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.
1,691 Comments on “Best Sugar Cookie Recipe EVER”
This is a perfect sugar cookie recipe! They held their shape perfectly and I even used butter that was still a little cold!
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!
Perfectly perfect🎄
Haha I used the word perfect so many times, but, they are🤗
I love this recipe so much! It is so easy to work with and the cookies come out beautifully every time. I love that they keep their shape. They are also very flavorful. 100% my go to recipe whenever we want to make cookies to decorate for Christmas.
I’ve may have baked cookies twice in my life and wanted to try to make some Christmas sugar cookies this year for friends. This recipe was great… especially with so little experience. I don’t understand how people are hating on it. It’s very easy, mixes quick, and like the majority of people are saying, the cookies don’t spread and they taste great. Thanks so much! Happy holidays!
Amazing recipe! My family could not believe they were not store bought cookies. Perfect texture and held shape wonderfully. Be sure to beat the sugar and butter for long enough. Definitely helps the texture turn out perfect.
The best sugar cookie recipe I have ever tried ! So easy to make , they come out perfectly cooked , they taste great and hold their shape . This will be my go to recipe from now on!
The flavor of cookie is great and I love that it doesn’t require lots of sugar, however my cookies came out very dry.
These didn’t hold their shape at all and baked into blobs. Not sure what went wrong.
These cookies were awesome! The dough was easy to work with and held the cutouts! I will use this recipe again for sure:)
Been using this recipe for years. Absolutely love it! Best cookies ever!!! Thanks for sharing your recipe 💙
The dryest cookie ever
Then you missed something. Are you sure you added enough butter? I once used 1 stick instead of 2 because I was thinking that 1 stick = 1 cup, but I realized my mistake when I couldn’t mix all the flour in.
I make this all the time and everyone always comments on how moist they are versus other sugar cookies.
I love this recipe. They are everything you say! So easy to work with the dough, and they have tons of flavor. I make your recipe every year. I guarantee this is the best sugar cookie for cutouts! Now I just need to find a no- fail recipe for pie crust!!!
I have a pie crust recipe that turns out perfect every time!:)
2 cups white flour
3/4 cup lard
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar (optional)
1/2 cup ice cold water (if it looks to dry I sometimes add couple more TBsp.)
Mix flour with lard and salt till crumbly then add water . Mix just till everything comes together .
Thank you so much for sharing your recipe! I have been using this for three years now at Christmas and this dough comes out perfect every time!
I’ve been making these for years and looove then!
Can I use this dough for cookie press?
cookies were good but expanded a looot
Made these cookies today. So easy and baked perfectly. I think I have finally found a go to recipe. Thank you!
Haven’t made the cookies yet, just wanted to ask a question. If I make the cookies tonight will they be okay to frost tomorrow??
Yes, this is what I usually do!
just made these sugar cookies All I have to say is
ITS A KEEPER!!!! I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THE RECIPE!!!! a new tradition has began at my house with my grandchildren.
going to try this recipe for the icing now… cant wait to see how they turn out.
Delicious cookies! Easy to make and roll out! Great texture, not too sweet. Just right! 👌🏻
These cookies are CRACK! I make them every year and use a simple icing recipe. Super easy to make and they come out perfect every time!
So simple, so forgiving and so tasty!
I made these this weekend with my grandchildren. They were delicious and did not spread. My finicky husband enjoyed them as well. Thanks for sharing and happy holidays.
Perfect everytime, and tastes amazing.
This was the worst recipe ever. It never formed into dough I got a better recipe off the sugar bag.
This is the best sugar cookie recipe! More like a butter cookie. My grandkids and I made them today. So delicious! Definitely a keeper recipe.
Made these for the first time tonight and they were a hit! I’m not usually a sugar cookie fan but these were delicious! How long can these be kept after baked, before being iced? Would frozen or refrigerated be better? Thanks!!
I was wondering the same thing about icing them😃
I’ve made a lot of sugar cookies…no lie….these are so simple and don’t “spread” or “puff” which is my main problem (even after refridgerating the dough). Cookies keep their shape! Great recipe!
Is it ok to make at high altitude or do I need to add anything?
I have been using this cookie recipe for a couple years now, it’s simple ,they hold hold there shape and taste great!!
I made this last night for my kiddos and everyone *LOVED* it! Not overly sweet and easy to make, will definitely be using this recipe again in the future~!
