Soft Sugar Cookies

These homemade Soft Sugar Cookies are one of the best beloved traditional cookies ever!  Delicious sugar cookie frosting atop soft sugar cookies that taste bakery-style amazing.

(Sprinkles included!) Simple to make drop cookies that totally melt in your mouth yummy!   Don't stop me, please!  Along those lines, you'll love these Easy Melted Snowman Cookies too!

More classic cookies I want to mention are these 3 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies, these Best Fudgy Chocolate Crinkle Cookies, these Butter Pecan Snowball Cookies and these Soft-Batch Buttery Oatmeal Raisin Cookies!   

Why I love these Soft Sugar Cookies!

• What I love about these home-made Soft Sugar Cookies are they are the perfect, ultimate sugar cookies for any occasion!  
• They are entirely sweet, soft and chewy all by themselves, but topped off with some yummy frosting and sprinkles?  Now we're talking! Festively decorate them with red and green for the season and you’re all set to be ho-ho-ho jolly!  
• What's nice is, you can color coordinate them to fit into any season, holiday or birthday occasion and enjoy this simple sugar cookie recipe all year round!  

3 Reasons to Make this Sugar Cookie Recipe

1. Easy to make with pantry staple ingredients!
2. Soft and bakery style cookies you'll want to make over and over, because both the cookie and frosting recipes are easy to follow!
3. You don't have to roll out the dough to get amazing looking frosted sugar cookies!

These frosted soft sugar cookies would be perfect to include on a cookie and candy dessert tray, cookie platter, or for your holiday cookie exchanges. 

As I mentioned above, these soft sugar cookies are really delish without the frosting.  However, if you want to add some color without the frosting, you can still sprinkle or roll the dough balls in colored sugar (s) or sprinkles.  You can tint the dough any color (s) you want as well. 

Ingredients You Need

Soft Sugar Cookies Recipe

• unsalted butter 
• granulated sugar
• egg
• vanilla extract
• all purpose flour
• baking soda
• baking powder
• salt
• milk

Sugar Cookie Frosting Recipe

• butter 
• milk or cream
• powdered sugar 
• vanilla extract
• almond extract

How to Make Soft Sugar Cookies Recipe

1. Line 1 or 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or a Silpat liner.
2. In a large bowl, using mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth and fluffy for about 2-3 minutes.
3. Beat in the egg and vanilla until well combined.
4. In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt until combined.
5. Using mixer on low speed, gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients until the dough comes together.
6. Add in milk gradually until it's all been combined for a soft dough, by not overmixing.
7. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
8. Scoop or roll a rounded tablespoon or 1 & ½ tablespoons of dough into scoops/balls and place all of them on a prepared baking sheet.
9. Transfer scoops of dough balls in the fridge for 15 minutes to chill. (Can also cover the dough and chill for 20 minutes, and up to 24 hours.) I prefer to scoop dough balls out before hand, the dough can be hard to scoop when chilled. Plus, you can even freeze the dough balls after they've chilled if you want to bake them later!
10. When you're ready to bake, place dough balls on prepared baking sheet 2 inches apart. Cookies will spread and puff up while baking.
11. Bake in preheated oven for 10-12 minutes, if larger cookies, bake longer. Cookies should not be overbaked and look pale-ish colored, but should not be wet on top. (See notes for more info.)
12. After a few minutes, move the cookies to a wire rack and allow to cool completely before frosting as desired.

Sugar Cookie Frosting

1. In mixing bowl cream together butter and milk with an electric mixer. Slowly mix in powdered sugar and extracts.
2. Frost sugar cookies immediately and add sprinkles or decorating accessories right away. Frosting will start to harden but still will be soft and creamy on the inside. Store cookies in air tight container.

Cookie Tips!

• One of the most important tips about home-made soft sugar cookies is to not overbake them. The undersides will darken too much, they will dry out and harden.
• Also before frosting, make sure the cookies have completely cooled.  Otherwise the frosting will melt and slide right off.
• Let frosting on cookies set up before bagging or placing on cookie trays.

More Traditional Cookies you also Love!

• Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Best No Chill Sugar Cookies
• Soft and Chewy Ginger Spiced Molasses Cookies
• Thick & Soft ‘Ultimate’ Peanut Butter Cookies
• Frosted Soft Sugar Cookie Bars
• Sprinkle Sugar Cookies

This home-made cookie frosting on top of sugar cookies are perfect for Christmas and the holidays with hot chocolate on the side on those frosty days!

Don’t miss out on one of our readers’ favorites, our Home-made Snickerdoodle Cookie Bars!  They are the best!

More Holiday Faves!

• Ultimate Carrot Cake
• Reese's Puffs Treat Ice Cream Sundae Cake
• Swedish Apple Pie
• Creamy Custard Pie
• Brookie Bars
• Creamy Home-made Mini Peanut Butter Cups
• Easy Pie Crust Tips
• Mini Cupcake Golden Oreo Cookie Balls
• f20 St. Patrick's Day Desserts

Soft Sugar Cookies

Kim Lange

These home-made Soft Sugar Cookies are one of the best beloved traditional cookies ever!  Delicious sugar cookie frosting atop soft sugar cookies that taste bakery-style amazing.  (Sprinkles included!) Simple to make drop cookies that melt in your mouth yummy!  

4.89 from 9 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 25 mins

Cook Time 10 mins

Course Dessert

Servings 2 Dozen

Calories

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

Soft Sugar Cookies

• 1 cup or 2 Sticks unsalted butter Softened
• 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 ¾ cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons milk

Sugar Cookie Frosting

• ⅔ cup butter softened
• ½ cup milk
• 2 lbs powdered sugar or approx 4 cups
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon almond extract

Instructions

 

Soft Sugar Cookies

• Line 1 or 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or a Silpat liner.
• In a large bowl, using mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth and fluffy for about 2-3 minutes.
• Beat in the egg and vanilla until well combined.
• In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt until combined.
• Using mixer on low speed, gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients until the dough comes together.
• Add in milk gradually until it's all been combined for a soft dough, by not overmixing.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Scoop or roll a rounded tablespoon or 1 & ½ tablespoons of dough into scoops/balls and place all of them on a prepared baking sheet.
• Transfer scoops of dough balls in the fridge for 15 minutes to chill. (Can also cover the dough and chill for 20 minutes, and up to 24 hours.) I prefer to scoop dough balls out before hand, the dough can be hard to scoop when chilled. Plus, you can even freeze the dough balls after they've chilled if you want to bake them later!
• When you're ready to bake, place dough balls on prepared baking sheet 2 inches apart. Cookies will spread and puff up while baking.
• Bake in preheated oven for 10-12 minutes, if larger cookies, bake longer. Cookies should not be overbaked and look pale-ish colored, but should not be wet on top. (See notes for more info.)
• After a few minutes, move the cookies to a wire rack and allow to cool completely before frosting as desired.

Sugar Cookie Frosting

• In mixing bowl cream together butter and milk with an electric mixer. Slowly mix in powdered sugar and extracts.
• Frost sugar cookies immediately and add sprinkles or decorating accessories right away. Frosting will start to harden but still will be soft and creamy on the inside. Store cookies in air tight container.

Notes

2 Dozen for 1 tablespoon cookie dough balls, if larger, will be less cookies.

One of the most important tips about sugar cookies is to not overbake them. The undersides will darken too much, they will dry out and harden.

Keyword classic cookies, cookies, sugar cookies

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