✔ Updated · fixed yield, bake time + storage and freezing guide
My easy sugar cookies are soft and chewy in the middle, slightly crisp at the edges and coated in crackly, sparkly sugar. There's no chilling, no rolling pin and no cookie cutters. The same buttery dough idea goes into our royal-iced Baby Yoda cookies, a fun decorating project for Star Wars fans.
At a glance
The one tip that matters: Pull the cookies when the tops crackle and the bottoms are just light golden, even if the centers look underdone. They finish setting on the hot sheet.
Why You'll Love These Sugar Cookies
- No chilling, no cutters: from mixing bowl to oven in about 15 minutes.
- Soft and chewy with a crackly, sparkly sugar crust.
- Pantry ingredients and a dough that freezes for up to 3 months.
Why These Sugar Cookies Stay Soft and Chewy
Creaming the butter and sugar adds air for a light texture. The extra egg yolk adds fat and richness, which keeps the centers tender. Baking soda helps the tops spread and crackle, while a little baking powder gives lift. And a short bake at 350°F (175°C) sets the edges while leaving the middle soft.
Rolling each ball in sugar gives the cookies their sparkly, crackly crust without any frosting. That’s Lucy’s job, and she takes it very seriously. If you like a spiced version, try our snickerdoodle cookies, which roll the dough in cinnamon sugar. Baking for Halloween? Our witch finger cookies are another easy buttery cookie, shaped into creepy fingers.
Step-by-Step Photos
Here's how it comes together. Exact amounts, times and temperatures are in the recipe card below.
Video
Tips for Success
- Use cool room-temperature butter. It should give slightly when pressed but still feel cool, around 65°F. I test it with my finger. Butter that is warm or greasy makes the cookies spread thin.
- Spoon and level the flour. Scooping straight from the bag packs in extra flour and gives dry, puffy cookies. For accuracy, weigh it: 2 3/4 cups is about 345 grams.
- Mix the flour in gently. Stop as soon as no dry flour remains. Overmixing makes the cookies tough.
- Bake one sheet at a time on the middle rack, and always put dough on a cooled sheet. A warm sheet starts melting the butter before the cookies reach the oven.
- Pull them early. Take the cookies out when the tops crackle and the bottoms are just light golden. An extra 2 minutes turns soft cookies crisp.
- Skip the raw dough. The dough contains raw flour and raw egg, so bake it before eating.
Easy Sugar Cookies
30
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minutesEasy drop sugar cookies with no chilling and no cutters: butter and sugar creamed until fluffy, an extra egg yolk for chewiness, then scooped, rolled in sugar and baked at 350°F until the tops crackle and the centers stay soft.
Ingredients
- Dry Ingredients
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon fine salt
- Wet Ingredients
1 cup unsalted butter, at cool room temperature (2 sticks)
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- For Rolling
1/4 cup granulated sugar
Directions
- Make the Dough
- Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, beat the butter with a stand or hand mixer on medium speed for 1 minute. Add the 1 3/4 cups sugar and beat for 2 to 3 minutes, until light and fluffy.
- Beat in the egg, the egg yolk and the vanilla until combined, scraping down the bowl.
- Add the dry ingredients and mix on low speed just until no dry flour remains. The dough will be soft but not sticky.
- Shape and Bake
- Put the 1/4 cup rolling sugar in a small bowl. Scoop the dough into 2-tablespoon balls, about 30 in all, and roll each one in sugar until coated.
- Place the balls 2 inches apart on the lined sheets, about 12 per sheet.
- Bake one sheet at a time for 10 to 12 minutes, until the edges are set, the tops are crackled and the bottoms are just light golden. The centers should still look soft.
- Cool the cookies on the sheet for 5 minutes, then move them to a wire rack to cool completely. Bake the remaining dough on a cooled sheet.
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Variations
- Lemon sugar cookies: rub the zest of 1 lemon into the sugar before creaming.
- Almond: swap 1 teaspoon of the vanilla for 1/2 teaspoon almond extract.
- Holiday colors: roll the dough balls in red, green or colored sanding sugar.
- Frosted: skip the rolling sugar and top the cooled cookies with frosting; try our frosting without butter.
- Cookie box: pair them with our copycat McDonald's chocolate chip cookies and white chocolate macadamia nut cookies, plus a few frosted cranberry bliss triangles for color.
How to Store and Freeze Sugar Cookies
- Room temperature: cool completely, then store in an airtight container, with parchment between layers, for up to 3 days.
- Freeze baked cookies: freeze in a single layer until firm, then pack them in an airtight container or freezer bag for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature.
- Freeze the dough: freeze unrolled dough balls on a tray, then bag them for up to 3 months. Roll in sugar and bake from frozen, adding 1 to 2 minutes.
- Refrigerate the dough: wrap it tightly and keep it in the fridge for up to 3 days. Let it sit at room temperature for 10 minutes before scooping.
Frequently Asked Questions
No, and that’s why I make them so often. This is a drop-style sugar cookie, so the dough goes straight from the bowl to the oven. If your kitchen is very warm and the dough feels greasy, chill it for 15 to 30 minutes to reduce spreading.
The butter was probably too soft, the flour was under-measured, or the baking sheet was warm. Use cool room-temperature butter, spoon and level the flour, and always put dough on a cool sheet.
Bake them only until the tops crackle and the bottoms are light golden, then store them in an airtight container once fully cool. A slice of bread in the container helps them stay soft for longer.
Yes. Roll the dough into balls, freeze them on a tray until firm, then store them in a freezer bag for up to 3 months. Roll the frozen balls in sugar and bake from frozen, adding 1 to 2 minutes.
Yes. Skip the rolling sugar and spread the cooled cookies with frosting, or roll the dough balls in colored sanding sugar or sprinkles before baking. For cut-out shapes, use a sturdier roll-out sugar cookie dough that is chilled before cutting. For a thick, frosted bakery-style version, try my copycat Crumbl pink sugar cookie.
🍪 Filling a cookie tin? Find more holiday baking recipes for the season.
