This sugar cookie recipe makes soft and chewy cut out cookies that keep their shape. Perfect for your traditional cookie decorating day, these healthier sugar cookies with a simple icing are just sweet enough, and pair with other holiday favorites like Candy Cane Cookies and Snickerdoodles.
Decorating sugar Christmas cookies wasn’t a tradition in my family growing up.
We made Chocolate Chip Cookies for sure, and even Brownies, but setting a day aside to specifically make and decorate sugar cookies just didn’t happen in our house.
My step-mom, though, started this tradition with my own kids when they were barely old enough to walk.
My step-mom now lives with Jesus, so it’s up to me to carry on her tradition of making my own healthier sugar cookies with the kids.
WHY MAKE HOMEMADE SUGAR COOKIES
I love making these easy sugar cookies because they’re:
- Healthier. These are low sugar cookies, meaning they are made with less sugar, yet they are as delicious as the classic sugar cookie recipe.
- Versatile. This healthier sugar cookie recipe can be made any time of the year – not just for Christmas!
- Fast. I know some recipes call for overnight chilling. I promise that if I had to make the dough YESTERDAY, cookies aren’t happening.
- Short ingredient list. Some recipes have a VERY long list of ingredients. The basic essentials of any cookie recipe are flour, sugar, eggs, butter, vanilla, and salt… if the ingredient list is any longer than that, then I’m looking for a different recipe.
BEST SUGAR COOKIES RECIPE INGREDIENTS
For the cookies:
- Flour. I tested this sugar cookies recipe using 100% all-purpose, 100% whole wheat and every combination in between. My favorite, and what I suggest using, is 100% all-purpose flour (I like this brand).
- Sugar. When I choose to use sugar in recipes, I like to use Turbinado sugar. Turbinado sugar is less processed than traditional granulated sugar, and still tastes great!
- Unsalted Butter. Sugar cookies need butter for the rich flavor and creamy texture. Use room temperature butter for the best results.
- Vanilla Extract. Classic sugar cookies need a touch of vanilla to give them their flavor. You can make a bottle of Homemade Vanilla Extract or use one of these vanilla substitutes. Almond extract also works in a pinch.
- Eggs. There are ways to substitute eggs in a lot of recipes, but this chewy cookie recipe needs regular eggs to help hold everything together.
- Salt. Just a pinch of salt helps bring out the sweetness of the other ingredients. Omit if you use salted butter.
- Baking Powder. For just a bit of lift, so we don’t end up with flat, chewy cookies.
For the icing:
- Powdered Sugar. Did you know you can make your own powdered sugar? Use this tutorial!
- Vanilla Extract. Vanilla, of course, is used to give the icing the classic sugar cookie flavor!
- Whole Milk. I would say you can substitute other types of milk, but you won’t get the same consistency as whole milk. Keep that in mind if you don’t have whole milk on hand.
- Salt. Again, a pinch to complement the other flavors.
Psst…Did you know that many salts contain MICROPLASTICS? It’s a sneaky toxin that may be in your everyday salt, and thus your everyday food (um, gross). I love Ava Jane’s Kitchen because their salt is FREE of microplastics, and it tastes delicious! (PLUS, you can get your own penny bag of salt on this page!)
HOW TO MAKE SUGAR COOKIES
Step 1: In a bowl of a stand mixer OR using a large bowl with a hand mixer, cream the sugar and butter until it is very light in color, about 5-10 minutes.
Step 2: Add the egg and vanilla and mix until well combined.
Step 3: Add 1 cup of the flour, the salt, and baking powder and mix on low. Add the remaining flour and mix until the dough is no longer crumbly and starts to stick together, possibly cleaning the sides of the bowl.
Step 4: Wrap in a piece of plastic wrap and place in the fridge to chill for 30 minutes.
Step 5: Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375F and line a large cookie sheet with a piece of parchment paper.
Step 6: When the dough is chilled, lightly flour a Silpat mat (or your working surface) and place your dough on top of the flour, sliding it around slightly in the flour so that the underside is lightly coated. Take the same plastic wrap that the dough was wrapped in, unroll it, and place it on top.
