A super soft sugar cookie recipe that is a tried and true favorite. Soft and chewy sugar cookies bake up fluffy then are topped with buttercream frosting for any holiday or party!
Soft and Chewy Sugar Cookies
I’ve been using this delicious sugar cookie recipe for several years, and these really are the best sugar cookies with a super soft, fluffy and moist texture! If you love soft sugar cookies, try brown sugar cookies, copycat Swig cookies and sugar cookie truffles.
This recipe reminds me of bakery-style Lofthouse cookies my mom bought as a kid, but better! It’s one of my tried and true cookie recipes that is a big family favorite.
Ingredients for Soft Sugar Cookies
I’ve tried numerous ingredient combinations for sugar cookies and 2 secret ingredients for the best soft cookies are sour cream and butter!
Find the printable recipe with specific measurements below.
- Unsalted butter and sour cream: Sour cream helps make them super soft and moist, while softened butter makes the outside edges crispy.
- Sugar: A MUST for sugar cookies that adds sweetness and texture!
- Large eggs: Eggs bind and help the dough hold shape.
- Extract: Vanilla extract for rich flavor and lemon or almond extract for additional taste.
- Baking staples: All-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt add structure and gives the sugar cookies lift and rise.
Variations
There are so many ways to make these soft sugar cookies your own!
- Sugar cookie bars: Super soft sugar cookies but in bar form with a sweet flavor, soft base and plenty of frosting and sprinkles.
- Celebrate the occasion: Cut out dough with shaped cookie cutters to match the holiday. Add food coloring to the frosting and festive sprinkles on top.
- Skip the frosting: Roll cookies in colored sugar, granulated sugar or even cinnamon sugar before baking. Fold multi-colored jimmies into the dough like I do in funfetti cake mix cookie recipe.
- No cutting out: Make my no roll drop sugar cookies!
- Half batch. This recipe makes bout 2-3 dozen cookies, so you can easily cut it in half to make less. Or store half of dough in freezer to make fruit pizza.
How to Make Soft Sugar Cookies
The first thing everyone looks for in a sugar cookie is the softness then the flavor, these have both!
- Make sugar cookie dough: In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar.Add in eggs, extracts and sour cream then mix until combined. In a separate bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Slowly add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Mix just until combined.
- Chill: Split dough in two and place in saran wrap dusted with powdered sugar. Refrigerate dough for 1-2 hours.
- Roll dough: Roll out dough on a baker’s mat or parchment paper to about 1/4″ thick. Add up to another 1/4 cup flour if dough is still sticky.
- Cut into shapes: Cut the cookie dough with a cookie cutter that has been dipped into flour.
- Bake: Bake at 350°F for 8-9 minutes, until edges are slightly golden.
- Cool then frost: Allow cookies to cool on pan for 2 minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack.
Tips for the Best Sugar Cookie Recipe
Here are some extra tips to help you make the softest cookies!
- Don’t overmix. Mix the dough until just combined. Over mixing causes them to dry out, and your cookies won’t be as soft and fluffy.
- Chill the dough. Refrigerate dough for at least 1 to 2 hours before cutting shapes to prevent spread in the oven. Just like my easy butter cookies you can also make it a day or two ahead of time.
- Thickness. I like to roll my dough out about 1/4 inch thick. It gives the cookies the perfect width and makes them rise beautifully in the oven.
- Perfectly shaped cookies: Roll out your dough on a baking mat or between two pieces of parchment paper (so you don’t have to peel up the shapes) then dust cookie cutters with powdered sugar or flour and cut out perfectly shaped cookies.
- Cool before frosting. As tempting as it is, let them cool completely before frosting the tops. If they are still warm, the frosting can melt and change texture.
Decorating Soft Sugar Cookies
I love to top these cookies with lots of frosting and sprinkles!
- Buttercream frosting: A light and fluffy buttercream frosting is the perfect compliment. A simple vanilla frosting also tastes great.
