nieces school event) but these cookies are the bomb!!! best sugar cookies ever…
Ah these were amazing! My icing came out too thin though but i think my butter was too soft so thats why. But these are amazing! My husband ate like 10 in one night lol thanks for the recipe! <3
It calls for baking powder not baking soda, great cookies I love them!
Any special instructions on how to store these cookies?
They store well in an airtight container. We have taken them to parties and just placed them on a plate covered with plastic wrap.
Yes! I did this and it works perfect! Roll it to about a quarter of an inch thick and bake at 350 works perfectly!
Do they spread as they bake?
I don’t have any parchment paper. What else can I do???
You can use a baking mat. We have made them before without parchment paper. Watch them closely.
I don’t have parchment paper or a baking mat, is there anything else?
how about you READ the recipe right before putting a bad review about it. its not their fault you f*d up their recipe and then it tasted like crap. what did you expect?!
baking POWDER not soda and the recipe DOES call for sugar.
gosh your cookies must have been disgusting.
Best sugar cookies ever!!
Just try baking them on the cookie sheet. Watch them closely so they don’t get overcooked.
What should the consistency of the batter be?
You should be able to roll the dough into a ball easily and then be able to flatten slightly. The consistency of most cookie dough.
I am new to cookie making and my cookies turned into a blob. They felt too soft and were melting in my hand I feel like I followed the instructions. I am trying again to see if they turn out better maybe I should add more flour? I sure hope I don’t get berated like the last person that made an honest mistake and mentioned here. Honestly I felt like I was reading comments from Gordon Ramsey
They were delicious however my two yr old called the yummy pancakes ?. So if nothing else I have a great pancake recipe?.
Sorry they didn’t turn out well. Try adding a little more flour if the dough is too sticky. Be sure they get their refrigeration time. We love comments from our viewers and try our best to help answer any questions. So glad you stopped by our blog and hope you have better luck if you make them again. Have a fantastic week!
These turned out nice! Thanks for sharing your recipe. ?
Was this rude comment really nessessary? We need more grace and kindness in this world, and less of this.
Haven’t made them yet but going by the comments I’m going to, this morning! My daughter loves the frosted cookies that are so popular at stores right now, but I can’t see paying those crazy prices so now I’ll try yours. I will be back to post my results…
I made these with my family and dipped them in powdered sugar and cinnamon after baking instead of doing the frosting- they are so yummy! We absolutely love this recipe, thank you !!!! ??
Can you make the dough and freeze to bake later? Thanks!
This dough will freeze well. Be sure to wrap well before freezing. Thaw completely before cooking.
Mine aee super sticky and just looks like batter. I have added more flower but still looks runny. Batter taste great. I may have to make it like a cookie cake. An
We baked these with our 3 year old twins today and they turned out amazing! Thanks so much for the great recipe. One question – how did you get your frosting so white? Ours was a bit off white due to the vanilla extract. Could you use food coloring?
Can you use unsalted butter?
Unsalted butter will work great in this recipe.
You could reduce the amount of vanilla. You can color the frosting any color you want too. That is always a hit with the kids. I’m so glad they turned out and you had fun with 3 year old twins. The twins in our family just turned 2 on Dec 26. Such a fun age and with twins it’s double the fun!! Have a Happy New Year!
If you want pure white cookies, you could use white vanilla extract instead, tastes the same but doesn’t give light colored baking an off-white color…. you could also go a different route and use almond extract or coconut extract, a few drops of food coloring for color, the possibilities are endless. 🙂
I tried the recipe and am soooo disappointed. Don’t know what I did, but the cookies are really dry. My batter was crumbly no matter how much I mixed?
I checked the recipe, didn’t miss an ingredient.
Any suggestions? Want to try again.
Love this recipe. Can I freeze these cookies after baking them.
These cookies freeze great in an airtight freezer container.
I just made these for my son to take to school. Best soft sugar cookie recipe yet. Great to find one that I don’t have to roll out and cut. They are kid approved from my family. I didn’t have any problems with the cookie recipe being dry, or the cookies being dry. Perfect!! Many thanks!!! 🙂
I accidentally used baking soda instead of powder (I don’t think I’ve ever had a cookie recipe call for baking powder so it was habit). Could that be causing the metallic after taste I am getting (although my husband doesn’t..)
