This is the best sugar cookie recipe made with either butter or margarine. They’re soft, hearty and freeze well so you can make them ahead! They’re one of the best cookies you can make!
Easy Sugar Cookies Recipe
I’m going to show you the tips to make the best sugar cookie recipe with my favorite sugar cookie recipe. Baking comes naturally to me only because of the talent of my mom. Thanks, Mom! She taught me that baking comes down to two things – measuring and timing. It’s no surprise that she’s a math teacher. 😉 In all seriousness the tips she’s shared with me are crucial to the perfect sugar cookie and so I want to share them with you!
Here are my tips to make the best easy sugar cookies recipe this Christmas.
You can find the Best (and easiest) Sugar Cooking Icing Recipe here.
Tip 1 : Use good quality baking pans.
I use air-bake cookie sheets or a light jelly roll pan. If I baked my cookies on my dark baking sheets that I use for pizza-making, I get a completely different cookie. Since the goal in my sugar cookies is a soft cookie, using an air-bake cookie sheet is a must. If you use a dark pan your cookies will over cook on the bottom. That’s just a reality.
Tip 2 : Pre-Measure all ingredients.
Before I start combining one thing I pre-measure all my ingredients. All my flour, baking powder and salt go into one bowl. I then pre-measure the sugar, the vanilla and even the butter is ready. I even crack all the eggs. In this way, the recipe comes together quickly and fluidly. It’s also less likely that you’ll make a mistake measuring ingredients if you’re focused on that one task only – instead of checking what’s already in the mixer. Measuring ingredients accurately is very important when baking.
Here’s my favorite measuring spoons. And here’s my favorite measuring cups.
Tip 3 : Chill the dough overnight.
Most recipes will say that you can chill the dough for as little as one hour. In my experience, there is not a shortcut to this one. You’re invested in making a great sugar cookie (otherwise you wouldn’t be here), so take that extra step and chill the dough overnight. To be honest, I actually prefer to do it this way simply because it’s easier to clean up the kitchen without worrying about baking the cookies at the same time.
Tip 4 : Don’t be afraid of flour. And it’s how you roll.
Flour the countertop generously. Place your dough on the countertop and lightly flour the top of the dough. Flour the rolling pin as well. Roll the dough from the center and work your way to the outside. Put more pressure in the middle and let the roller do the work as you get to the edge. It is key that your dough be a uniform thickness of 1/4 – 1/2 inch to avoid crispy edges when you bake. The flour assists you to avoid the dough from sticking to the countertop, the roller or the cookie cutters.
Here’s my secret for the perfect cookie – buy this roller! It allows you to be as tough as you want on the dough which is important when it’s fresh out of the refrigerator. It won’t let you roll too thin. That is KEY. My cookies are perfect even because of this roller. And if you’re like me, you have your kids helping and this allows them to really roll with it (pun intended) and I don’t have to worry about uneven cookies. I use the 1/4 inch attachment
By the way, Flour your cookie cutters as well so that the dough will loosen from the cutter when you place it on the cookie sheet. Here’s a great list of cookie cutters!
Tip 5 : Put the dough back in the refrigerator.
Because I typically bake a number of cookies at once, it’s a good idea to place the dough you’re not currently rolling back into the refrigerator. With a hot oven nearby, the dough starts to warm and it will be much harder to roll your next batch.
Tip 6 : Don’t Overbake the Cookies. Please!
If your cookies are turning a light tan – they’re overbaked. That is unless, you prefer it that way. The recipe I tried most recently said to bake the cookies for 6 to 8 minutes. I set the timer for 6 minutes and then checked the cookie every 30 seconds until it was done. Eight minutes and 30 seconds ended up being the optimal time. Every oven is different so every time I bake cookies I start at the lowest time possible.
If you’re nervous about how your cookie will bake, bake a test cookie. Place only one cookie on the cookie sheet and bake it. Let it cool and taste it. Is it the texture that you like? Again, you’ve already invested your time, this one small step may make the biggest impact on your end product.
Again, using air-bake cookie sheets helps this step!
Those are my Cleverly Simple tips to make the best sugar cookie! Are you ready to try this easy sugar cookies recipe?
