Best Sugar Cookie Recipe EVER
This is the BEST sugar cookie recipe– no chilling the dough, cookies keep their shape when baked, soft and flavorful, perfect for decorating.
Every year millions of people print this Best Sugar Cookie Recipe EVER from In Katrina’s Kitchen. I have been using this recipe for over 25 years, and it has never failed me.
The texture is medium-soft, but you can bake them longer if you prefer a crisp cookie. This cookie is my absolute favorite, and I have spent many years perfecting it for friends and family.
Why is This the BEST Sugar Cookie Recipe?
The dough comes together quickly with simple pantry ingredients.
It does NOT need to be chilled.
The recipe can be doubled easily.
Cookies hold their shape with very little expanding when baked.
Baked cookies freeze well.
The recipe I am giving you makes a large batch of dough because I like to bake many cookies. Also, I like to roll and cut my cookies fairly thick…to hold a lot of frosting.
Incorporating the last cup of flour may look dry and look crumbly. Turn out the dough onto your countertop and work with wet hands and/or more flour until the dough is smooth and ready to roll.
Most asked Q and A about this Recipe
Butter questions
- It is most important to note that the butter does not have to be at room temperature. We do not recommend rock-hard butter but allow the butter to sit on the countertop for 10-15 minutes while you assemble your ingredients.
- If you can press your finger into the butter and you can easily make a deep indent then the butter is too soft.
- You should be able to press the butter and make a small fingerprint.
- A tip for mixing butter is to cut it into cubes (or just small pats) before creaming with the sugar.
The dough is sticky and/or crumbly. What can I do?
- The final dough really comes together and has a texture close to Play-Doh. Wet your hands if you need to. Turn out the dough onto a floured surface. Don’t be afraid to use more flour and incorporate it in while you are “kneading” it into a smooth ball.
- Forget everything you know about sugar cookie dough. Don’t be afraid of sprinkling more flour as you roll it out. Use the scraps! Mix them back into the unused dough and keep going.
Can I chill the dough? I want to chill the dough. Actually, I need to make these 3 days in advance, is that okay?
- If you need to make the dough in advance, you can chill it. Wrap it tightly with plastic wrap and store it in the refrigerator.
- Bring the dough to room temperature before rolling and cutting. You may need to use more flour on the countertop.
The cookies look under-baked. Can I bake them longer?
- I almost always suggest pulling out these cookies and the 8-9 minute mark for large cookie cutters, and 6-8 minutes for small cookie cutters. They will continue baking on the cookie sheet for a few minutes while they cool and set.
- After cooling for about 5 minutes, I use a spatula to transfer them to a wire rack.
Can I omit the almond extract?
- You can omit the almond extract.
- If not using almond extract, replace it with an equal amount of pure vanilla extract.
- You can use any of your favorite flavorings in this cookie. I have used peppermint, maple, and lemon with great success.
How Do I Make these Cookies Gluten-Free?
- To make these the best gluten-free Sugar Cookie, swap out the flour for your favorite gluten-free 1:1 flour.
- I use King Arthur Flour Measure for Measure Flour
What is your favorite Christmas Cookie Frosting Recipe?
- I’m happy you asked! I like a soft, sweet frosting. Here is my favorite Christmas Cookie Frosting.
- Click here for my Small Batch Royal Icing recipe (it dries smooth and hard and is perfect for holding together gingerbread houses, too!).
- You could also try our Three Ingredient Chocolate Glaze
I hope you love this Best Sugar Cookie recipe as much as our family does! Merry Christmas!
Best Sugar Cookie Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 Cup unsalted butter, 226 grams
- 1 Cup granulated white sugar, 200 grams
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 egg
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3 cups all purpose flour, 360 grams
Instructions
- PREHEAT oven to 350° F.
- In the bowl of your mixer, CREAM butter and sugar until smooth, at least 3 minutes
- BEAT in extracts and egg. (PLEASE NOTE there is 1 egg in this recipe.)
- In a separate bowl, COMBINE baking powder and salt with flour and add a little at a time to the wet ingredients.
- IMPORTANT NOTE: If the dough looks crumbly keep mixing for 30 seconds to 1 minute longer. The dough should be pulling away from the sides of the mixer.
- If the dough still looks too dry or stiff for your mixer, turn out the dough onto a countertop surface, flour surface as needed. Wet your hands and finish off kneading the dough by hand.
- DO NOT CHILL THE DOUGH. Divide into workable batches (2-3 chunks), roll out onto a floured surface, and cut. You want these cookies to be on the thicker side (closer to 1/4 inch rather than 1/8).
- Bake at 350 for 6-8 minutes. Let cool on the cookie sheet until firm enough to transfer to a cooling rack.
