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Wondering how to make soft and chewy sugar cookies? Then you have to try this easy recipe. These simple sugar cookies don’t need to be chilled and stay wonderfully soft & chewy for DAYS!
Next to a good Snickerdoodle, chewy sugar cookies are a total favorite of mine any day of the week. Unlike cutout sugar cookies, which are definitely a Christmas staple, I feel like soft drop sugar cookies like these are perfect year-round.
As with any classic, simple cookie that doesn’t hide behind frosting or anything, it really needs to be just right. That’s these cookies – they’re soft and chewy for days, my friends.
I tested SO many versions of these sugar cookies, I’m pretty sure my mother-in-law (who watches the twins while I work), thought I was losing my mind. I’d be all, “Just one more version!” and then a week later there’d still be new batches on the counter.
So what makes this the best soft sugar cookie recipe? These cookies are:
- Not too thin. They are just thin enough to get golden edges without losing their soft centers.
- Not too thick. They are just thick enough to be chewy without being cakey.
- Soft and chewy. These cookies have the PERFECT texture.
- Delicious! I mean, many cookies are delicious, but these sugar cookies have the kind of flavor that makes you daydream about your next opportunity to eat one.
- And they stay good for DAYS. I’ll be honest, these cookies are usually gobbled up stat. But for the sake of testing this recipe I did purposely see how long they would last and I’m happy to say these sugar cookies stay soft and chewy for days when stored properly.
In closing, these soft sugar cookies are dangerous because you want to keep eating them all!
In addition to all of the above, these sugar cookies have another major bonus – the dough doesn’t need to be chilled!
That’s right – there is no need for chilling the cookie dough or even pressing the balls flat. They spread perfectly on their own. These two features make these cookies perfect for spur-of-the-moment baking!
Before we get into how to make this cookie recipe in particular, lets talk a bit about what makes a cookie soft and chewy in the first place. Here are the major elements:
Baking Soda + Baking Powder
Sugar cookies can easily turn out dry or too cakey. In all my testing, I found that my favorite sugar cookies were ones that used a combination of baking soda and baking powder – and just a bit more soda than powder.
There is nothing wrong with using just one or the other – I have done both in other cookies. In fact, I have an all baking soda Coconut Sugar Cookie that is delicious!
But for the straight-up vanilla bakery-style sugar cookie, the combo works best. Baking powder only = thicker and cake-y. Baking soda only = chewy and thin. A combo = just right.
White Sugar + Brown Sugar
The other big thing here is the sugar. Naturally a sugar cookie is going to use white granulated sugar. It’s just how it is. But part of what makes a cookie chewy is a high moisture content.
Brown sugar has more moisture than white sugar, because it contains a little bit of molasses. You don’t want to overdo the brown sugar here, but I swapped out two tablespoons of white sugar for brown sugar and the result was fantastic. It makes a much softer and chewier cookie that stays fresh longer.
And just a little tidbit about baking cookies – it’s amazing how much of a difference such a small change can make to a cookie. Just two tablespoons! When I used all white sugar, the cookies didn’t spread as much (less moisture). When I used just a bit of brown sugar, they spread just enough AND stayed soft for DAYS! And when I used just a bit more brown sugar, the flavor started to get a bit too off track and they spread more than I wanted, leaving me with a little thinner cookie with less defined edges. So I totally suggest sticking with it as I have it. The best!
The Right Amount of Flour
The other important part of a chewy cookie is having enough flour. You have to have enough flour to support the moisture content, but not too much to make it dry. A tight balance, but it’s well achieved here.
Mine baked just enough at 7 minutes, but keep an eye on them to see how they do in your oven. I removed mine when they had spread nicely, looked just done enough without looking undercooked, and the edges weren’t quite golden. Don’t worry if the centers of the cookies are still quite soft, they will firm up as they cool.
These sugar cookies are the perfect example of a treat that doesn’t have to be fancy to be awesome. In fact, I think something simple like this is one of the most impressive things when done well and right. And these are SO right!
Want to add a little something extra to these sugar cookies? Here are some ideas:
- Sprinkles: If you’re looking to make sugar cookies for a holiday or an event, these cookies would be great rolled in sprinkles, instead of sugar. Use any color you like!
