Classic Sugar Cookies

4.70 from 10 votes

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Need a quick and easy cookie fix? Try these super simple chewy Sugar Cookies! Only a few pantry ingredients and 10 minutes are needed. You’re just one small pot away from the chewiest, sweetest, and most amazing sugar cookies EVER!

Sugar Cookies on baking sheet with pink icing

Classic Sugar Cookies | The Fastest Recipe EVER

I love a good Chewy Chocolate Cookie, but man oh man, depending on the day, I could hurt someone REAL BAD for a bite of a proper chewy, buttery, vanilla-y sugar cookie. I don’t make my Swig Sugar Cookies or my Cut-Out Sugar Cookies very often anymore because it makes such a mess and it’s a little more time-consuming than the old scoop and bake method. (Plus, I gave all my cookie cutters away when we moved to NYC.)

So off I went into hot pot territory (not the drugs, Mom) and created this recipe, based on my first two posted to the blog earlier in the year. A few corrections and tweaks here and there and several minutes later, I was pulling beautiful, soft, and chewy sugar cookies out of the oven! They cooled while I threw together a simple glaze (an optional step for sure) and then went to town, drizzling away! One dozen stayed classy, and the other dozen looked a little bananas because my kids got ahold of the sprinkles. But both were fantastic and they completely hit the spot.

Main Ingredients Needed

Gather up these cookie-making ingredients to make these amazing Sugar Cookies!

  • Butter – this provides a bunch of flavor that soaks into the flour.
  • Sugar – to sweeten and keep things light.
  • Egg + Egg Yolk – both are used for structure and texture.
  • Vanilla + Almond Extract – the almond extract is optional (but delicious). Of course you can leave it out and still have delicious cookies.
  • Flour – this fills out the cookies.
  • Baking Soda – this helps everything rise and become chewy.
  • Salt – to enhance the flavors.

For the Icing

  • Powdered Sugar – to sweeten.
  • Milk – to thin out the glaze, add as needed.
  • Vanilla – to flavor.
  • Food Coloring – to color, if desired.
Hand holding Sugar Cookie with bite taken out

Tips + Tricks for the Best Sugar Cookies

  • Recipe Card. I put a lot of details into the recipe card, so take care when reading it through so you don’t miss any steps.
  • Oven Temperature. Take note of the 325 bake time. Keep in mind every oven is different, so my time may vary slightly from your time. That’s why I gave you a bake time as well as cookie characteristics to look for before removing them from the oven. Not hard, just something you might want to pay attention to 🙂
  • Let the Dough Rest. As the cookie dough rests and cools, the flour will get absorbed. If you let it sit too long, your cookies may not flatten as much as mine did. No problem! Gently flatten the tops of your dough balls before baking. If you notice your cookies are too buttery or too flat, you may need to let your dough cool longer OR add a touch more flour to help with the structure of the cookie.

How to Make Sugar Cookies

This sugar cookie recipe starts out in a pot on the stovetop (I know weird, but trust me it’s all going to work out). Then once the dough is mixed and rests a little bit, you bake it! Cool and drizzle with simple icing! For the full recipe details, check out the recipe card at the bottom of the post!

Step 1: Make the Dough

Melt butter in a medium-sized pot. Remove from heat. Stir in granulated sugar. Add in egg, egg yolk, and vanilla. Mix. Add in the flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir well to ensure a smooth, well-stirred batter.

Let batter sit to let the flour soak into the rest of the batter.

Step 2: Preheat + Prep

Preheat oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set them aside.

Step 3: Scoop, Bake + Cool

Scoop cookie dough onto prepared pans, using a cookie scoop. Bake, rotating sheets halfway through baking.

Leave the cookies on the hot baking pans until you can remove them without falling apart. Place onto cooling racks and cool to room temperature before glazing.

Step 4: Glaze

For the glaze, whisk powdered sugar together with milk and vanilla until thick glaze forms. Should be the consistency of white school glue; add the milk in slowly! Add in food coloring if desired and then drizzle over cookies.

Sugar Cookies on baking sheet

Storing + Freezing Sugar Cookies

These Sugar Cookies are best eaten in the first 24 hours after baking; store in airtight containers. Feel free to freeze the baked cookies if you’d like to store any uneaten cookies. Keep cookies in an airtight container, separated by wax paper or parchment, and store for up to 3 months.

