The Best Vanilla Sugar Cookies Recipe
Vanilla sugar cookies are a favorite treat anytime. Whether you choose to decorate them or eat them just as is with a cup of tea. Based on my butter cookie recipe these are soft, crisp and buttery. Also, they do not spread making them a great candidate for shaped and decorated custom cookies.
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My go-to recipe
These are the best sugar cookies you will ever eat. They are a variation on the delicious butter cookies; they stay soft and crisp and delicious much longer. I make these so often because not only do my kids love them as is, I also decorate them with fondant or royal icing when I need too. If you place an order for cookies with me, this is what I will make for you.
Unlike most other recipes, I do not add any leavening agent like baking powder or baking soda. And yet, if you look at the cookies from the side, you can see they do look light and airy. Also, I prefer that my cookies do not spread like regular cookies. That way I can use the same cookie cutter for my fondant and decorate them perfectly.
The big secret to success with this recipes is the way I prepare my dough. I highly recommend that you read the process really well before you start making the dough. The extra beating in the mixing of the dough gets air into the batter making it light and airy before we add flour.
The Best Vanilla Sugar Cookies Recipe| Vanilla Sugar Cookies Recipe
Let’s talk ingredients and substitutes (Save/Pin)
- Unsalted butter – I like to use unsalted butter in all my baking so I can control the amount of salt. And yet, if you must use salted butter just omit the salt in the recipe.
- All-purpose flour – I always use all-purpose flour with great success. You do not need any other flour.
- White granulated sugar – As a rule of thumb, whenever you need to cream sugar and butter – always use a fine grain sugar. That will cream faster. If you have to use a coarse grain sugar – just pulse it in the food processor a couple times and it will be fine. Cookies with butter and sugar that are not creamed will give a very flaky cookie.
- Vanilla extract – I like using vanilla extract. But it also has the tendency to color the dough. So, if you need a white or fair dough just add clear vanilla extract or rose essence.
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Useful Tips and Tools for Baking Cookies
- I’m not a slave to mixers but when a bake needs some good creaming method required I can’t but help insist you bring that K-Mix or Kitchen Aid from the back of the cabinet.
- A good baking tray is always ideal for baking. Try using a light colored baking trayBaking tray. Or line the baking tray with Parchment Paper
- If you aren’t going to fill or decorate these cookies a regular rolling pin will work just fine. But a Cookie rolling pin in one where you have the side spacers which will help with even rolling so all your cookies are leveled. Leveled cookies bake evenly too
- It is really important to cool cookies completely on all sides as soon as they come out of the oven. So take them off the baking tray to prevent them cooking further but place them on a Cooking rack so they air circulates on all sides which prevents steam from going back into the cookie thus…… keeping them crisp not soggy.
- Always bake cookies on the center rack of your Oven, if you have more than one tray either bake them one at a time. You can bake two trays but sometimes this can lead to the bottom one spreading too much in some cookies. You can also rotate the trays in between baking which is often helpful in some cookies.
- Most cookies usually bake between 10 to 12 minutes in general. These took me about 10 minutes. Because cookies bake quickly it is also an item that gets overbaked because we end up getting distracted at the last minute. My solution is a kitchen timer that is always set to 10 minutes default and I turn it on as soon as I place the cookies in. This has saved me many cookies in the oven because my kids always keep me busy.
My Decorated Cookies
If you see decorated cookies on this blog – almost all of them are these Vanilla Sugar Cookies or my Chocolate Sugar Cookies. They are the best..!! Sometimes I use an eggless version of these – and you can find my eggless vanilla or eggless chocolate sugar cookies along with all other cookies here. In fact, in fall I make a no-spread gingerbread sugar cookies which are also a variation on these sugar cookies.
The Best Vanilla Sugar Cookies Recipe|Vanilla Sugar Cookie Recipe|Best Sugar Cookies Recipe|sugar cookie
The Best Vanilla Sugar Cookies (Save/Pin)
Ingredients
- 440 grams (3 1/2 cups) all-purpose flour
- 228 grams ( 1 cup) unsalted butter (room temperature)
- 225 grams ( 1 cup + 2 tbsp) granulated white sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Method
Plan and Prepare
- Make sure the butter and eggs are room temperature.
- Sift together the flour and salt.
The Best Vanilla Sugar Cookies Recipe|Best Sugar Cookie Recipe, Vanilla Sugar Cookie Recipe
Make the Dough
- Cream butter and sugar in your mixing bowl with paddle attachment until light and fluffy.