The easy sugar cookies recipe is from my mom’s Recipe Book. It is the recipe my family makes every single year. It’s a lighter cookie (by taste, not by calories). I may be bias because I grew up making these cookies, but it’s a delicious cookie that will make a nice addition to any Christmas cookie plate. It’s soft and it’s yummy.
More Best Cookies Recipes:
- How to Make The Best (and Easiest) Sugar Cookie Icing (Glaze)
- The Best Gingerbread Cookies Recipe
- Gluten Free Sugar Cookies
- Lemon Tea Cookie Recipe
How To Make The Best Sugar Cookie : Sugar Cookie Recipe
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Prep Time: 14 hours - Cook Time: 10 mins
- Total Time: 14 hours 10 minutes
- Yield: 20
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Prep Time:
Yield:
Category:
Method:
Cuisine:
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeDescription
Do you want the perfect sugar cookie? Here’s how to make the best sugar cookie with tips included!
Ingredients
- 4 3/4 Cup Flour
- 1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
- 3/4 tsp Salt
- 1 Cup butter
- 1 1/2 Cup sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
Instructions
- Mix flour, baking powder and salt together. Set aside.
- Beat butter and sugar until fluffy.
- Beat in eggs. Fold in Vanilla.
- Stir in flour mixture.
- Chill overnight in the refrigerator.
- Roll out dough until it’s about 1/4 – 1/2 inch thick
- Using cookie cutters, create shapes.
- Bake at 350 degrees in pre-heated oven for 8-10 minutes.
Notes
You can use margarine for this recipe if you don’t have butter on hand. I prefer butter. Butter makes the dough a little more stiff after removing it from the refrigerator, but the dough will start to soften up when you start to work with it.
Keywords: best sugar cookie recipe, easy sugar cookie recipe, cut out sugar cookie recipe
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Do you have to chill over nite
Hi Laura. I chill mine overnight to make sure it’s fully chilled. If it’s not, it’s harder to roll out. If you’re short on time, I would chill it for at least 4 hours.
Since I see baking powder I’m guessing you used all purpose flour?
Hi Frances, yes. You want to use all purpose baking flour.
Just wanted to say that this is my go to recipe whenever I want to bake shaped cookies to frost! I follow directions to a T! I usually freeze them a week or two until it’s time to frost them a day or so before my party. Saves me so much time! Thank you for sharing. This may be third or fourth year with this recipe!
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Thanks so much for your feedback Tessa! It is the best! We use it for all our holidays and especially at Christmas time.
How about using coconut oil instead of butter?
I’ve never tried this recipe with coconut oil. If you do, let me know how it goes!
Is it 350 degrees or ferenheit?
Hi. All recipes on this site are Fahrenheit. I apologize for the confusion!
The sugar cookie recipe lists margarine as an ingredient but the instructions refer to butter. Which is right: butter or margarine?
Hi Paulette. So sorry for the confusion. You can use either butter or margarine. I currently use butter because that’s what I have on hand. Using butter the dough will be a little bit more stiff at first after removing it from the refrigerator, but it will soften up as you roll it out.
Thank you i love your recipe.
This is the first time that I’ve tied margarine in sugar cookies, they turned out great! I out them in the freezer for an hour before rolling, then back into the freezer for ten minutes after cutting, because I was short on time… They turned out great with no spreading. Thanks so much!
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Hi Lynette!
Thanks for this great recipe! I made Snoopy cookies for my daughter’s birthday and they were a success! I reduced the salt to 1/2 tsp, which turned out pretty good to our taste!!
I’ll certainly make it again, soon! I wish there was a way to attach a picture of them to this post, they are really cute!
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And I used butter instead of margarine!
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How many does this recipe make?
Hi! I’m looking to try out this recipe for Christmas and I was curious to know, if i only leave the dough in the the freezer for a couple of hours instead of overnight, would it affect the outcome of the cookies? Thank you!! 🙂 x
Do these hold the shape from a cookie cutter well? For example… If I cookie cut out a star, how close to the original shape does this dough turn out?
Hi Courtney! Yes. They hold the shape well. As all cookies like this, there is less sharpness to the edges after baking, but overall the shape holds.
I have a cookie gun. Any suggestions
I’ve never used a cookie gun with this recipe so I can’t give advice. If you do try it, please let me know how it goes!
