Classic Sugar Cookies

By
Danilo Alfaro
Danlio Alfaro
Danilo Alfaro
Danilo Alfaro has published more than 800 recipes and tutorials focused on making complicated culinary techniques approachable to home cooks.
Learn about The Spruce Eats' Editorial Process
Updated on 12/8/22
Tested by
Tracy Wilk
Photo of Tracy Wilk
Tested by Tracy Wilk
Tracy Wilk is a professional pastry chef, recipe developer and chef instructor, and, most importantly, a firm believer in sprinkles.
Learn about The Spruce Eats' Editorial Process
Prep: 20 mins
Cook: 10 mins
Chill Time: 30 mins
Total: 60 mins
Servings: 20 servings
Yield: 40 cookies

These sugar cookies are light and delicate, just what a sugar cookie should be. The tender, buttery dough can be rolled out and cut with any shaped cutter you wish. The cut cookies are topped with sugar, but you can omit this step if you'd like to decorate them with royal icing.

The trick to baking tender butter cookies is not working the dough too much. The more times you roll out the dough, the more you develop the gluten in the flour, making the cookies hard. When you're cutting out cookies, you're going to end up with a certain amount of scraps. You can collect these scraps and re-roll them, but those cookies will be tougher, so re-roll as little as possible.

Make a big batch of cookies for a potluck, school or office party, or for a Christmas cookie swap. Kids can get in on the action by decorating their own cookies.

Classic sugar cookies on a pink background

The Spruce Eats / Julia Hartbeck

"Classic sugar cookies are what I would consider the 'OG' for the perfect holiday cookie. This recipe is great to be used as a shaped cookie, or just cut out into rounds. Feel free to add festive sprinkles or food coloring, or get as creative as you would want for a family fun activity." —Tracy Wilk

Classic sugar cookies stacked on parchment paper
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Ingredients

  • 8 ounces (1 cup) unsalted butter

  • 1 cup granulated sugar, plus more for sprinkling

  • 1/2 teaspoon fine salt

  • 1 large egg, beaten

  • 1/4 cup milk, plus more for brushing the cookies

  • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

  • 4 cups (400 grams) cake flour, sifted

  • 1 teaspoon baking powder

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients and allow them to come to room temperature before beginning. 

    Ingredients for classic sugar cookies gathered

    The Spruce Eats / Julia Hartbeck

  2. Using the paddle attachment of a stand mixer, cream together the butter, sugar, and salt on low speed.

    Butter creamed with sugar and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer

    The Spruce Eats / Julia Hartbeck

  3. Add the beaten egg, milk, and vanilla and then mix until blended.

    Wet ingredients in a bowl for sugar cookie dough

    The Spruce Eats / Julia Hartbeck

  4. In a separate bowl, sift together the cake flour and baking powder.

    Cake flour and baking powder sifted together in a bowl

    The Spruce Eats / Julia Hartbeck

  5. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix only until they're combined.

    Mixed sugar cookie dough in a bowl

    The Spruce Eats / Julia Hartbeck

  6. Turn the dough onto a work surface. Using the heel of your hand, gently flatten the dough into a thick round, taking care not to overwork it.

    Sugar cookie dough turned out onto a wooden cutting board and flattened into a circle

    The Spruce Eats / Julia Hartbeck

  7. Wrap it in plastic and chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350 F.

    Sugar cookie dough wrapped in plastic

    The Spruce Eats / Julia Hartbeck

  8. Unwrap the chilled dough, transfer it to a lightly floured surface, and use a rolling pin to roll the dough out to about 1/4 inch thick.

    Sugar cookie dough rolled out with a rolling pin

    The Spruce Eats / Julia Hartbeck

  9. Cut out the cookies and place them on an ungreased baking sheet. Remember to cut them as close together as you can so you don't waste any dough.

    Sugar cookie dough rounds on a baking sheet

    The Spruce Eats / Julia Hartbeck

  10. Use a pastry brush to wash the tops of the cookies with milk and sprinkle on some sugar. If you'll be icing the cookies, omit this step.

    Sugar cookies brushed with milk

    The Spruce Eats / Julia Hartbeck

  11. Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until the edges and bottoms of the cookies are barely beginning to turn golden brown. Repeat with any remaining cookie dough.

    Baked classic sugar cookies on a baking sheet

    The Spruce Eats / Julia Hartbeck

  12. When the cookies are cool enough to handle but still warm, remove them from the pan and cool them on a wire rack. Let them cool completely before icing.

    Classic sugar cookies on a cooling rack

    The Spruce Eats / Julia Hartbeck

Tips

  • Make sure all of your ingredients are at room temperature before starting, especially the butter. Otherwise, you won't get a well-blended mixture and the dough will be hard to roll out.
  • This sugar cookie dough can be made up to two days in advance. Store the tightly wrapped disc of dough in the fridge and let it warm up on the counter for about 10 minutes before rolling out.
  • If you're using an elaborate cookie cutter and want your sugar cookies to really keep their shape, keep them cold. After cutting them out, stick the entire baking sheet in the fridge for 15 minutes before baking. This will help keep the cookies from spreading.
  • Instead of sprinkling with plain sugar, use colored sugar crystals. You could also dust them with powdered sugar after baking.
  • For colored sugar cookies, add food coloring to the dough at the same time you add the flour.
  • While it's fine to dust your work surface with flour for rolling, don't use any more flour than you need to. Too much flour will also make the cookies hard, so only use enough so that the dough doesn't stick. Or dust your surface with confectioners' sugar instead of flour.

Recipe Variations

  • Using cake flour will create more delicate cookies, but you can substitute pastry flour or all-purpose flour. Whatever you choose, just make sure you use 400 grams and sift the flour.
  • Swap out all of part of the vanilla extract for almond or lemon extract.
  • Add a sprinkle of nutmeg for a hint of spice.

How to Freeze

This sugar cookie dough can be frozen and baked up to three months later. Wrap the disc of dough tightly in plastic wrap and store in a freezer bag. Let thaw in the fridge overnight before rolling out and baking.

How Thick Should Sugar Cookies Be?

Sugar cookie dough should be rolled out to 1/4-inch thickness. Thinner than that and the cookie will be more brittle and more prone to breaking. Thicker, and it won't bake appropriately and result in it being doughy. A 1/4-inch thickness is the sweet spot where the cookie will be nice and soft with a little golden brown.

How Do I Stop My Sugar Cookies From Spreading?

To help prevent your sugar cookies from spreading when you bake them, use an ungreased baking sheet. Or, if you have one, use a silicone mat. The grease on the baking sheet would only help to further the spreading of the cookies, so we recommend you forgo the butter/spray for this recipe.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
198 Calories
10g Fat
26g Carbs
2g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 20
Amount per serving
Calories 198
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 10g 12%
Saturated Fat 6g 29%
Cholesterol 34mg 11%
Sodium 84mg 4%
Total Carbohydrate 26g 9%
Dietary Fiber 0g 1%
Total Sugars 10g
Protein 2g
Vitamin C 0mg 0%
Calcium 24mg 2%
Iron 2mg 9%
Potassium 32mg 1%
*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.)