These Best Sugar Cookies are so delicious and easy to make. They are soft, full of flavor and topped with a fluffy buttercream frosting. Chilling the dough is not required with this easy recipe!
Sugar cookies topped with creamy frosting are a big weakness of mine. Goodness gracious I love them! Over the years I’ve made dozens of different versions of them, but this recipe I’m sharing today is my family’s favorite. That’s why I had to call them The BEST SUGAR COOKIES because they really are the best. 🙂
These sugar cookies are soft, full of flavor and totally addicting. This recipe creates the most delicious and easy to make sugar cookie. The fluffy buttercream frosting on top just can’t be beat!
Chilling the dough is not required with this easy sugar cookie recipe, so you can make these a lot quicker than other recipes. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or bad thing though, because all I know is that I can eat A LOT of them. 😉
There’s just one extra step, that hardly takes time, when creating the shape of these cookies. You’ll need a 3-inch wide glass to push the dough balls down with. It creates that jagged edge like the SWIG cookies.
If you’ve been searching for a classic sugar cookie that’s loaded with that traditional pink buttercream frosting, then this recipe is for you. Enjoy! xo
MORE DELICIOUS COOKIE RECIPES YOU MAY LIKE:
Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookies
White Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookies
The Best Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
- 4 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon cream of tarter
- 1 cup salted butter room temperature
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar (divided)
- 1 ¼ cups powdered sugar
- 3/4 cup vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract OR cake batter extract (cake batter extract is my favorite one to use)
FROSTING
- 1/2 cup salted butter room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract OR cake batter extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup milk
- 5 cups powdered sugar
- 3 to 4 drops red food coloring
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Line 3 large cookie sheets with parchment or wax paper.
- In a medium bowl, mix together flour, salt, baking soda and cream of tarter. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter, 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar and the powdered sugar together until light and fluffy; about 1 minute. Slowly add in oil while mixer is on. Add in eggs, one at a time, then add vanilla extract. Mix until just combined.
- Gradually add flour mixture to the wet mixture until just combined.
- Scoop two scoops of dough with a small cookie scoop. Roll both scoops into one ball then place on prepared baking sheets. (I fit 9 balls per cookie sheet)
- Pour the remaining 1/4 cup granulated sugar into a small bowl. Take a drinking glass that is about 3 inches wide, and dip the bottom of the glass into water then dip into the sugar. Press the glass into each ball of dough to flatten into 1/2- inch thickness. (This will give the dough the jagged edges) Repeat process with all dough balls.
- Bake cookies for only 8 to 9 minutes. Don't overbake. The short baking time is what makes them soft and amazing! Remove cookies from oven and let cool on baking sheets. No need to transfer to wire rack. Cool cookies completely. Once cooled store covered in fridge until ready to frost and eat. (you can store them at room temperature, but we prefer them cold)
FROSTING
- Place butter, vanilla and salt in a large bowl. Using an electric hand mixer, beat until combined and creamy. I beat mine for at least a minute or two. Add milk and gradually beat in all of the powdered sugar until it's all combined. Add the drops of food coloring and beat again until color is thoroughly mixed in.
- Frost cookies and serve!
Notes
Recipe and photos updated on: 9/9/20
WANT TO SAVE THIS RECIPE FOR LATER?
PIN IT TO YOUR FAVORITE PINTEREST BOARD!
These are so pretty! Perfect Easter colors! My daughter or I will be trying these out soon. Thank you Holly! 🙂
Since the nearest Swig is way far away, I need to try these! Now if you will please get me a recipe for a Dirty Diet Coke, I will be in heaven!
I have been using this recipe for a long time & these ARE the best! I add a little almond flavoring too. So good with a cup of coffee or tea on a cool day!
The dough recipe was excellent. Possibly #1 sugar cookie recipe in my book. I wasn’t wowed by the frosting, though. Still, an excellent cookie!
It sounds good, they look pretty, but my goodness, I’ve never used 5 cups of flour in a cookie recipe that only produces 24 cookies. Am I missing something? Are the cookies giant sized? They just dont look that big in the pictures. But if you say 5 cups of flour, then its 5 cups of flour and I’m going to dive in and make them.
Yes, they are pretty big!
ThESE ARE TRULY THE BEST SUGAR COOKIES. i STARTED MAKING THESE AT cHRISTMAS INSTEAD OF THE CUTOUTS. mY WHOLE FAMILY LOVES THEM.
These are truly the best! Since I started using this recipe about 5 years ago I have never used any other.
Girl, you knocked this recipe out of the field. They are so flavorful but I can’t stop taste testing them. haha. I’ve got one in the fridge now chilling. The frosting is so wonderful and compliments them perfectly.
thanks for sharing.
Holly, can i make just half the RECIPE? Thank you.
Yes you can! Just halve all the ingredients to make a half batch 🙂
Holly, these cookies are absolutely fabulous! I made mine larger and put a bit too much red food coloring in my icing, but oh my this is a keeper!
wow Holly!
THIS MAKEs so many cookies! I just made them and put them in the freezer for snacks later this month when my son has surgery as part of freezer meal prep.
they are so good.