Do not skimp on this step or the cookies will be very dense. - Add eggs one at a time slowly, mixing each well until incorporated.
- When both the eggs are added. Continue mixing on medium for about two more minutes.
- Next, add the vanilla.
- Followed by the flour. Do not over mix once the flour is incorporated.
- Bring the dough together and divide into two discs.
- Wrap in cling/plastic wrap for at least 1 to 2 hours.
The Best Vanilla Sugar Cookies Recipe, Vanilla Sugar Cookie Recipe, Best Sugar Cookies Recipe
Roll the Cookies
- Once the dough is chilled; roll dough on a lightly floured surface evenly.
- I roll my cookies a minimum 1/4 inch or 6 mm thick using a rolling pin with spacers.
- Cut out desired shaped cookies and place them on a cookie sheet one inch apart.
- I prefer to chill the cookies while the oven is preheating.
- Preheat the oven to 180 C / 360 F.
- Bake cookies for about 8 to 10 minutes depending on the thickness of the cookies.
- When baked let cool on the tray for 7 to 10 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack to cool further.
- You can eat these cookies as is or decorate them with royal icing or fondant.
The Best Vanilla Sugar Cookies Recipe| Best Sugar Cookie Recipe | Vanilla Sugar Cookie Recipes
Storage
- This cookie recipe can be halved or double without any issues.
- The dough can be kept in the fridge for up to 4 days, or
- Frozen for up to three months. If frozen thaw in the fridge over-night before you roll out.
- The baked cookies will stay at room temperature for up t 4 weeks but best eaten within a few days.
Don’t forget to save this recipe on Pinterest for later.
You can find a collection of my tutorials and recipes here on Pinterest.
Classic Vanilla Sugar Cookies Recipe, Vanilla Sugar Cookies, Best Vanilla cookies, Sugar Cookies
The Best Vanilla Sugar Cookie Recipe
Ingredients
- 440 grams All-purpose flour
- 228 grams Unsalted butter (room temperature) (2 sticks)
- 220 grams White sugar (little over a cup)
- 2 Large eggs
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 2 tsp Vanilla extract
Instructions
Plan and Prepare
- Make sure the butter and eggs are room temperature.
- Sift together the flour and salt.
Make the Dough
- Cream butter and sugar in your mixing bowl with paddle attachment until light and fluffy. Do not skimp on this step or the cookies will be very dense.
- Add the eggs one at a time slowly, mixing each well until incorporated.
- When both the eggs are added. Continue mixing on medium for about two more minutes.
- Next, add the vanilla.
- Followed by the flour. Do not over mix once the flour is incorporated.
- Bring the dough together and divide into two discs.
- Wrap in cling/plastic wrap for at least 1 to 2 hours.
Roll the Cookies
- Once the dough is chilled; roll dough on a lightly floured surface evenly.
- I roll my cookies a minimum 1/4 or 6 mm thick using a rolling pin with spacers.
- Cut out desired shaped cookies and place them on a cookie sheet one inch apart.
- I prefer to chill the cookies while the oven is preheating.
- Preheat the oven to 180 C / 360 F.
- Bake cookies for about 8 to 10 minutes depending on the thickness of the cookies.
- When baked let cool on the tray for 7 to 10 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack to cool further.
- You can eat these cookies as is or decorate them with royal icing or fondant.
Storage
- This cookie recipe can be halved or double without any issues.
- The dough can be kept in the fridge for up to 4 days, or
- Frozen for up to three months. If frozen thaw in the fridge overnight before you roll out.
- The baked cookies will stay at room temperature for up t 4 weeks but best eaten within a few days.
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Nutrition Information
Love Cookies?
You may like to check out some of my other cookie recipes.
From the simple almond crinkle cookies to the best chocolate chip cookies as well as some of the most amazing shortbread stamp cookies.
Cookie Recipes by Veena Azmanov. Custard cookies, shortbread cookies, eggless cookies, glutenfree cookies, best chocolate chip
Do you think I could substitute lemon extract for the vanilla?
Yes Jayne, you can use lemon extract for vanilla
I would love to try these and wonder if lemon extract could be substituted for vanilla?
Yes of course, Jayne. You can definitely use lemon extract instead of vanilla. Thanks
Just curious…when I measure out 3 1/2 c of flour it comes out to 580g. But the recipe calls for 440g of flour which I’m measuring to be less than 3 c. Which should I follow the grams or the cups? Are you sifting before or after measuring?
Thanks!