I made these with my 7 yr old daughter for her Authors Tea at school. They turned out great and were a hit! My daughter proudly said to me “Mom, did you see that our cookies are almost gone?! It’s because they are so good!” My cookie cutters were approximately 4 x 4 and I got more than three dozen cookies.
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Hi Lynette,
I made beautiful Easter Bunny sugar cookies! They were a big hit! I wish I could send you a picture of them. They were adorable and very tasty! Thanks for the great recipe!
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I’m sorry, I tried these and they were really bad 🙁 Maybe it was the margarine I used. I usually use butter with cookies but only had margarine so I gave this recipe a try. I’m a pretty good baker, but they turned out horrible.
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Hi Jennie, Can you tell me what you didn’t like about them? I just made them again this week for Valentine’s day and they were a huge hit. Maybe I can help figure out what went wrong.
Hi ~ I plan ti try your cookie recipe for upcoming Dia de los Muertos party~ Question – how many cookies does this recipe make ? Thanks ~
Hi Mary, it completely depends on the sugar cookie cut out you plan to use. If you use a small one you will get many cookies and a large cookie cutout will result in less cookies. I’m sorry I can’t be more specific without knowing what cutout you’re using. I can tell you that this is one fantastic recipe. Let me know how your cookies turn out! 🙂
How long can you freeze the dough. I made 5 batches for an event and I have a batch left and was going to use them to make cookies with my daughters later this week. I am assuming the best option would be to freeze them until then? Also how long would they take to defrost?
Hi Elizabeth, I would roll out and cut out the cookies, bake and then freeze them. That’s how I do it each year. Then I take it out of the freezer the morning that I plan to add icing. It takes just a few hours to thaw. Of course, that thawing time depends on how big the cookies are. You can thaw overnight to be on the safe side.
Hi 🙂 put the dough in the fridge means the freezer compartment or the refregerator compartment? 🙂 Going to make this for selling hope it’ll come out well 😀
It goes into the refrigerator. Let me know how it turns out!
not sure how this recipe even works. Myself and friend both tried it separately and it was too crumbly to even roll out. I used cold butter in the same amount instead of margarine and my friend used margarine. My husband is currently adding 2 tbsp of water to try and fix it. Ugh.
Can you use this recipe in a cookie press?
For the salt, do you use regular iodized table salt or kosher salt?
can I use vanilla flavoring in stead of vanilla extract?
Just wondering, you state margarine, I don’t use it. What difference, in the texture, will using butter cause?
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Butter might give them a bit of a crispier texture. You can use either and they both will turn out great.
Margarine is one molecule away from being plastic, I could never understand why and how they can call it edible!
Does it matter the flour, self rising or all purpose?
Hi Terry, you want to always use all purpose in recipes unless otherwise stated.
Hi, would love to try out your receipe. But could you tell me the measurements in grams?
TIA!
Found this recipe & made it last night. Let it stay in the fridge til today. All seemed to be going well, but after I had rolled it out in flour it seems to be separating. Could I hv used too much flour on my counter? Can’t seem to get it to stick bck together!
Hi Melissa, yes. You just need a light dusting of flour to keep it from sticking to the counter. If you use too much, it will make the dough too try and it will start to fall apart. Try to blend all the dough together to see if the flour will even out for the cookie dough.
hi Melissa, another great idea to try is substituting flour for powdered sugar. 🙂
Hi! I would love to make this today! But I was wondering if I could use cake flour because that is all I have right now?
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Hi Regina. I’m not sure. I’ve never tried cake flour but I know people do use it for cookies. Let me know how it turns out!
Does the butter need to be.room temp or cold?
Hi Mary. It doesn’t matter. I’ve done it both ways and had great results with these sugar cookies. 🙂
If you use butter instead of margarine, do you use salted or unsalted butter? Do you know how the results differ from using one over the other?
HI Karry. I’ve used butter and I used salted butter. If you only have unsalted butter, add 1/4 tsp of additional salt to the recipe. Unsalted butter allows you to control the amount of salt in a recipe. Salted butter has a varied amount which gives you less control. That’s really the only difference. 🙂
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Have made large cutout ‘number’ cookies for b-days, since my son were small…my latest batch were 35’s! Decided to try your mom’s recipe and they were a huge success. Soft and delicious. I added white vanilla and a little lemon juice to powdered sugar for the icing, which I make in small batches. Actually, I roll out the dough in small batches and keep the rest in fridge/freezer. Ice with my finger and cover in sprinkles! Really tasty and very cute!