- Frosting: If you simply can’t have a sugar cookie without it being frosted, check out my royal icing or my vanilla buttercream frosting. Even my cream cheese frosting would make a tasty addition. Any of them would be delicious!
Tips for Success
Although these soft sugar cookies are super easy to make, there are a few simple tricks you can use to make sure that your cookies come out perfectly. Here’s what I recommend:
- Make sure your butter is at the right temperature. Room temperature can be a little misleading if your house is too warm or too cool. Your butter shouldn’t be so soft that your finger goes right through it if you press on it, but it should also be able to make an imprint. If it won’t, or it barely does, it’s likely too cold still.
- Be sure to use just two tablespoons of brown sugar. It adds just enough additional moisture to the cookies to help them spread correctly and stay soft and chewy for days!
- Don’t over-mix the dough after you add the flour. It can over-develop the gluten and cause the cookies to not spread as nicely or be tough.
- Make sure your cookie dough balls are 1 1/2 tablespoons each or you’ll want to adjust the baking time. I also found that size to be just right for spreading well.
- Counter: Store these cookies on the counter in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
- Fridge: If you want to extend their shelf life, you can pop the container in the fridge. The cookies will keep in the fridge for up to 7 days.
- Freezer: These cookies freeze nicely too! Just let the baked cookies come to room temperature, then pack them in a ziplock bag and freeze them. Thaw them in the fridge or on the counter when you’re ready to eat them.
Watch How To Make Them
Print
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 7 minutes
- Total Time: 37 minutes
- Yield: 30-32 cookies
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
If you’re wondering how to make soft and chewy sugar cookies, then you have to try this recipe. These cookies require no chilling, are easy to make, and stay wonderfully soft and chewy for DAYS!
Ingredients
- 2 3/4 cups (358g) all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup (224g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup + 2 tbsp (233g) granulated sugar
- 2 tbsp (28g) light brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup sugar (additional for rolling)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
- Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a medium sized bowl and set aside.
- Cream the butter and sugars together in a large mixer bowl on medium speed until light in color and fluffy, 2-3 minutes. You should be able to see the change in color happen and know it’s ready.
- Add the egg and mix until well combined.
- Add the vanilla extract and mix until well combined.
- Add the dry ingredients and mix until the dough is well combined. It will be thick and shouldn’t be sticky. Do not over mix. Once it’s well combined, use a rubber spatula to help it come together to form a more cohesive ball.
- Create 1 1/2 tablespoon sized balls of cookie dough. Gently roll into a ball, then roll each ball in the additional sugar to coat. Set the balls on the baking sheet.
- Bake cookies for 7-8 minutes. The cookies will spread and the centers will look soft, but should look done. Remove just before the edges begin to turn golden. Don’t over bake. The cookies will be a little puffy when you take them out of the oven but will fall a bit as they cool.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool on baking sheets for 4-5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
The sugar amounts are important for these cookies. If you chose to use all granulated sugar, rather than a little brown sugar, the cookie won’t spread quite as much and will be a little thicker and a little less soft.
Be sure to measure the flour accurately. The best way is by weight with a food scale, but if you don’t have one, give your flour a stir, then scoop it out with a measuring scoop. Do not pack it into the measuring cup.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Cookie
- Calories: 126
- Sugar: 8.4 g
- Sodium: 79.3 mg
- Fat: 6 g
- Carbohydrates: 16.7 g
- Protein: 1.4 g
- Cholesterol: 21.1 mg
Categories
Enjoy!
Could this recipe be used to make the cookie base for a fruit pizza? If so what would you change? Time and temp? Thank you!!
I haven’t tried it, but I imagine it would be fine. I’m not sure what the time would be, but I’d probably stick with the same temp.
Does this recipe also work using cookie cutters?
Some people say they’ve had success with it, but I personally use this cutout sugar cookie recipe.
Is it (2) 3/4 cup of flour or 2 cups + 3/4 cup of flour?
It’s 2 cups + 3/4 cups of flour. 2 3/4 cups of flour.
I love sugar cookies, they are one of my favorite kinds of cookie. I have to say this recipe made the absolute best sugar cookie I have ever tasted. And I loved that I didn’t have to refrigerate the dough and it was such a beautiful texture. The only thing I changed was I added 1/2 a teaspoon more of vanilla just because I’m a vanilla freak. I don’t know if it made a difference or not but they turned out awesome! Thank you so much for sharing!