Notes
Nutrition
Troubleshooting Best Sugar Cookie Recipe
Scooping and dumping your flour may be the problem! Even with level scooping measurements can vary. Try getting a digital kitchen scale and adding your ingredients by weight.
If your cookies seem to consistently need a longer or shorter baking time consider calibrating your oven with an oven thermometer.
Bake with a silicone mat or parchment paper.
Invest in a small metal cookie spatula to transfer cookies.
If left on the counter top for about an hour your butter should be the right consistency- a finger pressed onto the butter will make a slight indent but not sink down into it. (Read more about room temperature butter in this post about XL Bakery Style Cookies.)
Whenever a recipe calls for room temperature butter you should use room temperature eggs. To take the chill off of eggs I place them in a shallow bowl of warm (not hot) water for 2-3 minutes. You can then crack them for use in your recipe.
Looking for more Christmas Cookies?
Try my Christmas Cookie archive for some of the most adorable and delicious Christmas cookies.
Some of my favorites are Grinch Cookies and Ugly Christmas Sweater Sugar Cookie Bars.
For something different, try Christmas Tree Meringue Cookies.
2,506 Comments on “Best Sugar Cookie Recipe EVER”
this is an incredibly easy and great tasting recipe!! thank you so much
The worst cookie dough I’ve ever made
So should the butter be room temperature? It is not stated in the recipe. I know some may think that’s a given but I have sugar cookie recipes that require cold butter.
Also I weighed the flour but my dough did not come out dry. Simple fix but even though I hardly handled the dough with my hands, I’m having to put the dough in the fridge after the first batch. I do live where it’s hot and humid even in November (my a/c is running) so I’m just going to assume that is an adjustment that may be needed depending where you live
Can I use oil instead of butter?
Hello, can you use half white and half dark sugar for this recipe with the same results?
Has anyone tried to do a double batch of this recipe? If I wanted to double this recipe how much baking powder should I use?
Double everything including the baking powder.
Hello! I love making these cookies!! How would I make them into chocolate cookies??
Hi Megan, I just posted a chocolate version. https://www.inkatrinaskitchen.com/best-chocolate-cut-out-cookie/
Can I freeze the cookies before decorating them? For how long can they last in the freezer
These are my fav new Sugar cookie. The first time I made them I was concerned the dough was soooo dry and crumbly but a few minutes by hand the dough comes together nicely. These cookies keep there shape with out spreading At all! The flavor is buttery and soft. They freeze well, even with icing on them. I have tried so many other recipes with various success but this is the best. I also like that they do not need to be refrigerated so they are quick to whip up.
Tasted greta with the almond extract!
I am not sure what I did wrong but mine spread a bit past their shape/looked a bit melted.
What could I do next time?
I have used this recipe for several years and everybody that tries them loves them. This is the best recipe out there and the cookies come out perfect and soft in the middle. THANK YOU FOR THIS AWESOME COOKIE RECIPE.
Can I use butter that is not unsalted.?
I have been using salted butter with this recipe. Just don’t add the salt listed in the recipe. Works great for me.
I bought a decorative rolling pin, can I use it on these cookies?
Yes you can use a decorative rolling pin with these cookies.
Hello! Just a note to say that I have been baking for many many years and this is the best sugar cookie recipe EVER!!!!
Hi!
Thanks so much for the recipe!!
Just wondering, can I swap butter for margarine?
Thanks heaps!!
Cherie
Some have commented that they have made that substitution, but I cannot guarantee it. Margarine tends to spread a bit more than butter.
For some reason, I love cooking your recipes. It looks delicious, for sure this Best Sugar Cookie is going to be on my table tonight. Thank you, Katrina, for this simple yet delicious looking recipe. !!
Can you freeze the dough?
Yes, you can freeze the cookie dough.
I love love this cookie recipe! Thank you for sharing it. I was wondering if I can add like nuts or sprinkles to the mix?
Yes! Add in any mix-ins you like! Enjoy
I think i did something wrong… my cookies tasted amazing but lost their shape and doubled in size. Any advice for what i did?
Did you use self rising flour or all purpose flour ? Self rising will cause it to puff up quite a bit
Did you weigh your flour? Sometimes we can add too much flour if solely using measuring cups. Also, if your butter is too warm it could cause spreading.
Love this recipe !!!
Hi Katrina
The coockies are looking amazing! Thank you for share it with the world.
I was looking for a good recipe so i really happy that I found you.
Im from the Netherlands so i dont know exactly what you mean with the size of a cup? How big is a cup? Also I have ADHD so do you have maybe a instructional film?
I hope to hear from you xxx
One standard US Cup of all-purpose flour equals 120 grams. Thank you for your suggestion! Happy baking!
cookie dough is good but was dry and crumbly i added a little milk and it helped a lot. not enough wet ingredients?
