What is the best soft sugar cookie recipe?
Cookies seem to have become a thing for me lately. I seem to be testing a million recipes lately, and these super soft sugar cookies are so fitting for me.
No decorating required – just a bake and eat kind of dessert. That’s why I’ve been pumping out recipes like my favorite dairy free chocolate chip cookies, spicy gingersnaps and fruitcake cookies. They’re also a great way to keep a toddler whose little brother is sleeping occupied for a little while.
The best part is, that while I’ve been working on these cookies, I’ve been prepping for Christmas and participating in one of my favorite annual traditions as a food blogger – The Sweetest Season. It’s a virtual cookie exchange hosted by one of my favorite people, Erin, from The Speckled Palate.
It’s a fun way to get excited about the holiday season and do some good. The Sweetest Season has been supporting Cookies for Kids’ Cancer for the last few years, and I’m so honored to be part of such a great holiday tradition. Learn more about the organization and how you can support it here. And, if you’re able, please make a donation to help support the cause.
There are so many different ways to make a sugar cookie. There’s soft and chewy sugar cookies, thin and crispy sugar cookies, and even frosted sugar cookies.
But, I think the best sugar cookie recipe is a soft and chewy one. I know a lot of people love thin and crispy cookies, but I’m just not one of them – at least when it comes to a classic sugar cookie.
To make soft sugar cookies, you need to get your ratio of fat and sugar just right. They are the two ingredients that have the biggest impact on the texture of a cookie, even though there’s really a lot more to it since baking is just a big science experiment.
In fact, for the longest time I made these cookies without baking soda, and I couldn’t figure out why they weren’t spreading or cracking on the top like my spicy gingersnaps do. So I did a little internet research, added some baking soda, and voila, the cookie did exactly what I wanted it to do.
If you like this recipe, you have to try these chocolate chip sprinkle cookies, and this pumpkin cookie recipe and these no bake chocolate oatmeal cookies.
Searching for more cookie recipes? Double chocolate chip cookies / Snowball cookies / Fruitcake cookies / Anise cookies
Ingredients:
Making changes to a recipe can result in recipe failure. Any substitutions listed below are simple changes that I believe will work in this recipe, but results are not guaranteed.
- Vegetable shortening – We often use butter flavored crisco for baking or a vegan butter alternative, such as Earth Balance vegan buttery sticks. You can use whatever you have on had, even if its plain shortening.
The following is a detailed overview of the recipe steps with added tips and tricks for recipe success. For a simplified and printable version, including ingredient amounts and more formal instructions, see the recipe card below.
How do you make sugar cookies soft and chewy?
Preheat your oven to 350˚F and line your baking sheets with parchment paper. This helps keep the cookies from sticking to the sheet and if there’s one thing you need to do, it’s this. You could also use a silicone baking mat if you have it.
Prep your dry ingredients. In a medium bowl (not the one you’re going to mix the dough in), whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Make sure everything is evenly distributed before setting the bowl aside.
Cream the shortening and sugar. You can use butter here if you’re not dairy free (equal amounts). You want this to get nice and fluffy, so using an electric mixer really helps. This process gets air into the mixture to create a softer cookie.
Add the wet ingredients. The egg and the vanilla extract go in next. Mix them only until the egg is incorporated. You do not want to over mix the egg or you’ll end up with not-soft cookies.
Gradually add the flour mixture. I recommend doing this about 3/4 – 1 cup at a time. It helps to get everything mixed a little more evenly and it also prevents your flour from flying all over the place. Keep adding until and mixing until a dough forms. It should start to come together on its own and pull away from the bowl walls.
Roll the dough. Use a cookie scoop or a spoon to balls, about 2 tablespoons full. Roll balls into extra sugar and place them onto your prepared cookie sheet.
Bake the sugar cookies for 10 – 11 minutes in the oven. Keep an eye on them and remove the cookies when the tops have started to crack. They may not look fully set yet, but they will continue to cook a bit as they rest on the cookie sheet for about 5 minutes. After that, Transfer them to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
More recipe ideas. dairy free snickerdoodle cookies / chai sugar cookies / banana bread cookies / cranberry orange cookies
Super Soft Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
- 1 cup vegetable shortening, or vegan butter
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Extra sugar, for rolling
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350˚F, and line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl with an electric mixer, cream the shortening and sugar until fluffy – about 1 minute.
- Add the egg and vanilla extract. Beat until combined.
- Add the flour mixture in 1/2 cup increments, mixing to combine and scraping sides when necessary.
- Using a small cookie scoop, form dough into balls and roll in extra sugar. Place on cookie sheet about 2 inches apart.
- Bake cookies for 10 – 11 minutes or until cookies have spread and the tops begin to crack. Remove from oven and allow the cookies to rest for 5 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Hi ! I am needing to make these in a rush and I currently only have self raising flour! Would I just not use the baking powder as the flour is self raising or do I have to use all purpose? thanks so much!
I would not be able confidently tell you without first testing the recipe using self rising flour. I would not recommend trying to change the recipe when you are in a rush.
This recipe is by far one of my favorites. Tried it today and I’m a fan now of adding the baking soda and powder! Wow. They crumbled well. Thanks for sharing such a great recipe!
Overjoyed 15yro female here—guys, this recipe is a must-have in your recipe book! I like to say I’m a natural born baker (or i just love it way too much), and this recipe is honestly the best I’ve ever had.
We got fruit from a food donation at church, and among them were two large lemons—I added a teaspoon of fresh lemon juice to the batter, then rolled the cookies in a mix of sugar and lemon zest—turned out LOVELY! Still super fluffy, soft, and wayyyy to easy to eat! The flavor experimentation wasn’t super overpowering, and I think it’s a great way to use citrus if you have some laying around… but even this recipe as it normally is, is just…chefs kiss.
My family and I love it so much!
Thanks!
I recently had to cut all dairy from my diet, and I came across this recipe while searching for an alternative to the usual Christmas cookies I have made in the past. I made these exactly as directed, and they are SO good. 🙏🏻 Will be saving this one!
I made this, used half real butter, half veg. shortening, added 1/4 cup of brown sugar, and 1/2 tsp of almond flavoring wirh real vanilla. Grandkids can’t have artifical dye, so rolled tops in the natural colored sugar sprinkles. Out of the oven they taste great warm, have a soft texture!
Made these exactly as the recipe called for, and they turned out perfect. Maybe the best sugar cookie recipe I’ve ever made.
Can this recipe be prepared and rolled in balls (with or without rolling in sugar?) and frozen before baking?
I haven’t tried it, but I think it would work the same as any other cookie recipe!
My cookies baked weird. I used shortening and put them in for the instructed length of time, and they browned on the edges, but were still nearly raw in the center. Is there any way to combat this?
I’m sorry this happened. I’m not sure what the problem is though. I make these with shortening all the time and they turn out just fine. Is there a chance that you measured your flour incorrectly or maybe that your oven is not the temperature that it’s displaying?
In Utah…used a cookie scoop instead of rolling them, cooked for two extra minutes and paired it with raspberry vegan frosting. It’s the best cookie ever. Thanks for the receipe.