My hardest issue with sugar cookies is knowing when they are done. I can tell when they’re too done… but not when they need to be taken out. Any advice? Just tried your recipe last night and am going to bake them today.
I didn’t use the recipes, but I followed all of your tips 🙂 Thank you for explaining so well. The cookies came out amazing! I made Valentine cookies last night because I am travelling this week and want to give them to my boyfriend. Should I freeze them until then or should they be fine in a cookie tin until Valentines day?
Thanks again 🙂
I am so glad I found this recipe for cookies and icing. I’m going to try these this weekend for our Superbowl Party. My kiddos love sugar cookies and I have been searching for a great recipe…this one sounds delicious!!! Can’t wait to try it.
Do you have an icing recipe that you like to use with these cookies?
Yes, I do! Here’s the easy sugar cookie icing recipe I use. https://www.cleverlysimple.com/how-to-make-the-best-and-easiest-sugar-cookie-icing-glaze/
Quick tip from my sister…. Instead of using flour on the counter and rolling pin — use powdered sugar when you roll out the dough!
Yum! That is a great tip! Thanks!
I made the dough last night and put it in the fridge overnight. This morning, the dough is hard as a brick and I cant do anything with it. Suggestions?
Leave it out on the counter and check it every ten minutes. The cookie dough may need to soften up a bit.
Hi. can I just refrigerate the dough for an hr? does it matter how long it stays in the fridge? Tia
HI Anisna, I usually leave the cookie dough in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour. The longer the better, although I wouldn’t leave it there for longer than 24 hours as it can start to dry out.
Hi Lynette, the vanilla that’s listed in the ingredients list, is that vanilla extract or just vanilla?
Hi Sheena. It’s Vanilla extract. I’ll update the recipe. 🙂
hi just made the cookies with my granddaughter and they where perfect…..thank you we have a new Christmas cookie now……we used the icing too turned out awesome…..thank you thank you.
You have to out it in the freezer or refrigerator?
I made these yesterday, I pre-measured everything, I scooped the flour out and measured it, rather than using a measuring cup to scoop it and measure at the same time. These were extremely dry, I triple checked everything as I pre-measured and followed the recipe exactly. I’ve gone over it a few times since mixing the dough, and can’t figure out the issue. I was able to make a ball with the dough, with my hands, and then wrapped it and put it into the refrigerator… it came out even more dry, after only 9 hours in the refrigerator. I don’t think I’ll be making this again. On the hunt for a new recipe, that hopefully turns out. Thanks, anyway!
I’m sorry to hear that Mia. I just made them last week and everything was fine. Flour can be funny based on humidity but you really should not have had that hard of a time with it drying out like that. If you want to try again, which you may not want to, I would slowly add the flour mixture and leave about 1/2 cup out of the recipe and see if that helps. I will say that in the summer, I use more flour because of the humidity, but this time of year, this recipe does well for me. I’m sorry it didn’t work out for you. Did you bake them?
Well due to your incorrect instructions, I mixed all the dry ingredients as you instructed only to read next that I was to creme the sugar and margarine together. Too late now!
I apologize and can see how that would be confusing. I will update the recipe. Thanks for your feedback!
I just wanted to say that your instructions are in no way confusing. I just read them and unless you changed the way it was written it is very clear. But most people who bake know that you cream together the butter and sugar first then add other wet ingredients then dry ingredients its pretty basic baking 101. Anyways I’m looking forward to trying this out. Thanks for the tips!
Hi! I had a quick question. Is it possible to substitute baking soda for the baking powder ? And if so do I use the same amount ?
I don’t believe you can substitute them as they have different functions. I would stick to the recipe as is. If you try it though, let me know how it turns out. 🙂
I can’t wait to make these! How thick do you roll your cookie dough? Thank you for your help!
I typically roll out the cookie dough to about 1/4 to 1/2 an inch. Make sure you roll from the middle of the dough to the edges to keep the dough as even as possible. 🙂 Let me know how they turn out!
I have to say these are so perfect for Christmas. Thank you for sharing
You’re welcome Staci! I’m glad you were able to enjoy the sugar cookies!