Angela – one cup all-purpose flour is 128 grams – so 3 1/2 cups should be about 448 grams. It is always better to measure ingredients by weight when baking as I explained here in this post THanks
Hi Veena! What attracted me to this recipe when i was searching for a sugar cookie recipe was your name. My middle name is Veena which is not very common in the U.S. so i don’t run across it very often. I am glad we share two things, our name and love of baking! I am very selective when it comes to sugar cookies so when i say these are fantastic, i mean they are really, really, really, good. I used a royal icing and they were the perfect sweetness. I had no issues whatsoever with the dough, it was super easy to work with, cut outs easy to transfer to baking sheet and did not spread. Thank you so much for the recipe, i will try to make another batch this week, even though i usually don’t make more that one batch of the same cookies during the holidays, these went so fast and i am craving more!
Thank you so much, Elizabeth Veena. That is very uncommon in the US unless you have an Indian background.
Thank you for your lovely comment. So happy you had success with this recipe and enjoyed it so much too. I’ve been making these for years and my kids love it very much.
These were designed to be decorated with Royal Icing or fondant which is why the sugar is on the less rather than more side.
Thank you for coming back to write this feedback. Appreciate it very much.
Turned out perfectly! Not super sweet and with icing they will prob be perfect ❤️ Love that they don’t spread, my design held up beautifully!
Hey Angela. Yes, these are kept a little less sweet because most often sugar cookies are frosted with Royal Icing or Fondant as decorations. Thank you, for coming back to write this feedback. Love know how the recipe works with you guys. Have a great day.
Just finished baking the cookies! They are beautiful. Now I hope I can learn how to do the piping & flooding!
Thank you LucyAnn. I’m sure you will be great.
Hello, can I use margarine instead butter? Thank you.
Yes, Mimi, you can use margarine but margarine contains water so you may need to add 1/4 cup more flour as margarine has more water content than butter.
I made the best vanilla cookie recipe and followed it to a T. The only thing I did not do was roll the dough out. I make hundreds of cookies for the holidays and was mixing mincemeat cookies while baking the vanilla cookies. I formed the dough into small balls and flattened them slightly with a sugar dipped glass. It worked for me. I must say that this is the very best vanilla cookie I have ever tasted. It was easy to make and was big on vanilla flavor. Can’t wait to make and roll them out next time. Very good recipe!
Thank you, so much Janet. I am so happy to hear that you had success with these and that you enjoyed them as well. Thank you for coming back to write this feedback. Love hearing from those who tried my recipes. Have a lovely day.
Hello! I’ve just attempted these today and they spread a bit during cooking and the edges aren’t as sharp as the ones in the picture. How can I fix this? Thank you!
Jessica, check to make sure you used the right ration for butter to flour. If you use less flour than in the recipe they will spread. Also make sure your butter is room temperature not too melted when you start creaming. Hope this helps.
Planning to make these cookies for a bridal shower this weekend! Do you suggest making the dough and chilling it overnight? Would that be okay?
Hey Danielle. I make big batches and chill them a lot but you have to make sure they are rolling temperature when its time to roll. If the dough is too cold to roll it will crack too much. So keep it out for a while until just right to roll. Just like pie crust. Too cold it will crack at the edges.
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe and the tip of refridgerating overnight ! Made two batches of these today and they worked out perfectly. Dough is very forgiving as you say! Covered in fondant as well and they taste delicious, perfect amout of sweetness.
Thank you, Constance. So happy you had success with this recipe and enjoyed it. Thank you so much for coming back to write third feedback. Have a wonderful week.
This recipe looks perfect. I will try it out this weekend.
The oven temp, Is that 180°c for normal or fan oven?
thanks
HI Adele. I have a fan oven and that’s 180 C. Thanks
Thank you so much for this recipe. Was so perfect. I thought since there is no baking powder they would be tough but on the contrary, they were perfect. Thank you so much for the wonderful recipe.
Thank you, Moris. So happy you had success with this recipe and enjoyed it. Thank you so much for coming back to leave this feedback. Have a wonderful day.
What if you don’t have a fancy mixer?
You don’t always need a fancy mixer – a whisk and a bowl will do the just fine. You will need to mix it a bit longer, that’s all.
Hi Veena,
Thansk for the recipe! I have tried this recipes and very happy with the result. The cookies held its shapes after baking and the taste was great. The only difficulty i had was the dough seems too soft i had a hard time transferring them to the baking pan after i shaped them with cookie cutter because they keep breaking. I was tempted to add flour because i worried they will spread, but i didn’t. My questions are, is it normal? Or should I add flour to the dough? Fyi i live in Indonesia which has hot and humid climate.
