Easy Soft and Chewy Sugar Cookies {No Rolling or Cutting Out!}
These soft and chewy sugar cookies are so easy and so delicious, you may never want to go to the work of rolling and cutting out sugar cookies again!
I love a good traditional, cutout sugar cookie. I really do. But you just can’t beat these amazing chewy and crackly drop sugar cookies.
Roll them in sprinkles to dress them up…or leave them plain. So delicious either way!
Chewy Drop Sugar Cookie Dough
The dough for these sugar cookies is really straightforward:
- butter
- granulated sugar (no brown sugar in these cookies!)
- egg + vanilla
- flour + baking powder + baking soda + salt
No need to whisk the dry ingredients together beforehand. Just mix everything up in one bowl!
The dough will be soft but not overly sticky.
And it tastes ridiculously delicious. Don’t ask me how I know. 😉
Sprinkles or Not
These easy soft and chewy sugar cookies are really yummy plain.
But if you want to make them a bit more festive, roll the dough in sprinkles before baking.
Non-pareil sprinkles work best. To get them to adhere to the cookie dough, roll the ball of cookie dough in sprinkles right after it’s been rolled into a round shape so it’s still soft from the warmth of your hands.
How to Fix Cookies That Flatten While Baking
If drop cookies often bake up too flat in your oven (or where you live), these tips might help:
- Make sure the butter is at room temperature and NOT overly warm or melty when making the cookie dough.
- Use cold eggs.
- Add 2-4 tablespoons more flour to the cookie dough.
- Bake at 375 degrees F or use convection bake (at 325 or 350 degrees F) if you have that setting on your oven.
Below you can see how the drop sugar cookies are slightly thicker when using a couple extra tablespoons flour in the dough. The puffiness means they are less chewy…but they are still soft and tasty.
Conversely, if your cookies aren’t flattening and stay too puffy, try decreasing the oven temperature to 325 degrees F and/or decrease flour by 1/4 cup.
Favorite Sugar Cookie
I can’t tell you the number of times these soft and chewy drop sugar cookies have saved me when a sugar cookie craving hits (that happens more often than I like to admit) or when I’ve needed a fast, quick, delicious cookie to save the day.
LOVE THEM.
They are reminiscent of the crackly, thin, chewy sugar cookies from Subway…but a million times better.
Tried-and-True Recipe
These soft and chewy drop sugar cookies have garnered a huge fan base over the years. Over 1,000 five-star reviews prove they are a keeper!
Kim writes: Probably the best sugar cookies I have found. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Marie says: This is an amazing recipe, Mel! Had to go gluten free due to allergies and used King Arthur measure for measure and we couldn’t believe how good it was! Thank you for giving exact measurements; takes the guessing out and so easy with a scale! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Liz writes: I love this recipe! Soft, chewy, delicious, easy. Can’t get any better than that. I highly recommend this recipe. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
One Year Ago: White Velvet Sugar Cookies
Two Years Ago: Winter Minestrone Soup with Garlic Bruschetta
Three Years Ago: Curried Lentil and Sausage Soup with Toasted Almonds
Four Years Ago: No-Bake Berry Yogurt Cheesecakes
Five Years Ago: Nutella and Strawberry Stuffed French Toast
Soft and Chewy Drop Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup (227 g) salted butter, softened to cool room temperature
- 1 ⅓ cups (283 g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 ½ cups (355 g) all-purpose flour (see note!)
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- Additional granulated sugar or sprinkles, for rolling
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (see note). Line two large, rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper and lightly grease with cooking spray.
- In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl with a handheld electric mixer, cream together the butter and granulated sugar until lightly and fluffy, 3-4 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Add the egg and vanilla and mix again for 1-2 minutes until the batter lightens in color. Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed.
- In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until combined.
- Scoop the cookie dough into rounded balls (about 2 tablespoons in size; I use my #40 cookie scoop), roll in granulated sugar or sprinkles and place on the prepared baking sheets a couple inches apart (about 12 cookies per baking sheet).
- Bake for 11-13 minutes until slightly crackly on top (but not much color around the edges or bottom to keep them soft and chewy).
- Let the cookies cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet before removing to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Notes
Recipe Source: from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe
I added almond extract to the recipe and added the flour manually. The best sugar cookies I have ever made. Simple to follow and easy to make. Little under 45 minutes from mixing to pulling the last cookie sheet out of the oven.
