Chewy Sugar Cookies
These perfectly soft and chewy sugar cookies are incredibly easy to make and have the best pillowy, melt in your mouth texture. With super chewy, buttery, sweet centers and tender edges these will easily become your new favorite cookies. They’re the perfect thing to bake this Christmas season!
Why these are the best sugar cookies
These really are the BEST sugar cookies I’ve ever eaten, verified by many taste testers as well. Sugar cookies are my absolute favorite cookies, so I take this title very seriously.
Soft, melt in your mouth texture– They’re fluffy, buttery, tender and chewy all at the same time.
Equal parts butter and sugar– 1 cup of butter, 1 cup of sugar is the key to the cookies perfect texture. The butter and sugar is creamed together really well, and the egg is beat into the butter and sugar until very fluffy to help the cookies get a little lift, making them pillowy and perfect.
Slightly underbaked centers– Just slightly underbaking helps to give the cookies the perfect centers. As they cool they finish baking on the pan and you’re left with the ideal cookie texture: soft edges, melty buttery centers.
Thick and pillowy– I hate a flat sugar cookie, so I wanted to make sure these were anything but. They’re extra thick, like little pillows of tender, soft cookie heaven.
For the full recipe, including measurements, step by step instructions, and bake time, please see the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is just a brief overview!
Chewy Sugar Cookies FAQs
Store in an airtight container or Ziploc baggie for about 3 days for best taste. As they sit they somehow become softer. They go from super chewy right after baking to super soft the more days that go by!
While this recipe was adapted from my cut-out sugar cookies, you can’t use this for pretty cut-out cookies. The added baking soda will make them too fluffy. Please see my cut-out sugar cookies recipe instead!
Nope! Simply make the dough, scoop, roll the balls in sugar and bake! (I Actually think the cookies are best when baked straight away.)
If you need to make the dough in advance and bake the next day, you of course can. For the best results I would just recommend letting the dough return to room temperature before attempting to scoop and bake!
Yep! Store in a Ziploc baggie and freeze for up to a month.
Tips for baking the perfect chewy sugar cookies
Very softened butter. You’ll want to make sure your butter is super soft. As in, you should be able to press your finger into it very easily. This will make it easier to cream together with the sugar and help give the cookies the best texture.
Measure your flour properly. This is always my #1 baking tip. Do not ever scoop a measuring cup into your flour. This will always lead to using too much flour. Instead, sprinkle spoonfuls of flour into your measuring cup and swipe excess flour off with the back of a knife. Or better yet, weigh your flour with a kitchen scale. 1 cup of flour equals 125 grams.
Beat the egg and vanilla thoroughly. Make sure to beat your egg and vanilla into the butter and sugar until the mixture is pale in color and very fluffy, not just until it’s combined. This helps to give the cookies their pillowy texture.
When the cookies are straight out of the oven, scoot a large circular cookie cutter around them to give them a perfect circular shape! Because we’ll be rolling them into balls and shaping before baking, the cookies should be pretty round after baking, but to make them extra perfect use this trick! 🙂
If you make these cookies please leave a star review! Also, tag me on Instagram @inbloombakery_ so I can see your creation! Follow me on Pinterest for other dessert ideas!
Other Christmas Cookies to Try
Chewy Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 3/4 cups (344 g) all purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated white sugar
- 1 cup (227 g) unsalted butter, very softened
- 1 egg, at room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 1/4 cup (50 g) granulated white sugar, for rolling dough in
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.2 3/4 cups (344 g) all purpose flour, spooned and leveled , 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp salt
- In a large bowl cream the very softened butter and sugar together with an electric mixer on high speed for 1-2 minutes until very light and fluffy.1 cup (200 g) granulated white sugar, 1 cup (227 g) unsalted butter, very softened
- Add in the egg and vanilla and mix on medium speed until pale in color and very fluffy, about 1-2 minutes.1 egg, at room temperature, 2 tsp vanilla
- Add in the dry ingredients. Mix on low speed just until combined.
- Scoop the dough with a 2 tbsp cookie scoop, and roll them into balls. Then roll the dough balls in sugar.1/4 cup (50 g) granulated white sugar, for rolling dough in
- Place the cookie dough balls at least 2 inches apart on the baking sheets. Slightly flatten each ball and form into a circle as best as you can. (See photo in the blog post above.)Bake 6-8 cookies at a time.
