My Homemade Chewy Sugar Cookies are one of my favorite things to make for any holiday. Though a basic sugar cookie, it’s a perfect balance of flavor. My cookies are buttery and sweet, but not overly sweet. They are soft on the inside yet still chewy, and you can eat them plain or frosted. A bag of these cookies makes the perfect holiday gift.
The secret is the sugar-to-cold-butter ratio, which yields a buttery and chewy sugar cookie.
My recipe for Royal Icing. Stay tuned! I’m not a professional cookie decorator, so I keep my designs simple LOL!
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 10-12 minutes
Cooling Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 52 minutes
Yields: 20- 24 cookies
Equipment: rolling pin, 2 cookie wire racks, 3 rimmed baking sheet pans, parchment paper (silicone pads for sheet pans), stand mixer with paddle attachment (or hand-held electric mixer), parchment paper, 3-inch scalloped cookie cutter, 2 dowels between 1/8″ and 1/4″ in diameter, 4 small bowls, 1 set of measuring spoons, 1 set of dry measuring cups, cookie spatula
Ingredients: (this recipe is for a single batch, depending on the size of the cookie cutter)
1 cup of butter (2 sticks), Unsalted and cold
1 1/4 cups of granulated sugar
1 egg, large
2 tsps pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract (optional)
3 cups of all-purpose flour
2 tsps baking powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper (or use silicone pads).
In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the cold butter and sugar on low speed to break down the butter, then bump up the speed and mix until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
While the mixer is still running, add flour, baking powder, and kosher salt in a separate bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside.
Once the butter and sugar are done, scrape down the bowl. Now add the egg and vanilla extract. Mix on low just until the egg breaks down and is combined.
After that’s done, it’s time to add the dry ingredients. Keep the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients 1 scoop at a time, making sure to let the flour mixture incorporate before adding more.
The dough should have a Play-Doh-type consistency and not stick to your fingers.
To make sure the butter stays cold, freeze the dough after rolling it out on lined baking sheets.
Lay down a sheet of parchment paper and place the dough in the center. Lay another sheet of parchment on top. Roll out the dough to 1/8″to 1/4″ thick.
Cut the cookie dough as close as possible using a round 3″ cookie cutter. This should yield you 16 cookies.
Working quickly, take the excess cookie dough and form it back into a ball. Place the remaining dough between another 2 sheets of parchment paper. Roll the dough out again to 1/8″ to 1/4″ in thickness. Repeat the process, cutting out another 8 cookies.
Afterward, freeze the cut-out cookies again.
Arrange them onto three baking sheet pans lined with parchment paper about 2″ apart.
Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the edges are set and light golden brown.
Allow to cool for 10 minutes on wire racks. Then they’ll be ready to frost.
There you have it, my Homemade Chewy Sugar Cookies.
Notes:
1) Sugar cookies are perfectly baked when the edges are set and light golden brown, while the center looks dry and has lost its raw, shiny sheen. The edges should feel firm to a light touch, and the cookie should not look doughy in the middle, even if it still appears slightly underbaked. Use a cookie spatula to check gently; the edges should be set, not soft or gooey.
2) Silicone pads are also great for baking cookies.
3) Using cold butter and sugar together, less air gets incorporated, which leads to less spreading of the cookies in the oven.
4) This recipe can be doubled or tripled if your mixer is large enough.
5) Linda Lou Hamel is not a nutritionist or dietitian, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and nutritional value matter to you, I recommend running the ingredients through an online nutritional calculator of your choice. Calories and values can vary depending on the brands you choose.
Homemade Chewy Sugar Cookies
Equipment
- 1 Rolling Pin
- 2 cookie wire racks
- 3 rimmed baking sheet pans
- parchment paper If you have silicone pads for the sheet pans you can use them as well
- 1 stand mixer With a paddle attachment (substitute a hand-held electric mixer)
- 1 scalloped cookie cutter 3-inch
- 2 dowels Between 1/8" and 1/4" in diameter
- 4 bowls Small
- 1 Set of measuring spoons
- 1 Set of dry measuring cups
- 1 cookie spatula
Ingredients
(this recipe is for a single batch, depending on the size of the cookie cutter)
- 1 cup (2 sticks) butter Unsalted and cold
- 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 tsps pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp almond extract Optional
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsps baking powder
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper (or use silicone pads).In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the cold butter and sugar on low speed to break down the butter, then bump up the speed and mix until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.While the mixer is still running, add flour, baking powder, and kosher salt in a separate bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside.Once the butter and sugar are done, scrape down the bowl. Now add the egg and vanilla extract. Mix on low just until the egg breaks down and is combined.After that's done, it's time to add the dry ingredients. Keep the mixer on low speed, add in the dry ingredients 1 scoop at a time, making sure to let the flour mixture incorporate before adding more.The dough should have a Play-Doh-type consistency and not stick to your fingers.To make sure the butter stays cold, freeze the dough after rolling it out on lined baking sheets.Lay down a sheet of parchment paper and place the dough in the center. Lay another sheet of parchment on top. Roll out the dough to 1/8"to 1/4" thick.Cut the cookie dough as close as possible using a round 3" cookie cutter. This should yield you 16 cookies.Working quickly, take the excess cookie dough and form it back into a ball. Place the remaining dough between another 2 sheets of parchment paper. Roll the dough out again to 1/8" to 1/4" in thickness. Repeat the process, cutting out another 8 cookies.Afterward, freeze the cut-out cookies again.Arrange them onto three baking sheet pans lined with parchment paper about 2" apart.Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the edges are set and light golden brown.Allow to cool for 10 minutes on wire racks. Then they'll be ready to frost.There you have it, my Homemade Chewy Sugar Cookies.
Notes
1) Sugar cookies are perfectly baked when the edges are set and light golden brown, while the center looks dry and has lost its raw, shiny sheen. The edges should feel firm to a light touch, and the cookie should not look doughy in the middle, even if it still appears slightly underbaked. Use a cookie spatula to check gently; the edges should be set, not soft or gooey.
2) Silicone pads are also great for baking cookies.
3) Using cold butter and sugar together, less air gets incorporated, which leads to less spreading of the cookies in the oven.
4) This recipe can be doubled or tripled if your mixer is large enough.
5) Linda Lou Hamel is not a nutritionist or dietitian, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and nutritional value matter to you, I recommend running the ingredients through an online nutritional calculator of your choice. Calories and values can vary depending on the brands you choose.https://lindalouhamel.com/2026/03/23/royal-icing/