Step 7: Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough to either ⅜″ thick for thicker, chewy, bakery-style cookies OR roll it out to ¼” thick for classic sugar cookies.
Step 8: Use the cookie cutters to cut your desired shapes. Place the shapes on the lined baking sheet, leaving 1” of space between each cookie.
Step 9: Knead the scraps together and repeat the previous two steps until all the dough has been cut.
Step 10: Bake the cookies for 7 minutes. Rotate the pan and bake for 1-2 minutes more, just until the edges are barely golden brown. They might seem under-baked, but they’re not!
Step 11: Remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool for 5 minutes. Carefully move the cookies from the pan to a wire rack to cool completely before icing.
Sugar Cookie Recipe Frosting Instructions
Step 1: Combine the powdered sugar, vanilla, salt, and 3 tsp of whole milk in a small bowl.
Step 2: Use your arm muscles to whisk very well until the icing is smooth and makes thick ribbons when you hold the whisk up from the bowl.
Step 3: Add the last teaspoon of milk if the icing is too thick.
Step 4: Either pipe the icing onto the cookies, use a butter knife to spread the icing, or use a wet finger to smooth the icing over the cookies.
Step 5: Let the cookies dry at room temperate for at least 2 hours before stacking.
Step 6: Store cookies in a container with a lid for up to one week.
TIPS FOR USING LESS SUGAR IN SUGAR COOKIES
If you are making strides to reduce sugar, here are some guidelines:
- If you’re used to a very sweet sugar cookie recipe, I suggest making a batch with ½ cup of sugar. Ice and decorate as you normally do. These will be sweet for sure, and I promise you won’t notice the reduced sugar.
- If you’re used to baking with less sugar, I suggest keeping the ⅓ cup sugar. This alone will make a delicious sugar cookie that is just barely sweet. You can decorate if you want, but you will certainly notice the higher level of sweetness if you use a lot of icing or a super sweet icing.
- If you’re used to eating less sweet foods AND you want to decorate the cookie, I suggest reducing the sugar to ¼ cup. You’ll end up baking a cookie whose sweetness comes mainly from the icing, which you can control even more to adjust the level of sweetness.
- I do not recommend using maple syrup or honey in place of sugar for this recipe. Using a liquid sweetener will result in a difficult dough to work with.
QUICK EASY SUGAR COOKIE RECIPE TIPS
If you want these easy sugar cookies to resemble those thick sugar cookies you can get at the grocery store bakery, roll them out to ⅜” thick. These will make a deliciously chewy and AMAZING cookie. If you want them a bit thinner, aim for ¼” thick.
This sugar cookie recipe makes just enough cookies to enjoy over a few days. If you have extras, or you make a double batch for extra decorating fun, store the cookies in an airtight container for 3-4 days, or freeze for up to 3 months. Flash freeze in a single layer on a baking sheet, and then store in a freezer bag.
SUGAR COOKIE RECIPE FAQS
Do you have to chill sugar cookie dough?
Yes. Even if all you have is 30 minutes to chill the sugar cookie dough, do it! If you don’t chill the dough, it will spread out too fast in the oven and they will taste doughy rather than chewy.
Why are my sugar cookies so dense?
Too much flour may be to blame. Other possibilities include butter that was too soft, or baking powder that was old or expired.
Do you decorate Christmas cookies before or after baking?
Decorate your sugar cookies with icing after they are baked and cooled completely. If you want to skip the icing, but still add sprinkles, you can add those on top of the sugar cookie dough after cutting the shapes but before baking. They will stick to the wet batter and stay on the cookies once they are baked.
Can you freeze homemade sugar cookies?
Yes. First, freeze the sugar cookies separately on a cookie sheet, then store them in an airtight container for up to 3 months in the freezer. To thaw, leave them in the container on the countertop at room temperature for around 2 hours before enjoying them.
Can I make this sugar cookie recipe gluten free?
I haven’t tried making this particular sugar cookie recipe with gluten free flour, but I would suggest using your favorite 1-to-1 gluten free flour mix.
