Your hunt for the best soft sugar cookie recipe is over. This soft sugar cookie recipe is easy to make, freezer-friendly, and perfect for holiday shape cookies!
THE BEST SOFT SUGAR COOKIE RECIPE
Do you need an amazing, soft sugar cookie recipe? Look no further!
Meet the best sugar cookie recipe ever! It's bold to claim something to be the best, but in this case (and the best chocolate chip cookie bars), I will claim them to be the best all day long.
In fact, my husband who doesn't even like sugar cookies loves these. So that is saying a lot!
This recipe comes from my mom, the inspiration behind this blog. Have you read the whole story? Besides being the most festive person, my mom was an amazing baker. And her sugar cookies were one of her all-time most popular recipes! (Along with English Toffee and Rainbow Jello.)
SUPER SOFT SUGAR COOKIES
The best sugar cookies are soft. So if you're looking for crunchy sugar cookies, look elsewhere.
These cookies turn out soft every time!
HOW TO KEEP THEM SOFT
My best trick for keeping them soft is to not over bake. I usually pull these cookies out of the oven after about 7-8 minutes. They never look done, but I promise, they are! They will bake a little bit more on the pan after you pull them out.
FREEZER-FRIENDLY DOUGH AND COOKIES
Let's be honest. Sugar cookies can be time-intensive to make. However, the great news is that this sugar cookie dough can be made in advance when you have some extra time.
One of my favorite tricks is to make these cookies up to a week in advance and freeze them after they have baked. Simply pull them out the morning of your event and they will be soft and ready to decorate.
GREAT FOR VALENTINE'S DAY PARTIES
Are you helping with a classroom Valentine's Day party? If so, this recipe is perfect because one batch makes 3-4 dozen cookies.
CAN I HALF THE RECIPE?
Of course! Like I said, one batch makes about 4 dozen cookies, depending on the size you cut them out to be. The recipe can be halved if you don't need that many cookies.
BEST SUGAR COOKIE TOPPINGS
- Buttercream frosting
- Sprinkles
- holiday colored M&Ms
- conversation hearts
- heart gummies
WHAT FROSTING SHOULD I USE?
There is no shame in using store-bought frosting. However, homemade frosting makes all the difference in my opinion!
Here's a really great buttercream frosting recipe I use and love.
HERE'S THE BEST SUGAR COOKIE RECIPE!
One note: You'll notice this recipe calls for margarine. I shy away from margarine all time time...except when I make this recipe. Trust me, it makes such a difference.
If you don't have margarine on hand, you can use butter. It just wont' turn out quite as well. 🙂
The Best Sugar Cookies
- Total Time: 18 minutes
- Yield: 3-4 dozen 1x
Description
The best soft sugar cookies! These stay soft, are freezer friendly, and perfect for cut-out cookies!
Ingredients
- 1 lb. margarine (or butter) *see notes
- 2 cups sugar
- 3 eggs
- 2 tsp. vanilla
- 6 cups flour
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- ½ tsp. salt
Instructions
- Cream eggs, margarine, and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add remaining ingredients one at a time.
- Refrigerate dough for a few hours or overnight.
- Roll the dough ¼ inch thick on a powdered-sugar surface and cut into holiday shapes.
- Bake at 350 for 8-9 minutes. For soft cookies, don't overbake!
Notes
If you plan to freeze the cookies before decorating, be sure to layer with wax paper so the cookies don't stick together when you remove them.
The original recipe calls for margarine and while many prefer to use margarine over butter in this recipe, I don't usually have margarine on hand. I have used butter as a replacement and the recipe works just as well. I really think it's a matter of preference. But you can't go wrong either way.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 8 minutes
- Category: Desserts
Keywords: sugar cookie, valentine's day cookies, cut out cookies, best sugar cookie
Let us know what you think!