Can you tell me approximately how many cookies this makes?
2-3 dozen.
These were good, but were a bit crumbly and didn’t flatten very much. I did not mix for too long and didn’t add too much flour. I am a pretty experienced baker.
Mine came out like cake instead of cookie everyone likes this recipe so much. Did I do something wrong?!
Possibly whipped too much air into the cookie dough? That would account for it being more cake like.
I’ve only made these once, and I’m an admittedly novice baker, but I watch enough baking shows to know you don’t want to add a lot of air to a cookie.
Do you mean the cookies didn’t spread much?
I’m going to guess they were over mixed. You have to be careful once you add flour to not over mix because they will come out cakey.
I just finished baking cookies with my 18 month of granddaughter awhile ago (she fell asleep but I will let her have a cookie on tomorrow – she loves to eat and especially LOVES COOKIES!!!) This recipe is GREAT to say the least! It’s difficult to find a GOOD sugar cookie recipe and I have searched and tried many but, not any more! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this recipe! I LOVE the simplicity of the recipe and not having to chill and roll the dough out. I did substitute the vanilla extract with butter flavoring which is my favorite flavoring to use for baking and it was great! I like the use of both baking powder and baking soda in the recipe, it worked so good! This is now my GO TO recipe and I will also use it for my Snickerdoodle recipe with a little adjustment! Thank for such a GREAT recipe!
These cookies are SO delicious. They are chewy and soft. Will make again for sure!
I don’t have any electric mixers of any kind at the moment but want to make these. Will they still turn out okay if I mix them by hand?
Can definitely try!
I made them without an electric mixer and they still turned out great! Just takes a little more time
Can I refridgerate any left over dough for your soft and chewy drop sugar cookies?
Yes! The dough keeps well in the refrigerator.
We froze small batches of them and have gradually pulled out 6 dough balls at a time, let them come up to room temperature, and then baked them, for the last month or so. Each time, they come out as good as the first batch.
such a great idea!!!
These are the best sugar cookies. Maybe the best cookies, of all the cookies. I’ve done them rolled in sprinkles, plain sugar, cinnamon sugar, and plain. They’re always amazing. Perfectly buttery, not too sweet, surprisingly, and the perfect chewy texture. I will always use this recipe. It’s even converted my partner who turned his nose up initially, stating that sugar cookies are ‘gross’. He requests these frequently now. Thanks for the recipe!!
This is the all time best sugar cookie I have ever made and everything tasted! Out of all the sugar cookie recipes this is the best! Everyone in my family loves them! Thank you & God bless! 😉
The best sugar cookies ever! These were so simple to make and they turned out so beautifully. Most sugar cookie recipes that I try always turn out flat and messy looking these however didn’t. The fluffed up and looked so pretty I didn’t want to eat them. But of course we did and the taste was spot on. This is my new recipe for sugar cookies that I will continue to use for years to come. My children are definitely going to use this recipe when I pass it down. Thanks so much for helping me create new memories just by making great cookies.
I had to add sweetened condensed milk instead of egg because of allergies, and I weighed the flour at 12oz, but it was a little too much I think. I don’t know if it was because I didn’t use egg though! Did some with and some without sprinkles, and they were all delicious!
These are amazing and turned out perfectly! They are my new go-to sugar cookie. Thank you!
I made a batch today and my whole family loved them! I will be making these for an upcoming Halloween party. The kiddos are going to scream with delight…
THESE WERE THE BEST SUGAR COOKIES I’VE EVER HAD!!! SO SOFT AND SO YUMMY!
Made these exactly per the recipe and they were fantastic!
Followed this recipe exactly, and the first batch ended up literally paper thin, greasy and crispy…I think the recipe needs about a half cup more flour, or maybe I didn’t put enough to begin with. I added flour to the rest of the dough and so far so good. They all taste DELICIOUS, and I will make them again to perfect them!:)
Only thing I changed was using half shortening. These came it pretty good, but next time I might cut back some of the flour so they spread more.
These cookies are excellent! The texture is chewy and crunch! I baked them at 375 in a conventional oven. I did not roll them in sugar. I’ve made frosting for my young women at church to frost them and give to neighbors. I used Wheat Montana Natural White Flour. I think it makes everything better. I’d recommend using this recipe!!
