Best Sugar Cookie Recipe (Soft, Buttery & Easy From Scratch)

My neighbor once brought me a tin of the most perfect sugar cookies I had ever seen. They were thick, slightly crisp on the edges, and so soft in the center they almost melted the moment I bit into one. When I asked for the recipe, she laughed and said it was surprisingly simple.

That’s when I realized I had been overcomplicating sugar cookies all along. After trying her method in my own kitchen, I finally found a sugar cookie recipe that works every time soft, bakery-style cookies with no complicated steps or long chilling time.

Why You’ll Love This Sugar Cookie Recipe

• One bowl and about 25 minutes from start to finish that’s all you need. These soft sugar cookies bake up with golden edges and a chewy center that stays soft for days, which is rare for homemade cookies.
• No special equipment needed, no chilling the dough, and no complicated steps. They’re simple enough for beginners, but still taste like bakery-style cookies. You can also decorate them with royal icing if you want, but they’re just as good on their own with pantry staples.

Ingredients You’ll Need For Easy Sugar Cookies Recipe

• 2½ cups (318g) all-purpose flour — Spoon it into the cup and level off. Do not scoop directly from the bag or your cookies will come out dense.
• 2 teaspoons baking powder — This is what gives these sugar cookies their lift and slightly puffy center.
• ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt — Do not skip this. Salt balances the sweetness and makes the vanilla flavor pop.
• 2 sticks (226g) unsalted butter, at cool room temperature — Not melted, not fridge-cold. Cool room temperature means it holds a slight indent when you press it but does not leave a greasy mark.
• 1¼ cups (250g) granulated sugar — For the dough.
• ¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar — For rolling the dough balls before baking.
• 1 large egg + 1 egg yolk — The extra yolk adds richness and keeps the centers from drying out.
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract — Use real vanilla, not imitation. It makes a difference here.

How to Make the Best Sugar Cookie Recipe (Step by Step)

Step 1: Preheat Your Oven and Prep Your Pan

Heat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. I use light-colored aluminum half-sheet pans because dark pans tend to overbrown the bottoms before the centers set. Position your oven rack in the center, not the top third.

Step 2: Mix the Dry Ingredients

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set this aside. I know it feels like an extra step, but mixing them together first means you won’t end up with a pocket of baking powder in one corner of your dough.

Step 3: Cream the Butter and Sugar

In a large bowl, beat the butter and 1¼ cups of sugar together until pale and fluffy, about 2–3 minutes with a hand mixer or stand mixer on medium. The mixture should look noticeably lighter in color. I skipped this step properly once and the cookies came out flat and dense do not rush it.

Step 4: Add the Eggs and Vanilla

Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract to the butter mixture. Beat until just combined, about 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl so everything gets mixed evenly.

Step 5: Combine Wet and Dry

Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and stir with a spatula or mix on low until no dry streaks remain. The dough will be slightly thick that is exactly what you want. Do not overmix at this stage or the cookies can turn out tough.

Step 6: Roll and Coat in Sugar

Scoop the dough into balls about 1.5 tablespoons each (a cookie scoop makes this easy and consistent). Roll each ball in the reserved ¼ cup of sugar before placing on the lined baking sheet. Leave about 2 inches between each cookie since they do spread a little.

Step 7: Bake

Bake one sheet at a time for 10–12 minutes, until the edges are just set and the centers look slightly underdone. This is key they will continue cooking on the hot pan after you pull them out. Pull them at 11 minutes if you want melt-in-mouth sugar cookies. Wait for them to look done and you will get a crisper texture instead.

Step 8: Cool on the Pan

Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. They are very soft right out of the oven and need those 5 minutes to firm up enough to move without falling apart.

Expert Tips for Perfect Sugar Cookies

After Making This Recipe a Few Times

After making this homemade sugar cookies recipe at least a dozen times, here is what actually moved the needle for me.

Use Butter at the Right Temperature

Too cold and it won’t cream properly. Too warm and the cookies spread into flat discs. I tested this back-to-back one afternoon. The batch with fridge-cold butter barely spread; the batch with soft-but-cool butter puffed up beautifully. Set your butter out about 30–45 minutes before you start.