Hi! I don’t have a fancy stand mixer. I only have a hand held mixer. Would that change anything? What about hand mixing with a spatula?
Thank you!
You can totally mix these cookies by hand too.
Just made the cookie dough …..for me it’s like sticky dough/batter …. is this normal ? I plan on leaving it overnight in fridge and rolling it out tomorrow to cut into bunny shapes… I feel like I did something wrong ?! Used the handheld mixer ??? help!
Hi! Did you try adding a bit of flower? Sometimes that helps!
I made this recipe for my daughters and OMG!!!! The cookies are amazing, fluffy and soft. This is the best recipe I’ve ever come across for sugar cookies. Follow the recipe to the “T” and you will get scrumptious and out of this world sugar cookies.
Please make this clickable. ? ❤ ?
Here it is just for you! 🙂 Santa Sugar Cookies
Exactly. Thank you. It’s an easy mistake to make when you’re not familiar with baking. I’m a great cook, but terrible at baking. I actually didn’t realize her mistake until the first comment gently pointed it out.
Grace and kindness go a lot further than a humiliating tone and obscenities.
Can hardly wait to try!
I tried the recipe it was pretty good as a basic muffin recipe. If you are the type who like t sweet I would advise for you to put at least 7x the amount it states. But besides that it was pretty good, it’s going to be breakfast as it turned out tasting like a plain pancake. Maybe next time I’ll add some fruits.
Whoops I just realized I commented on the wrong recipe lol
My daughter made these cookies and when she went to make the frosting she had problems. 3 Tbsps of butter to 2.5 cups of icing sugar does not mix up creamy. Am I missing something because most people are raving and no one seems to be having the same issue. Wondering what we are doing wrong. Thanks!
Adding in the milk and vanilla will help make the frosting creamy. You can add in more butter if it seems to dry. Your butter has to be very soft. Feel free to melt it slightly.
i am going to be making these today and i was wondering if the milk and eggs should be room temperature or not.
thank you
i decided to wait to make this until i know if the milk and eggs should be room temperature also.
thank you
We did not have our milk and eggs at room temp.
We did not have the milk and eggs at room temp.
The eggs and milk were not at room temp. Just out of the fridge.
Hello, I can’t wait to cook these with my grand daughter they look amazing! On the other hand no mean comments!
You are a amazing cook!
This may be a stupid question but do these have to be stored in the fridge because of the milk in the recipe
We have left these cookies out for most of the day and they are fine. If not eaten by the end of the day, you could store in the fridge in an air tight container.
Ha ha! Thanks Terry. Have fun with your granddaughter. 🙂
Looking forward to baking these soft cookies as my son bought storebought and the price was exhorbitant
I’m wondering if using beet sugar instead of cane sugar will ruin the recipe. My son bought the wrong kind, and we live far from any stores, so I’m stuck with it for a couple of weeks. These sound so good – I don’t want to have to wait!
She’s not being rude — she’s being straightforward, honest and to the point lol. Really….I admire her! And she’s right — the poster needs to learn how to read and follow a recipe before slamming it online. There’s a saying….measure twice, cut once. The same applies in the baking world 😉
We have not used beet sugar in this recipe, so not sure how it would turn out.
A bit rough of a comment. Everyone makes mistakes, but don’t have to be belittled for it.
Do these cookies support being iced with royal icing?
I wanted to find a good sugar cookie recipe, I came across yours. Followed the directions to a tee, they did not come out right. After putting the dough in the fridge the dough was still very sticky….awwww. I guess need to work on it more.
For white icing, use clear vanilla extract. 🙂
Any icing of your choice will work just fine with these cookies.
Followed the recipe exactly and they were delicious … soft , just what I was looking for in my search .
How would we be able to roll out for cutouts? Just add extra flour? They are too sticky that’s why I’m asking. Thank you.
You could add extra flour, but here is our favorite sugar cookie recipe for rolling out dough.
https://www.sixsistersstuff.com/recipe/santa-sugar-cookies/
Do I need to adjust anything for high altitude baking?
Here are some interesting tips for baking at high altitudes. https://www.wheatmontana.com/content/high-altitude-baking-how-make-your-recipes-work-mountains
I just made these as a treat for my husband and kid… AMAZING! I was reading through the comments… I used 1 teaspoon of baking soda instead of the baking powder (the issue is measuring them differently). I also chose to add 1/4 teaspoon of ground nutmeg and 1/4 teaspoon of ground cinnamon, as I didn’t want to frost them. Turned out great! Thank you for the recipe!
