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These delicious cut or drop sugar cookie ideas are perfect for frosting or icing! Just add some sprinkles, and pour a cold glass of milk.

Collage of sugar cookie recipes.

Our Favorite Cookies!

Sugar cookies are our FAVORITE cookies! Whether you are rolling or cutting, they are worth the effort (at least in our book). We wanted to put all of our BEST sugar cookie ideas in one spot!

These cookies are perfect for decorating and can be customized for ANY season or holiday! We have an entire collection of ideas, ranging from frosted Swig Cookies to unfrosted Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies to traditional holiday cookies like Valentine’s Day Sugar Cookies.

Prep ahead of time, wrap tightly, and chill the dough in the fridge for up to 5 days before rolling and baking. For longer storage, you can freeze the cookie dough.

PRO TIP: Pin or bookmark this list so you’re ready with the best soft, chewy, and perfectly sweet sugar cookie recipes for every occasion!


Drop, roll, or bar form, this is the ultimate list of our favorite sugar cookie recipes!

1 Frosted Sugar Cookies

Frosted Sugar Cookies
Total Time: 25 minutes
Our ALL-TIME favorite frosted sugar cookies are so soft and have the best, creamy frosting with hints of almond!
4.97 from 225 votes
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2 3 Ingredient Sugar Cookie Recipe

3 Ingredient Sugar Cookie Recipe
Total Time: 20 minutes
Quick, easy, and delicious 3 ingredients sugar cookies are ready in minutes. You can't get easier than that!!
4.81 from 72 votes
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3 Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies

Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies
Total Time: 2 hours 18 minutes
Cream cheese sugar cookies are a melt-in-your-mouth cutout cookie. Easy to make and fun to decorate!
4.99 from 85 votes
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4 Drop Sugar Cookies Recipe

Three Drop sugar cookies stacked on top of each other with a bite taken out of the top cookie.
Drop Sugar Cookies Recipe
Total Time: 25 minutes
Drop sugar cookies will satisfy that sweet tooth in under 30 minutes with no rolling pin required – just drop and bake for delicious cookies!
4.96 from 44 votes
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5 Lemon Sugar Cookies Recipe

Lemon Sugar Cookies Recipe
Total Time: 30 minutes
Frosted Lemon Sugar Cookies are buttery soft, with the perfect hint of lemon. They're a perfect treat for lemon lovers!
4.99 from 174 votes
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6 Copycat Swig Cookies

Copycat Swig Cookies
Total Time: 18 minutes
Make Swig's famous sugar cookies at home! These copycat Swig cookies are THICK and delicious, topped with a creamy frosting.
4.95 from 37 votes
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7 Lofthouse Sugar Cookies Recipe

Lofthouse Sugar Cookies Recipe
Total Time: 2 hours 18 minutes
Copycat Lofthouse Sugar Cookies taste just like those amazing melt-in-your-mouth cookies from the grocery store. They are SO soft and yummy.
5 from 28 votes
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8 Sugar Cookie Blossoms Recipe

Sugar Cookie Blossoms Recipe
Total Time: 17 minutes
Sugar Cookie Blossoms are a chewy, soft sugar cookie rolled in sugar and topped with a Mint Meltaway candy. They're simple and delicious!
5 from 14 votes
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9 Chewy Sugar Cookie Recipe

Chewy Sugar Cookie Recipe
Total Time: 20 minutes
These Chewy Sugar Cookies are SO yummy! A hint of almond extract and a bit of glaze makes these cookies irresistible!
5 from 19 votes
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10 Amish Sugar Cookie Recipe

Amish Sugar Cookie Recipe
Total Time: 18 minutes
Amish Sugar Cookies are uncomplicated, simple and elegant. This quick cookie is deliciously soft and thick!
5 from 7 votes
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11 Sugar Cookie Bars

Sugar Cookie Bars
Total Time: 35 minutes
Frosted sugar cookie bars are one of everyone's favorite cookies in bar form! They're ready in 30 minutes, and perfect for sharing.
4.90 from 28 votes
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More Sugar Cookies

Customize them for any celebration with fun shapes and festive decorating ideas; scroll down for our best ideas.

