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”
They held their shape perfectly and tasted delicious. I would like to recommend putting them in for 10 minutes instead of 8, they were a little underdone at 8. But, other than that, they were perfect!
Are you able to paint the cookies with edible paint?
Yes, that would be great.
Can I freeze the cookie dough
Yes you can freeze the dough.
Wonderful recipe!! I was desperately searching for a good no-chill sugar cookies recipe and I found the best! They are soooo easy and the taste was just perfectly splendid!
These cookies never fail. The wet hand advice works like a charm. Thank you Katrina for sharing your superb recipe!
I absolutely love this recipe. I’m having trouble this year with them spreading though and I can’t figure out what I’m doing wrong this year though. It’s wetter than it’s been in the previous years! I’m so confused😖 any suggestions as to what I’m doing that is causing this? Thanks so much in advance!
That’s frustrating! Do you measure your flour by weight? Not necessary, but it does provide more consistent results. Once you get a feel for the dough you can add flour if it’s too wet. Also is it possible your butter is too soft or that the kitchen is too warm? They should truly be no-spread so something is definitely off. Let me know if you try again. You can write me here, on Instagram, or email. Thanks for taking the time to write.
These were excellent sugar cookies! I don’t know what “Bob“ was talking about. I thought they were absolutely perfect. I made them together with my grandchildren 2 and 4 years old and we had a blast. My husband thought they were some of best sugar cookies he’s had yet.
I found this recipe a few years ago and use it every Christmas! It’s always a hit and I love the way it tastes. This is the only recipe I’ve found that doesn’t spread into a disappointing mess. Parchment paper can only do so much! Thanks for saving my Christmas cookies.
I know I made these last year but I can’t remember…how many eggs? Its not listed in Ingredients but says in directions. Thanks much
I would love to know if others cannot see that 1 egg is listed in the ingredients. What a puzzler! I see it listed, and I checked with some peers who see it. Please never hesitate to ask!
It’s there now after I repinned. Maybe because I had it saved from last year 🤷♀️ no idea but thanks for replying
I’m curious if you have ever tested this with dairy free butter? I’ve made this recipe for years but happen to be dairy free this holiday and was going to try it out. I just though I’d ask before going out to the store to get ingredients.
Readers have tagged me in Instagram posts using vegan butter. Good luck!
Instead of deleting my comment you could offer up some insight into why this is potentially happening or suggest some solutions to fix the crumbly dough. It would gain you a lot more respect from viewers and possibly help out others that are having similar struggles. I never said anything negative about you or your recipe solely the result of my dough. I guess I won’t be visiting Katrina’s Kitchen any longer…Katrina can’t handle the heat…..
Hello Bob, I am not in the habit of deleting negative reviews. I simply had not yet logged in to the admin board to approve comments today. I hope you can see that I try my best to troubleshoot with people whenever I can. I’m happy to have a dialogue with you, but I can see that you are angry and probably not ready to discuss things with me. So, for now, I will leave your 1-star rating up on my recipe twice (I refuse to post your THIRD 1-star review, however). That’s unfortunate for me, but again- I’m not in the habit of only posting positive reviews. I will add that I do not typically post unkind, disrespectful comments solely as a matter of self-respect. I decided to let this one slide.
I have a crumbled mess.
Didn’t keep the shape, don’t really enjoy the taste.
I’m sorry that something went wrong this time!
Amazing! My daughter and I made these today and they turned out delicious 😍
Looks amazing and sounds delicious
I’ve been making these sugar cookies every year for 5+ years now, plus other special occasions in between. Once you try this recipe, there really is no need for any other! I love that they’re so easy to work with, don’t require chilling or any hard to find ingredients, don’t spread, and that the dough doesn’t get tough if you have to re-roll it a few times. And they’re absolutely delicious! Perfect soft but crisply formed sugar cookie.
So delicious and so soft! The recipe is so simple, but so amazing!! Love it!
Very good recipe!
Just made these and they are the best sugar cookies I have ever made. So easy and the dough is not one bit finicky. Very delicious! Passing along to my daughter-in-law and sisters.
