Soft & Chewy Sugar Cookies
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I can’t believe it’s time to start thinking about the holidays and my favorite part of the holiday season… baking! These Soft & Chewy Sugar Cookies are the first in my 2024 Holiday Cookie Series and you guys… You are going to LOVE these!
I wanted this recipe to be the ultimate, classic sugar cookie, which for me means soft and chewy! This recipe is pretty straightforward, and I love that it uses ingredients that you probably already have on hand.
My favorite part? I roll the dough in granulated sugar before baking to give the cookies that sparkly, sugary, slight crunch on the outside before biting into the soft, chewy center. Yum yum yum!
These Soft & Chewy Sugar Cookies are great year-round, but they’re especially PERFECT for your holiday baking and cookie exchanges. Looking for other cookies to round out your holiday tray? Check out my Almond Butter Blossoms with the chocolate kiss center, Gingerbread Snickerdoodles that combine the best of two worlds (gingerbread + snickerdoodle), or my fun and festive Hot Cocoa Cookies topped with holiday sprinkles!
Why you’ll love this recipe
- Simple & Straightforward: This recipe has less than 10 ingredients, and all of them are pretty standard for baking, so you won’t have to go to specialty stores to get everything you need to make these delicious cookies!
- No rolling pin required! We’ll roll the dough into small balls and then bake. No for rolling out a slab of dough and checking the thickness – we don’t have time for that!
- Soft & Chewy: These cookies have the ultimate soft and chewy texture, thanks to the splash of milk and perfect ratio of dry ingredients.
- Tasty & Classic: From the sweet, buttery flavor to the soft and chewy texture and the extra crunch of sugar on the outside, these cookies are OH SO tasty and are just an absolute classic.
Ingredient Notes
For the ingredient measurements and the full recipe, scroll down to the recipe card located at the bottom of the blog post.
- Granulated Sugar: The star ingredient of these delicious chewy sugar cookies! You’ll need some for the dough itself and extra for rolling the cookie dough balls in before baking.
- Unsalted Butter: Make sure the butter is at room temperature for easier creaming with sugar, which helps create a tender and chewy texture. I use unsalted butter, but if you must use salted butter, simply omit the extra salt listed later in the ingredients.
- Flour: I use all-purpose flour; I have not tested this recipe with other flour varieties. Measure it correctly using the spoon-and-level method to avoid dense cookies.
- Eggs: Eggs add moisture and act as a binding agent, contributing to the cookie’s structure. The extra egg yolk adds richness and tenderness to the cookie, and it also binds the dough all together.
- Whole Milk: Adding milk to the cookie dough batter helps keep these cookies moist and hydrates the starches in the flour.
- Other ingredients needed: vanilla extract, baking powder, baking soda, salt
Step by Step Directions
(For the full recipe instructions, scroll down to the recipe card below)
Cream the butter & sugar!
Use a stand mixer and paddle attachment to beat the softened butter and sugar together until creamed or light and fluffy.
Add in the wet ingredients
Add the egg, egg yolk, vanilla, and 1 tablespoon of whole milk. (The milk helps hydrate the cookie dough and keeps these cookies ultra soft & yummy!) Mix until combined.
Whisk together dry ingredients.
Using another bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda.
Add dry ingredients to mixer
Gradually add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
Chill the dough, then scoop!
After letting the dough chill for 30 minutes (or overnight), scoop the cookie dough into 1 ½ tablespoon sized chunks, and then roll them into balls.
Roll in sugar, then BAKE!
Roll each of the dough balls in the extra granulated sugar. Then bake on a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet at 325°F for ~8-10 minutes being careful not to over-bake!
ENJOY!!!
Let the cookies cool on the cookie sheet for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. Garnish with a sprinkle of granulated sugar – then ENJOY!
- Measure ingredients properly: Spoon the flour into your measuring cup and level it off with the back of a knife instead of scooping the flour with your measuring cup. Too much flour will make take away from the soft & chewy-goodness of these sugar cookies.
- Don’t over-bake: These cookies look very soft and slightly under baked when you take them out of the oven.
- To get cookies perfectly circular: Immediately after the cookies come out of the oven, place a circular cookie cutter or a circular drinking glass around one of the cookies (it should be larger than the cookie so you don’t cut off any edges) and give the cookies a spin. Swirling the cookie should help.
- Cool on the sheet: Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. This helps them set and prevents breakage.
Storage & Freezing
- Make Ahead: You can make the cookie dough and chill it in the refrigerator for up to 2–3 days. Allow to come to room temperature, roll in the granulated sugar, then continue to bake as directed.
