Easy Sugar Cookie Recipe for soft & chewy sugar cookies that come out perfect every time – no chill time required. Great for any holiday & super delicious gifts. You’ll love them.
For me, there’s nothing more classic than a sugar cookie. They are soft, buttery, chewy & make a great backdrop for any seasonal decoration.
There are a lot of recipes for sugar cookies floating around & I have tried many over the years. But I keep coming back to this one that I have been making for the last 15 years or so.
It is simple & turns out perfect each & every time. Check out this Easy Sugar Cookie Recipe which is just as delicious with no icing, lots of icing, or even just decorated with candies. So good!
Need a Low-Carb version? Don’t miss my Keto Sugar Cookies – just 1 net carb!
I really love this recipe because it requires no chill time. I can have cookies right when I am craving them.
How to Make Sugar Cookies
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Aren’t these just too cute? I just used red hots to decorate & a little icing- which makes these super fast. What an adorable gift for friends & neighbors.
These super easy sugar cookie recipe is the perfect base for the cutest cookies- all year long. I made this same recipe for these fall cookies using a leaf cookie cutter & pumpkin cookie cutters – so cute!
Soft Sugar Cookies
The possibilities are endless!
Here are some commonly asked questions
Can I use a gluten-free flour?
I’m not sure just yet. I have been meaning to give this a try but haven’t had a chance. If you do try this, I would recommend using a 1:1 flour like this one as I don’t believe it would require additional ingredients that are typically called for when trying to make baked recipes in a gluten-free version. Please come back & tell me how it turned out.
How do I properly measure the flour?
The official way is to spoon the flour into the measuring cup & level off. This makes sure the flour isn’t packed tightly into your measuring cup, adding more than you need, as that will make your recipe too dry.
However – if you fluff your flour with a spoon, then gently scoop the flour into the measuring cup, taking care to not pack the flour – that should work for this recipe.
Can I use a sugar substitute?
I have not personally tried it, so I can’t say how that would turn out. But if you would like to try it, I suggest a product that offers a 1:1 swap. Please let me know how it turns out.
recipe for sugar cookies
Can this recipe be doubled?
You can, and we do it often. When giving away as gifts, making for a party or taking to a potluck, I definitely recommend doubling the recipe.
How many can this serve?
While I was able to get 24-30 cookies out of this batch, this will depend greatly on the size of the cookie cutters you use and how thick or thin you roll the dough.
HOW DO YOU MAKE No-Chill Sugar Cookies?
- In a medium bowl, stir together flour & baking powder. Set aside.
- In the mixer bowl, whip the butter & sugar together until fluffy.
- Beat in the eggs & vanilla.
- Slowly stir in the flour mixture, a third at a time to make the dough. It should be stiff.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to about 1/4″ thick & cut your shapes.
- Use a thin spatula to transfer your cookies to an ungreased baking sheet.
- Bake for 8 minutes or until edges are slightly golden and firm. Don’t over bake, they will firm as they set.
- Cool on the pan approx. 2 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
Icing
- In a small bowl, whisk sugar & 2 tbsp milk to form a thick, smooth icing. Adding more sugar as needed.
- Stir in food coloring to desired shade.
- Transfer the icing to a piping bag & draw an outline around the edge of your cookie- this will work as a dam for the thinner filler icing so you want it to be thick.
- Once you have completed the border, transfer your remaining icing back into your bowl & add in another tbsp milk to thin it out. Whisk well.
- Transfer thinner icing to a squeeze bottle (like what you would use for ketchup with a narrow tip) & squeeze the icing into the center of your cookie. This is called flooding.
- Take an offset spatula & smooth out to cover the whole inside.
- Let the icing dry completely before stacking.
Do I have to chill the dough?
Nope. That is one of the reasons I love this recipe so much. No chilling, no waiting. So good!
For these cookies pictured here – I used THESE cutters!
Snowflake Cookie Cutters – Gingerbread Men Cookie Cutters
Round Cookie Cutter Set – Heart Cookie Cutter Set
What is the best way to store leftover sugar cookies?
