The BEST Chewy Sugar Cookies Recipe!
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These Chewy Sugar Cookies are soft, chewy, and delicious! Quick and easy to make, this sugar cookie recipe produces a flavorful bakery-style soft sugar cookie that turns out perfectly every time!
Looking for more delicious cookies? I think you’ll love these cookie recipes: chocolate chip cookies, peanut butter cookies, and cut out sugar cookies. They are all amazing!
Sugar cookies are always a favorite, no matter the occasion! These well-loved cookies are perfect for holidays, as a homemade gift, or as an afternoon treat! This recipe makes absolutely the BEST sugar cookies I’ve ever tasted!
These chewy sugar cookies are quick, easy, delicious, and don’t require a rolling pin! This recipe makes a soft, chewy bakery-style sugar cookie with amazing flavor.
How to Make Soft Chewy Sugar Cookie Recipe
Ingredients
Be sure to see the recipe card below for the full listing of ingredients, instructions, notes, and estimated nutritional information.
To make these easy sugar cookies, you’ll need the following 7 ingredients:
- Butter – I use salted butter, but you can use unsalted butter. The butter should be softened to room temperature.
- Granulated sugar – gives sweetness and structure to the cookie recipe.
- Egg – use a large, room-temperature egg.
- All-purpose flour – use your favorite all-purpose flour.
- Baking powder – if you store your baking powder in the freezer as I do, make sure to allow it to reach room temperature.
- Kosher salt – balances the flavors of the cookies. I use Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt. If you substitute with Morton’s Kosher salt, fine sea salt, or table salt, you will only need half the amount of the salt called for in the recipe.
- Vanilla extract – use this homemade vanilla extract recipe or use your favorite high-quality vanilla. If you like the flavor of almond in your cookies, you can also use half vanilla extract and half almond extract.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Preheat oven to 350º F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat, such as a silicone mat.
Cream together room-temperature butter and sugar with a stand mixer or hand mixer in a large bowl until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes).
Add the egg. Then add egg and mix until well combined. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl to be sure the butter and sugar are well combined. But be sure not to over-beat the butter and sugar when creaming it together. Doing so could cause the cookies to rise and fall flat when baking.
Stir in flour, baking powder, and salt, and combine these dry ingredients. Then, gently stir in vanilla extract into the cookie dough.
Scoop cookie dough with a tablespoon and roll it into a ball. Be sure not to over-handle the balls of dough as it will make the butter too warm. If the dough seems too warm or sticky, chill in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes, then proceed with scooping and rolling into balls.
Add sugar to a large separate bowl for rolling. Lightly roll cookie dough balls in the granulated sugar to coat them. This adds a sparkly touch that lends a crisp little coating to the cookie once it is baked. While you can certainly skip this little step, I highly recommend not. It is so worth it!
Place each rolled cookie dough ball onto a parchment-lined or silicone mat-lined cookie sheet, about 1 ½ to 2 inches apart. Make sure to provide ample spacing between each cookie for the best results.
Lightly press each cookie down with the bottom of a glass to lightly flatten.
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly golden brown around the edges. Allow them to cool slightly on the baking sheet, then transfer them to wire racks to cool completely. Place on a cookie platter and serve. Cookies can be stored in a cookie jar or airtight container and kept on the counter for up to one week.
It is just that perfectly chewy, soft sugar cookie recipe that everyone raves over! You’ll want to keep this sugar cookie recipe on your list of must-make cookie recipes. It’s perfect for any cookie platter, cookie exchange, or homemade baked gift tray.
Room Temperature Ingredients
Room-temperature eggs and butter are incorporated more easily and evenly into the cookie dough.
Storage Tips
Store. Once baked, store cookies on the counter in an airtight container for up to a week.
Freeze. For an easy make-ahead sugar cookie recipe, prepare your sugar cookie dough by the scoops of cookie dough in the sugar and place them onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Cover with freezer-safe plastic wrap and place into the freezer. Freeze for 30 minutes to overnight. When frozen, transfer your cookies to a freezer-safe zip-top bag and store them in the freezer for up to 3 months.
When ready to serve, remove from the freezer-safe bag and place onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Then bake as directed, adding about 3 minutes to the baking time.
Sugar Cookie Decorating Options
- Frosted Sugar Cookies – Glaze cookies with my family’s sugar Cookie Icing recipe. A pinch of sprinkles on top is always fun!
- Color Sprinkles Sugar Cookies – Roll your sugar cookies in colored sprinkles (red or green for Christmas cookies or pink for a little girl’s birthday) for a festive cookie!
- Confetti Sugar Cookies – Mix colored confetti sprinkles in your cookie dough before scooping.
7 Tips for the BEST Chewy Sugar Cookies!
This sugar cookie recipe is so easy to make that you’ll turn to it again and again. Here are seven key tips to make sure your cookies turn out perfectly every time:
1. Room temperature ingredients. All ingredients should be at room temperature to best incorporate into the cookie dough. This includes the egg and butter. The cookies will spread and become flat if the butter is too soft.
2. Do not overbeat your butter and sugar. It adds too much air to the butter. This causes the cookies to rise and then fall flat when baking.
3. Avoid overmixing once you add the flour. This prevents the cookies from being tough and crumbly.
4. Use a high-quality vanilla extract. I love to use my homemade vanilla extract. It is so easy to make and has a major flavor impact for the cookies.
5. Use a cookie scoop. Use a cookie scoop so your cookies are all the same size and bake evenly.
6. Use parchment paper. Line your baking sheet with parchment paper to help the cookies bake more evenly.
7. Do not overbake. Overbaked cookies are hard and crumbly. Check the cookies at the earliest suggested time to make sure they are not overbaked.
