We may be slightly obsessed with cookies, especially sugar cookies! They are probably our favorite cookie of all the cookies because who can resist a delicious soft cookie topped with frosting and sprinkles?!
These drop sugar cookies are a simplified version of our favorite Frosted Sugar Cookie. They are just as crave-able with only a fraction of the time! No chilling and no rolling means you are enjoying a frosted cookie in under 30 minutes. Easy, right?!
This easy cookie recipe is perfect for last-minute treats and a hit with adults and kids!
Why we think you’ll love it:
- Simplified. There’s no need to roll or cut shapes, simply scoop and drop!
- Flavorful. Almond extract adds an extra layer of flavor, and the Vanilla Buttercream Frosting is perfection!
- Festive. Adjust the frosting color and sprinkles to fit any event or holiday
Drop Sugar Cookies Ingredients
Cookie
- ⅓ cup shortening
- ⅓ cup softened butter – If using salted butter, then omit the ½ teaspoon salt.
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg – A room-temperature egg incorporates better than a cold egg.
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour plus 2 tablespoons
Frosting
- ½ cup butter softened – see How to Soften Butter Quickly
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract – or ½ teaspoon almond extract
- 2 tablespoons milk – any type
- 2 cups powdered sugar – sifted
- optional – food coloring or sprinkles (press non-pareil sprinkles into the top of the cookie dough and then bake).
How to Make Drop Sugar Cookies
- PREP. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line the cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- BATTER. In a bowl or stand mixer cream ⅓ cup shortening, ⅓ cup butter, and ¾ cup sugar until fluffy. Add 1 egg and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, ¼ teaspoon almond extract, and mix well. Combine 1 teaspoon baking powder,½ teaspoon salt, and 1½ cups flour in a separate bowl. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients until blended.
- BAKE. Using a cookie scoop, lightly roll the dough ball in your hands, place it on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet (or line with a silicone mat), and press the top of the cookies halfway down.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes. Let them cool for a couple of minutes before placing them on a wire rack to cool completely.
- FROSTING. Beat ½ cup butter until fluffy using a hand mixer. Add 1 teaspoon vanilla and 2 tablespoons milk. Blend lightly. Add 2 cups powdered sugar one cup at a time. The texture should be solid but soft. Frost cookies.
Kristyn’s Recipe Tips
- Don’t overbake. Pull them out when the edges are just set and the centers still look a little soft. They’ll keep baking on the pan and stay perfectly chewy.
- Roll in sugar for sparkle. Before baking, give each dough ball a quick sugar roll. It adds the prettiest sparkle and that sweet little crunch on the outside.
Drop Sugar Cookies Recipe
Drop sugar cookies will satisfy that sweet tooth in under 30 minutes with no rolling pin required – just drop and bake for delicious cookies!
Video
Ingredients
Cookie
- ⅓ cup shortening
- ⅓ cup butter, softened
- ¾ cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1½ cups + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Frosting
- ½ cup butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 2 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- In a bowl or stand mixer cream shortening, butter, and sugar until fluffy. Add egg, vanilla, and almond extracts and mix well.
- Combine baking powder, salt, and flour in a separate bowl. Gradually add the flour mixture to the wet mixture until blended.
- Using a cooking scoop, lightly roll the dough ball in your hands, place them on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Press the top of the cookies halfway down.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes.
Frosting
- Beat butter until fluffy using a hand mixer. Add vanilla and milk. Blend lightly. Add powdered sugar one cup at a time. The texture should be solid but soft. Frost cookies.
Notes
Store. Keep these drop sugar cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for about a week or in an airtight freezer-safe container for about 3 months.
Freeze. Freeze dough in log form or flash-freeze cookie dough balls. Store in an airtight freezer-safe container in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw dough before baking.
Nutrition
Serving: 1g, Calories: 118kcal, Carbohydrates: 15g, Protein: 1g, Fat: 6g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 2g, Trans Fat: 0.4g, Cholesterol: 16mg, Sodium: 69mg, Potassium: 22mg, Fiber: 0.1g, Sugar: 11g, Vitamin A: 139IU, Calcium: 9mg, Iron: 0.3mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe FAQ
How to freeze the dough?
Freeze in an airtight freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. Thaw dough before baking. See How to Freeze Cookie Dough.
How to store Drop Sugar Cookies?
Store drop cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 5-7 days or in a freezer-safe container for about 3 months.
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This recipe was originally published November 2014.
What can I use if I don’t have shortening? Thank you!
You could just use more butter. It would be equal parts. Hope that helps! There are other substitutes, but I would just google it.
Someone didn’t double the tablespoons in make for 2X.
I love baking but, I think I must be too lazy to make the rolled sugar cookies. I’ve never made a batch I like! Now, I have grandsons who are not sweet eaters. They love the grocery store sugar cookies with frosting. These are true winners!!
Merry Christmas to you and yours.
This recipe calls a really good, i did add a tad more sugar and almond extract but this will definitely be a go to for when I make a big batch!!!
*is really good
These were pretty good! I love a drop cookie with no rolling dough ! I doubled the recipe and I still didn’t get that many cookies. And they were pretty small but I would make again Tasty and sweet
Thk you for this recipe i dont care for crisp cookies, especially crisp sugar cookies. This one is winner!!
AWESOME THAT IS ALL I CAN SAY
I made these for my students to decorate on Valentine’s Day. They were so soft and delicious. This is my new sugar cookie recipe for sure.
