Classic Sugar Cookies

Extra, extra! Read all about it! Sugar Cookies: Not Just for Christmas! This Just In: Sugar Cookies Have Been Dubbed as the Do-It-All Cookie!

Cheesy jokes aside; sugar cookies have a place at the table of any holiday or special occasion. You don’t need an excuse to whip up a batch of soft sugar cookies. If you want a cookie, bake the damn cookies. Your taste buds will thank you, especially if the cookies in question come from the best sugar cookie recipe.

History of the Sugar Cookie

The USA is a relatively new country, all things considered. This usually means that many baked goods and dessert treats have origins elsewhere. Fortunately for America, we can jot down the “birthplace of the sugar cookie” on our country’s resume. 

The 1700s wasn’t the cutest time in history, but we would consider the creation of the sugar cookie by settlers as a win. By the 1800s, recipes for homemade sugar cookies began making their way into cookbooks. It wasn’t long until sugar cookies became a popular treat!

This humble yet scrumptious cookie comes in many shapes and sizes. Sugar cookies can be drop cookies, rolled and cut-out sugar cookies, soft sugar cookies, or cookies formed by hand. And who remembers that Pillsbury sugar cookie dough in the grocery store's refrigerated section?! 

Only the coolest kids brought baked sugar cookies with pumpkin designs to the school Halloween party – thanks, Pillsbury Dough Boy! For this recipe, we are sticking with rolling out our dough and cutting it into whatever fun shape you desire! These homemade sugar cookies are just as simple to make as the store-bought chocolate chip cookie dough, we promise.

Soft Sugar Cookies vs. Crispy Sugar Cookies

Bakers and cookie enjoyers all over the world have long pondered the age-old debate of soft sugar cookies versus sugar cookies with a crunch. Which is better?

The decision between soft or crispy sugar cookies lies entirely on personal preference and desired end result. If you are just wanting a buttery, satisfying sugar cookie with your afternoon cup of tea or coffee, soft sugar cookies may be for you. Usually, drop cookies and hand-formed sugar cookies are of the soft variety. 

But if you are looking to make Christmas cookies to decorate, you’ll most likely want to opt for roll-out sugar cookies – and this technique can yield crispy sugar cookies or soft ones! Keep in mind that soft, chewy sugar cookies will be a little bit more difficult to decorate with frosting.

How To Make Soft Sugar Cookies

To achieve chewy, buttery goodness, you can simply adjust your cooking time by a minute or two to allow the sugar cookies to be gently underbaked. You can also bake softness into these easy sugar cookies by having the cookie dough be on the thicker side when you place it on the baking sheet. 

This will help prevent your cookies from spreading too much while baking in the oven. Soft sugar cookies can also be yours by placing your dough in the refrigerator for an hour before baking. 

How To Make Crisp Sugar Cookies

Rolled-out cookies or thin cookie dough can result in crispier cookies because the heat from the oven can bake the dough more easily. Keep an eye on your cookies in the oven if cookies with a crunch are calling your name. 

The difference between a few minutes of baking time can mean sugar cookies either meet your plate or the trash can. There is no sadder end result than inedible, burnt cookies. Once you have noticed that your cookies are turning ever so slightly golden brown around the edges, it’s time to take them out of the oven and let them cool for decorating.

If your cookie dough is a little too runny for your liking, add one tablespoon of all-purpose flour at a time until it reaches the desired consistency. We know the temptation of wanting to add more flour because who has patience when cookies are involved?! But if you end up adding too much flour, your cookies will be crumbly and difficult to roll out. 

Cookie cutters are no match for crumbly dough, and who wants to play scientist to figure out the ratios of adding more liquid to fix cookie dough?! No thanks. This easy sugar cookie recipe plays nice with both soft cookie addicts and lovers of a more crisp cookie. All it takes is a few simple adjustments to get what you are after!

Easy Sugar Cookie Recipe Step By Step

You have all your ingredients lined up, your oven preheated to the magic number of 375 degrees, and maybe even an apron on. Preparing to bake these perfect sugar cookies makes us feel like we should be on the Food Network. And unlike Chopped, there are no mystery ingredients here!

All-purpose flour, baking soda, and baking powder are mixed together in a large bowl with either a whisk or a wooden spoon. Then it’s time to bust out the electric mixer, hand mixer, or stand mixer! 

You’ll cream sugar and unsalted butter until well-incorporated. Sugar and butter are the superstars of this sugar cookie recipe, but make sure you’ve grabbed unsalted butter at Aldi. Salted butter has too strong of a savory element for these baked cookies.

Once you add your large egg and the perfect amount of extracts for flavor, you’ll mix the dry and wet ingredients until just combined. At this stage, you can even put in a couple of drops of food coloring to make these cookies really pop! Add a few tablespoons of our secret ingredient for perfect sugar cookies (shh! You’ll find out what that is once you see our recipe!), and then your cookie dough is just about ready!

To make cut-out sugar cookies, follow the steps below to achieve the perfect thickness. Find the most adorable cookie cutters you can (hot tip! We are obsessed with hunting down cute and unique cookie cutters while thrifting), and place your cookie shapes spaced evenly apart on a cookie sheet.

Cookie sheets, let us introduce you to 375 degrees. Be careful not to overbake these beauties! Once your cookies are baked to your liking, remove them from the oven. It can be tempting to want to sneak a bite of a warm, fresh-out-of-the-oven cookie, but they’re not ready yet! 

Let the sugar cookies cool on the baking sheets for a couple of minutes before placing them on a wire cooling rack to finish cooling. Once your cookies are cooled to room temperature, it’s time to decorate them. And between eating buttery sugar cookies and decorating them, it’s a close call as to which is the most fun.

Sugar Cookie Decorating Tips

Decorating sugar cookies can be a blast. Invite a few friends over, open some wine, and make an evening of it! Here are some of our favorite ways to decorate sugar cookies.

You can frost your cookies with buttercream frosting, sugar cookie icing, cream cheese frosting, or royal icing. Be sure to put any additional decorations on these cookies before the icing hardens! Sprinkles are always a must, and they come in a variety of shapes, colors, and flavors. 

Once your sugar cookies are decorated and ready, store them in an airtight container or on a festive platter with plastic wrap. 

Decorating sugar cookies is such a fun way to spend an afternoon, whether your batch of cookies is intended to be Christmas cookies or just-because cookies! Sneaking a taste of icing or two never hurt anybody, either. Enjoy!