- Cream cheese frosting: If you like a tangier frosting, this is a favorite. You will need to refrigerate the cookies due to the addition of the cream cheese. You could also use a sour cream frosting.
- Sugar cookie icing: I especially love using this icing when making Christmas sugar cookies. It’s perfect for decorating, has a beautiful shine and is a bit easier than a royal icing.
Make Ahead and Freezing
- Make ahead: Sugar cookie dough can also be made ahead and kept frozen for up to 3 months. Just wrap the dough in plastic wrap and then stick in a freezer zip lock. Thaw for 2 hours at room temperature to soften before rolling out. You can also keep dough in the fridge and use with 2-3 days.
- Store: These cookies will keep for about 3 weeks, if stored in an airtight container at room temperature.
- Freeze: Store them with or without frosting in the freezer. Just wrap them in plastic wrap and place in a zip top bag for up to 3 months. Just be sure to freeze them the same day you bake them.
More soft cookie recipes include cream cheese cookies recipe, snickerdoodle cookies, gooey butter cookies and chocolate crinkle cookies!
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Sugar Cookies
Video
Equipment
- Cookie Sheet
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter , at room temp
- 1 ¾ cups granulated sugar
- 2 eggs , at room temp
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon lemon or almond extract , whichever flavor you prefer
- 1 cup sour cream
- 5 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
Buttercream frosting:
- ¾ cup butter
- 3 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 3-4 Tablespoons heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
For the cookies:
- Cream sugar and butter. In a large bowl, mix together 1 cup butter and 1 3/4 cup granulated sugar. Beat until creamy. Add in 2 eggs, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 1/4 teaspoon lemon extract and 1 cup sour cream and mix together until combined.
- Dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, mix together 5 1/2 cups flour, 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda, 1 teaspoon baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Slowly add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Mix just until combined.
- Chill dough. Split dough in two and press flat in saran wrap (this will make it easier to roll out later). Refrigerate dough for 1-2 hours.
- Cut-out cookies. Once dough has chilled, preheat oven to 350°F. Roll out dough on a baker's mat to about 1/4" thick. Add up to another 1/4 cup flour if dough is still sticky. Cut with floured cookie cutter.
- Bake. Bake for 8-9 minutes, until edges are slightly golden. Then allow to cool on pan for 2 minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack.
For the Frosting:
- Combine. For the buttercream, combine 3/4 cup butter, 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar, 3-4 Tablespoons heavy cream and 1 teaspoon vanilla in a medium-sized bowl. Feel free to add in food coloring. Mix with an electric mixer until smooth.
- Frost. Frost buttercream on cooled cookies and serve. :)
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition provided is an estimate. It will vary based on specific ingredients used.
Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below!
Recipe FAQs
It is a balancing act! You don’t want to have too much butter because that will make your cookies to spread when baked. Chilling your cookies is also helpful.
I don’t recommend ever opening the oven, but getting a closer look and feel with a touch from the spatula, you can tell if they still need a few extra minutes. Looking through the glass and using an oven light this will help to see
Usually if the cookie dough is dry or crumbly it usually means the dough was over mixed or too much dry ingredients are added in the dough. To reverse this process add in one to two tablespoons liquid. Use either water, milk, or softened butter to help.
You will want to make sure that the butter is not too soft but also not melted when you are mixing. Once the cookies are baked, you can use a circular cookie cutter and place around the sugar cookie. In a circular motion, circle to the cookie a few times until it begins to make a perfect circle shape.
Categorized as: American, Birthdays, Christmas, Cookies, Desserts, Freezer-Friendly, Frosted Cookies, Holiday Cookies, Kid-Friendly, Nut-Free, Valentine's Day, Vegetarian
Jamielyn Nye is the founder and recipe creator at I Heart Naptime. She is the author of the I Heart Naptime Cookbook and shares easy family-friendly recipes and desserts for every occasion.