Will this recipe work with cookie stamps? Or is the consistency too crumbly for defined cookie stamps?
This will work for cookie stamps! Once it’s chilled and you roll it out, you’ll find that the dough isn’t too crumbly to stamp.
NOTES ON TOOLS AND SUPPLIES FOR HOMEMADE SUGAR COOKIES
Something else I’ve learned over the years is that kitchen tools make cooking EASY and enjoyable. I don’t own a lot of tools, but what I do own, I often use and love. For this recipe, in particular, I used:
- KitchenAid Mixer (plus here’s a post on 30+ Creative Ways to Use a KitchenAid Mixer)
- Parchment Paper (buy what you need now, then watch out for sales after the holidays and stock up for the year!)
- Plastic Wrap
- Silpat Mats (You can bake on these too, but they’re great for rolling out dough and keeping the counters clean.)
- Cookie Cutters (I have a few sets, but I used this set for this sugar cookie recipe)
- Large Cookie Sheet (I used to have several smaller ones, but have invested in a few larger ones over the years instead.)
- Cooling Rack (I use these for cooling cookies of course, but also when flash-freezing foods and need to stack cookie sheets on top of each other!)
MORE SIMPLE COOKIE RECIPES
- Easy Candy Cane Cookies
- Pumpkin Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Healthy Thumbprint Cookies
- Snickerdoodle Cookies
- Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Healthier Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies
- Chocolate Peanut Butter No Bake Cookies
- Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies
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Healthier Sugar Cookies
This sugar cookie recipe makes soft and chewy cut out cookies that keep their shape. Perfect for your traditional cookie decorating day, these healthier sugar cookies with a simple icing are just sweet enough, and pair with other holiday favorites like Candy Cane Cookies and Snickerdoodles.
- Prep Time: 40 minutes
- Cook Time: 7 minutes
- Total Time: 47 minutes
- Yield: 14–19 iced cookies 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
Cookies
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar (I used Turbinado)
- 8 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 ½ cups flour (I used all-purpose)
- ⅛ tsp salt
- ½ tsp + ⅛ tsp baking powder
Icing
- 1 cup powdered sugar (make your own)
- ½ tsp vanilla
- pinch salt
- 3–4 tsp whole milk
Instructions
Make the Cookies:
- In a bowl of a stand mixer OR using a large bowl with a hand mixer, cream the sugar and butter until it is very light in color, about 5-10 minutes.
- Add the egg and vanilla and mix until well combined.
- Add 1 cup of the flour, salt, and baking powder and turn on low. Add the remaining flour and mix until the dough is no longer crumbly and starts to stick together, possibly cleaning the sides of the bowl.
- Wrap in a piece of plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375F and line a large cookie sheet with a piece of parchment paper.
- When the dough is chilled, lightly flour a Silpat mat (or your working surface) and place your dough on top of the flour, sliding it around slightly in the flour so that the underside is lightly coated. Take the same plastic wrap that it was wrapped in, unroll it, and place it on top.
- Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough to either ⅜” thick for thicker, chewy, bakery-style cookies OR roll it out to ¼” thick for classic sugar cookies.
- Use the cookie cutters to cut your desired shapes. Place the shapes on the cookie sheet, leaving 1” of space between each cookie.
- Knead the scraps together and repeat the previous two steps until all the dough has been cut.
- Bake the cookies for 7 minutes. Rotate the pan and bake for 1-2 minutes more, just until the edges are barely golden brown. They might seem underbaked, but they’re not!
- When they’re done, remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool on a cooling rack for 5 minutes. Carefully move the cookies from the pan to the cooling rack to cool completely before icing.
Ice the Cookies:
- Combine the powdered sugar, vanilla, salt and 3 tsp of whole milk in a small bowl.
- Use your arm muscles to whisk very well until the icing is smooth and makes thick ribbons when you hold the whisk up from the bowl.
- Add the last teaspoon of milk if the icing is too thick.
- Either pipe the icing onto the cookies, use a butter knife to spread the icing, or use a wet finger to smooth the icing over the cookies.
