Soft, Chewy Sugar Cookies

Watch my chewy sugar cookies web story here.

These are the easiest and most delicious sugar cookies I’ve ever made. I love that I was able to get the edges crispy but the middle stayed chewy. Will make again, so easy and delicious.

Reader Terri

Terri even sent a photo of her beautiful, frosted sugar cookies. See?

Photo used with permission.

Why You Need to Make These Cookies

Not all recipes on my site are necessarily for everyone, so here’s the rundown on these cookies so you can decide if you want to make some.

You’ll really enjoy these cookies if you:

• like a cookie with a nice depth of flavor
• appreciate a buttery cookie
• want to be able to frost them or not and know they’ll be delicious either way
• love the complexity that a little bit of nutmeg can bring to a recipe
• want a large, round cookie that spreads a bit and stays nice and soft.

If you’re sold, you can jump straight to the recipe.

Otherwise, read on for a bit more information and how-to’s.

What Sets This Recipe Apart?

These cookies are a bit of a hybrid of an Amish sugar cookie and a regular, soft sugar cookie.

Most Amish sugar cookie recipes call for oil, so I added some here to provide extra tenderness and a bit of chew in the centers.

Another hallmark of an Amish sugar cookie is using powdered sugar in the dough. I chose to stick with granulated sugar since I knew they’d already be tender enough from the butter and oil.

The combination of vanilla with just the merest hint of almond extract and the warmth of nutmeg give an otherwise plain cookie a very more-ish quality.

Sold? Head straight to the recipe. Keep reading for step-by-step instructions.

How to Make Soft Sugar Cookies

These are pretty straightforward cookies to make. The dough, while very soft, doesn’t need chilling unless you want to chill it.

Just make the dough, toss in salted sugar, roll them up, flatten with a glass to about 1/4-1/3″ and bake.

You don’t even need to use a mixer, although you could certainly use either a stand mixer or a hand mixer if you prefer. I just used a bowl and a whisk.

Ingredients and Substitutions

Here are the ingredients you’ll need to make these cookies. I’ll give you substitutions where it makes sense to do so.

• all-purpose flour: Sub in a bit of bread flour for up to half of the all-purpose flour for a sturdier, chewier cookie. I like the amount of chew vs. tenderness using all-purpose. I use King Arthur which has a bit higher protein content than other nationally available brands of all-purpose flour
• baking powder: Provides the leavening for the cookies
• unsalted butter: You want your butter very soft but not melted. I generally cut it in pieces, put it in the glass bowl I’m making the cookies in, and microwave it for about 15 seconds to soften it well so I can whip it smooth with a whisk. For a cookie that spreads a bit less and is softer, substitute butter-flavored Crisco for up to half the butter
• vegetable oil: Allows the cookies to spread a bit, shortens the gluten strands and also lends some chew to the centers. Use a fruity olive oil for a more complex flavor. I used plain vegetable oil. Other choices are avocado oil, grapeseed oil, safflower, Canola, etc.
• salt: You’ll note there’s a fair bit of salt in this recipe. I use it both in the dough and in the sugar for rolling. Seasoning is important!
• vanilla extract: Provides sweet, warm, floral, and woody notes. Vanilla and butter are the dominant flavors in these cookies
• almond extract: Just a little bit of almond extract, which can be overwhelming in large amounts, adds a subtle, sweet nuttiness that really elevates the vanilla flavor
• nutmeg: If there is a secret ingredient in these cookies, nutmeg is it. If you love commercially produced eggnog, you like nutmeg. It plays beautifully with butter and sugar, making it an excellent addition to lots of baked goods. Just a few gratings of nutmeg adds another dimension of nuttiness to these cookies. While technically optional, it adds a lot to these cookies. If you’re not a fan, consider adding just a tiny bit of cinnamon. Maybe 1/4 teaspoon or so in the whole batch
• sugar: I use all white sugar in these cookies. The sugar adds sweetness and tenderizes the gluten in the flour. For an even softer cookie, although one that will be a bit darker in color, substitute some brown sugar for up to half the granulated sugar
• eggs: Eggs add volume, structure, protein, liquid, fat, and emulsifiers. They assist in browning and help to create a fine texture when whisked into the dough really thoroughly

Procedure

Like many American butter-based cookies, chewy sugar cookies are made using the creaming method.

In short:

1. Whisk flour and leavening together. Set aside.
2. Whip butter until smooth and light.
3. Mix in flavorings and salt.
4. Whisk in the sugar followed by the eggs.
5. Stir in the flour mixture until no loose flour remains.
6. Roll in salted sugar, press down with a glass, and bake.

For visual learners, here are a couple of collages so you can see the texture of the dough and the steps involved.

1) Microwave the butter for just a few seconds–no more than 15–to make sure it’s nice and soft and easy to whisk.

