Today, I’m sharing our family recipe for the BEST sugar cookies around.
I first shared this recipe on the blog in June 2020. They are my husband’s favorite cookies and I make them every year for his birthday, which happens to be in June.
With Valentine’s Day coming up, I thought it was the perfect time to reshare this post with all of you. I’ve made some updates and added links to my favorite simple icing recipes to use with these cookies.
The ultimate sugar cookie recipe
sugar cookies
These cookies are hands down one of the best sugar cookie recipes I’ve ever made. If you love super soft, slightly sweet sugar cookies, then these are the cookies for you!
I was lucky enough to inherit this recipe from my mother in law. It was passed down to me, along with other family favorites, when I married my husband, Mike. I think she knew I would need to have this close at hand and I will forever be grateful that she did!
I make these cookies every year at Christmas and a few other times throughout the year.
To see my 2019 Christmas Cookie Roundup click here.
To see which cookies I made for Christmas 2020 click here.
Super soft sugar cookies
As stated above, these cookies are incredibly soft. So soft that you need to let them cool completely before handling them too much. And even then, be gentle when decorating.
They will stay soft too. No need to add any bread when storing. Adding a slice or two of regular sandwich bread to cookies when storing is a trick I learned when growing up. The moisture in the bread helps to keep the cookies soft.
Slightly sweet sugar cookies
Along with being the softest sugar cookies I’ve ever had, these cookies have just enough sweetness that you don’t really need to add icing!
What!? No Icing you say?? Hear me out.
I don’t know about you but one of the things I love about a good sugar cookie is the icing! I have a major sweet tooth and icing on my sugar cookies has always been a must.
BUT, with these cookies, I find I don’t HAVE to have icing. They are THAT good on their own. Mike actually prefers them without icing so most of the time I leave them unfrosted. I feel less guilty this way when I have them for breakfast with my morning tea!
if you’ve got a sweet tooth like I do and want to add a little or a lot of icing, here are two recipes to try out.
When I do add icing to these sugar cookies, my go-to is a Powdered Sugar Glaze. Only 3 ingredients and a hard recipe to mess up. You can adjust the constancy to your liking but I like something with a little bit of body so it clings to the cookies. This icing firms up pretty quickly making them easy to store.
For Valentine’s Day, I wanted to try something a little different. I found this Sugar Cookie Frosting Recipe and fell in love. It’s light, buttery, and delicious smeared all over the top of these cookies. Super quick to whip up, this frosting adds a great richness to the cookies.
Note: I ended up using only 3 cups of powdered sugar instead of 4 and it worked out fine.
The best sugar cookie recipe
After a busy holiday baking season, I usually stay out of the kitchen for the month of January. But, when Valentine’s Day rolls around I can’t resist whipping up a batch of these cookies!
This sugar cookie dough is a little on the sticky side. Make sure to flour your work surface, rolling pin, and hands when working with this dough. I haven’t experimented with chilling the dough before rolling or baking but it might help. If you give it a try let me know what you think in the comments below.
The Best Sugar Cookies
Equipment
- Stand Mixer
- Rolling Pin
- Various Cookie Cutters
- Spatula
- Medium Sized Bowl
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Salted or unsalted butter, softened I like to use salted butter for extra flavor but if you prefer unsalted, use what you prefer.
- 2 Cups Sugar
- 2 Eggs
- 2 tsp Vanilla
- 6 Cups Flour
- 2 tsp Baking soda
- 4 tsp Baking powder
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 Cup Milk
Instructions
- To a stand mixer, add the softened butter and sugar.
- Cream until pale and fluffy.
- Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well in between.
- Add in the vanilla and mix to combine.
- In a separate bowl, combine all dry ingredients.
- Add dry ingredients to butter mixture, alternating with the milk. You should start and end with the dry ingredients.
- Working in batches, roll out the dough to approximately 1/4 inch thick. This dough is very sticky so make sure to have extra flour on hand for your rolling pin, counter, and hands.
- Using whatever cookie cutters you prefer, cut out cookies.
- Place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and bake at 350 degrees for approximately 8 minutes or until done. These will be pale on top and slightly browned on the bottom.
- Let cool completely before decorating with your favorite icing.
soft and sweet sugar cookies
There you have it! Our family’s favorite recipe for sugar cookies.
If you’re looking for super soft delicious sugar cookies, give these a try! You won’t regret it and they may just become your favorite too!
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