Very, very good! I used vanilla that I brought home from Mexico and they are perfectly delicious sugar cookies!
Hi, baked mine for 11-13 mins but the cookies are still ball form with cracks on top… what did I do wrong? They didn’t flatten like I’d expect
Usually that means the dough was overfloured. How do you measure your flour? If you tend to pack the flour into the measuring cup vs fluffing the flour and then scooping in the cup and leveling off, the dough might have too much flour in it. If you back off a bit on the flour that should help!
These by far were the best sugar cookies I’ve had. So easy to make!
These cookies are EXCELLENT! They turned out very soft and chewy! I didn’t have sprinkles, but used bakers sugar. I will use green and red sugar for Christmas cookies. I sprayed my cookie sheets with non stick spray and did not have any issues with the cookies sticking.
Is the baking soda necessary? What if i don’t have any
Yes, it is important for the recipe – the cookies wouldn’t turn out the same without it.
Amazing! So yummy. My family loved them.
I’m pregnant and have been craving a good sugar cookie but didn’t want to go through the work or rolling and cutting. I came across this recipe while searching the web and I’m glad I tried it! These are so easy and so delicious! They practically melt in your mouth. I decided to use 1 tsp of vanilla extract and 1 tsp of almond extract instead and I think it made them that much more tasty. This recipe is one I’ll be putting in my tried and true section of my recipe book! Thanks so much for sharing this!
Best drop sugar cookies EVER. I will be retiring my rolling pin. Thanks for the recipe!
I enjoyed this recipe, thoughmy cookies came out more cake-like than chewy… Can you help me? What did I mess up? The cookies still tasted great! I just have a tendency to follow a recipe and end up with cake textured cookies every time! I’d appreciate the help.
Hey Shawna. Mel is out of town, but I will have her respond to this when she gets back and help you troubleshoot!
Hi Shawna, oftentimes cakey cookies might be due to over mixing the batter or too much flour – so you might measure the flour with a lighter hand next time and mix just to combine once the dry ingredients are added.
And I thought adding flour was helping my cookies! Thank you so much! I’ll try it again!
I just made these cookies using the convection feature and they baked perfectly. The taste is wonderful and my grandkids love the soft, chewy taste. This one is a keeper – Thank you
Made these on a whim because I’m pregnant and needed sweets like NOW and they came out perfectly! I only had enough parchment for one cookie sheet so the other was lined with foil. The foil cookies were less done but that’s the way my husband likes them so it’s a win win over here! I baked for about 10 mins at 350 and made sure my oven rack wasn’t too low like another reviewer suggested. The bottoms were just golden with a little crunch and the tops were puffy and soft. I won’t even bother searching for other recipes or boxed mixes. These cookies could be made into anything you want (as I’m dreaming of adding heaps of M&Ms). Thank you for posting this!!
I made this recipe for my 11 year old who was craving something sweet and loves when I try new recipes. Well, I will NOT ever be trying a new sugar cookie recipies. Perfect cookies!!! Thank You!!
How many grams/ounces is the butter?
8 ounces
Best sugar cookies I’ve ever made! I did not use a mixer but I did have my butter and egg at room temperature. I rolled some in sugar and some in sprinkles. They are beautiful and delicious. I’m sending them to my daughter in another state!
These are the best sugar cookies I’ve ever tasted! We followed the directions step by step and they turned out perfect!! (You don’t need a fancy mixer either btw – we used a regular bowl & mixer) Definitely will be saving this recipe!
Easy and very delicious. I only bake for 8 minutes.
These are delicious and so simple! Mine were much purifier than your pictures. Not sure why, but they were great. I have one favor, could you include in your recipes (especially baked ones) if you use salted or unsalted butter? I think you had a post way back where you said you always use salted, but having it in each recipe would be very helpful! I used one stick of each for this batch to be in the safe side. I thought I commented, but I don’t see it now, so I apologize if this is a repeat comment,
These came out perfectly! They are so soft and EASY to make. Mine did take more like 15-16 minutes (and normally I don’t have to make oven adjustments for Mel’s recipes). I rolled mine in a cinnamon sugar mixture and they turned out to be the perfect little snickerdoodles.
I’m making these (along with cut out sugar cookies, a 6″ cake and a lot of cupcakes) so I was wondering if I could freeze the dough balls, with the sprinkles on them, so I could be a step ahead on these cookies? Thanks. Can’t wait to try your recipe.