I’m so glad you enjoyed them!
Hi Lindsay,
unfortunately i don’t have any brown sugar, will it make a difference if i leave it out, or should i replace it with something with similar affects, if yes, could you please tell me what i should put instead?
I would replace it with regular sugar, but I do mention in the blog post that they have different amounts of moisture so your cookies might not spread quite as much.
These cookies do bake soft as promised, but sadly, the cons outweigh the pros for our family. Firstly, despite having only one egg, the resulting flavor is eggy (which is not necessarily a con, based on your personal preference). Secondly, the cookies were very salty. It may just be that the Morton’s kosher salt we used is quite potent, or it could be that the baking soda enhanced the saltiness. Thirdly, our cookies took much longer to bake than the recipe suggested. I would say that we baked them for 12-13 mins but they probably could have used a bit longer as they taste quite doughy. Also, the cookies develop a strange top-hat shape while baking (which eventually mostly falls), but a less appealing shape than normal. It’s a decent cookie (we are certainly eating them!) however, with recipes that show potential, I am willing to stick with them and tweak them to our liking, but I am abandoning this recipe. Having said this, I really do appreciate that you took the time to develop a fun cookie to make that requires no chilling before baking! It sounds like it’s a winning recipe for many 🙂
Did you check to see if you may have used salted butter?
My daughter made these for the family. They were perfectly sweet and chewy. The whole family couldn’t get enough of them and we were all impressed with her handy work. She explained the whole process of how she didn’t add salt because of the salted butter…and how the instructions explained each step of why it’s done that way. Great recipe and post!
We used unsalted butter as stated in the recipe. Thanks for your insight though. Glad they worked out for your daughter.
Ive done this recipe twice and im slowly getting the hang of it , but my cookies have come out extremely bulky which I don’t really mine but you can imagine the surprise when it didnt look like the picture lol. Also, while I obtain the right texture, theyre not sweet at all. I was wondering,if i needed to up the vanilla, or up the sugars or both but how the ratio would work for the sugars.
I’m not sure where the problem is without being there. They should definitely be sweet. It sounds like you might be over measuring your flour.
My husband said, “this is the most perfect sugar cookie!” It was a hit!!! They’re absolutely delicious!!!!
Mine didn’t spread right either, but still turned out delicious.
I substituted in 1 tsp of almond extract and they are divine.
These are the BEST soft sugar cookies EVER!!!
These were GREAT! I added chocolate chips into the middle of the balls and my family loved them! Thanks so much for posting this recipe!
Can you substitute self rising flour for the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt?
You wouldn’t get the same results.
Loved this sugar cookie recipe! I used self-rising flour, and white chocolate chips. It was approved by my son as well. It’s his favorite cookie.😇
Hey Lindsay! I haven’t tried the recipe yet, but I have two questions. First, what will be the changes if I don’t add brown sugar? Second, when you say “1 1/2 tablespoon balls” what do you mean? I don’t know how to make them that size (I’m a newbie at baking, sorry!)?
I do recommend the brown sugar for the best results. If you don’t use it, you’d want to replace it with additional sugar. However brown sugar has more moisture than regular sugar, so that can affect the results. As for the size – I use a tablespoon scoop and scoop out a bunch of level tablespoons, then break some of them in half to give me the half. I have a YouTube video of me making this recipe as well, if you’d like to check it out.
OMG horrible!!!
This recipe is so delicious!! The cookie is the perfect soft and chewy texture and it looks so beautiful! They came out in perfect circles, and all I did was spoon the dough onto the tray. I mix everything by hand and use a toaster oven (living in a foreign country) and they couldn’t have come out more beautiful. All of them eaten in one day by my boyfriend and I. They’re so addicting.
Hi!
The cookies were so yummy! They did however spread out a lot and never really got hard enough to be a cookie. I don’t know what I did wrong!!!
What did I do??
I loved them so much just wish they turned out better!
It’s really difficult to say. It’s possible an ingredient wasn’t measured quite right (like too little flour) and that that’s why they spread too much. And if they never firmed up, they might just not have been baked long enough.