Hey Teta – Sorry for the delay in replying back. If you live in a hot and humid place it’s normal for the dough to be soft because the butter will melt. I highly recommend you roll the dough on a parchment paper, if necessary between two parchment papers. Chill the dough for 7 to 10 minutes – then use the cookie cutters on the chilled dough. With this method, you can handle the chilled dough without the fear of it losing shape. As for baking, I have been baking these for years and they do not spread. If you do find they spread perhaps add a few tbsp – but not unless absolutely necessary. You want the cookies to be light and melt in the mouth not tough. Hope this helps. Thanks
Hi Veena. This recipe looks fabulous, can’t wait to try it!! I was just wondering if your oven setting is with or without the fan option? Thanks in advance Nicci
Nicci – my oven has the fan setting on – thanks
Excellent receipe! How many 5 inch cookies would a batch make?
Thanks Ash. I’d say about 15 to 18 depending on how thick you roll them.
I liked the concept of airy light whip of butter & sugar. However, if you refridgerateband tool the dough, it cancels out light and airy.
There is so little sugar in this recipe for all the flour. I prefer sweet sugar cookie. If you do not glaze the cookies, they taste more like bread than dessert.
Thank you MB. Have you tried the recipe? When you try the recipe please follow the instructions as given. Then come back and let me know the out come.
This recipe is for sugar cookies and yes the amount of sugar is just right. It takes into account that you will decorate the cookies. Having said that unless you like your cookies loaded with sugar these are perfectly fine to be enjoyed with the current amount of sugar.
Many people have tried this recipe over and over again successfully including me. Thanks
We tried this cookies last weekend but we could not decorate them. They were so tasty the kids enjoyed them just as is. Thank you so much for this recipe. Going to the Chocolate version next. I have to ask if you can please make an eggless gingerbread cookie recipe. Thanks
Ah thank you karter. So happy to hear your kids enjoyed this recipe. Well you will just have to make more for decorating. Since they are so easy to make double the batch for eating and decorating. Yes do try the chocolate version too – my kids love it. Thank you so much for coming back to write this feedback. Appreciate it very much.
These come out perfect every time. I make my own butter and then I make the cookies. Here is my question: What happens if the eggs aren’t room temp? They just don’t incorporate well? My butter is never room temp but it is super creamy because it is fresh and hasn’t been refrigerated to make it “hard.”
I may try it with cold eggs just to experiment. Thanks
I too make homemade butter and often use it for my cakes and cookies but I don’t do anything different with my dough. I just chill it well before I roll the cookies. You can use cold eggs if it helps your dough.
These are the best Vanilla Sugar Cookies recipe for sure. I have been making them for a while now and they are perfect every single time. We love the taste and texture. I cannot believe that there is not baking powder or baking soda in the recipe and yet they are so light and fluffy. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Thank you Maddison. So happy to hear you loved these cookies. It sure is a favorite here. Thanks for coming back to write this feedback. Appreciate it very much
These cookies brought back some childhood memories! I will be making these over and over.
THanks Amy, so happy to hear that. Yes I have childhood memories with these too! Always the best association
I didn’t see a leavener in this recipe, why is that?
NO there is no leavening in this recipe. I often decorate sugar cookies with fondant and want them to hold their shape and size. The leavening really spread them. These are light and airy because of the mixing process. Thanks
I don’t have a stand mixer. Can I use my hand held mixer instead? And then form it by hand and chill? Thanks
Yes of course Liz you a hand held mixer, and can form it by hand but the shape will have beveled edges
Hi Vienna,
Made these cookie and they were delicious. I finally found my sugar cookie for the holidays.
Aww thank you Mary. So happy to hear that. Love to hear such feed back. Thanks
Your recipes are amazing always.Do share recipe of shrewsburry cookies if you have.
Thank you Ankita – I will try to share more cookie recipes soon.
You mixed the salt twice. Once in the flour mixture and the other for creaming. May i know which one to follow? Thanks!
Nah it’s just once – swift the flour and salt. The second should be only cream butter and sugar Thanks
OMG! I owe you for this one. Can you say perfect! I had brought a cookie cutter for my mother and I was so nervous about making cookies for the first time and these cookies came out great. My husband hates sweets and he bit this cookie three or four times tasting it for me. I wish it was a way for me to share one of my recipes with you but I have not been baking for long.