I love these & so do my grandkid
I’m glad you love them! Thanks for commenting Gayleen! :)
These are my all time favorite cookies. (We call them sour cream cookies.) But I use shortening instead of butter and they are great. I just hate making them because I make a mess with the flour and rolling them out. EVERY.TIME. :)
I love how soft they are! So true…flour ends up everywhere when I make these, especially with my little kids!
I’ve been trying out various sugar cookie recipes, and this one is next… But the best way I’ve found for making shaped cookies is to roll out the dough between two sheets of parchment paper and THEN chill it in the fridge (or the freezer if it’s a recipe with a lot of eggs). Peel off the top paper, flip the whole thing and peel off the bottom paper, and cut out. The cookies are firm enough to transfer to the cookie sheets without damaging them. Best of all, this way you don’t have to ever use any extra flour, so you can roll and re-roll with abandon and never end up with tough cookies!
That is a great tip, thanks for stopping by and sharing! I hope you like our recipe! :)
Hey! I was wondering how many cookies this make?
About 2 dozen depending on how big the shapes are! :)
How long will the dough keep in the fridge?
You can freeze it for up to 6 months, but I always try to use my dough that I keep in the fridge in 2-3 days!
Wondering if this recipe can be cut in half? As I don’t need all the dough and probably won’t use the other half down the road
Yes you can definitely cut the recipe in half! :)
Other then that…..awesome cookie recipe! Made some last night with my kiddos and I can’t stop eating them. They are good left in the freezer and pull out a cookie here and there to eat :)
what can you use instead of sour cream
You could substitute using 1 cup of yogurt+1 tsp baking soda! I haven’t tried it with this recipe, but I know it works with other recipes when using sour cream in baking! :)
You can also substitute sour cream with 1 tablespoon lemon juice or vinager with 1 cup whole milk
Great tip Stephanie, thanks for commenting! :)
Thank you for sharing a recipe for soft cookies that hold their shape. So good!
This recipe is VERY good…..I made them today and was very impressed….I love them soft and these are. I also made them thick.
Thanks for your comment Carol! I haven’t made sugar cookies in a while…I need to go and make these again. They are my favorite! :)
If i freeze half the dough, how long do you think it will keep?
It should be good for about 6 months! :)
I just pulled the other half of the dough out of the freezer today to make some emergency christmas cookies and they taste great! I originally made the dough in JULY!!
Thanks for commenting Rachel! I’m so glad they lasted 5 months! :)
Oh my! I just made a batch of these and they are awesome! I wasn’t prepared for so many so I’m going to try and freeze half of them. Maybe that way I’ll be ahead for Christmas baking! :) thank you for sharing this great recipe!
I’m glad you like them Wilna! They freeze great, so they will be perfect for when you are Christmas baking! :) Thanks for your comment!
How many servings is this recipe for?
Depending on how much dough you use for each sugar cookie, it makes around 2-3 dozen! :)
I’m looking for cookies to send in a care package :) Do you think they would do ok in the mail for about a day? I would probably just leave out the frosting and dust with powdered sugar instead. I’d love to hear your thoughts, thanks!
I think these cookies would send well in a care package. Just make sure that you pack them while so they don’t get broken with the travel! :)
That tip is pure genius!!!
It has saved my sugar cookies countless times! :)
These look really yummy. Thanks for the recipe share.
Hi! I have been using a very similar recipe for nearly 20 years. One less egg, no baking powder, and 1/4 c. less sugar. Going out on a limb and trying these today to see how they turn out! And my 2 cents on the margarine – my cookies seem to keep their shape better when I use it as opposed to butter. But that’s just me! And I think these are definitely best with cream cheese frosting and sugar sprinkles. YUM!!
I hope your cookies turned out well! Out of all the sugar cookie recipes I have tried, this one is definitely my favorite!
wt s TB heavy cream?? wt cn i use instead of it?
1 tablespoon of heavy cream. You could use whipped cream or whole milk instead. :)
How can I prepare sour cream?
Hi! I buy it from the cartons from the store (in dairy section) and just scoop it directly from the container.