- Let the cookies dry at room temperate for at least 2 hours before stacking.
- Store cookies in a container with a lid for up to one week.
Notes
- If you’re used to very sweet sugar cookies recipes, I suggest making a batch with ½ cup of sugar. Ice and decorate as you normally do. These will be sweet for sure, and I promise you won’t notice the reduced sugar.
- If you’re used to baking with less sugar, I suggest keeping the recipe as written, with ⅓ cup sugar. This alone will make a delicious sugar cookie that is just barely sweet. You can decorate if you want, but you will certainly notice the higher level of sweetness if you use a lot of icing or a super sweet icing.
- If you’re used to eating fewer sweet foods AND you want to decorate the cookie, I suggest reducing the sugar in the cookies to ¼ cup. You’ll end up baking a cookie whose sweetness comes mainly from the icing, which you can control even more to adjust the level of sweetness.
- I do not recommend using maple syrup or honey in place of sugar for this recipe. Using a liquid sweetener will result in a difficult dough to work with.
Nutrition
- Calories: 113
Sarah
The taste of these cookies is fantastic! Mine came out a little dry though. What did I do wrong?
Mary
Lovely recipe, sadly, the ad was covering part of the instructions.
Tiffany
Sorry about that Mary!
Tammy
I have Celiac disease and can’t have any wheat products. Do you think these could be made with gluten free flour and still hold their shape?
Tiffany
I haven’t tested it, but I think they would!
Zing
I was wondering the same thing. I would imagine it would if you use gluten free baking flour or gluten free all purpose flour.
Denise Simpson
Hi, could I use your recipe to put in a Mason jar as a gift.
Tiffany
Absolutely!!
Nicole
Love this recipe. Easy to do and not sweet. Great for my kid! I hope to see more low sugar desserts and snacks.
Tiffany
Thanks Nicole!
Cara
Hi, if I want crispier cookies do you think maybe if I do not chill it, it would work?
Tiffany
For crisper cookies, bake a minute or two longer. Chilling prevents spreading, which you want even if you want a crisper cookie!
Ashley Duran
Can I roll these into balls and bake instead of rolling and cutting?
Heather
That should work! You’ll want to make sure and flatten them before baking. They won’t spread on their own since they are designed to be cut out cookies.
Rebecca
I made these and they tasted great and healthier. Thanks heaps for the recipe.
My 2yr old helped and we had a lot of fun!
I’m confused though. I’m the first to admit maths is not my strong point…but. If normal recipes call of 1 cup sugar and 3 cups flour. Isn’t 1/3 cup sugar and 1 cup of flour the same ratio?
Tiffany
That is the same ratio! My recipe though calls for 1 1/2 cups of flour. I also used Turbinado sugar, which is bigger than white granulated sugar AND less sweet. So the combination of using less sugar, using a bigger granule, and using a granule that isn’t as sweet really cuts back on the actual amount of sweetness. I’m so glad you liked this recipe!
Leanna Strang
Just wondering if you could use unsweetened apple sauce instead of the butter?
Tiffany
I don’t know for sure Leanna, but probably not. You need the fat in the butter to get the texture of the cookies right.
lulu
What a great recipe. Follow recipe to a T. Cookies were delicious and kid-approved, and I felt awesome knowing there was so much less sugar than the traditional recipes! Thanks!
Tiffany
You’re very welcome Lulu!
Kelly
These are fantastic!! The kids and I made them last night for Valentine’s Day. They’re very easy to make and not too sweet so you can justify a bit of icing. I just mixed icing sugar with a bit of milk and drizzled it on them and they’re perfect. Definitely my new go to sugar cookie recipe.
Tiffany
I’m so glad you liked these Kelly!!
Darleen Mostellar
Hi. I want to bake these for a class project. Do you happen to have a nutritional breakdown. I’m comparing them to Grandma’s old fashion cookie recipe. Do you know Calories, Calories from Fat, Total Fat, Cholesterol, Sodium, Total Carbohydrates, Dietary Fiber, Sugars, Protein, Vitamins, etc. Thanks!