I haven’t tried it, but that should work great – I’ve done that with other drop cookie recipes.
This was AMAZINGGGG!
These cookies are amazing! The are buttery, chewy and have the perfect amount of sweetness. After rolling the dough into balls I froze some of them for later. Well, later is right now because after a stressful week at work I decided to make these into a chipwich with cotton candy ice cream. Highly recommend these cookies with or without ice cream! Thanks for another amazing recipe.
Freezing the cookies for better shaping helps
Made these today and the only thing I changed was to separate out the dough into three bowls and add different sprinkles to each bowl. Then I used a cookie scoop and no need to roll!
My tops didn’t crack even after 15 mins but my oven Temp might be off. Cooked 17 mins to a light golden color. Kids loved them..
I’m 55 and just starting to learn how to bake, make cookies etc, this recipe was so easy it made me look good and that’s saying A LOT! Thank you so much for posting a recipe even I could make!!
That’s awesome, Sandi!
I made the sugar cookies but had some slight problems. The bottoms were burnt. Only a few were not burnt. I baked the cookies at 350°F as you said. My cookies’ tops were beautiful. I almost forgot to say, some of the insides were not fully cooked. I think that had happened because I baked the cookies in the middle stove rack. Next time I am going to use the top rack. I tasted one cookie that was perfectly cooked and it was very delicious indeed! I substituted some butter for oil. I also used aluminum foil. Wonderful recipe. I loved your flaky cinnamon roll biscuit recipe by the way. I added it to my cookbook. I wish you had a Youtube channel so you could show people step-by-step how to make things.
Update:
I remade the cookies and they came out perfectly. I changed up the recipe a bit.
This is what I did:
Ingredients:
1/2 cup softened butter= 1 stick of butter= 5 tablespoons of butter & 2 1/4 tsp oil*3
1/2 cup sugar & 2 Tbsp
1 egg
1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups flour and a little more
1/4 teaspoon of baking powder
1/4 teaspoon of baking soda
1/4 teaspoon of salt
Roll balls into sprinkles
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 250°F. Use aluminum foil.
Using a whisk, cream together the butter and granulated sugar until fluffy.
Add the egg and vanilla and mix again until the batter lightens in color.
In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until well combined.
Put cookie dough into refrigerator for 10 minutes.
Scoop the cookie dough into rounded balls (about 2 tablespoons), roll balls into sprinkles and place on aluminum foil sheets a couple inches apart(6 cookies for each baking sheet).
Cook one cookie to be safe then if it comes out well bake the others.
Bake for 20-25 minutes until top is slightly crackly on top and sides are firm to the touch
Let the cookies cool.
Can you replace half the butter amount with coconut oil?
I haven’t tried that so I’m not sure. Sorry!
I believe you can substitute half of the amount of butter for coconut oil. I did something different. First I split the recipe in half then, I used: 1/2 cup softened butter= 1 stick of butter= 5 tablespoons of butter & 2 1/4 tsp oil*3
2 1/4 tsp of oil equals a tablespoon of butter.
Easy and delicious!
Thank you
Mel, can u still cut out cookies with this recipe?
No…this recipe wouldn’t be good (too soft!) for rolling out and cutting.
What? Whoa. Where has this recipe been all my life??
Super easy to whip up. Fun options for finishing. And the best part: the soft, yet crisp, buttery and sweet, and they just melt in your mouth. Wow. This is a keeper!
Thanks for another awesome recipe, Mel!
Holy wow! I have searched and searched for the perfect sugar cookie recipe, and alas I have found it! Christmas time left me with multiple failing batches of sugar cookies; too plain, too flat, too dry, too hard. I finally came across this recipe in my next search. Let me say these cookies are PERFECT! A complete hit at the spring bake sale! You can bake and serve them as is and they have just the right amount of sweetness. I added frosting to some, rolled them in the sprinkles with others (and the sprinkles STAY ON even after baking), I even added chocolate chips in some! I refrigerated some, another batch I left on the countertop, and it DID NOT change the consistency one bit! They were so soft and chewy, I couldn’t believe it. I will be using this recipe forever! Thank you so much for sharing it!
Thanks, Jamie! 🙂
It was my first time making these cookies and my family and I love them!!! They are crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside just how I like cookies!!