Old Fashioned Soft Sugar Cookies

Soft and sweet, old fashioned sugar cookies are a favorite holiday treat. Use my classic sugar cookie recipe and tips to bake them perfectly!

Course Snack

Cuisine American

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 10

Chilling Time 30

Total Time 55

Servings cookies

Calories 109kcal

½ cup granulated white sugar do not add to the batter! This is just for rolling the dough in.

Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl, and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar together using an electric mixer set on high speed. Beat until light and fluffy.
Beat in egg and vanilla extract until smooth.
Stir in dry ingredients until just combined.
Cover the bowl and refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes.
When dough is cold, preheat the oven to 350º F, and line a baking sheet with parchment.
Remove the dough from the refrigerator, and scoop dough into one tablespoon portions
Shape cookie dough into balls, and roll balls in granulated sugar until coated.
Place on a parchment lined baking sheet with about 2 inches between each cookie.
Bake for 9-11 minutes, or until edges are set, but center is still soft.
Remove from the oven and allow them to cool on the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Cream the sugar and butter mixture until it's light and fluffy. You want some air in the dough to help it rise in the oven.

Chill the dough for at least 30 minutes to prevent it from spreading too much in the oven. Also, cold dough promotes cookies with crispy edges and soft, chewy centers.

Short on time? Scoop the sugar cookie dough and freeze in balls for 10 minutes on a parchment paper lined baking sheet rather than chilling the whole bowl for 30 minutes! You can use a cookie scoop to save even more time!

Don't forget to preheat your oven. If the oven is too cool, the dough will spread and you will end up with thin and crispy sugar cookies.

Always use parchment paper. Baking on parchment paper is much better than Silpat mats or baking directly on the baking sheet. Your cookies will never stick!