This cookie recipe sucks, my cookie batter never got together and was super crumbly. Never making this recipe again
Short Version: Gluten free are too dry, 1/2 cup less flour is better. Long version: I swapped 1 for 1 with Bob’s Red Mill GF flour because King Arthur is not available in Canada. They tasted ok not amazing and I got a 75% success ratio with 25% broken due to dryness. Honestly the last few times Ive bought Bob’s Red Mill GF flour everything has been a bit drier. Test a couple cookies before cooking the whole batch so you can adjust as needed.
Delicious and perfect! I used half butter and half crisco, but otherwise followed exact! Saved me when I forgot to make and chill my old recipe!
I love this recipe!! It’s delicious and so simple!
I had to make it in advance last week and when I baked today noticed the first couple trays were cracking. It seemed to get a little better as they cooled but it wasn’t the same as baking fresh dough.
Do you know if this may be an issue if the dough is too cold?
Thanks! Hope you’re having a great holiday season!
This is the perfect recipe for cut Christmas cookies. They dont spread, keep their shape and the kids loved them!
I live in FL. It is 80 degrees and raining here today, so humid af. I had MAJOR doubts about not chilling this dough and went into this extremely skeptical. Usually, I have to chill the dough overnight and then chill between each batch and add a TON of flour, just to end up with vaguely familiar shaped cookies. I have to chill regular drop cookie dough for Christmas’ sake.
But I am AMAZED. I put the dough in the fridge for about 10 minutes bc it was just slightly sticky. It was PERFECT after that. Idk what kind of witchcraft this is, but I am here for it (and so are my impatient children). And the bonus is that these cookies actually did hold their shape. They are beautiful. I may have wept, a bit like Jesus himself.
It’s a Christmas miracle.
I have salted butter, can I skip the added salt and flavor will still be ok?
Delicious cookies! Can they be frozen (before being frosted)? How long will they stay fresh in the fridge?
They freeze much better without icing (it goes cloudy). As for freshness, I’d say 2 weeks in the fridge in a sealed container (or zip lock bag)
I have been using this recipe for my cookies for over a year! Absolutely hands down the best recipe out there. Saves loads of time from others calling for chilling dough. Also holds form very well!
Have made this recipe several times and it always comes out great. Holds shape well and I love that it doesn’t need chilling time. The addition of the almond extract is also very good. I appreciate that the recipe includes weight measurements as well for precision.
Made these today! They tasted amazing and kept great shape! Received many compliments. This recipe will be a keeper for many years to come. Thank you!!
Very yummy sugar cookie for sure. I’m not an almond person so I used all vanilla. I’m not sure what I did but my dough was actually a little sticky so I just chilled it 15 min and it was perfect. Very easy dough to work with. I roll my dough between 2 parchment sheets, cut out cookies then remove the excess dough and transfer parchment paper with the cookies to the the cookie sheet. Saves me from messing up my edges when I move them.
Can I substitute the almond extract for more vanilla?
Yes
I’ve done this before and they still turn out great. I’ve also substituted the almond extract for lemon extract with good results!
I made this recipe tonight with my family and it was perfect! The cookies turned out great
The best sugar cookies I’ve EVER eaten. My mother in law and I are making these for the second year in a row and they get better each time! Thank you for this recipe it will be one we pass down ♥️
Great recipe. Easy, quick and delicious. Wouldn’t change a thing. I have saved this pin for future use. Thanks Katrina!!
So glad I’ve come across this recipe, I won’t even consider using any other. Excellent results every time. I find other recipes too fiddly for the same outcome.
This is our absolute favorite recipe!!
Can I add cocoa to this recipe to make them and would you recommend quantity of cocoa?
I would try my chocolate cutouts. https://www.inkatrinaskitchen.com/best-chocolate-cut-out-cookie/
Sorry that you receive such hateful comments. Thank you for this recipe, I have uses it 3 times in the past 2 months, never an issue.
These are very good! I did need to bake them for 10 min rather than the 6-8min but I like them crispier. I also added about a teaspoon of nutmeg and the zest of two oranges for my Christmas cookies. Delicious! Thank you!
I tried sugar cookies 25 yrs ago and never could find a good recipe. So after so many year not trying I thought I would give this one a try. They are the best and easy to make. have made them twice this Christmas and both time they were delicious.
Great recipe, I love that I don’t have to chill the dough. They are light and easy to bake!