How Do You Make Sugar Cookies From Scratch

How To Make Soft Sugar Cookies

From Scratch Sugar Cookie Recipe with a Lemon Twist!

So one of the best parts of these cookies is that they are quick and straight forward to make.

Start by creaming the butter and sugars together until its light in color and fluffy. Youll actually be able to see the lighter color, so dont quit mixing until you see it.
Next youll add the egg, then the vanilla extract.
Now add the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
Mix it until its all combined, but dont over mix it. Over mixing any batter or dough can lead to toughness.
Divide the cookie dough into 1 1/2 inch balls of dough and roll them in a little bit of granulated white sugar. Place the balls onto a cookie sheet and bake them!

How To Roll Out Cookie Dough

Cookie dough is placed between 2 rolling guides and rolling pin is then rolled on top of the rolling guides. Rolling pin pushes the dough down but only as far as the rolling guides let it. Ensuring even thickness of the rolled cookie dough.

HOW THICK DO YOU MAKE YOUR COOKIES FOR DECORATING?

I roll my cookies ¼ inch thick and a little thicker when making cookie pops, to make the room for a lollipop stick.

MY COOKIE DOUGH IS HARD AS A ROCK, WHAT TO DO NOW?

After cookie dough is chilled it often becomes firm.

There is no need to panic.
Cut the cookie dough disk into quarters.
Microwave one ¼ of cookie dough on high for 5-7 seconds. It should be sufficient to soften the dough so you can roll it out. However, you dont want it to be super soft.
Cut up remaining quarters into smaller bits.

Place softened/microwaved 1/4 of the cookie dough onto the work surface, between 2 rolling guides. Place rolling pin on top of the rolling guides roll out the cookie dough. You can watch the video to see exactly how you can do rolling out part easily.

Cut out cookies with a cookie cutter and transfer them onto a baking sheet lined with a parchment paper.

CAN I RE-ROLL THE SCRAPS ?

Gather scraps and add one piece of fresh dough you set aside, re-roll and repeat.

WHAT KIND OF BAKING SHEETS DO YOU USE?

Chill the cookies for 10 minutes.

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SUBMIT YOUR PHOTO: Make my Soft Sugar Cookies and submit your photo on this page. By submitting your photo, you get 2 entries.

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Good luck, Bold Bakers! And I cant wait to see your Soft Sugar Cookies!

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How To Frost Sugar Cookies

A sugar cookie is great on its own, but what Soft Sugar Cookies to the next level is frosting or the icing.

Made of powdered sugar, milk, vanilla, and butter, this frosting is made specifically for super soft sugar cookies. It stays thick and malleable thanks to the butter, and this makes them perfect for swirling atop the cookies using a butter knife or offset spatula. After frosting, I top them with sprinkles. Optional? Yes. But just look at them and tell me if its really a choice!

Also, the frosting will set over time and harden on the outside but the inside will still be soft, perfectly complementing the texture of the cookie itself.

How To Turn The Dough Into Drop Cookies

If you want to turn the sugar cookie dough into drop cookies, scoop out 2 Tablespoon portions of the dough then roll into balls, place onto a silpat or parchment paper-lined baking sheet at least 2 apart, then gently press down with your fingers to slightly flatten. Bake for 8-10 minutes at 350 degrees or until the centers of the cookies have just barely set.

Tip 1: The dough should be soft but not sticky. If its sticky while trying to roll into balls, refrigerate the whole bowl for 10 minutes. Ive never had this problem, but if you do, refrigerate vs adding more flour.
Tip 2: The cookies will NOT be golden brown when done. Pull them out of the oven just shy of being golden brown around the edges to ensure they stay soft and chewy in the center.

Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Then, frost and embellish to your hearts desire!

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Can I Freeze Gluten Free Sugar Cookies

Yes! Both the dough and baked gluten free sugar cookies freeze beautifully.

To freeze the dough: Divide the dough in half then wrap each half tightly in plastic wrap. Place inside a Ziplock freezer bag then freeze. Thaw the dough in the refrigerator overnight then bake per recipe instructions.
To freeze the baked cookies: Cool cookies completely then layer in a Ziplock freezer bag and freeze. Eat or frost directly from the freezer they thaw quickly.

I hope you LOVE these sweet and chewy gluten free sugar cookies. Take it from me the girl who lost count of how many she ate theyre super fun to make, but even more fun to eat. Enjoy!

How To Decorate And Frost A Sugar Cookie

These sprinkle-covered cookies are pretty fun on their own, but a little frosting never hurts! Spread some buttercream on top and add more sprinkles for a fun and colorful treat. Or top the buttercream with those shaped sprinkles youre itching to use! Just make sure your cookies are completely cool before frosting.