The best way is to place them in an airtight container or zip-top bag and store them at room temperature. They can be refrigerated if you have not added icing. But any sprinkles or decorations might be ruined by the humidity in the refrigerator.
no chill sugar cookies
Should I use salted or unsalted butter?
This is really a personal preference. If you are happy with just a little salt to cut the sweetness, then use salted butter.
I usually use whatever I have on hand & I really don’t pay too close attention to what butter I have. But I typically keep salted butter on hand & I love that little bit of extra salt with the sweet in this recipe.
These days with groceries being more difficult to find – I basically get whatever the store has available at the time and make it work.
To make No Chill Sugar Cookies you will need…
- all-purpose flour
- baking powder
- granulated sugar
- eggs
- butter
- vanilla extract
- confectioners sugar
- milk
- food coloring
best sugar cookie recipe
Products I love when making sugar cookies…
This sugar cookie recipe is SUPER EASY and delicious – and if you’re like me this time of year, then you maybe already have some of these items on hand OR maybe you have never made homemade sugar cookies before, & you might be a bit nervous – but you’re going to love these. I have made a list below of the things I absolutely can’t live without when it comes to making this cookie recipe.
- all-purpose flour
- baking powder
- granulated sugar
- vanilla extract
- confectioners sugar
- food coloring
- mixer
- spatulas
- rolling pin
- Offset Spatula Set
- Icing Piping Bags
- piping tips
- Cake Decorating Squeeze Bottles
If you love this Easy Sugar Cookie recipe, you’re going to love these other treats too. Please click each link below to find the easy, printable recipe!
Santa’s Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies
Easy Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
Peanut Butter Chocolate Brownie Cookies
easy sugar cookies
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Easy Sugar Cookie Recipe
Ingredients
Cookies
- 3½ cups sifted all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1½ cups granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup butter
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Icing
- 2 cup confectioners sugar + more to get a thicker consistency
- 2-3 tbsp milk
- 3-4 drops food coloring
Instructions
Cookies
- In a medium bowl, stir together flour & baking powder. Set aside.
- In the mixer bowl, whip the butter & sugar together until fluffy.
- Beat in the eggs & vanilla.
- Slowly stir in the flour mixture, a third at a time to make the dough. It should be stiff.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to about 1/4" thick & cut your shapes.
- Use a thin spatula to transfer your cookies to an ungreased baking sheet.
- Bake for 8 minutes or until edges are slightly golden and firmed. Don't over bake, they will firm as they set.
- Cool on the pan approx. 2 minutes before transferring to a wire rack
Icing
- In a small bowl, whisk sugar & 2 tbsp milk to form a thick, smooth icing. Adding more sugar as needed.
- Stir in food coloring to desired shade.
- Transfer the icing to a piping bag & draw an outline around the edge of your cookie- this will work as a dam for the thinner filler icing so you want it to be thick.
- Once you have completed the border, transfer your remaining icing back into your bowl & add in another tbsp milk to thin it out. Whisk well.
- Transfer thinner icing to a squeeze bottle (like what you would use for ketchup with a narrow tip) & squeeze the icing into the center of your cookie. This is called flooding.
- Take an offset spatula & smooth out to cover the whole inside.
- Let the icing dry completely before stacking.
Nutritional information for the recipe is provided as a courtesy and is approximate. Please double-check with your own dietary calculator for the best accuracy. We at Yummi Haus cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site.
Tamar Strauss-Benjamin says
Those look divine!
Jen says
Yum! I love sugar cookies, and the easier the better! Thanks for sharing this at the #happynowlinkup 🙂
Mother of 3 says
These do sound nice and easy! I am not a huge fan of sugar cookies but make them every Christmas with my kids so I’m always looking for ways to make it easier. Pinned.
Amber says
Trying to make cookies with my kids. So far the dough tastes delish but we currently have it chilling in the fridge bc it’s impossible to mix and then just work with it. It’s far too loose and sticking to the floured counter. Hoping that chilling it helps us to be able to roll it, cut and actually move the cookies to a baking sheet without them smooshing on the spatula.
Gina Kleinworth says
This could be an issue with the way the flour was measured, the temperature of your butter, or even the temperature of the room. The chilling should help with that.
lewis olson says
I love this recipe It’s so good!!!