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
Ingredients
- 4 3/4 Cup all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 Cup butter
- 1 1/2 Cup granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 1/2 teaspoon 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˚ F in pre-heated oven for 8-10 minutes.
Comments & Reviews
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!
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!
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!
And I used butter instead of margarine!
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