My dough has been in the fridge for over 8 hours and it still seems sticky. I thought I added to much flour when I was mixing everything this morning. But now I just have a huge mess.
Hi Adrienne. How did you measure your flour? The good news is, it’s easier to add flour as you set it up to roll out. Is it tacky or really sticky?
How many cookies does this make?
HI Christine. That’s a touch question with sugar cookies. It depends on how big the cookie cutter is. 🙂 With the average sized cookie cutter you will get at least two dozen.
my cookie dough turned out to be way to dry and i was wondering, should i add in the wet ingredients again?
You want to mix your wet ingredients first and then slowly add your dry ingredients. Make sure you’re not packing your flour into the measuring cup as that can make a difference. I scoop the flour into the measuring cup and then level it which is what this recipe is based on. If you scoop your measuring cup into your flour and then level, you will end up with more than the recipe needs.
Let me know if that helps.
With the 1st recipe can you have butter instead of margarine? Or will it mess up the recipe? 🙂
Go for it. I’ve used both depending on what I had on hand. Margarine is definitely cheaper! 🙂
Hi. I made your first recipe and It turned out perfectly. My kids loved it. Making another batch right now. Thanks for sharing.
Hi, can I make half of the recipe or will it not come out right?
HI Noura, It should be fine as long as you “half” all the ingredients. 🙂
When you put it in the fridge, does it matter if you cover it or not?
I cover it as I don’t want it to dry out. I will put saran wrap over it while keeping it in the mixer bowl.
Ciao:)
Thank you for your quick answer!
I have a few questions if you don’t mind..
How much is 350 degrees in Celsius? I tried to look it up but every website says something else and I want the cookies to be perfect 🙂
Also, I want to use your sugar glaze recepie and wanted to ask in which point I need to add the coloring? And what do I need to use to draw thin lines on it?
Thank you again!!
Hi LiRosa, I found that 350 Fahrenheit is 177 celsius. I found it online, so take it for what it’s worth. 🙂
I add the coloring after I mix the sugar cookie icing. I do this because I will sometimes make a big batch of icing and then I divide it into smaller bowls to and add a different color to each one. Hope that helps!
Hi Lynette,
How long can the cookie dough stay in the refrigerator?
I wouldn’t leave it in the refrigerator for longer than a few days, personally. It will start to dry out. These cookies freeze really well, so if you want to make them ahead of time, they do great!
I want to make soccer ball and jersey cookies, which one do you think would work best?
Hi Patricia. I use the first recipe that is listed completely on this post for everything. I tried the other one and liked it, but I’ve been making sugar cookie cut outs from the other recipe for years. It would be perfect for your soccer ball and jersey cookies!
Hi:)
I’m suppose to bake Halloween cookies soon and I wanted to use this recipe.
I’m from Italy and my english is not that good so I was wondering if you could explain what “beat in” and “fold in” means? 🙂
Hello! To “beat in” means to use something like an electric mixer. To “fold in” means to use a spatula or large spoon to manually fold the dough into itself. Let me know if you have any more questions!
hi,
I am going to try both receipe and have my son and grand children as taste testers. they always give an honest opinion. I will let you know how they turn out and my little peoples opinion thanks for the help….
Yes, let me know what they think! That sounds like fun! 🙂
Would butter, instead of margarine, also work in this recipe, or does it need to be margarine?
Hi Beth. I have never tried this sugar cookie recipe with Butter. However, I believe butter and margarine are interchangeable when you bake. I would just keep an eye on the cookies, as I believe butter browns much quicker. Let me know how it goes!
Perfect Tea Party cookie! Not too sweet with a beautiful finish for royal icing. I got 40 3.5 inch circles.
Thank you for sharing. It was exactly what I was looking for!
Just to clarify,in your mom’s recipe, when it says stir in the flour mixture that refers to using a spoon or fork, not a mixer, right?
Hi Ashley. I use my mixer on a lower setting. You can use a spoon as well, but a mixer is easier in my opinion since I’m already using it. You just don’t want to “beat” it. You mix it until all the flour is incorporated well.
How many cookies does the recipe make?
It can make up to 4 dozen but it depends on how big the cookie cutter is that you use. When I make big Christmas trees, I get less cookies out of the dough. 🙂