Easy Sugar Cookies
The best quick and easy sugar cookies recipe! No rolling it out or cutting shapes. No chilling the dough. Just a basic drop cookie. They’re soft and chewy, and just the right amount of sweet.
Love sugar cookies? I have so many flavors! Check out these Cinnamon Roll Sugar Cookies, these Coconut Lime Sugar Cookies, Frosted Chocolate Sugar Cookies, and these swig-style Rustic Sugar Cookies.
Why You Should Make This Recipe
These easy sugar cookies are great for when you’re craving that classic sweet vanilla taste of a sugar cookie without all the work of traditional cut-out sugar cookies. This no-fuss recipe is awesome because there’s:
- No chilling the dough.
- No rolling it out.
- No cutting shapes.
And no frosting, unless you really want it. Then I would say make my classic buttercream frosting or this simple swirled glaze. But these basic sugar cookies are great as-is, without frosting.
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Easy Sugar Cookie Recipe
Drop sugar cookies are the best because you simply make the dough, scoop it onto trays, and bake it off.
We do prefer rolling these cookies in granulated sugar like you would roll snickerdoodle cookies in cinnamon-sugar, but it’s not necessary. In fact, these cookies are basically like snickerdoodles. Slightly crisp on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside. They’re so good and easy!
Ingredients You Will Need
NOTE: Full ingredient amounts and instructions are in the printable recipe card at the end of the post.
Jump
- Unsalted Butter – Unsalted butter is preferred in baking to control the amount of salt in the recipe.
- Granulated Sugar – To sweeten the cookies and help them spread.
- Egg – To bind and add structure to the cookies.
- Vanilla Extract – To add flavor to the cookies.
- All-Purpose Flour – Make sure to stir, spoon, and level when measuring with cups or use a scale to weigh it. It’s important to use the proper amount of flour for baking.
- Baking Powder – To help the cookies rise and be thicker.
- Baking Soda – To help the cookies spread and brown slightly.
- Salt – To enhance the flavors in the cookies.
How to Make Easy Sugar Cookies
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line half sheet pans with silicone baking mats or parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and mix, scraping the bowl as needed.
- Add the dry ingredients all at once to the wet ingredients, and mix until everything comes together.
- Place granulated sugar for coating the cookies in a separate small bowl. Use a #30 cookie scoop (about 2 Tbsp of cookie dough) to scoop the dough into balls. Roll each dough ball slightly with your hands first, then in the sugar to coat the outside, and then place it onto the prepared baking sheets about 2-3 inches apart (no more than 8 per tray).
Tip
Only coat the cookie dough balls with sugar just before baking. Or the cookies won’t spread as far and will crust (dry out slightly) and crack more.
I learned this by accident. I coated all my cookies. Baked the first two trays in my two wall ovens. The third tray sat out while the others baked. Then when I got to bake that last tray it didn’t spread as much, had more cracks, a crunchier crust, and the cookies were slightly dry. Still edible, but not as good as those first two trays. So hold off on adding that sugar coating until ready to bake.
- Bake at 350˚F for 11-13 minutes until the cookies start to wrinkle/crack and the bottoms are lightly browned. Allow cookies to cool for 1-2 minutes on the tray, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
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Storing and Freezing
- STORAGE: Store cookies in an airtight container or on a plate covered tightly with plastic wrap for up to 5 days.
- TO FREEZE COOKIE DOUGH: Scoop cookie dough balls onto a parchment or silicone lined baking sheet. Set in the freezer for 1-2 hours until firm. Then transfer frozen dough balls into a freezer-safe zip-top bag and freeze for up to 3 months. (NOTE: Do not coat dough balls in sugar until ready to bake.) You will need to bake the cookies roughly 3-5 minutes longer, if baking from frozen. If coating with sugar, allow the cookie dough to come to room temperature for 20-30 minutes first. Then roll it with your hands slightly so it will be warm enough for the sugar to stick to the cookie dough. Then bake normally.
- TO FREEZE BAKED COOKIES: Freeze baked cookies in single layers divided by parchment paper, wrapped well or in a freezer bag, up to 3-4 weeks. Thaw at room temperature.
Recipe Notes
- Stir, spoon, and level the flour – or it weigh in grams. Flour is probably the hardest ingredient to measure properly. Too much flour will result in a dense/dry cookie, which is usually the risk of using measuring cups over a kitchen scale. (affiliate) Weighing flour is the most accurate way to get the right amount. If using cups, do your best to stir the flour enough to incorporate air into it so that it’s light and fluffy. Then spoon the flour into the cup, and level it off with the back of a knife. Do NOT shake the cup to level it out or scoop directly into the flour.
- Use a cookie dough scoop. This helps the cookies bake evenly and look uniform. I prefer a #30 scoop. (affiliate) NOTE: The bigger the number, the smaller the scoop, and the smaller the number the bigger the scoop. A #30 scoop is about 2 Tbsp of cookie dough and is what I used for the cookies shown.
- Roll cookie dough with hands. This smoothes the edges and warms it up to help the sugar stick to the outside.
- Only coat the cookie dough balls with sugar just before baking. Otherwise the cookies won’t spread as far and will crust (dry out slightly) and crack more.
- Space cookie dough 3-inches apart, not two. I like to bake 8 cookies per tray compared to the typical dozen (12). First of all, you don’t want your cookies melting into each other. Secondly, the more cookies on the tray, the thinner the cookies bake because the heat is trying to distribute evenly across all of the cookies. If you like thicker cookies, make sure you bake them like this.
- Do not coat with sugar if adding frosting. Or the sugar may make it hard for the frosting to stick to the dough.
More Sugar cookies You’ll Love
Easy Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 ¾ cups (344 g) all-purpose flour, (stir, spoon & level)
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 ½ cups (300 g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Optional
- ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar, (or sprinkles; for coating the dough)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line half sheet pans with silicone baking mats or parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and mix, scraping the bowl as needed.
- Add the dry ingredients all at once to the wet ingredients, and mix until everything comes together.
- Place granulated sugar for coating the cookies in a separate small bowl. Use a #30 cookie scoop (about 2 Tbsp of cookie dough) to scoop the dough into balls. Roll each dough ball slightly with your hands first, then in the sugar to coat the outside, and then place it onto the prepared baking sheets about 2-3 inches apart (no more than 8 per tray).
- Bake at 350˚F for 11-13 minutes until the cookies start to wrinkle/crack and the bottoms are lightly browned. Allow cookies to cool for 1-2 minutes on the tray, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
- Only coat the cookie dough balls with sugar just before baking. Otherwise the cookies won’t spread as far and will crust (dry out slightly) and crack more.
- STORAGE: Store cookies in an airtight container or on a plate covered tightly with plastic wrap for up to 5 days.
- TO FREEZE COOKIE DOUGH: Scoop cookie dough balls onto a parchment or silicone lined baking sheet. Set in the freezer for 1-2 hours until firm. Then transfer frozen dough balls into a freezer-safe zip-top bag and freeze for up to 3 months. NOTE: Do not coat dough balls in sugar until ready to bake. You will need to bake the cookies roughly 3-5 minutes longer, if baking from frozen. If coating with sugar, allow the cookie dough to come to room temperature for 20-30 minutes first. Then roll it with your hands slightly so it will be warm enough for the sugar to stick to the cookie dough. Then bake normally.
- TO FREEZE BAKED COOKIES: Freeze baked cookies in single layers divided by parchment paper, wrapped well or in a freezer bag, up to 3-4 weeks. Thaw at room temperature.
- Do not coat with sugar if adding frosting. Or the sugar may make it hard for the frosting to stick to the dough.
Nutrition
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