I made this just as described but ended up chilling it to make the next day. I thought I messed it up when I microwaved the dough for 30 seconds but I floured my surface and rolled the cookies out and they turned out amazing. I thought they may be too soft but once I put royal icing on them and let it dry, they held up perfectly! Thank you ! I will always use this recipe ! I made about 40 small cookies.
Can I mix the dough in a food processor
I do not have experience with that. Let me know what you find out!
My family and I tried this recipe for the first time this year and we hit the jack pot. These cookies are just right. Thank you for sharing the recipe.
Can I make dough ahead of time, freeze dough and cut our later?
Yes
Followed this recipe to the letter and the biscuits took nearly 12 mins to cook and spread! All other cookie recipes have spread a little but not as much as these. Really disappointed.
It seems that something went wrong. I’m sorry.
Hi Katrina, thank you so much for this perfect recipe! I made cookies today following your recipe, it was so much fun! And they turned out so well! Thank you and wishing you a lovely time from The Netherlands!
We use this recipe every year! It really does make the BEST sugar cookies!!! Thank you for this amazing recipe!!
I followed this recipe to a T and my cookies do not taste like sugar cookies. I don’t taste sugar at all. 🙁
The cookies did keep their shape which was great.
I absolutely love this recipe. Works perfectly every time. This is the only one I use for decorated cookies.
Can I use powder sugar instead of flour when rolling out the dough? I have seen other videos do that but I have never tried to make these nor others.
Yes you can!
I have made this cookie every Christmas for years. I lost the recipe and I’m so thrilled I found it again!! These are by far the best cookies to do anything with. I roll mine out and use small cookie cutters and thumbprint it with jelly or lemon curd. They are hard to stop eating, so baker beware ❤
Can this recipe be converted to a sugar free recipe?
THESE COOKIES ARE AMAZING. MY GRANNY MAKES THEM ALL THE TIME SHE SENT ME THIS RECIPE SO I CAN MAKE SOME
I have made a couple different online sugar cookie recipes over the years… This one was my least favorite in the end result I’m surprised it has such great reviews. Flavor is fine… The end product is less than desired for Christmas cookies for the kids to decorate.
How many eggs do I use? It didn’t say.
1 egg
The best recipe! I’ve tried a few all too dry this hits the mark by far!
I have tried many sugar cookies throughout my life and by far this is the best, easiest and most delicious cookie!!! It’s all items you have on hand in your kitchen and no chilling! My cookies came out beautifully! I can’t wait to decorate them! Thank you! My new “go to” recipe!!!
Does the butter need to be at room temp?
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.
These are wonderful! I’ll never use another recipe again, thank you!!
I’d like to make chocolate sugar cookies, would you just swap out 1/2 cup flour for 1/2 cup cocoa powder??
the dough was way too dry
What to do if I don’t have unsalted butter ? Can I use salted butter ?
I actually did use salted butter and just reduced the added salt to about a scant 1/8 tsp. I didn’t have any unsalted on hand and really wanted to try this recipe. They came out great!
I would like to make this dough one week prior to baking. Any tips on the best way to freeze it? Thank you!
I found these to be really crumbly and a bit dry. It was a hard sugar cooking to keep in one piece to decorate and I would try this one again
I have used this recipe for a few years now, and it makes a lovely, yummy sugar cookie. I did make a recipe and tried to hold it over to the next day. That didn’t work too well for me as , even at room temp the dough did it roll out well. Also, I recommend to sift and measure the flour for better results.
I only have a handmixer, not a baking mixer, will that work?. Thank you!
I only have a hand mixer, not a baking mixer, will that work? Thank you for getting back with me so quickly!
Do you have to use a mixer when adding the flour?
This is a very thick dough. I would use a mixer.
This recipe is the best! Can I freeze the remaining cookie dough?
Yes you can freeze the dough. Thanks!
They are very good
Very salty and dry not good.
I’m sorry something went wrong for you!
I hope you didn’t put 1/2 Tablespoons. It says 1/2 teaspoon.
The absolute BEST cookie recipe! I am not very good in the kitchen and these turn out 100% perfect each and every time! I’ve been using the recipe for years around the holidays and I always feel like a rockstar baker haha! Thank you for this recipe!
Awesome recipe!!! Will be using from now on.