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.
2,347 Comments on “Best Sugar Cookie Recipe EVER”
Hi Katrina! Can these have sprinkles added to them before placing in the oven?
what if i want to chill the dough? will it ruin it?
Best sugar cookie dough. The dough rolls out easily and the cookies hold there shape perfectly in the oven. The amount of almond extract is provides a delicate almond flavor. I can’t wait to decorate the cookies.
the best Christmas cookies I’ve ever made.
If I double the recipe is it still only one egg?
Can you use margarine instead of butter?
Thank you! Had so much fun with my 6 year old granddaughter. Suck an easy recipe
I always stayed clear of cut out cookies.. Not anymore. These are that easy.. been making them for several years so my grand children can decorate them. Thank you for sharing so I can make wonderful memories with my kiddos ❤️
How do you recommend storing these cookies?
I don’t like thick cookies, can I roll them thinner and still ice them? I just bought tools and supplies to try decorating with royal icing for the first time. Can’t wait to try your recipes!!
Thanks,
Lynn
Can you freeze dough?
I have never once commented on a Pinterest recipe in the years and years I’ve had Pinterest. But this recipe is worth it! So simple, so easy and the best sugar cookie recipe ever. It feels fool proof, honestly! I’ve been doing this recipe for the past 3 years and it’s the only one I’ll ever do!
I’ve been using this recipe for a few years. Turns out great every time!
I omit the Almond extract, because I don’t have it or use it. They’re still great.
So good! kept their shape and any imprints on top so well, and they taste great. Can’t ask for anything else!
I am in the uk what is meringue powder?
Can you make the dough the night before? If so, store in fridge?
You are right. These are the best sugar cookies I’ve ever made. Thank you. You answere all the right questions and you have made my day!!! Next to try your icing recipe❤️🎄😁
These are my absolute favorite sugar cookies to cut out and decorate. The flavor is good, no chilling required, texture is perfect. I recommend this to my friends when they ask for a good recipe.
This is my favorite cut out cookie recipe! Have made many, many batches! I usually add grated orange zest to the dough, so perfect for Christmas!
absolutely the best cutouts we ever made. excellent recipe!
Can I freeze these too?
These are the absolute BEST cookies !!!
I have to say this is now my GO TO sugar cookie recipe!!!! I am a very busy but still very devoted mom and grandmother and love to make Xmas cookies for my grandchildren to decorate when we gather at Thanksgiving (given we typcially can’t be together for Xmas). I am so grateful to have an easy recipe like this that I can use while I’m making a thousand other things to prepare for Thanksgiving. Thank you!!
Great cookies, just think that my little bit crumbly I did what it said, but it so yeah overall great
Delicious cookie. Will be making for Christmas
I was just wondering if I could use salted butter and just omit the extra salt in the recipe? Would that make them to salty if I used the salted butter?
Thank you
Can you make dough, cut shapes out, and freeze until you want to bake them? And if so any tips on best freezer storage/steps to then bake when you’re ready?
Absolutely the best sugar cookie recipe! My mom asked me for the recipe and ditched her old one. I use powdered sugar to roll out my cookies on instead of flour.
I’ve been using this recipe for 8 years for my daughter’s annual Christmas cookie decorating party. This is the first year I need to bake in advance and freeze. I can’t find any instructions on the best way to do that with this recipe. I’m worried that I won’t freeze them correctly and the party will be ruined. Can anyone help? Thank you!
First time making homemade cookies and best recipe and perfect instructions.
the best I have ever tried thank you
Very easy to make no chilling needed I add cinnamon
and pumpkin spice for my Halloween cookies had a slight problem when dough became dry with the last batch of dough so I wet it slightly
Truly THE BEST. Especially for a no-chill recipe! My mom and I make hundreds of cookies for Christmas every year (for 40 years) including a huge batch of cut out cookies. We’ve tried “all” of the recipes. I recently came across this recipe while looking for a no-chill option to “quickly” make some cookies for a Halloween gathering. These were SO easy and fast to make. I used almost a full tablespoon of vanilla and omitted the almond extract. I also used salted butter (almost always do when baking). These kept their shape beautifully. They were sturdy enough for royal icing (even on some delicate stems for leaf cookies). And the cookies tasted GREAT! Thank you! I’m throwing out all of my other recipes and putting this one in my recipe box.
First time making these and they are very good. I only had salted butter and didn’t have any almond extract so used more vanilla (I would have used almond if I’d had some, as I do like it in sugar cookies.) Other details: I’m somewhat high altitude- 6300 feet; 24% humidity; 72 degrees; ingredients were measured by weight. I made sure to beat the sugar and butter for three minutes, then beat the wet ingredients well. The dough came out very smooth, like play dough, but slightly sticky. I needed to add extra flour to make it roll out and to cut shapes. The cookies puffed up while baking but came back pretty closely to the original shape (but not perfectly). I didn’t measure thickness precisely but they were roughly 1/4 to 3/8 in. My new oven was checked out and calibrated accurate. My cookies took 10 minutes to bake without getting brown on the edges (but do keep an eye out as these can brown quickly). I used 3″ to 4″ size cutters and this recipe made 16 cookies. Taste great. Overall very good, but didn’t keep shapes perfectly, in my experience.
Delicious! Added icing to the Halloween cookie cutter cookies that I made.
These cookies are too soft and break easily
Can I freeze the dough and for how long? I have a lot of cookies to make.
How do you do your icing?
These were pretty good for making some Halloween treats! I’ll be sure to use this recipe when Christmas rolls around .
That is the same icing recipe I use, I found it in a Wilton book, it is fantastic for setting up and freezing.
This is truly the best sugar cookie I have tasted. Easy to make. It is also the best tasting cookie that melts in your mouth.
can I substitute the egg for apple sauce without it changing the consistency?
I’ve been making these cookies for 4 years and they have been a hit every single time. such an easy recipe with phenomenal results, the edges hold perfectly.
We love this recipe. Making it right now again and noticed the instructions don’t specify when do add vanilla/almond. We add it with the wet ingredients, but thought I’d mention it 🙂
These are really good! They didn’t spread at all but I pressed them down before baking so they were a nice shape and texture.
This is Wiltons original recipe printed in their books and Christmas cutter sets from the 70s and 80s.
The recipe is really great and the dough wonderfully easy to handle. Thanks for sharing!
I am wondering, if I can also use your dough for quiches/pies/tartes…..just with less or now sugar, because it is soooo easy to roll out. Do you have any experience here with a salty/less sugar version? I would blind-bake the dough before I fill it, but does the creaming of Butter and consistancy work without the sugar? Thanks for your advice. Lovel greetings from Austria, Vienna
this is the ONLY cut out cookie recipe I use. perfection every time.
I have been using this recipe for years. Never disappoints. I couldn’t find my printed copy and decided to just use another one on the internet, ugh the cookies are terrible! Just use this recipe always. It will not disappoint!
It is very easy recipes and love the taste .
What should I use as a substitute for the egg and almond