Make Ahead And Storage

The cookie dough can be made ahead and refrigerated or frozen. If going this route I recommend reducing the flour to 2 1/4 cups .
Just thaw frozen cookies in the fridge before baking.
Store baked cookies in an airtight container.
Baked cookies can be stored at room temperature, the fridge or the freezer.
Theyll last at room temperature about 3 days, in the fridge for about 1 week and the freezer up to 3 months.

Helpful Tips For Sugar Cookies

How to Make Sugar Cookies From Scratch by Sabrina | The Frugal Chef Junior

To soften butter let it rest at room temperature for 1 to 2 hours. If in a hurry I still cheat sometimes and do the microwave softening method .
For high altitude I recommend using a little extra flour or chill the dough for 30 to 60 minutes before baking so the cookies dont spread so much.
If you dont have a stand mixer a hand mixer will work as well. If dough gets heavy as you add the flour you can stir the remainder in by hand with a wooden spoon.

The Best Sugar Cookie Recipe

Here is a little recap of why this recipe is the recipe you need. Why it is, indeed, perfect and the best!

The dough is super simple. Now that I have the recipe memorized, I can throw the dough together in 5 minutes flat.

NO CHILLING THE DOUGH. I cant be the only one who never has patience for dough chilling.. right?

You want a horse sugar cookie? After these bake, youll still have a horse cookie. Not some lumpy unicorn looking thing. These cookies keep their shape!

Soft, soft, soft, soft, SOFT. Oh, and chewy.

They are still sturdy, even though they are soft & chewy.

The cookies are an amazing base for some serious frosting work. Here is my absolute favorite Sugar Cookie Frosting Recipe!

Why Is This The Best Sugar Cookie Recipe

The dough comes together quickly with simple pantry ingredients.

It does NOT need to be chilled.

The recipe can be doubled easily.

Cookies hold their shape with very little expanding when baked.

Baked cookies freeze well.

The recipe I am giving you makes a large batch of dough because I like to bake many cookies. Also, I like to roll and cut my cookies fairly thickto hold a lot of frosting.

Incorporating the last cup of flour may look dry and look crumbly. Turn out the dough onto your countertop and work with wet hands and/or more flour until the dough is smooth and ready to roll.

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How To Make The Sugar Cookie Dough

Step 1: Add the 4 sticks of butter and 2 cups of white sugar to your mixer. A word about the butter, we use Sweet Cream Salted Butter when we are baking and I think it tastes great with these sugar cookies too. The butter needs to be softened but still cold. A prime culprit for dry sugar cookie dough is butter than is too warm and soft. I let the butter sit out on the counter for just under an hour before I start making the cookies this seems to be the perfect amount of time for me. The butter is still cold to the touch but you can press into the stick with your fingers. In the past, when in a rush, I have softened the butter in the microwave but inevitably the dough that I get is on the crumbly side.Step 2: Cream the butter and sugar until it is completely mixed Step 3: Add 2 tablespoons of vanilla and 2 eggs. I know that sounds like a lot of vanilla but this recipe needs a little extra moisture and the cookies will taste great.Step 4: Mix the cookie dough until light and fluffy

Easy Sugar Cookies For Christmas

Theres something spectacular about a simple, yet perfect, soft sugar cookie.

Today Im going to show you how to make sugar cookies that will make your head spin. I bake The Best Sugar Cookie Recipe for holidays and parties regularly, and have used this recipe as a base for all sorts of sugar cookie variations.

Ive been asked for The Best Sugar Cookie Recipe more times than I can count, always with a statement like, These are just sugar cookies, right? OMGeeeeee. Ive got to have the recipe.

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How Can I Flavor Sugar Cookies

To flavor cookie dough I use extracts, flavorings or baking emulsions.

Its no secret Vanilla makes everything taste better. Thats why I always use Vanilla Extract as my base flavor. After that you can add other flavorings.

I also like to add almond and/or lemon extracts. And I have to say I came really fond of this magic trio : Vanilla , Almond and Lemon . It makes for a lovely flavor.

If using Lorann oil based flavorings use only 5-7 drops. They are very concentrated.

ORANGE AND LEMON ZEST

If using lemon or orange zest add 1tbsp per recipe.

SPICES

Yes, you can use spices. Cinnamon or Cardamom. Sweet Ambs makes her cookie dough using orange and cardamom.

Is It Better To Make Sugar Cookies From Scratch Or A Mix

You can do eitherscratch or a mix. It really depends on the quality of the recipe or mixes. If you buy sugar cookie mixes from us, the flavors and colors will already be worked out and the formulation proven. If you buy a sugar cookie mix from the grocery store, youll need to add your own flavor, color, and inclusions.

