Our ALL-TIME favorite Sugar Cookie recipe!! These homemade sugar cookies are so soft and have the best, creamy frosting with hints of almond. They can’t be beat!
Sugar cookies are our all-time favorite cookie!! If you feel the same, you’ll love our sugar cookie bars and no roll sugar cookies.
so soft and so good!
I LOVE homemade cookies, and especially sugar cookies! But, I’m also kinda picky about them.
- They cannot be crunchy. They have to be super SOFT!
- Frosting to Cookie Ratio needs to be spot on.
- Hints of almond are always a must (If you’ve never had a cookie with a hint of almond extract, you haven’t truly lived.)
Fortunately, my mom found the BEST Sugar Cookie recipe years ago and we’ve been making them ever since.
In fact, they are so good that we get requests to make them for different events and/or wedding receptions. They’re really just that good.
In my opinion, the reason this cookie recipe is so good is because it meets all of my above requirements. The texture is soft, they have the perfect amount of frosting and the best flavors of almond in the cookie and frosting.
We think you’ll love them too!
How to Make Sugar Cookies
Even though we like to have these cookies a certain way, they’re still quite simple to make – and they don’t need to chill making them even easier.
CREAM. Make sugar cookies by creaming together the butter, cream cheese, sugars, egg and almond extract in a large bowl. Beat at medium-high speed until fluffy.
DRY INGREDIENTS. In another bowl, combine all purpose flour, baking powder and salt.
COMBINE. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir (or mix with hand mixer or in stand mixer) until soft dough forms.
ROLL OUT. Roll out the dough using a rolling pin onto a lightly floured surface to about 3/8″ thick. Cut with a cookie cutter (we typically use round cookie cutters but change the shape often for holidays).
BAKE. Place on baking sheets and bake at 375 degrees for about 8-10 minutes.
Recipe Tips + Tricks
Here are some tips and tricks to make sure these cookies turn out nice and soft:
- When making your dough, do not handle it too much. Over-mixing the dough can make it tough.
- Roll out the dough to about 3/8″ thick. Thinner dough will cook too fast, making crunchy cookies.
How do I know the cookies are done? There should no longer be a shine to the cookie when they are done, but we also like to use a metal spatula to look at the bottom of the cookie. It should be slightly golden brown, but if it’s completely golden brown, then it’s overdone.
What to do when sugar cookie dough is too dry? If your dough is literally crumbling apart and cracking as you try to roll it, the best thing to do is sprinkle on small amounts of water (water is least likely to change the form of the cookie dough as it bakes) and knead it in until the dough stops breaking.
Be careful to not overdo it and make it gooey!
What to do when sugar cookie dough is too sticky? Make sure you use proper techniques when measuring out your flour so that you get the correct amount that the recipe calls for. If you need to add extra flour, sprinkle in a few tablespoons at a time, until you get the right consistency.
our favorite Frosting
Everyone has different preferences on their sugar cookie icing. Some like cream cheese frosting, buttercream frosting or even royal icing.
Because there is cream cheese in the cookie recipe, we like this classic sugar cookie frosting, which includes:
- ⅓ cup butter
- 4 ½ cups powdered sugar
- ¼ cup milk
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- food coloring (optional)
To make the frosting, mix all the ingredients with a hand mixer. Add more milk until it’s the consistency you desire most.
And you can add food coloring if you want to (we prefer the gel food coloring). Top it with some delicious jimmy sprinkles, and you’re set!!
NOTE: Keep frosting in the fridge until ready to frost. Stir well before adding to cookies.
FAQ
How to store? We recommend storing them in an air-tight container (after the frosting has set) and keep them on the counter. They should last for up to 4-5 days. You can extend this by a day or two with putting them in the refrigerator.
How to freeze? If you’re planning on freezing your cookies, try to freeze them before you add the frosting. They’ll hold up better unfrosted. Either way, stack them in an airtight container separated by sheets of wax paper or parchment paper in the freezer.
They should stay good for up to 3 months. Let come to room temperature before frosting.
How to change up for the holidays? This is easily done based on the cookie cutter shape, color of your frosting and what sprinkles you use to decorate. You can see samples below, but here are links as well:
- Valentine’s Sugar Cookies
- Easter Sugar Cookies
- Halloween Sugar Cookies
- Thanksgiving Sugar Cookies
- Christmas Sugar Cookies
I could seriously eat a dozen of these sugar cookies! They are just so soft, so flavorful and so delicious! I highly recommend these cookies and would love to get your feedback. 😉
For more sugar cookie recipes, check out:
- No Roll Sugar Cookies
- Sugar Cookie Bars
- Chewy Sugar Cookies
- Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies
- 3 Ingredient Sugar Cookies
- Lemon Sugar Cookies
- Copycat Lofthouse Sugar Cookies
More Collections: Sugar Cookie Recipes
Best Sugar Cookie Recipe
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
- 2¾ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
Frosting
- 4½ cups powdered sugar
- ⅓ 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 degrees F. Lightly grease a cookie sheet and set aside.
- To make cookie dough, cream butter, cream cheese, both sugars, 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 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.
- To make frosting, mix all ingredients in a medium bowl with a hand mixer. If too thick, add a little more milk.
- Frost cookies and let set before storing.
I tried this recipe and it turned out good. Thanks for the recipe.
Hi, I’m just wondering if you chilled your dough at all. In the video it skipped that rolling process. I don’t know about anyone else but I get a lot of my information from all steps to help me with the consistency though the whole process
I am making these cookies now. I used proper measuring techniques for the flour but my dough was very sticky. I ended up adding 8 extra tablespoons of flour and I’m still not sure the dough will be not be sticky to roll and cut. Is the amount of flour in the recipe accurate?
It is! The dough may be a bit sticky, but it sounds like you added in flour just the right way. You can also try chilling the dough. And then of course rolling onto a floured surface. Hope you enjoy the cookies!!
These really ARE the best sugar cookies. My family raves about them. I’ve even made them with a royal icing for more detailed decorating, and they worked perfectly. These come together super fast because you don’t have to wait for the dough to chill. They do have a sticky dough, but I just cover my counter with a sprinkle of flour and then sprinkle flour as I roll out. They bake beautifully, and they don’t spread and lose their shape. I go back to this recipe every time. They are so addicting. Great recipe. Always recommend it.
Just now making this recipe and my resulting dough is way too soft to even think about rolling and cutting into shapes. Should it have been 4 oz cream cheese?
Maye because you put too much of the butter softened
This recipe was very easy and the cookies turned out so tasty, soft, and the frosting was nice and sweet. :). Will definitely make this sugar cookie recipe again. Even though the dough was a bit sticky, it wasn’t hard to roll out with a nicely floured surface and a little bit of flour here and there. Highly recommend and thank you for sharing this recipe!