Tiffany
Hi Darleen! I don’t, but any nutrition calculator can do that for you if you if you input the ingredients!
Jennifer
This is an excellent recipe. My family & I thoroughly enjoyed making our Chanukah cookies with this recipe. Much appreciation for a recipe where I don’t have to cut back on the sugar! Keep up the great work.
Tiffany
Thank you so much Jennifer!! ♥
Meira
Tiffany, can i substitute canola oil for the butter? I dont have any around now
Tiffany
Ooh, I wouldn’t Meira. Coconut oil might work, but you want that solid state when you bake.
Tiera
Hi Tiffany,
I was looking to see if you said if they are more of a soft or crunchy cookie or softer, but i didn’t see anything… Was hoping you could let me know, so i know what to expect? 🙂
Thanks – can’t wait to try them! 🙂
Tiffany
Hi Tiera!! These are a soft sugar cookie. I like to roll the dough to just under 1/4″ thick for the kind that you see at the grocery store (the iced ones that are SUPER tempting!). The thinner you roll the dough, the more crunchy the cookie will be… although these won’t ever be like chip-type of crunchy. 🙂
Sher
Is it ok to add chocolate chips to them?
Karen @ Team Crumbs
Hi Sher,
Yes. You sure can, if you’d like to do that. 🙂
Renee
I added 1 tbsp instant coffee to mine and 1 tsp cocoa powder and omitted the baking soda. A wonderful hyped up cookie!
Tiffany
Oh my, that sounds delicious!
Lorie
We made these today with organic granulated sugar and only used 1/4 cup since we are use to more real foods. Additionally, we changed out the wheat to spelt wheat due to intolerance. My kids liked it with leftover cake frosting or plain 🙂
Thanks for the recipe!
Tiffany
Great substitutions Lorie! I’m glad your kids like them! ♥
Emily R.
Hi! Can the dough be refrigerated for longer if I can’t bake the cookies right away? My son’s daycare holiday party is Friday, but this afternoon (Tuesday) is my only real chance to get the prep started. If the dough is well wrapped and sealed off from absorbing fridge smells, could it hang out in there till Thursday evening? Thanks for the help! 🙂
Tiffany
I bet it could Emily! I had it sit for several hours without issue on one test batch. Maybe wrap well AND put in a container? And either let it sit for a few minutes, or be prepared to use extra arm muscle when you roll!
Emily R
I’m going to try it and see how it goes! It’s currently wrapped in plastic and is inside a Ziploc bag. Thanks for the tip on rolling it out. I’ll do a few extra reps at the gym this week! 😉
Becca C
Eating these right now- delicious and easy! And I’m no baker. Recipes from you are always a hit around here, thanks!
Tiffany
You’re so welcome Becca, and thank you for the high marks! ♥
Kayla
Do you think you could use coconut sugar instead of the Turbinado sugar??
Tiffany
Yes! That would be a delicious substitute. 🙂
DeeAnna
The link for the flour isn’t working, which flour do you use? I saw on other posts that your husband and daughter are gluten intolerant. On your recipes that call for all purpose flour, do they just not eat those recipes, or do you sub gluten free or einkorn flour for them?
M.
Tiffany, thank you so much! This post is excellent. I like that you wrote about what you used and WHY you used it. This is a huge help. The recipe sounds delicious. Again, thank you, as I am sure the research and writing about this recipe was very time consuming. Time to go eat a HEALTHIER sugar cookie! God bless and Merry Christmas (in case I don’t pop back in before then!)
Tiffany
You’re most welcome M! I hope you enjoy these as much as we do (and just a heads up, they’re addicting! 😉 ) Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Diana
This recipe sounds great! Can I substitute the butter and milk with coconut oil and coconut milk?
Tiffany
The milk in the icing, definitely yes Diana. I haven’t tested coconut oil in these cookies myself, but I bet it would work!
Ari
How can I make these chocolate?
Kyare - Team Crumbs
The best idea would be to add cocoa powder. Here is a link to a chocolate sugar cookie, https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/chocolate-sugar-cookies/.
ihra
did it work??