Yes, I rolled them out and it was great!
Hi … I am looking to make sugar cookies this Christmas with my kids. I want a yummy recipe that I can roll out and use a variety of cutters. I found that the recipe Super Soft Sugar Cookies has much better reviews then the Santa one and the Super Soft Sugar Cookies look tastier. What recipe would you suggest? And what frosting would you use as I am wanting to change them with food colour? Thanks so much. Angela
I was hoping to bake one of these cookies today. Thank you
Hi Angela. You will be fine with both. We use the Santa Sugar Cookie recipe for nearly every holiday for sugar cookies cut with cookie cutters and frosted. Use the frosting from the Santa Sugar Cookie recipe. Just add more powdered sugar or milk as needed for the right consistency. Happy Baking!!
Is it really 15-16 cups of butter. Sorry if I’m reading it wrong
The cookies have 3/4 cup butter and the frosting has 3 Tablespoons butter. Not sure where you are reading that amount of butter. Be sure to scroll all the way down for the recipe.
Hello, I’m looking for a “SUPER SOFT” sugar cookie, that will stay soft. This recipe sounds so easy, but I’m leary to make the cookies because I just don’t see how 1/4″ thick dough rolled out, w/o sour cream or cream cheese can really make a super soft cookie that will stay soft, unless you only bake it for about 5 minutes??? I’ve read the comments and so many claim they are super soft, maybe you can explain some of the science behind these? bhschoolu2?? I just don’t want to waste ingredients.
Thanks for your help,
bhschoolu2
Just give me the recipe, I don’t have time to read comments. Just need the recipe. Please.
Reading the comments are hilarious! I’m in!
This is our mom’s soft sugar cookie recipe that she uses for all of the holidays, not just for the Santa cookies. https://www.sixsistersstuff.com/recipe/santa-sugar-cookies/
These are nice and soft – almost cake-like, and very yummy. Make sure you flatten them before baking as instructed, this helps them keep a nice shape. I rolled mine in sprinkles before baking instead of frosting them.
I just made these with my kids and they turned out great! Mine don’t look as flat as the picture, did I possibly not press them down enough? First time sugar cookie maker here 🙂
Hi Laura. Your dough may have been just a little too thick or cold. You could always just roll a little thinner. I’m so glad they turned out for you.
These were very easy to make. They are good, however a little on the dry side. I would have liked more sweetness in the cookie itself. Thanks for the recipe.
Had a hard time rolling out and cutting Christmas shapes into the dough. It was super sticky and chilled for over an hour and a half before rolling it out. I’m going to try this again put roll it out beforehand and then chill. Maybe that would help lift the shaped dough off and onto the pan. Instead we did what the instructions said to do.
No, she was rude.
If too sticky just add a little bit of flour.
I loved this recipe, but tweeked it to my own liking. Rather than add salt and baking Soda to the plain flour. I use self raising flour. So it doesn’t taste to much like baking Soda. I also wasn’t fond of the frosting as it felt grainy on my teeth after eating. So instead I just used a tub of Betty crockers vanilla icing and whipped it in a mixer with some food colouring of choice.
Hi! I just made the holiday super soft sugar cookies that is up on your site! While the cookies turned out perfect, my frosting turned out somewhat runny. I followed the recipe exactly as instructed. I was hoping you could offer some help or suggestions on what to do to make it more “whipped” like in the picture! Thank you!
We went in and edited the frosting recipe to match the frosting on the Santa Sugar Cookies. That’s one of our favorites and very popular on our website for all of our sugar cookies.
I love this recipe. It’s simple and tasty! I used to make cookies for a living at a high-volume restaurant so I’m familiar with dough making techniques. I also don’t have a mixer. I used my hands to mix and did as little mixing as possible. They are so soft, light and delicious. Excited to share these with friends this weekend!
My coworkers will NOT let me bring anything else to the potlucks, baby showers, bridal showers, birthday parties, etc! These amazing cookies are what we celebrate everything with. Pro tip: scoop all cookie dough (with a cookie scoop or spoon) on to parchment lined sheet pan, cover and chill in the fridge until baking. Much easier to scoop and they’re ready to go quicker.
We love your recipes!