Soft & Chewy Sugar Cookies Recipe

Name: Simple Soft Sugar Cookies
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 12 min
Total time: 82 min
Ingredients: 1 cup unsalted butter; 1 cup granulated sugar; 1/4 cup light brown sugar; 2 teaspoons vanilla extract; 1 large egg; 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour; 1/2 teaspoon baking powder; 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Rolling this cookie dough in my hands makes me so happy. I’m immediately thrust back to grade school, making cookies with my mom and my friends.

I love biting into the soft, chewy cookie and having those vanilla notes hit my tongue. It’s a little bite of nostalgic satisfaction that you can’t get anywhere else.

Soft and Chewy Sugar Cookies on Mesh Baking sheet — Irvin Lin

Ordinary Ingredients, Extraordinary Cookie

Sugar cookies come in all sorts of textures and sizes, but my favorite are the kind that are soft and chewy. This is the type of cookie that you roll into balls between your hands and then press flat with a glass before baking.

It’s one the most basic of cookies, with all the standard ingredients you'd expect: butter, sugar, flour, eggs and vanilla. Combined, they make the perfect sugar cookie.

5 Tips for Baking Perfect Cookies Every Time

Ways to Decorate These Cookies

For a basic, everyday sugar cookie, just roll them in sugar before baking. If you'd like something extra-special, try rolling them in colored sugars or topping them with a layer of frosting.

Soft and Chewy Sugar Cookies — Irvin Lin

How to Store or Freeze These Cookies

Store these cookies in an airtight container on the counter for about three days. After that, they'll still be tasty, but will start to get a little dry and crumbly.

The cookies can also be frozen, either baked or unbaked:

To freeze the unbaked cookies, roll and flatten the cookies on the baking sheet, then transfer to the freezer. It's fine to crowd the pan with as many cookies as you can. Once frozen, the cookies can be transferred to an airtight freezer container or bag for up to a month. Bake as normal (no need to thaw), but add an extra minute or two onto the cooking time.
To freeze the baked cookies, cool completely, then wrap them well with foil and transfer to a freezer bag. Freeze for up to a month and thaw at room temperature.

These cookies are so great for the holidays, but here are a whole bunch more that you may like, too!

Looking for a Different Kind of Sugar Cookie?

Soft and chewy not quite your aim today? Take a look at these other variations!

Lofthouse-Style Frosted Sugar Cookies: Super soft! With fluffy frosting!
Simple Cut-Out Sugar Cookies: Thin and tender
Holiday Sugar Cookies: Tender, a little crisp, and sturdy enough for frosting

Simple Soft Sugar Cookies

Prep Time 10 mins

Cook Time 12 mins

Chill Time 60 mins

Total Time 82 mins

Servings 24 servings

Yield 24 cookies

Leave these cookies plain, frost them after cooling, or dress them up with colored sparkling sugars sprinkled over the top before baking.

1 cup (225g or 2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup (200g) granulated white sugar
1/4 cup (55g) packed light brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 large egg
2 1/4 cups (315g) all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

To finish

1/2 cup (100g) granulated white sugar

Stand mixer

Beat the butter and sugar:

Place butter, both sugars and vanilla extract in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat the ingredients together until the butter is light, fluffy and clings to the side of the bowl.

Irvin Lin
Add the egg and beat to incorporate:

Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula.
Add the flour, baking powder and salt:

Mix on low speed until the dry ingredients are mostly absorbed, then increase the speed until fully incorporated.
Chill the dough:

Chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour or overnight.

Irvin Lin
Preheat the oven:

Half an hour before baking the cookies, preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Line a baking sheet with a silicon baking mat or parchment paper.
Shape the cookies:

Pinch off a lump of dough. Roll it between the palms of your hands to form a ball roughly 1 1/2 inches in diameter, about the size of a pingpong ball. Roll the dough in the granulated white sugar and place on the baking sheet. Repeat, spacing the cookies about 2 inches apart.

Irvin Lin
Press the cookies into disks:

Use the flat bottom of a glass to press down and form thick disks about 2 inches wide. Sprinkle some extra sugar on each disk

Irvin Lin
Bake the cookies:

Bake at 375°F (190°C) 11 to 13 minutes, or until the edges of the cookies are starting to turn golden brown. Let cool for 10 minutes on the baking sheet before moving cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days at room temperature.

Irvin Lin

Soft Sugar Cookies on Mesh and Normal Baking Sheets — Irvin Lin

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
170	Calories
8g	Fat
23g	Carbs
2g	Protein

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 24
Amount per serving
Calories	170
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 8g	10%
Saturated Fat 5g	24%
Cholesterol 28mg	9%
Sodium 41mg	2%
Total Carbohydrate 23g	9%
Dietary Fiber 0g	1%
Total Sugars 14g
Protein 2g
Vitamin C 0mg	0%
Calcium 13mg	1%
Iron 1mg	3%
Potassium 21mg	0%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.