Do Not Skip the Extra Egg Yolk

I tried making this recipe with just one whole egg and the cookies came out noticeably drier and less rich. The yolk adds fat without extra liquid, which keeps the centers soft and tender for days.

Measure Flour the Right Way

Spoon flour into your measuring cup and level it off with a straight edge. Scooping directly packs in extra flour and leads to dry, dense cookies. If you have a kitchen scale, 318 grams is the target.

Roll Generously in Sugar

That coating is what gives these bakery-style sugar cookies their slightly crackly exterior. I was light-handed with the sugar the first time and regretted it. Coat each ball fully — it makes a real difference in the final texture and appearance.

Underbake Slightly

Pull the cookies when the edges are set but the centers still look glossy and slightly underdone. They will finish setting on the pan as they cool. Every oven runs differently, I now know mine runs about 5 degrees hot, so I always check at 10 minutes.

Use Parchment, Not a Silicone Mat

Silicone mats hold heat differently and can cause the bottoms to overbrown before the tops are done. Parchment paper gives more consistent results for this particular recipe.

Let the Pan Cool Between Batches

I made the mistake of placing dough balls on a still-hot pan once. That batch spread more than the others and came out thinner. Let the pan cool for a few minutes or switch to a second pan.

Ingredient Substitutions

Instead of Unsalted Butter

Instead of unsalted butter, use salted butter just reduce the added salt to ½ teaspoon.

Instead of Granulated Sugar

Instead of granulated sugar, use caster sugar it dissolves faster and gives a slightly more delicate texture.

For Dairy-Free Sugar Cookies

For dairy-free sugar cookies, substitute the butter with vegan butter sticks (I’ve had good results with Earth Balance). The texture will be slightly less rich but still very good.

For Gluten-Free Sugar Cookies

For gluten-free sugar cookies, use a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend like Bob’s Red Mill or King Arthur’s Measure for Measure. Chill the dough for 20 minutes before baking since gluten-free blends can spread more.

Instead of Vanilla Extract

Instead of vanilla extract, try almond extract for a slightly different flavor. Use half the amount as almond extract is stronger.

No Egg Yolk?

No egg yolk? Use one full extra egg instead. The cookies will be slightly less rich but will still work.

How to Store Homemade Sugar Cookies

Storage at Room Temperature

Room temperature: Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days. I lay them in a single layer or separate layers with parchment paper so they don’t stick together. They stay soft the entire time, which honestly surprised me the first time I tested it.

Refrigerator Storage

Refrigerator: You can refrigerate them for up to 10 days. Let them come to room temperature before eating or pop them in the microwave for 15–20 seconds to bring back that fresh-baked softness.

Freezing Baked Cookies

Freezer: These soft sugar cookies freeze beautifully for up to 3 months. Freeze them in a single layer on a baking sheet first, then transfer to a zip bag once solid. Thaw at room temperature for about an hour.

Freezing the Dough

Freezing the dough: You can also freeze the unbaked dough balls. Roll them in sugar, freeze on a sheet, then transfer to a bag. Bake straight from frozen just add 2–3 extra minutes.

Try More Cookies Recipes

• Banana Bread Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Peanut Butter M&M Cookies
• Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies
• S’more Cookies
• Red Velvet Cookies

FAQS About These Sugar Cookies

Final Thoughts

I have made a lot of cookie recipes over the years, but this easy sugar cookie recipe is the one I keep coming back to. It’s the first thing I bake when someone new moves into the neighborhood, and it’s been my daughter’s birthday cookie request for three years running. Simple ingredients, reliable results, and that buttery vanilla flavor that is impossible not to love.

If you try this recipe, I’d love to hear how it went leave a comment below with any questions or tweaks you made. And if you’re in a baking mood, you might also enjoy my easy snickerdoodle recipe or classic oatmeal raisin cookies. Both use simple pantry ingredients and come together just as quickly.