- Bake the cookies for 9-10 minutes, then let them cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. Transfer the baked cookies to a cooling rack to finish cooling. Then enjoy!
Can we make these into snickerdoodles?
Hi Becki! I have not tested these with the addition of cream of tartar, so I can’t say for sure how they would turn out. You can surely roll them in cinnamon sugar though! Xx
so amazing!! loved how easy these were to put together and are really the perfect sugar cookie 🙂 exactly what you would want!
Came across the recipe on IG, saw that I had everything to make them and decided why not. They’re delicious, the only change I made was at the end I rolled them in cinnamon sugar instead of regular sugar.
Added a few sprinkles since it’s the holiday season- will deff make again!
Cookies have never turned out right for me but these came out perfect! I’m going to go through all the cookie recipes on this site they all look so good! Thankyou<3
Thank you so much for this recipe! Could we make the cookie smaller with a 1tbsp scooper?
I used a 1.5tbs scooper and they came out great! You’ll just end up with more cookies or extra dough. (We added chocolate chips to the extra and snacked on it). Hope this helps!
The recipe was very easy to follow and extremely tasty. My whole family enjoyed these cookies! Delicious 🙂
Best sugar cookies I’ve had. These are amazing. I used a kitchen scale to weigh my dough balls to ensure they were all exactly the same size and baked evenly 🙂 They turned out perfect. Definitely saving this recipe as a go-to! Thank you!
Cookies are not really a thing in my country so this is my first time baking any type cookie recipe. They were easy and fun to make and came out very good. The recipe is flawless. Thank you very much
Sugar cookie perfection!
If freezing baked cookies, do i just let them thaw or have to put them in oven when ready to use?
Hello, mine became tasty, but flat, it spread out during baking, and the butter ran a bit out of the dough. I did everything according to the recipe. What could be the problem?
You can add a little bit of flour and put your cookies in the oven only once it’s hot enough ! Like that, it’ll bake and not “melt”
I made these and they turned out very dry and crubly. My dough was not soft like yours. Not sure where i went wrong, i did it exactly and even used a scale for my measurements. Any advice?
I made these today with my kids and they turned out amazing! Thank you for sharing.
Do i need to add more flour for high altitude baking?
Absolutely love these cookies came out so soft and chewy!
I thought it could be chewier in the center, my grands liked them.
Trying to find the perfect soft sugar cookie, look no further! Absolutely perfection
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Super picky husband gave rave reviews too ?
About to use this recipe for my christmas cookies. I read the recipe and instructions thoroughly. I really don’t need to chill the dough for a while before baking?
Both times I’ve made cookies from this blog they have turned out amazing, however these sugar cookies were a little too soft in the middle for my liking. I will try putting them in a little longer next time!
Is the dough supposed to turn out slightly crumbly?
I don’t bother to leave reviews on internet recipes cause they’re usually fine. But this one is so good, and she adds the amounts under the instructions so I didn’t have to keep scrolling up and down. Which is fantastic.
I didn’t roll mine in sugar, I don’t like the texture and sugar cookies are sweet enough and these are still airy, sweet, buttery. It’s a print and place in the recipe book.
These were amazing and your tips truly helped!! Thank you for making this and sharing!!!
OMG!! I made these cookies for Christmas and they were the best cookies I’ve ever had I swear. They were so chewy and even super soft a couple days after they were baked. I know some people don’t enjoy sugar cookies cause they are more sweet but I honestly loved them and can’t wait to make again!!
Soft and chewy. The perfect cookie. Second time making them in a week. ?
Yup. Perfect.
These were the best sugar cookies I’ve ever had. Made these for my children and they definitely approve! I guaranteed I’ll be using your recipes again 🙂
These are perfect. The best sugar cookie recipe I have found.
Made the recipe, and the dough turned out and tasted good.
Thank you so much for this recipe! I had to leave a review because they’re so easy and SO delicious! My favorite type of recipe 🙂 definitely try it!
Absolutely wonderful! I had nothing sweet at home and this easy recipe has the most basic ingredients, but the most amazing taste! I appreciate the measurements in grams. I’m not one to leave reviews, but it was so good I had to!!
hi! i’m unsure what went wrong when i made these. Followed the instructions exactly but my cookies never spread out at all, they look almost exactly the same as when i put them in, i flattened them slightly before baking like instructions say.