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The Ingredients In This Recipe Are Regular Ingredients That You Probably Have On Hand

However, you could make this recipe gluten free by using gluten free flour instead of regular flour. Or, you can make this recipe low carb by using low carb Carbalose flour.

Here are some similar recipes that you may also like.

Keep up to date with my recipes

I have some great tips on which alternatives may work in a recipe such as this one.

Be sure to follow me on and to keep up to date as well.

Sugar Free Sugar Cookies

The recipe for Sugar Free Sugar Cookies

What you will need to make thisMake this recipe gluten free by using gluten free flour instead of regular flour. Or, you can make this recipe low carb by using low carb Carbalose flour.

Flour- 2 ¾ Cups. AP or you could use gluten free flour instead of regular flour. Or, you can make this recipe low carb by using low carb Carbalose flour.
Baking Soda- 1 teaspoon.
Butter- 2 sticks softened to room temperature.
Sugar Alternative- equivalent to 1 ¼ cups of sugar. Granular works best in this recipe.
Egg-1 beaten.
Milk or similar dairy- 1 teaspoon.

How to make Sugar Free Sugar Cookies

This recipe works best if the dough is made and then refrigerated for a couple of hours. This is especially true if you plan on using cookie cutters with it. However, you could just roll these out and flatten them to bake immediately.

The Recipe Card

Why Are My Cookies Flat

Soft Sugar Cookies Recipe | How to make Chewy Sugar Cookies | Soft and Chewy Sugar Cookies

There are five things that can cause flat cookies

Your oven thermostat is faulty. This is a very common baking issue. To fix it, purchase a hanging oven thermometer to hang off the center oven rack. Then you can adjust your oven temperature accordingly.

You did not use parchment paper. Parchment paper is a magical baking tool to help cookies keep from burning on the bottom, spreading too thin, or creating a consistent bake. Dont skip the parchment!

You used melted butter instead of softened butter. Yes, it does matter. When butter is melted, as opposed to softened, it has a different chemical reaction in the oven. Softened butter that is creamed well with sugar will cause cookies to rise before spreading. While melted butter creates a denser chewier cookie.

You mismeasured your flour. Here in the United States, most bakers dont weigh their ingredients. Therefore, its easy to mismeasure things like flour, which can be sifted or packed into cups. To ensure the best results: When measuring flour, stir the flour in the bag to lift and lighten it. Then scoop the flour and use the flat edge of a knife to level the top.

Your leavening agents are old. Baking powder and baking soda can lose their lifting power over time. I suggest buying new ones at the beginning of the baking season, even if the old ones arent past their expiration date.

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Are They Crispy Or Soft

Ive got great news for you. Theyre whatever YOU want them to be. If you like a thicker cookie with a soft, chewy centre, roll them slightly thicker and cook them for a minute or two less.

If you prefer a thinner cookie, thats crunchy and snaps when you bite it, roll them thinner and bake them for a minute or two longer.

The Easiest Sugar Cookies Recipe Ever

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Sugar cookies its a Christmas baking staple. I have always wanted to bake eggless sugar cookies. It has been in my to-bake list for years now.

Baking

1 cupunsalted butter, softened
3/4 cupwhite sugar
as needed,colored sugar

In a large bowl cream together the butter and sugar, until light and fluffy. Beat in the vinegar and vanilla extract.

In another bowl combine together the flour and baking soda. Incorporate this into the creamed sugar mixture and mix well.

Scoop out a tablespoon of dough for each cookie, roll it into a ball and flatten into 1/4 inch thickness sprinkle with colored sugar and place 2 inches apart

Bake in an oven preheated at 350F/180C, in a greased pan for 8 to 10 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let the cookies cool down for a 2-3 minutes before removing it from the pan. Store it in air-tight containers once its cooled completely.

I too was skeptical about vinegar in the recipe and was wondering how it will taste. When I tasted the dough, I did notice a hint of sourness, but couldnt taste it at all in the cookies. So trust me, go ahead and bake these cookies.

A couple of months back when I was browsing my favorite recipe website I was excited to find a sugar cookie recipe without eggs. I bookmarked it dutifully to bake it a little ahead of the Winter Holidays to test bake and sort of completely forgot about it.

Total2.7K

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How To Make Sugar Cookies:

In a mixing bowl, cream together the shortening and sugar. Add eggs, milk, and vanilla and mix.
In a separate bowl, mix dry ingredients. Slowly mix dry ingredients into the wet mixture until you form a large dough ball. Refrigerate for 20-30 minutes.
Lightly flour your counter top. Roll dough ball out to ½ inch to ¾ inch thick. Cut the dough into shapes with cookie cutters .
Place cookies on a parchment lined baking sheet.

Bake at 350 degrees F for about 8-11 minutes. Cookies will be very light colored and just set , when you take them out. They will harden as they cool, so dont over bake them.