This Chewy Sugar Cookie recipe makes the most buttery and tender cookies that are also so easy. No need to roll or chill the dough—just make, bake, and eat. They’re delicious with or without frosting!
We’ve included our simple buttercream recipe below. These would also taste amazing with cream cheese frosting, or just about any of our other frosting recipes. And if cookie-cutter cookies are what you are going for, check out our Best Rolled Sugar Cookies, or these Stained Glass Cookie recipe.
Soft and Chewy Sugar Cookie Recipe
Sometimes you want a crisp, cookie-cutter sugar cookie and sometimes you just want something you can sink your teeth into. Enter our very favorite soft and chewy drop cookies recipe. Wa-Bam!
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This recipe makes the ultimate chewy drop sugar cookies that you can enjoy all year long—holidays or not. They are buttery and super tender, with just a hint of vanilla.
Make this recipe as is, or get creative! Try adding other extracts, sprinkles, and food coloring, or frosting the tops and decorating however you’d like. They are really easy to customize for any party or color-themed party. Our Candy Skewers are a fun and colorful way to customize treats for a party too.
Cookie Decorating Ideas
Want to decorate these cookies for the holidays or birthday parties? Here are a few ideas:
- Roll the soft sugar cookies dough in plain white sugar or even colored sugar before baking, just as you would do for Snickerdoodles.
- Frost the tops using Buttercream Frosting, Cinnamon Buttercream Frosting, Cream Cheese Frosting or even our easy Royal Icing recipe. Then, sprinkle or decorate with sprinkles, small candies, chocolate chips or whatever else you’d like.
- Add rainbow or holiday-colored sprinkles to the cookie dough.
- Dip or drizzle your soft drop sugar cookies with melted chocolate.
Key Ingredients
- Butter – be sure that your butter is soft before making the dough. You can either leave it out overnight at room temperature or place in a microwave-safe container and heat for about 10 seconds at a time just until soft.
- Sugar – it wouldn’t be a sugar cookie without sugar! You will need white granulated sugar to make these.
- Eggs – it’s best to pull your eggs out to room temperature at least 30 minutes before making your dough so that they don’t “shock” the butter.
- Vanilla Extract – pure vanilla extract tastes best.
- Baking Powder – this helps the cookies to rise in the oven.
- Baking Soda – this reacts with the baking powder to help the cookies rise.
How to Make Chewy Sugar Cookies
- Make the sugar cookie dough. In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the butter and sugar and cream together using the paddle attachment until light and fluffy, or about 3-5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing on low speed and scraping between each addition. Then, add the vanilla and salt and mix just until combined. In a separate large bowl, whisk together the baking powder, baking soda and flour. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix on low speed until combined.
- Optional – chill the dough. Cover dough with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for 20 minutes to 2 hours.
- Scoop cookies. Using an ice cream scoop or a spoon, form 2″ balls and place the soft drop sugar cookies dough on an ungreased baking sheet about 2″ apart.
- Bake. Bake in a preheated oven for 8-9 minutes, or until lightly browned on the edges.
- Cool. Remove cookies from the oven and let them cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Serve. Serve immediately or store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. Enjoy!
Frequently Asked Questions
With this recipe, it’s really not supercritical that you chill the dough before baking. If you have the time, it’s never a bad idea!
Since they are meant to be soft and chewy, you really need to keep an eye on these cookies to make sure you don’t over-bake them. They bake quickly at 350 degrees – usually between 7-10 minutes for me. They are done once they have spread out, no longer look wet in the center and have just barely started to brown around the edges.
The most important thing is to be sure you don’t over-bake them, so keep a close eye on these cookies in the oven. Also, be sure and measure accurately. The ratio of flour to butter and eggs is super important to keeping a good soft and chewy balance.
Storing and Freezing Instructions
- Room Temperature: to keep your soft, chewy sugar cookie, store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.
- Freezer: you can freeze both the baked cookies and the unbaked cookie dough. As long as the cookies are stored in an airtight container or freezer bags, they will last for up to 3 months.
- To Bake Cookies from Frozen: you can pull frozen dough balls from the freezer and bake directly in a preheated oven, adding an extra couple of minutes to the baking time.
Chewy Sugar Cookie Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter, room temperature
- 2 cup sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
Buttercream Frosting
- 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2-3 tablespoons milk
- 4 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the butter and sugar and cream together using the paddle attachment until light and fluffy—about 3-5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing on low speed and scraping between each addition. Then, add the vanilla and salt and mix just until combined.
- In a separate large bowl, whisk together the baking powder, baking soda and flour. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix on low speed until combined.
- Using an ice cream scoop or a spoon, form 2" balls and place on an ungreased baking sheet about 2" apart.
- Bake in a preheated oven for 8-9 minutes, or until lightly golden on the edges. Remove cookies from the oven and let them cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Serve immediately or frost with buttercream. Enjoy!
Buttercream Frosting
- In a large mixing bowl, add room temperature butter. Use an electric mixer to beat the butter until it is light and fluffy, then add the vanilla extract, half of the powdered sugar, and milk. Mix until light and fluffy.
- Add the remaining powdered sugar and beat until light and fluffy again.
- Spread or pipe onto cooled cookies. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
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More of The Best Cookie Recipes
- Easy and Chewy Cowboy Cookies
- Chocolate Covered Wafer Cookies
- Sugar Cookie Fruit Pizza
- Oatmeal Butterscotch Chip Cookies
- Crushed Oreo Cookies
- Soft Gingersnap Cookies
- More Cookies and Bars
- More No-Bake Cookies
This simple chewy sugar cookie recipe is buttery and tender with just a hint of vanilla. No need to roll or chill the dough for these chewy sugar cookies – just make, bake and eat.