Thank you so much Letrecia. So happy this recipe worked for you and that you enjoyed it. Thank you so much for coming back to write this feedback. Have a lovely weekend.
Could I substitute Vanilla sugar instead of vanilla extract?
Yes absolutely Jenn. Use the same amount of sugar and omit the vanilla.
Yes Jenn… You can use vanilla sugar for sure and omit the vanilla in the recipe
I made the dough and refrigerated over-night. When I went to spread the dough it was very crumbly and quite difficult to roll out. Any suggestions?
Yes, Crystal its sounds like the dough was too chilled so it needs to thaw just a bit. Or knead it a bit. You want the dough cold not not so hard that it breaks apart.
My apologies if this is a duplicate.
How thick do you recommend on rolling out the dough? Thank you.
I like to keep mine a minimum 1/4 inch or 6mm thick – Thanks
How thick would you recommend rolling out the dough? Thank you.
I roll my cookies about 1/4 in thick or 6 mm using a rolling pin with spacers
Hello ma'am,
Is there any way in which we can make make eggless sugar cookies?
Hey Vinti – I will be posting some eggless sugar cookies recipes very soon. I do need to test the recipe once more before I post it so stay tuned. Thanks
Hi veena
I love your blog and your recipes
Do you have an eggless version for this recipe? Or a substitute?
Thank you so much
Hey Pallavi, I will be adding a few eggless cookies recipes very soon. Including an eggless vanilla and chocolate sugar cookies. Hopefully soon. Thank you!
What type of icing/frosting have you used to cover the sugar cookies and where can I find the recipe?
Royal Icing Kirti. Thanks – You can find the recipe for royal icing on this blog as well.
you are an artist….Love these cookies. So delicious and so easy. They turned out perfect
thanks a lot.
Thank you! So happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe.
carina
Hi Veena,
I'm wondering if you have ever made the dough, rolled it out and then froze the sheets for later use?
I want to make the dough ahead of time, for a gathering of wee ones, and having it done to the point of cutting out would be great.
Do you think it would work?
Robin Christ
Yes, you can roll the dough between sheets and keep them in the fridge. You can also cut the cookies out and then freeze them individually between parchment papers.
Hi veena, you have a great blog with so many interesting recipes. I have tried this recipe and it tasted great. But I had a problem, the cookies were quite crisp on the sides but they were a bit soft in the center. I cooled them completely and kept them in an airtight container. But they stayed the same way. I tried to follow each and every step of ur recipe exactly. I don't know what
Sounds like you undercooked them just a tad. They usually do take between 8 to 10 minutes depending on the thickness.
Hi veena, how do you get the color on these cookies? do you decorate the cookies using butter cream frosting?
I usually use Royal Icing to decorate cookies Jalpa. You can find the recipe here on the blog too.
I baked this yesterday for my 2 year 10 month old- with whole wheat flour- (just atta that you get in India). Really good recipe. thats what she had for breakfast- infact tasted like sweet chapathi.. Thanks for this recipe.. She was munching away- but said that she didnt like that I didnt make the doggie cookie- she was on your site yesterday with me and saw the pictures:) Now I will have to
Thank you, Popspeak – Sounds delicious. Glad your little one is enjoying them. Thank you
Hi Veena,
Thanks for the recipe,I tried your sugar cookies,they came out really well .
Swarna
Your very welcome, thanks for letting me know. I'm glad you liked them.
Veena
Hi Nandu,
Thanks for letting me know. I have never tried it with Wheat flour.
Glad to know you enjoyed it..
Thanks for posting your experience here.
hi Veena,i tried u r cookie recipe .instead of all purpose flour ,i used wheat flour ,it came out well .thanks for u r recipe ….
Hi, Can you show how you made those dog, puppy cookie. Love the finish on your cookies.
Please can you make a tutorial on making these. I love your blog.
Natasha from Russia
Thank you, Natasha. I just used the same cookie cutter to cut the shape with fondant. Stuck them to the cookie with sugar syrup. Then added more details. Thanks
Hi Amy, Thanks for you comment.
I suggest you follow the recipe the way it is. Making changes might give you a different outcome.
For example, in my recipe there is no baking powder or baking soda but there is an extra egg that most recipes would ask only one for these quantities.
According to me the eggs works as a great leavening agent and gives a light texture. So choose what
I have a great tasting cookie recipe but it drives me crazy because it spreads too much.
I will try this, it looks fairly simple too. You think if I left out the baking powder and soda in my recipe it would work?
Love your blog. Great information. You are turly talented.
Amy