Our soft Sugar Cookies recipe has that perfect texture and couldn’t be easier to make! They’re my go-to for holidays, cutting them into fun shapes, decorating with frosting and sprinkles.
My go-to Sugar Cookies for every occasion.
My go-to Sugar Cookies for every occasion.I am super particular about homemade cookies, but especially sugar cookies, which have to be thick and extra soft and chewy, to tempt me (and frosted, obviously!). These are as beautiful as Lofthouse sugar cookies but taste a million times better. They’ve been my family’s go-to sugar cookie recipe for decades.
I incorporate shortening in the dough because ir provides a much softer cookie that stays soft even after cooling and storing, but you can use all butter in the sugar cookies if you want. I like to gift the cookie dough to neighbors for Christmas with this cute printable label, and I also use this printable tag for gifting Valentine’s Day sugar cookies.
How to make Sugar Cookies:
Make Cookie Dough: Cream together the shortening/butter and sugar then mix in eggs, milk, and vanilla. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet mixture gradually and slowly until you have a large ball of dough. Add more flour if needed. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Roll Out: Dust counter with flour and use a rolling pin to roll cookies out to 1/2-¾ inch thick. Use your favorite cookie cutters, biscuit cutter, or even the mouth of a round cup to cut the dough. Transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Bake at 350°F (180°C) for 8-11 minutes. Cookies should still be very light in color (not golden) and just set on top (not shiny). They will set up more as they cool, so be careful not to over-bake them. Use a spatula to transfer to wire cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.
Make Ahead and Freezing Instructions:
To Make Ahead: Bake classic sugar cookies as instructed and allow to cool completely. Store in an airtight container for 3-5 days unfrosted, or in the fridge if frosted. (I prefer to freeze them, frosted or unfrosted, if waiting longer than 1 day).
To Freeze: Stack baked, unfrosted sugar cookies in an airtight container with parchment paper between the layers. To freeze frosted sugar cookies flash freeze them first on a parchment lined baking sheet for 30 minutes, then transfer to a freezer-safe airtight container with parchment paper between each layer. Freezer sugar cookies for up to 3 months. Freeze sugar cookie dough in a freezer safe airtight container for up to 3 months. Remove dough from freezer and let sit at room temp for 2 hours, or until soft enough to roll out.
More Cookie Recipes:
- Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Biscoff Cookies
- Snickerdoodle Cookies
- Hot Cocoa Cookies
- Turtle Cookies
- Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Oatmeal Creme Pies
- S’mores Cookies
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Recipe
Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup butter or vegetable shortening* , or ⅓ cup butter and ⅓ cup shortening (123g)
- 1 cup granulated sugar (200g)
- 2 large eggs
- 1/3 cup milk (83g)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract (optional, but makes a great flavor )
- 3 cups all-purpose flour (375g)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
Frosting:
- 8 ounces cream cheese , softened
- 1/2 cup butter softened, (113g)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3-4 cups powdered sugar (360-480g)
Instructions
- Mix shortening/butter and sugar In a mixing bowl until well creamed together. Add eggs, milk, and vanilla and mix.
- Dry Ingredients: In a separate bowl, mix dry ingredients–(flour, baking powder, and salt. Slowly mix dry ingredients into the wet mixture until you form a large dough ball. Add a little more flour, if needed, but not too much.
- Chill dough for at least 30 minutes in the fridge, or up to 3 days.
- Roll Out: Dust counter top with flour and roll dough ball out until ½ inch to ¾ inch thick. (Add a little flour as needed to counter, rolling pin and top of dough, keep dough from sticking). Cut the dough into shapes with cookie cutters (or use a round drinking cup).
- Bake: Place cookies on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees F for about 7-10 minutes. Cookies will be very light colored and just set, when you take them out. They will harden as they cool, so don't over bake them.
- Frosting: Add butter and cream cheese to a mixing bowl and beat well until smooth and creamy. Add powdered sugar and vanilla. Add more powdered sugar, as needed, until the frosting is desired thickness. Beaet for several minutes until very smooth and soft. (Stir in food coloring if desired.)
- Frost cooled sugar cookies and top with sprinkles, if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
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I originally shared this recipe March 2013. Updated December 2020 and February 2025.
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How can I turn this into a cookie bar so I don’t have to roll out the dough?
Here is our sugar cookie bar recipe: https://tastesbetterfromscratch.com/frosted-sugar-cookie-bars/.
I made them before I saw the nutrition count for 1 cookie being 438 calories, will not be making them again, they are good but not worth the calories
After reading mixed reviews, I decided to try this cookie anyway! I was looking for a classic sugar cookie that you buy at the store with frosting and sprinkles (the ones I remember from elementary school parties). These were perfect! I made my own lime cream cheese frosting & added fresh passionfruit on top. Absolutely delightful. Cakey and not too sweet. I can say confidently that this is not a regular chewy sugar cookie by any means. It is however, exactly what I expected it to be. Thanks for the recipe!
Happy you enjoyed them. Thanks Bennett.
I was looking for a soft sugar cookie recipe for my husband who requires dairy free and daughter who has braces on her teeth. This recipe was perfect and the dough so easy to work with. I used oat instead of cows milk no problem. Thanks so much!
I made this recipe as written but it’s far too soft to roll. Going to scrap it and try something else for our Christmas cookies.
Easy to make, but not so tasty. I made it with shortening as in the recipe. Maybe it would taste better if I used butter. I used a different frosting recipe, so I have no comment on the recipe’s frosting.
I made this following the recipe exactly but did a double batch. I was hoping to get soft, gooey cookies but instead got a cakey consistency. They were not the consistency I was going for, however, They are still delicious and they are sturdier, which makes them perfect for taking to a party or wrapping them up and giving as gifts. I didn’t do the icing as they’re sweet enough for me as is, however, for extra fragrance, I grated some nutmeg and cinnamon on top and they tasted like Christmas! If you know any fussy eaters you can serve icing or whatever spread you want – one friend mentioned you can even do clotted cream and jam with them. They are great on their own or as a base for other spreads.
The taste was good, I’ll add more vanilla next time. The dough was not stiff enough for a cookie cutter so I chilled the dough and scooped instead. I’m not sure why you would use cookie cutters on such a soft dough. Good recipe, but don’t roll the dough.
Yummmmm
Sugar cookies are delicious 😋
Good recipe