The BEST Sugar Cookies
The ingredients list might surprise you with these scoop, press, and bake rustic-looking sugar cookies. With a soft, sweet, melt-in-your-mouth cookie base, topped with a smooth and dreamy buttercream frosting — these really are the BEST sugar cookies you will make at home!
Let me start off by saying that normally, I’m not a sugar cookie fan. Don’t hate! I just feel like sugar cookies are loaded with too much buttercream to compensate for a dry, tasteless cookie. Well, these Sugar Cookies have changed my life completely! The base is sweet, and it literally melts in your mouth like a meltaway cookie, but is more durable and super delicious!
I’ve been hesitant to post a sugar cookie recipe with you all based on a particular post in the past, because y’all can be pretty picky about your sugar cookies. The thing about these cookies though, is that they are the BEST! I just had to share the recipe with you! I highly doubt you’ll be disappointed, and if you are, you’re crazy!
Save This recipe
Enter your email below to get a link to this recipe emailed straight to you to save later! Plus be signed up for all new recipes.
Once you check out the ingredients list, you might be a little confused. Oil, in cookies? What?! Yes, you need the oil. Do not substitute all butter. The oil seriously keeps these things from drying out, unless you over-bake them.
The other secret ingredients in this cookie base are the powdered sugar and cream of tartar, both of which add a tenderizing, melt-in-your mouth texture to these cookies. The way a sugar cookie should be!
The buttercream frosting is the icing on the cake for these cookies! It’s so smooth and creamy. I use solid coconut oil in my frosting with the butter to make it hold up better than a pure butter buttercream frosting, and I think it tastes better that way too! I tinted mine pink, because when you think of sugar cookies, you think pink frosting, right?! I do. It’s cuter with color anyway.
I haven’t tried rolling this dough and cutting shapes yet, but It seems like it would work out okay. Keep the dough thicker though because it does spread a little more than a typical sugar cookie dough would. Try this recipe! ASAP! You won’t regret it!
The BEST Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
Cookies:
- 1 cup (226 g) butter, room temperature
- 1 ¼ cups (250 g) granulated sugar
- ¾ cup (90 g) powdered sugar
- ¾ cup (177 ml) oil, (vegetable/canola)
- 2 Tbsp water
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 5 ½ cups (660 g) all-purpose flour, (stir, scoop, and level the flour when you measure it)
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp cream of tartar
- 1 tsp salt
- *an extra ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar for flattening the cookies
Frosting:
- ½ cup (113 g) butter, room temperature
- ½ cup (113 g) solid coconut oil, (I use LouAna Coconut Oil. All coconut oils are different; try to find one that says there is no coconut flavor or aroma. If you don't have coconut oil, you can substitute with shortening, but I highly recommend the coconut oil.)
- 4 cups (480 g) powdered sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 Tbsp milk
- red food coloring; optional
Instructions
- In a mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter with the sugars until smooth. Then add the oil, water, eggs, and vanilla. Mix well.
- In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt. Add all at once to the wet ingredients, and mix until everything comes together. It should be slightly crumbly and not sticky at all.
- Using a #30 cookie scoop (about 2 Tbsp of cookie dough) scoop dough balls onto a silicone or parchment lined baking sheet (no more than 8 per tray.)
- Put ¼ cup granulated sugar on a small plate. Dip the bottom of a glass cup into the sugar, and press it into the center of each dough ball until about ½-inch thick. If your glass cup is bowed in the center, you may find it helpful to rock it in a circular motion to flatten the cookies more evenly.
- Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 7 to 8 minutes. Do NOT over-bake! The tops will look matte instead of glossy when they are finished.
- With an electric hand mixer and a large bowl, beat the butter and solid coconut oil together until smooth. Add the powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk. Mix thoroughly. Add up to ½ Tbsp extra milk for a smoother consistency. Tint with a drop or two of red food coloring for a pink hue.
- Spread frosting over cooled cookies and enjoy! Store cookies in a sealed container at room temperature up to 5 days.
Notes
Nutrition
Did you make this?
Don’t forget to leave a rating below and make sure to follow on Pinterest and Instagram for more!
Recipe lightly altered from Vintage Revivals
Made these sugar cookies for the Super Bowl and they were a hit! This will be my go to sugar cookie recipe from now on. Very similar to Swig’s sugar cookies, a popular soda shop in Utah. Love it!!
Yay! I’m so glad you liked these. Thanks for coming back to leave a review!
Love this sugar cookie recipe – simple & tasty!
I’m so happy you enjoyed it Melissa! Thanks for your comment!
I noticed the short shelf life, can I freeze them?
Yes, that would be fine.
I’m a sucker for ultra-soft, bakery sugar cookies and these are definitely looking perfect to me right about now! Love all your tips on how they turn out so amazing!
I’m ready to make these again already! I’ve been missing them! 😉
So true– those supermarket sugar cookies are only good because of the frosting– the cookie stinks! But these ones sound soooo much better! And pretty, too!
You have to try these! For reals! Best ever!
Your sugar cookies look perfect, Amber! The oil is such a great tip, I can’t wait to try these!
Thanks Kelly! They are pretty dang amazing! I’m converted to sugar cookies now!
Sugar cookies can be a tricky thing, but I think you totally nailed these! Love that you used oil in the cookies too, definitely need to give this a try when we make sugar cookies again!
Everyone likes theirs a certain way, that’s for sure. These are actually a copycat of a Swig (soda shop) Sugar Cookie here in Utah. The locals go crazy for them, and for good reason! 😉
These sugar cookies look amazing, Amber! I am a sucker for a soft, melt in your mouth cookie. So excited to try these!!
You MUST try these Jen! They are fabulous! My sugar cookie hating self was eating cookie after cookie! They are so good!