I was looking for a sugar cookie recipe for my daughter to make Halloween cookies. We made these using Splenda since he is diabetic. They are sooo good! This will now be my to-go-to recipe. Thank you!
Love love love this recipe, especially around the holidays. 🥰
I saw this same recipe at iambaker.net, with no link to your site. Is this recipe originally yours or Amanda’s?
Amanda is a dear friend, and we have many of the same recipes (great minds?!). I can’t speak for her, but I’ve been using this recipe since around 1993 before the internet was really a thing (around my area anyway) lol! Many people have said it’s close to a Wilton recipe as well. It’s a delicious cookie and we all have a little spin on it I guess.
Thank you for your response Katrina. I was confused because, in her post, Amanda mentions that the recipe won an award from the LA Times. However, the internet shows links to a different recipe that was submitted to the LA Times . It is good to know that you and Amanda are friends. I thought that she maybe reposted your recipe on her website without properly acknowledging you as the author. Nonetheless, this cookie recipe is great. Thank you for sharing it!
Happy to hear from you anytime! Yes, it’s hard to know exactly where cookie recipes come from. This particular one has been tweaked here and there through the years.
Hi. I’m thinking of making this recipe however I’ve just checked and only have 1 1/2 cup regular flour. Can I used self raising flour and if so in what ratio? Thank you!
This really is the best sugar cookie recipe!!! Thank you so much.
Great simple recipe. My full moon cookies turned out perfect!
If using salted butter, do I use any salt at all?
If I use salted butter I omit the salt in a recipe, but that is your preference!
This is the BEST tasting sugar cookie recipe. Thank you!
How long can I freeze the baked cookies?
With proper storage, most cookies can be kept in the freezer for up to three months.
Why is my sugar cookies feeling sticky and gets stuck on my hands.
After mixing the flower in slowly I stop the mixer and take it out today the bowl. It’s super sticky and stuck to my hands
Very crumbly hard to knead and roll out, following instructions and set hands very messy. The cookies have a good flavor
Are these soft or hard ?
These are soft but firm enough to hold up frosting without breaking.
Me and my best friend are going to do a sugar cookie sale to raise money this year and this is the perfect cookie recipe. So simple and easy, Thank you!!!
Hi Katrina,
My 3yo son and I made cookies using your recipe today for Father’s Day here in Melbourne, Australia.
My partner loved the cookies. He was very pleasantly surprised how nice they were (since we were the ones making them and not store bought. My partner was nearly going to check for empty store bought cookie boxes in the bin as he liked them so much!
Thanks for putting your recipe on your page!
Cheers,
Lesley
For gluten free flour, would you use 360 grams? I know not all flour weighs the same per cup. Thanks!
We made 32 small cookies. They were easy to make and tasted fantastic! No chilling the dough and better yet, no flat cookies, they didn’t spread one bit!
I will use this recipe again.
How can I make these coffee flavor? Do I omit something or can I just add instant coffee to this recipe? Thank you!
I’ve used this recipe every Christmas for years – perfect for decorating and delicious for eating. I love the troubleshooting tips too.
I used to think sugar cookies were just cute to look at but not so tasty. This recipe makes them taste great and look terrific! Thanks for sharing!
I made two batches of these today and they turned out great!
This really is the perfect recipe!
This is my go to vanilla sugar cookie recipe!
Does anyone know how I could make these into chocolate cookies too?
Thanks in advance 🙂
You can try replacing a half-cup of the flour with cocoa powder. I’ve seen others do that.
This has been my go to sugar cookie recipe for 7 years now. I will never make a different one. These cookies turn out PERFECT every time. (And not only do they look great, they taste amazing too!)
This is my go-to for any and all cutout cookies. It’s perfect every time!
Anytime I need a sugar cookie I use this one and it’s always a hit!
My go to sugar cookie recipe! Never fails, it’s perfect!
Great recipe! I made it according to your recipe and the taste is great! Everyone in the family likes it, it makes me happy. Thank you
Iv tried this a few times no luck 😩 what temperature should my butter be? And how long do i cream butter & sugar for?
Could it be the weather? One day ill get wet sticky dough? Another day its so dry that by the time the flour all goes in its like sand almost
Can you freeze any unused dough?
We love this recipe but made more dough than we needed for a shower.
I love this recipe! The cookies turn out well everytime!
I’d love to know how you measure your flour. Do you scoop it, or spoon it into the measuring cup? Actually, if you have that in grams it would be even better. I made a batch of these cookies and they were delicious but I had to add an extra cup of flour. I know all the other ingredients were measured correctly. I want to make them again after I get the flour issue resolved. Thanks for this recipe.
Hi Jean, I’ve updated the recipe with measurements in grams. I agree that measuring in weight is BEST! Thank you for letting me know you tried the recipe.