Yay!! So glad they cookies were a hit!
These were pretty good. Frosting was easy to spread on cookies. The only flaw was that the shortening sorta gave it a bolder taste…I LOVED IT, but some of the family was not a huge fan, but will be trying again with butter!!! Thanks for posting!!
Everyone I share my cookies with LOVED THESE. They are so easy and, if around long enough, stay soft.
Thank you!! I’m so glad to hear that you enjoy the cookies!
I love sugar cookies but don’t always love the extra time it takes to roll and use cookie cutters. Great recipe to satisfy my taste buds with out the extra work.
I am so happy to have found an easy & delicious sugar cookie recipe! I love the fact that they are a no-roll cookie.
This is your recipe if you don’t want the traditional sugar cookie. Easy and just as good.
Just made these with my kids. I love that there was no rolling and it was easy so they could help.
Better than Swig!
Such an easy, simple recipe for my family. Not having to roll the dough out saves a few steps and cleaning, and the kids love frosting.
Such a quick and easy recipe! I love not having to roll the dough out, and the kids love to frost them. Thanks for the simple, fun recipe that everyone loves!
Love these! Perfect consistency when you are wanting the taste of a sugar cookie without the fuss of cut outs!
Should the butter be softened?
It does help to have it softened 🙂
Wow! This is seriously THE best sugar cookie recipe. My kids love how easy it is and the frosting was perfection. I’m not usually a big cookie person but I had to try one bite…that one bite quickly turned into 2 cookies! Thank you for sharing your recipe and for our new favorite sugar cookie!
Glad to share 🙂 Thank you for letting me know! I am happy you think so!
do you use salted butter or unsalted???
I like to use unsalted butter 🙂
Hi Kristyn!
I LOVE your website!!!
I’ve just started baking three days ago (I made cinnamon rolls and they were delicious)! I’ve been surfing through your website to find a simple recipe for beginners and one that I can make with ingredients I have.
Today, I decided to try these cookies because you don’t need to roll them out (yay!) and they look delicious! My mom ordered some ingredients online yesterday (including the shortening since I didn’t have any) and I tried it. SOOOOOOOO good. My entire family loved them!! I love these cookies. Thank you so much Kristyn for the recipe! I’m going to make them again this afternoon.
Awe, that is so nice of you to say! I am so glad you have found some to try 🙂 Thank you so much for letting me know! Hope you like any others that you try!
Im asking What 11/2 cups of flour mwan
It means one and half cups of flour needed 😉 Enjoy!
Can I double the recipe at once? Or do I need to make each batch separately if I want more cookies? I once read that it’s not a good idea to double the recipe when making cookies. But if I can, it would be a lot faster.
Yes, you can double it the first time. Hope you like them!
Hello Happy holidays
I was wondering if this cookie dough batch is freezable? If I freeze them in cookie balls do you know if the cookie dough would come out the same when defrosted meaning the softness? Thanks in advance.
I honestly have not tried with this recipe, so I am not sure if it would change it. They should be ok 🙂
I haven’t made these no roll sugar cookies, yet. My daughter-in-law had a recipe for one that she made often. They were delicious; and, I loved the convenience of not having to roll and cut. I hate messing with flour. She always rolled them in sugar before pressing them down. I will be making these very soon 🙂 I also love Snickerdoodles, a close cousin to a sugar cookie.
My two favorite cookies!! I hope you give them a try & hope you like them!! They are super easy & good!
You will probably get a kick out of this, but I went to make this recipe and I was mixing my dry ingredients. I then realized I was out of baking powder. Then I realized I was out of baking soda, and cream of tartar. I basically had to throw these cookies in the oven and hope for the best. I was not dissappointed! They came out perfectly, and the icing was top notch. I added a little bit of sweetened flaked coconut on top of my icing! Definitely my new sugar cookie recipe
Oh, I am so glad they still turned out! I hate when that happens! Hopefully, you will like them even more when all the ingredients are added 🙂
I have tried countless dropped sugar cookie recipes; some I tossed in garbage they were so bad. I felt like I was eating a spoonful of sugar with no taste. This recipe by far is the BEST DROPPED SUGAR COOKIE.EASY TO MAKE I USED CRISCO WITH BUTTER IT HAS THE RIGHT AMOUNT IF SUGAR, THEY are everything and much more.I rate this a 10 star…. You must double the recipe for sure; guaranteed to go quickly great cookie for a bake sale. Takes very little time and note lavish ingredients. Thank you????????????????????????????????????
You are so nice! Thank you so much! I’m so glad you found this recipe 🙂
How many cookies can you make from this recipe?
You can get a couple dozen, but it also depends on how big you make them. Hope that helps!! Thanks so much!
Hi please can you tell me what TB flour is, I’m from the UK thanks
It is a tablespoon of flour 🙂 I hope that helps! Let me know if you have any other questions!
I made these yesterday and they are the BEST sugar cookies ever! (and no rolling out and cutting) Thanks! Merry Christmas!
It’s definitely nice that you don’t have to roll and cut out!! 😀 SO glad you like them!
I love that you don’t have to roll the dough out. It’s a tradition in our family to make cut-out cookies and decorate them for Christmas. I like this recipe for throughout the rest of the year. Thanks so much for the great recipe!!
We’re used to rolling them too but it’s nice to have a recipe where you don’t have to for those lazy days. 😉