12 Valentine’s Day Sugar Cookies

Valentine’s Day Sugar Cookies
Total Time: 18 minutes
Soft and sweet Valentine's Day sugar cookies are the perfect way to say I love you! They are super simple and make a great treat for gifting.
5 from 20 votes
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13 St. Patrick’s Day Cookies Recipe

St. Patrick’s Day Cookies Recipe
Total Time: 3 hours 20 minutes
Slice-and-bake St Patrick's Day Cookies are the perfect treat to make for the March holiday and one that the kids will go nuts over!
5 from 15 votes
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14 Easter Sugar Cookies

Easter Sugar Cookies
Total Time: 3 hours 20 minutes
Shaped like a bird's nest, these deliciously adorable Easter sugar cookies are perfect for all things spring!
5 from 12 votes
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15 Halloween Sugar Cookie Recipe

Halloween Sugar Cookie Recipe
Total Time: 18 minutes
Halloween sugar cookies are melt-in-your-mouth delicious. These cute pumpkins are perfect for parties and fall festivals!!
5 from 23 votes
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16 Halloween Sugar Cookie Cake Recipe

Halloween Sugar Cookie Cake Recipe
Total Time: 24 minutes
Simply spooky Halloween Sugar Cookie Cake with homemade cream cheese frosting, M&M's and sprinkles is the perfect Halloween dessert!
5 from 7 votes
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17 Thanksgiving Sugar Cookies Recipe

Multiple Thanksgiving sugar cookies.
Thanksgiving Sugar Cookies Recipe
Total Time: 40 minutes
Thanksgiving sugar cookies decorated like turkeys are soft, adorable, and fun to make with kids for the holiday table or class parties!
5 from 16 votes
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18 Christmas Sugar Cookies Recipe

Multiple Christmas sugar cookies on parchment paper.
Christmas Sugar Cookies Recipe
Total Time: 35 minutes
Soft, buttery, and festive, our Christmas Sugar Cookies are a holiday must! Perfect for frosting, decorating, and gifting.
4.95 from 58 votes
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19 Peppermint Cookies

Frosted peppermint sugar cookies.
Peppermint Cookies
Total Time: 28 minutes
Frosted peppermint sugar cookies are a delightful holiday twist on Mom's BEST-LOVED cookies – perfect for Christmas!
5 from 22 votes
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15+ Sugar Cookie Ideas

These delicious cut or drop sugar cookie ideas are perfect for frosting or icing! Just add some sprinkles, and pour a cold glass of milk.
Servings: 24
Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 10 minutes
Total: 25 minutes

Video

Ingredients 

Cookies

  • ¾ cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • ½ cup powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon almond extract
  • 1 egg
  • cups all-purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt

Frosting

  • cups powdered sugar
  • cup unsalted butter, softened
  • ¼ cup milk, plus more as needed
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ½ teaspoon almond extract
  • food coloring

Instructions 

  • Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly grease a cookie sheet and set aside.
  • Cream butter, cream cheese, granulated sugar, powederd sugar, almond extract, and egg in a large bowl or stand mixer until fluffy.
  • In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt.
  • Add dry ingredients to the creamed mixture and stir until a soft dough forms.
  • Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface to about ⅜ inch thick (roll thinner for more crunchy sugar cookies).
  • Cut with cookie cutters (or the top of a cup) and bake for 9–12 minutes on the prepared cookie sheet. Let cookies sit on the cookie sheet for a few minutes, then remove to a rack to cool.

Frosting

  • Mix powdered sugar, butter, milk, vanilla extract, and almond extract in a medium bowl with a hand mixer. Adjust the consistency by adding a little more milk. Add food coloring, if desired.
  • Frost cookies and let set before storing.
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Notes

Prep ahead of time. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1-2 days or place the wrapped dough in a freezer Ziploc and freeze for 3 months. Store the frosting in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 weeks or freeze for 3 months. 
Store. Store baked cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days or in a freezer-safe container in the freezer for up to 3 months. If frosted, allow frosting to set, and separate layers with wax or parchment paper. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1cookie, Calories: 260kcal, Carbohydrates: 44g, Protein: 2g, Fat: 9g, Saturated Fat: 5g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g, Monounsaturated Fat: 2g, Trans Fat: 0.3g, Cholesterol: 29mg, Sodium: 54mg, Potassium: 34mg, Fiber: 0.4g, Sugar: 33g, Vitamin A: 271IU, Calcium: 13mg, Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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About Kristyn

Kristyn Merkley is a published cookbook author, wife, mom of six, and major food enthusiast! For the past 15 years, she has been sharing foolproof, family-friendly recipes—each one tested in her kitchen—that anyone can master. As a seasoned recipe creator, she loves making cooking simple, stress-free, and totally doable for everyone!

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Recipe Rating




6 Comments

  1. Kristina says:

    I love your best sugar cookie recipe. It’s the perfect mix of soft and sturdy enough to hold shape and frosting.

  2. Joy says:

    Sugar cookies are my hubby’s favorite!! The more icing, the better in his opinion. We use your recipes & they are so good & soft!!

  3. Toni says:

    This is such an amazing list! My kids loved all of these!

  4. wilhelmina says:

    There is a cookie here for everyone and I love them all. Thanks for gathering them all in one place!

    1. Olivia says:

      I love all the different sugar cookie ideas. A different version for every occasion!

  5. Kara says:

    They all look so yummy! Adding those peppermint trees to my Christmas baking list. I love all things mint this time of year!