Also, even after sitting on the pan for 5-10 minutes after they still seem so doughy like they will fall apart when i move them. Anyone else have this problem and know what went wrong for me?
thanks!
ignore my above comment! after investigating i discovered it was my oven that was the issue – the bottom heating element went out so oven was not to the temp it said.
Tried these again after the oven was fixed and they are perfect! added 1/2 tsp of almond extract and they’re amazing. i got about 12 cookies using a 3 tbsp scoop.
Followed the recipe to the letter. The dough turned out more like breadcrumbs than cookie dough. Cookies didn’t flatten at all in the oven. Imagine fully cooked cookie spheres. This recipe has left me horrified, please do not attempt! Something is seriously wrong with the recipe.
these were so delicious! my whole family loved them, especially my brother! he kept saying how very delicious they were!!
These are my go to sugar cookie recipe! They always come out and everyone loves them!
I’m 32 weeks pregnant and was on a mission to find my favorite sugar cookie and these are definitely it! My
Husband said they’re the best cookies he’s ever had!
I made some slight modifications just for my preference. I made them a bit bigger at 70g per cookie and baked them for 8 minutes because I like them SOFT! I also added 1/4 teaspoon almond extract and rolled in non-pareil sprinkles.
I am going to dream about these!
I’m normally not a huge fan of sugar cookies, especially store bought but these are absolutely insane. I could not believe how good these were on the first try. I immediately wrote down this recipe and will never lose it.
Adding to my favorite recipes!!
Followed exact recipe. DELICIOUS. Only thing was 10 minutes passed and I didn’t think it was done so I left another 3 minutes and they were perfect. Soft inside. Adding to my cookie rotation.
These are so good!
Wow!!! These are great & so much easier than traditional cut out sugar cookies.
I used salted butter instead of unsalted cuz that’s what I had on hand.
I used my mom’s method of flattening with a fork. These are awesome!!!
Good recipe but this website is horrible I can barely scroll without an ad bringing me to a random website, this is a disgrace.
I love it!
It’s the perfect texture and just sweet enough without making you sick!!!
My whole family enjoyed it and it’s also a really simple recipe for such great results. I really love your baking recipes, this is the third one I tried!
Not to mention that the website is really tidy and easy to understand
Oh. My. GOD!! These are absolutely DELICIOUS!! I split the batch in half and got about 12 cookies. These are so freaking good and I WILL be saving these and making these again. Thank you!!
Yay!! I’m so thrilled you loved them! Splitting the batch sounds perfect — and I’m so glad these cookies are a keeper for you. Thank you for sharing your excitement!
So good!! These are hands-down our favorite sugar cookie recipe! Thank you for sharing.
I’m so happy you love them, Gracie! Thanks for sharing!
They were so good yum 😛
Yay, thank you Halle!
Can I use almond flour instead of all purpose flour?
Premade dough to make Christmas cookies. I did bake one to make sure the recipe was good. I thought the flavor was amazing, sweet and vanilla flavors. I did not roll in sugar because I plan to cover them in frosting and sprinkles.
Yay Cara! Love this for you. Thanks for making this recipe!
Hi! Can you make the dough ahead of time & freeze them???
Yep! Store in a Ziploc baggie and freeze for up to a month. If you need to make the dough in advance and bake the next day, you can chill the dough. For the best results I would just recommend letting the dough return to room temperature before attempting to scoop and bake!
I just made those cookies. They weren’t to thick like the photos. But they were nice soft chewy cookies .didn’t adjust for high altitude. Was a bit worried about them spreading. So I did a test cookie. All good , only thing I did do different. Was use the grams on the flour. Everything else the standard way. I’m thinking that extra flour left out, would have made them thicker. I liked the light crunch from the sugar coating.. I’ll be making them again. Thank you for sharing the recipe.
The absolute BEST sugar cookies you will ever make!! My family gobbled these up, I had to make a second batch. These will permanently be in my rotation now!
Unfortunately will have to chime in that there’s something wrong with this recipe. I used cups/teaspoons to measure everything for reference exactly as described. I let my butter sit out for many hours so it would be very soft and also the egg. The dough turned out crumbly with the given ingredients. I slowly added melted butter to it (about half a stick approximately) to correct the issue. Perhaps the measurements are not listed properly, could be too much flour maybe as everything else seemed normal. I will probably update if my modifications worked.