Soft Sugar Cookies
Published Mar 19, 2021•Updated Jan 22, 2026
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After many tests, I found the formula that results in the best Soft Sugar Cookies. I’m not a crunchy sugar cookie girl, so my interest in this is largely selfish, but if you’re also a person who wants tender, soft cookies for frosting, look no further. No lengthy chilling of the dough needed. Read on for all the tips you need to get great sugar cookies every time.
Once I got into making royal icing, the next step seemed obvious! Nailing down a great cut-out sugar cookie for decorating. It turned out, I didn’t need to look any further than my favorite vanilla slice-and-bake cookies. And I owe a reader (thank you Shannon!) for pointing out that I already might have a recipe here on the site that would work.
Inspiration for this Recipe
The recipe I’ve used to make vanilla cookies for years comes from my mom’s recipe binder and the now-defunct McCall’s magazine (circa, I would guess, the 1980s). If you’ve been reading for long, you might know the ones. These cookies have become a favorite in our house and are the base for colorful pinwheel cookies. See the Christmas version here and the Fourth of July version here.
A Quick Freeze to Prevent Spreading
Many recipes for soft cut-out sugar cookies have you mix the dough and then chill it for an hour or more before rolling it out. But there is a better way! As soon as the cookie dough is mixed, roll it out on a floured surface. Cut the dough into shapes and then transfer directly to a sheet pans.
Next (this is key), freeze the cookie dough on the sheet pans for 15 minutes before baking. This is insurance to insure that the cookies hold their shape when they hit the hot oven.
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Pin It NowIngredients for the Cookies
- Unsalted Butter – If using salted butter, just skip the extra salt in the recipe. Let the butter come to cool room temperature before using. It should be soft but still hold its shape.
- All-Purpose Flour – If you have a kitchen scale, measure the flour by weight. You’ll get the most consistent results this way. Otherwise, just gently spoon the flour into measuring cups so that it doesn’t compress.
- Baking Powder – Be sure your baking powder is reasonably fresh. You’ll want it to help give the cookies some lift so you get that light, buttery texture.
- Kosher Salt – I test all of my recipes with Kosher salt which has a slightly larger grain compared to regular table salt. If using regular table salt, reduce to ¼ tsp.
- Pure Vanilla Extract – Be sure to get pure vanilla extract. You want that vanilla flavor to shine through.
- White Sugar, Large Eggs – Standard baking ingredients.
Freeze Them
Once they are cut out and frozen, sugar cookies can be baked straight from the freezer. Bake frozen cookies directly from the freezer at 375°F / 190°C for 11 to 15 minutes.
Print the freezer label below for instructions.
Printable Freezer Label
Print and attach the label below so cooking instructions are ready when you are!
Frosting Options
Once you’ve got your cookies baked, you get to do the fun part! Frost them. Here are a few frosting options I love:
- Creamy Chocolate Frosting
- Buttercream Frosting
- Royal Icing (lots of tips and tricks over at this post)
More Cookie Recipes
My Favorite Tools
After 15+ years as a full-time recipe developer, I spend a lot of time in the kitchen. If you’re curious about my favorite tools, I keep them all updated in my storefront.
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Soft Sugar Cookies
Equipment
- Stand or Handheld Mixer
- Rolling Pin
- Cookie Cutters
- Half Sheet Pans
- Cooling Rack
Ingredients
- 4 cups All-Purpose Flour, plus more for dusting (4 cups = 500g)
- 2 teaspoons Baking Powder
- 1/2 teaspoons Kosher Salt
- 1 1/3 cup Unsalted Butter, softened to room temperature (1 1/3 cup = 21 Tbsp)
- 1 1/2 cup White Sugar (1 1/2 cups = 300g)
- 2 large Eggs
- 2 teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- Using a stand mixer or handheld mixer, beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
- Add eggs one at a time, mixing between each addition. Add vanilla extract and beat until evenly combined.
- Add dry ingredients in three increments, mixing on low between each addition. Continue mixing on low until no dry spots remain (do not over mix).
- Lightly dust a work surface with flour.
- Working with about 1/3 of the dough at a time, roll it out to about 1/4-inch thick. Use cookie cutters to cut the dough into shapes and transfer them to a lightly greased sheet pan (you can also line it with parchment paper or a Silpat baking mat), leaving space between each cookie.
- Transfer the sheet pan(s) with cookies to the freezer for 15 minutes. (This will minimize spreading as the cookies bake.)
- While the cookies chill, preheat oven to 350°F.
- When the oven is heated and the cookies are done chilling, transfer sheet pans with cookies directly to the oven and bake until the cookies are just set and show a hint of golden brown around the edges, 8 to 10 minutes (if cookies are frozen solid, they may take 3 to 5 minutes longer).
- Transfer to a cooling rack and cool completely before adding frosting.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I’m kinda confused on what to do for the powdered sugar with the frosting
Hi Kylie – just add it to the water along with the meringue powder in Step 12. You’ll add the entire 32-oz bag all at once.