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.
Video
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.
Best cookies we have ever made!!!! We love this recipe.
Wow thank you sooo much! What a compliment! 🙂
What Flour, baking soda, baking powder, and butter do you recommend?
Hi there! I usually use king arthur or gold medal all purpose flour, arm & hammer baking soda, clabber girl baking powder. and land o lakes or clover butter.
This is the best sugar cookie recipe ever! The entire family enjoyed them. Thank you!
Sooo glad you loved them, Becca! 🫶🏻
i practiced to make them on christmas for my family and omg they turned out sooo good. I feel like I can make whatever i want now hahaha tysm for this recipe 🖤🖤🖤
So glad you loved them Valery!!
These cookies are exactly as described: soft and chewy. I’m guessing from the extra egg yolk. I used dairy free butter with rice milk and they turned out perfectly. I will say, with the amount of both baking soda and baking powder, I could taste a slight tang to the cookies. That said, no one (among my many holiday taste testers) who detected the tang disliked it and some even mistook it for citrus (like lemon.) While I usually double up my sheet pans for my conventional oven—to avoid the bottoms browning too fast— I noticed these cookies did just fine on one pan without the bottoms getting dark. Love the addition of multicolored sprinkles in the dough as shown on the IG post. One other praise for these cookies from multiple taste testers was that they “don’t taste sickly sweet.” This recipe is a keeper!
I am wondering if the flavor changed because of the dairy free butter? I am not sure. Regardless, I am glad they were enjoyed – they look great! Thank you so much for making them 🙂
I just made this yesterday and I never knew a sugar cookie could be fudgy! It is so so good! I added the sprinkles like you did in the video! My sister this rivals her favorite sugar cookies (the loft house sugar cookies)! I think you should add a note about adding sprinkles if desired! This is the first recipe I made from your blog but it certainly won’t be the last!
Awww, Nora I’m so glad you loved these! Can’t wait to hear what else you try from my site! 🫶🏻
These turned out so good! I got a kitchen aid and can’t stop making your cookie recipes lol!
hehehe I love hearing that Christine!! Can’t wait to see what else you make! Thanks for taking time to leave a review 🫶🏻
Perfectly soft and chewy. Melt in your mouth.
Sooo happy to hear you loved them, Tracy!! 🫶🏻
The perfect sugar cookie, my husband said they are the best cookie ever!! 😋😋
What an amazing compliment! thank you! 🙂
Hi! Can you use self-rising flour? 😉 they look delicious!
This post might be helpful for you: https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/blog/2015/09/09/substitute-self-rising-flour-purpose-flour
What Flour do you use for this recipe?
all purpose flour