You can also freeze the sugar cookie dough so you can bake these fresh and enjoy warm sugar cookies anytime! Simply mix the dough, portion it out using a cookie scoop, and freeze it in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Once completely frozen, transfer the dough balls to a plastic freezer bag. Freeze up to three months. When ready, simply place frozen dough balls onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and bake according to the recipe, being sure to add 1-2 minutes extra.

The printable recipe card is down below. Happy baking, friends!

Sugar Cookies on parchment paper drizzled with pink icing
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4.70 from 10 votes

Sugar Cookies with Icing

No bowls needed for this sugar cookie recipe! You’re just one small pot away from the chewiest, sweetest and most amazing sugar cookies EVER!
servings 24 cookies
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 9 minutes
Total Time 19 minutes

Ingredients

for the cookies-

For the glaze-

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 325° F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set them aside.
  • Melt butter in a medium-sized pot. Remove from heat.
  • Stir in granulated sugar until well combined. Add in egg, egg yolk, vanilla extract, and almond extract.
  • Mix until lighter in color. Add in the flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir well to ensure a smooth, well-combined batter.
  • Let the batter sit for 10 minutes or so to let the flour soak into the rest of the batter.
  • The batter should be warm and obviously sticky. As it sits and cools, the batter will thicken to a more obvious dough. This is when you would scoop the dough into cookies.
  • Scoop cookie dough onto prepared pans, using a 1 1/2 tablespoon cookie scoop.
  • Bake 8-9 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through baking. When you pull your cookies out of the oven, they will look cooked around the edges and undercooked in the center.
  • Leave the cookies on the hot baking pans for 5-7 minutes or until you can remove them without falling apart. Place onto cooling racks and cool to room temperature before glazing.

for the glaze-

  • In a small bowl, whisk powdered sugar together with milk and vanilla extract until thick glaze forms. Should be the consistency of white school glue; add the milk in slowly! Add in food coloring if desired and then drizzle over cookies. 

Notes

As the cookie dough rests and cools, the flour will get absorbed. If you let it sit too long, your cookies may not flatten as much as mine did. No problem! Gently flatten the tops of your dough balls before baking.
If you notice your cookies are too buttery or too flat, you may need to let your dough cool longer OR add a touch more flour to help with the structure of the cookie.
Best eaten in the first 24 hours after baking; store in airtight containers.

Nutrition

Calories: 184kcal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 31mg | Sodium: 121mg | Potassium: 21mg | Fiber: 0.3g | Sugar: 22g | Vitamin A: 202IU | Calcium: 8mg | Iron: 1mg
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: sugar cookie icing, sugar cookie recipe, sugar cookies
4.70 from 10 votes (3 ratings without comment)

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32 Responses
  1. Amanda

    I’m not sure why ours come out all different shapes not round and very flat ? They tasted good but wasn’t sure I wanted to take them to the party we made them for. Any idea what we are doing wrong?

  2. Denise Marcum

    5 stars
    I made these today and they are SPECTACULAR!!! I have made dozens of sugar cookie recipes and this one beats them all. It would not work for roll out cookies. I zested a lemon and added lemon juice to make a lemon glaze, they are perfect!!👍🏻🥰

  3. Pauline Taylor

    If you freeze cookie balls to bake later, do you thaw them to bake, or put them in the oven right out of the freezer?

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  7. Lauren Cole

    5 stars
    Lauren,, this Lauren 😊 I made these cookies as soon as I saw the recipe. They were gobbled up quicker than you could of imagined.. ❤️ Your food!

  8. Emily

    5 stars
    I made these and my family loved them! I omitted the glaze and sprinkled them with a bit of coarse sugar instead. They are so good! 🙂

  9. Pamela Gauthier

    5 stars
    Hey Lauren! I’m excited to make these cookies for the holidays (with red and green icing)! I look forward to your recipes every day!

  10. Pamela Hauthir

    5 stars
    I’m excited to try these for the holidays…they look u,tea delicious! Thanks Lauren for your wonderful blog. I look forward to it in my email every day!

  11. Amy Nielson

    I cannot wait to try these little delights. They look pretty and so perfect for my no frills eaters. Who doesn’t love a sugar cookie?

  12. Liz

    I love sugar cookies, but rarely make them because I don’t want to take the time to refrigerate the dough before baking them. I’m excited to try this recipe!

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