This is THE sugar cookie recipe that we will use forever and ever. It is absolutely foolproof for a perfectly soft and chewy sugar cookie every single time. Use this recipe to make drop sugar cookies, or chill the dough and roll it out to use for cookie cutter shapes.
If you really love sugar cookies, you should definitely try our sugar cookie fudge too!
Why Our Recipe
- Perfectly soft and chewy sugar cookies thanks to two secret ingredients: cream cheese and corn syrup.
- Refrigerate and roll out for cutting into shapes or skip the fridge and make drop cookies instead.
- Eat plain or frost and decorate to your heart’s desire!
Sugar cookies are a timeless classic, loved for their simplicity and versatility. Whether you’re baking for the holidays, a family gathering, or just as a special treat, these cookies are sure to bring smiles. The key to soft sugar cookies is adding a small amount of cream cheese and corn syrup. This combination creates the perfect soft, chewy cookie that everyone will love.
Ingredient Notes
- Salted Butter: Use softened salted butter for both the cookies and frosting. Leave it at room temperature for about 30-60 minutes for easier mixing.
- Granulated Sugar: Stick with regular granulated sugar for the cookie dough—no substitutions with powdered or brown sugar.
- Cream Cheese: Use full-fat cream cheese and be sure to soften it by letting it sit at room temperature for about 30-60 minutes with the butter.
- Corn Syrup: Look for light corn syrup, typically found in the baking aisle. Avoid dark corn syrup as it will affect the flavor and color.
- Vanilla Extract: Pure vanilla extract gives the best flavor, but imitation vanilla also works.
- Almond Extract: Gives sugar cookies their classic flavor. If you prefer a nut-free option, omit it without drastically altering the flavor.
- Egg: Use a large egg at room temperature for easier mixing.
- All-Purpose Flour: Stick with regular all-purpose flour for this one. Bread flour can also work.
- Baking Powder & Baking Soda : Check the expiration date to ensure proper leavening.
- Powdered Sugar: Use powdered sugar for the frosting. Sift it if you want a super-smooth consistency.
- Milk: Any milk works here, but whole milk will make the frosting extra creamy.
Cookie Cutter Cookies
Sugar cookies that hold their shape require you to refrigerate the dough. After preparing the dough, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. This step allows the fats to re-solidify, which prevents spreading during baking.
Roll the chilled dough to 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick on a lightly floured surface. Use cookie cutters to shape the dough and transfer the cut cookies to a prepared baking sheet. For the sharpest shapes, refrigerate the cut cookies for at least 30 minutes before baking.
Drop Cookies
Drop-style cookies are perfect for those who prefer a soft, chewy center with lightly crispy edges. This recipe is ideal for drop cookies as well. Simply scoop the dough onto a prepared baking sheet and bake as directed—no refrigeration required! For tips on achieving perfectly soft drop sugar cookies, check out our comprehensive guide for soft drop sugar cookies!
Decorating
You can decorate sugar cookies with a simple buttercream frosting and sprinkles or go for a more intricate design with icing. You can use a simple powdered sugar icing by whisking together 1 cup of powdered sugar with 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract and 1 to 2 tablespoons of milk.
For the most intricate designs, it is best to use a royal icing. With any of these options, you can use food coloring to dye your frosting the colors you desire. Gel food colorings are the easiest to work with and create the most vibrant colors.
Storage & Freezing Instructions
Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.
Freeze leftover cookies in an airtight, freezer-safe container for up to 3 months.
Thaw at room temperature before serving.
More sugar cookie recipes…
Watch the video below where Rachel will walk you through every step of this recipe. Sometimes it helps to have a visual, and we’ve always got you covered with our cooking show. You can find the complete collection of recipes on YouTube, our Facebook Page, or right here on our website with their corresponding recipes.
Made these & they are great! Just what I needed to perk up a gloomy day. I too would like to be able to find a substitute for corn syrup. Any ideas? Also used a big rounded spoonful for each & got 24 nicely sized cookies. I’ll definately add this to my many recipies for sugar cookies! Thanks. ?
I make those cookies and love them… they’re my favorite sugar cookie. I don’t use corn syrup so I substituted honey and they turned out perfect. Hope this helps 🙂
Honey worked. Also, I cut the sugar down to 1 cup and only made 1/2 the frosting recipe but still had enough to thickly cover all 36 cookies.
Thank you for this recipe! I made as directed and they were great! I doubled the batch of dough and refridgerated to roll out and create uniform circles. I baked a little on the light side for my first batch and thought they were a little too dough-y tasting. When I baked a few minutes longer where they appeared golden on the top edges, then they were the perfect taste and still soft. The icing was great too! The group of 20 people I made them for all enjoyed.
I plan to make those cookies today but I just realized I don’t have corn syrup. We are in a snowstorm here so I can’t get out to get any. What could I substitute in place of the corn syrup? Would honey or maple syrup work do you think? Or is there something else that would work better? They sure look delicious 🙂
Am I reading the recipe right? Am I to use salted butter?
yup! I design all of my recipes to use salted butter whenever possible since that is what most home cooks tend to have on hand.
Which icing is pictured?
Buttercream
I have a question about the 1 tablespoon of dough for each cookie. when I measured it out, I got about twice the amount of cookies as the recipe states. They are small and very delicious, but wondered if maybe the dough measurement is meant to be 2 tablespoons to get the larger size and be closer to the 2 dozen as the recipe says.
Can I make these without the corn syrup?
Yes, but the corn syrup keeps the cookie chewy.
My husband followed this recipe and the cookies came out PERFECT! Not too sweet, just the right amount of salt, and the frosting isn’t necessary because the dough is fabulous! This is going into our recipe binder!
WE find these delicious without the frosting too, but in a pinch, a schmear of Trader Joe’s fudge ice=cream topping is wonderful on these. When not heated the fudge sauce is the consistency of peanut butter and it is sooooooo yummy on these cookies.
These are so good, thank you for the recipe!
This is my favorite sugar cookie recipe!! These cookies are so flavorful, tender and delicious! I’d like to try this recipe as bars in a 9×13 pan. What oven temperature and how long should I bake?
they look like perfect cookies!