Other Easy Cookie Recipes:
Frequently Asked Questions
See my “7 Tips for the BEST Chewy Sugar Cookies” in the post! Following these tips will give you delicious, chewy sugar cookies every time.
Make sure that your butter is at room temperature and not too soft.
When sugar cookies have brown edges, they’ve overbaked. Once these sugar cookies have turned lightly brown and just begin to have a craggy texture on the top, they should be removed from the oven.
Store sugar cookies in an airtight container or package for them to remain soft and chewy. You can also add a small terracotta disc (or a cute terracotta bear!) to the container of cookies. These discs are primarily sold to store in brown sugar containers to keep the sugar from becoming hard. Soak the disc in water, make sure that it is not dripping water, and then place it into the container with the cookies.
350º F is generally the best temperature to bake cookies. There may be some types of cookies that require a different baking temperature, but by and large, the majority of cookies will be baked at 350º F.
This post was updated on 11/2023 to include metric conversions for the ingredients and step-by-step photographs in the recipe post.
Here’s my Chewy Sugar Cookies Recipe. I hope you love it as much as we do.
The BEST Chewy Sugar Cookies Recipe!
Equipment
- Hand Mixer or stand mixer
Ingredients
- 1 cup (226 g) butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups (297 g) granulated sugar
- 1 large (50 g) egg, room temperature
- 2 1/4 cups (270 g) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon (2 g) baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon (1.3 g) Kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon (4.7 g) vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup (49.5 g) granulated sugar , for rolling cookies
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350º F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat.
- Cream together butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add egg and mix until well-combined.
- Stir in flour, baking powder, and salt until well-combined. Stir in vanilla extract.
- Scoop cookie dough by the tablespoon-sized cookie scoop and roll into a ball.
- Add granulated sugar to a large bowl for rolling cookie dough in before baking. Place each ball of cookie dough into the bowl of granulated sugar and roll to coat well.
- Place cookie dough onto baking sheet, spacing about 1 1/2-inches to 2 inches apart. Lightly press each cookie down. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned.
Notes
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Enjoy!
Robyn xo
Originally published 2017. Updated to include step by step photographs.
Can I grease the sheets instead of using parchment or non stick sheets?
I just made these for a christmas party, so I rolled them in red and green sanding sugar before baking. They look beautiful and taste amazing. I can’t believe you can get this flavor and texture with such a simple recipe. All the other sugar cookies I’ve made had a raw flour taste that made them just not quite great. These are really perfect. I think creaming the butter and sugar for a full three minutes is an important detail. Thanks so much. I know they’re gonna be a hit tomorrow!
Hi Kenda – I am sure the colored sugars were very pretty on these cookies! I’m so happy you enjoy them! You are right about creaming the butter and sugar – it helps make a great cookie!
I hope you have a Merry Christmas! Thanks so much! xo
What can you use as a substitute for Kosher Salt?
Hi Jenny – I prefer Kosher salt, but you can use regular salt if you wish. Thanks!
Half of my cookies spread out to the point of being almost flat.
Any idea what the problem is?
Taste is great.
Thought I mixed them well and all pressed into a ball with the same. Ease.
Hi Sandra,
You might want to try popping your cookie dough into the refrigerator while the first batch of cookies bakes. It sounds like the dough may have gotten too warm in between batches. I hope that helps! xo
I had the same problem tonight but my first batch flattened out; the second batch which would be warmer, were nice and puffy. Any idea what the problem could be?
Try 3/4 cup butter and a 1/4 cup of shortening instead of the 1 cup butter.
You might get the benefits of the poofyness of shortening in a recipe, but still will keep buttery taste.
Also, fridge the dough for a few hours / overnight as mentioned.
Hi Brookie – I haven’t tried substituting shortening for butter in this recipe, so I personally can’t say how it tastes or turns out. I do think you are correct about refrigerating the cookie dough for bit as described earlier.
I hope you have a wonderful holiday! Thanks so much for your tips! xo
Is it possible to cut these with cookie cutters?
Hi Alise, This particular recipe for Chewy Sugar Cookies is not for rolling and using cookie cutters. My Cut-Out Sugar Cookies are perfect for cookie cutters! Enjoy! Thanks! xo
Thanks for the recipe, the family loved them!
Great! Glad everyone liked them! Thanks so much!
2 1/4 cups of flour wasn’t enough, my dough was also sticky and soft. My cookies are flat. Checked other recipes and they ranged fro 2 1/2 cups to 3 cups for same amount of moist ingredients.
Hi Art,
This recipe for Chewy Sugar Cookies is a bit stickier than cut sugar cookie dough. If you want a firmer dough to roll and cut, my Cut-Out Sugar Cookie Dough recipe is delicious as well! Thanks so much!
My nanny kids and I made up the dough but didn’t have time to get them into shape and in the oven so I popped the dough in the fridge. Is this OK? I’m waiting for the dough to warm enough to roll out and shape but am worried if I made a big mistake.
Hi Rebekah!
I love that you and your Nanny are making these cookies together! It is definitely okay to store the dough in the refrigerator and then letting it soften a bit to make the cookies later. I hope you love them!xo
I made this but, my batter was very wet. So I couldn’t make balls and coat them in sugar.
Di, I’m not sure why your batter was too wet for the sugar. It is a moist dough, but I’ve always been able to roll it before baking, so not sure what could have happened. I’m sorry if the cookies didn’t turn out like you wished. Thanks so much!
They were chewy and soft! Just didn’t turn out circled lol! I made a batch and half of them are gone already.
Can I substitute something for the baking powder? I have a corn allergy. Thanks!