2) Whip the butter with the salt, vanilla, almond extract, and nutmeg until smooth and light.

3) Add the oil and whisk it in.

4 & 5) Dump in the sugar next and whisk it until light and creamy.

6) Whip in the eggs. (NOTE: Pictured is a half recipe. There are 2 eggs in the full recipe)

For the lightest (both in texture and in color) cookies, make sure to whisk well before each addition, especially the eggs. Whisk for a good minute or so before adding the flour.

1) Add the flour and baking powder mixture and stir together with a spatula.

2) The finished dough is very soft but not sticky. You can choose to refrigerate it to make it a bit easier to work with, but it’s not strictly necessary.

3) Weigh out 1 oz portions of dough and drop them into a bowl of salted sugar.

Adding a heavy pinch of fine salt to sugar for rolling cookies helps to moderate the sweetness while providing the occasional sparkle of salt on the outsides of the cookies. I do this with all my cookies that need to be rolled in sugar.

4) Roll the dough completely in the sugar and shape into rough balls–again, the dough is soft, so do the best you can.

5) Press each dough ball with the flat bottom of a glass to about 1/4″-1/3″ thick.

6) If you don’t mind slightly irregular cookies, bake as-is. If you prefer a nice, round cookie, you can round them before baking by using the glass or a large round cookie cutter to nudge any little bits that might be sticking out back into shape.

Variations

Sugar cookies are pretty much their own “thing,” so the easiest way to vary them is with how you decorate them.

Here are a few ideas:

• Ice with a bit of American buttercream and use seasonal sprinkles to achieve different looks.
• Color the icing to make pastel pink, blue, or purple and decorate with coordinating or contrasting sprinkles
• For a more subtle decoration, rather than icing the cookies, roll them in colored salted sugar rather than plain sugar.

How to Frost Sugar Cookies without Piping

If making cookies to frost, do NOT roll them in salted sugar when shaping, or they’ll be too sweet. Chill the dough, roll into balls, flatten, and bake. Once completely cool, ice as desired.

Here’s how to get a relatively flat icing surface with a bevel all around the cookie:

• Hold a cookie with your non-dominant hand and spread on a good 2 Tablespoons of frosting with an icing spatula. It doesn’t have to be perfect.
• Scrape any excess frosting off the bottom of your icing spatula, and then pull it across the surface of the frosting to get a relatively flat surface.
• Scrape off any excess frosting from the spatula, and then hold it at an angle, scraping off excess frosting on the cookie and forming a bevel all the way around.

If adding sprinkles or other decorations, add them immediately after frosting and gently press them into the frosting before it sets up too much.

Equipment You May Need

While a stand mixer or a hand mixer both help to make light work of making cookies, you can absolutely make them with just a whisk, a spatula and a bowl.

For baking, I like half-sheet pans, and you’ll want cooling racks to cool your cookies completely.

For grating nutmeg, I generally use a Microplane, but they also make a cool manual spice grinder that is simple to use and works really well. It might be worth picking one up if you use a lot of nutmeg.

Serving Suggestions

You should definitely make some of these cookies to leave out for Santa!

And since they’re soft, they’d make great sandwich cookies.

Sandwich them together with some chocolate ganache or American buttercream.

Sugar Cookie Q & A

Other Old-Fashioned Cookie Recipes

If you like a simple, old-fashioned cookie that’s a bit elevated from the norm, you may enjoy my peanut butter cookies. I make them with brown butter and a Very Lot of peanut butter. they are really excellent.

My snickerdoodles have cinnamon in both the dough and the salted sugar coating. If you prefer more contrast in a snickerdoodle, leave the cinnamon out of the dough.

And, these are not pictured, but if chewy ginger cookies are your thing, I think you’ll really enjoy my recipe!

Questions?

If you have any questions about this or any other recipe or post on the site, there are a few ways to get in touch.

You can leave a comment on the post, and I’ll be back in touch within 24 hours.

If your question is more pressing, don’t hesitate to email me, and I should be back in touch within 4 hours (unless I’m asleep) or often much more quickly than that.

A Note About Measurements

This is the kitchen scale that I recommend for home cooks and bakers. Using a scale will help you be more accurate and consistent in your measurements.

It is lightweight, easy to store, accurate, and very easy to use.

Love This? Please Share It and Review It!

I hope you’ve learned something from this post or that you’ve decided to make the recipe.

It would really help me and other readers out if you’d rate the recipe using the star ratings in the recipe card.

It’s also very helpful to me and to other readers if you leave a comment and/or a recipe review.

Thank you so much for being here and for helping others find my recipes by sharing on your social platforms!

Thanks so much for spending some time with me today.

Whether you frost them or not, I hope you enjoy the soft and chewy sugar cookies.

Take care, and have a lovely day.