- Freeze the Dough: Scoop the dough into the 1 ½ tbsp balls and freeze in a single layer in an airtight container for up to 3 months. To bake, allow the dough to come to room temperature, roll in the granulated sugar, then continue to bake as directed.
- Storage: You can store these baked cookies on the counter in an airtight container for 3-4 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
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Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 12 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 large egg yolk, room temperature
- 1 Tbsp. whole milk
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 3 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 1 ½ tsp. baking powder
- ¾ tsp. salt
- ½ tsp. baking soda
- granulated sugar, for rolling and garnishing
Last step! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.
Instructions
- Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the softened butter and granulated sugar for about 3 minutes (or until creamed/light & fluffy), scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.1 ½ cups granulated sugar, 12 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
- Add in the egg, egg yolk, milk, and vanilla. Scrape down sides again as needed.1 large egg, room temperature, 1 large egg yolk, room temperature, 1 Tbsp. whole milk, 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- In a separate bowl, whisk together dry ingredients.3 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled, 1 ½ tsp. baking powder, ¾ tsp. salt, ½ tsp. baking soda
- Gradually add them in at a slow speed just until combined.
- Chill the dough for 30 minutes or overnight. If you feel the cookie dough is dry, see recipe notes below.
- When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 325°F. And line baking sheets with parchment.
- Remove the cookie dough from the fridge. If very cold, allow to sit on the counter for ~10 minutes so it's easier to scoop and roll.
- Add about ¼ cup granulated sugar into a bowl for rolling.granulated sugar, for rolling and garnishing
- Scoop and roll the cookie dough into about 1 ½ tbsp.-sized balls.
- Roll the cookie dough balls in the granulated sugar. Repeat with remaining cookie dough.
- Bake for ~8-10 minutes, being very careful not to over bake.
- Cool on the cookie sheet just for a few minutes then transfer to wire rack to cool completely. Garnish with a sprinkle of granulated sugar. Enjoy!
- Store on the counter in an airtight container for 3-4 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
Notes
- Store on the counter in an airtight container for 3-4 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
- Be sure to spoon and level your flour. Too much flour will make these cookies dry. If you feel the cookie dough is dry, add a splash of milk to hydrate the dough. Just 1-2 tbsp. is plenty.
Nutrition Information
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is automatically calculated. It should only be construed as an estimate rather than a guarantee. Ingredients can vary and Kroll’s Korner can’t make any guarantees to the accuracy of this information.
I can’t wait to try these! Any way to make them into ~5 or so oz. like your other recipes? Thanks in advance!
Thank you! I hope you love them! I haven’t tried with this recipe but maybe this recipe could be good as a guide (minus the sprinkles): https://krollskorner.com/recipes/desserts/funfetti-cookie-recipe/
This cookie recipe was straightforward and helpful. I had been having a hard time getting this soft and chewy cookie dough right, but with this recipe, I finally achieved it. The cookies turned out great and were so delicious. I definitely recommend you try them.
SO happy it worked out well for you! Thank you!
This recipe makes the perfect sugar cookie! Soft and chewy with an hint of crunch and not too sweet. Krolls is my go-to for all cookie recipes and you never disappoint!
They are too cute!! Thank you so much Michelle, I really appreciate the kind words!
Easy, straightforward recipe that turned out perfectly!
They look great Lisa, thanks so much for making! 🙂
People aren’t hyping this recipe up enough actually. I took my first bite and felt I’d ascended to another realm. The texture and the taste were so dang good (I cheated and used a tsp of almond extract though)
As someone who can’t bake I owe my life to this recipe. Had I not experienced it earlier I fear the winters frost would have taken me out to pasture.
LOL thank you soooo so much!!
This recipe was really easy to follow, i wouldnt recommend making without an electric mixer of sorts
Cookies come out soft and chewy
Thanks so much Mia! 🙂
These look great! Do you have to use whole milk?
I am sure 2% will work fine 🙂
Perfect holiday sugar cookies- chewy and soft but also has some crunch from the sugar and the sprinkles! Love them!
Beautiful! Thanks for making them Holly they look great!
I have made these several times and we love them!!! My question is can I freeze the dough after rolling them up in balls to cook later?
Thank you so much Susan! Yes you can make the cookie dough and store in the freezer for up to 3 months 🙂
I added some baking time because I didn’t like raw flour taste in my test batch. 10.5 minutes seemed to work better for me. If you’re rolling these in sugar, may I suggest using cane sugar. It’s more coarse then granulated sugar and it really sparkles on these cookies! I used regular sugar in the recipe and cane sugar for dusting only. Thank you.