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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 frosted sugar cookies, but I’m very picky about how they should be:
- 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!
Fortunately, my mom found the BEST Sugar Cookie recipe years ago and the entire family is obsessed. Here’s why:
- So soft! They really are so soft, which is one of our requirements for an amazing sugar cookie.
- Very Simple. This recipe comes together in a cinch, PLUS – there’s no need to chill, which makes them even easier (and quicker).
- Easy to change up. Flavoring can be changed (include almond, no almond, more vanilla, less vanilla) as well as flavored frostings. Also change it up for holidays like Easter and Christmas with colored frosting and sprinkles.
- Great for parties! We love to have cookies made in advance and let kids (and adults) frost and decorate them. This is great all year, but especially for holidays.
Sugar Cookie Ingredients
- Butter – We use unsalted, but salted can be used as well.
- Cream Cheese – This helps the cookies turn out so soft.
- Granulated Sugar – The needed sweetness for this recipe.
- Powdered Sugar – Yes, powdered sugar too! It goes great with the granulated sugar to make these perfectly sweet.
- Almond Extract – If you are not an almond fan, just omit and use Vanilla extract instead.
- Egg
- All-Purpose Flour – Just the right amount. Fluff and scoop to measure so that you get the proper amount and dough is not too try.
- Baking Powder
- Salt
- Frosting ingredients: powdered sugar, unsalted butter, milk plus more as needed, vanilla extract, almond extract, food coloring (and sprinkles, if wanted).
How to Make Frosted Sugar Cookies
- 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.
PRO TIPS
- When making your dough, do not handle it too much. Over-mixing the dough can make it tough.
- The perfect thickness of the rolled out dough is about 3/8″ thick. Thinner dough will cook too fast, making crunchy cookies.
Recipe Tips + FAQ
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.
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:
- butter
- powdered sugar
- milk
- vanilla extract
- almond extract
- food coloring (optional) – and sprinkles too!
To make the frosting, mix all the ingredients with a hand mixer. Add more milk until it’s the consistency you desire most. You can add food coloring if you want to and then 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.
Recipe FAQ
- STORE. We recommend storing them in an air-tight container (after the frosting has set) and keep them on the counter.
- How long do they last? They should last for up to 4-5 days. You can extend this by a day or two with putting them in the refrigerator.
- 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.
For more sugar Cookies:
More Collections: Sugar Cookie Recipes
Frosted 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.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Do I have to use cheese?
I haven’t tried leaving it out, so not sure in what ways it would change it.
what can i substatute for creamy chesse and almond extract thank you!
You can use vanilla extract, instead of the almond & a lot of people like to use Greek yogurt for cream cheese, though I have not tried.
I made theses for my granddaughter ‘S B-DAY PARTY 2 WEEKS AGO AND MY SON CALLED ME TONIGHT wanting me to make them for his Superbowl party this SUNDAY. He said everyone RAVED about THEM ? GO CHIEFS!
Yay! That makes me so happy! Hope they were a hit there!
Excellent recipe ?
Thank you so much for letting me know!
iS IT POSSIBLE TO SUBSTITUTE SOMETHING ELSE FOR THE ALMOND EXTRACT?
I would just use vanilla extract instead 🙂 Enjoy!
This recipe is the real deal! I don’t consider myself a baker by any means and rarely bake at home, however, with the Christmas season upon us and having my son who is 3 I thought it would be nice to try not hand at it. This recipe is called “the best” for good reason! The flavor is truly delightful with the notes of almond extract and cream cheese. I’ve never had anything quite like it. And although the directions state the serving size is 24, ibwas able to bake 3 dozen cookies from this and still have a little bit of dough left over. My son and husband love it and I can’t wait to share it with my co-workers. My only con is that I did find the dough when I originally made it very sticky and soft and I had to add more flour. I was worries about over handling the dough but it turned out just fine! This will certainly not be the last time I make these cookies. Thank you, lil’ Luna!
You are so welcome!! I am so glad you tried it!! Thank you, thank you! So happy it was a hit!
THIS STUCK TOGETHER SO BAD THAT I HAD TO END UP MOLDING IT INTO CIRCLES IN MY HANDS… 🙁 WHAT DID I DO WRONG?? HOWEVER, THEY WERE TASTY. 🙂 JUST NOT PRETTY BECAUSE I MOLDED THEM TOGETHER BY HAND AND WASN’T ABLE TO ROLL THEM.
It stuck together, so you couldn’t use the cutters or it stuck to the counter when you rolled it out? Did you use enough flour & powdered sugar? It shouldn’t have been too sticky.
I was just telling my mom ive only made sugar cookIes twice in 12 years (i have deprived children) beCause they take so long, but this Recipe was quick and yummy. Thanks for sharing.
These cookies were great for valentines day! they were super soft and everyone loved them!
These sugar cookies really do look perfect. I’ve never put cream cheese in a sugar cookie, but maybe that is the trick!
It helps so much!! Hope you like them!