Soft and Chewy Sugar Cookies (Drop-Style)
These easy drop-style sugar cookies require NO chill time and bake up soft and chewy. Roll them in granulated sugar before baking for a sugary crust, or bake them plain, frost them, add sprinkles… it’s the best and most versatile sugar cookie recipe you’ll find!
These cookies are flat-out fantastic. It is not often that I eat a plain sugar cookie without any type of icing, and these were delicious in every way a sugar cookie should be.
Soft, chewy, buttery, and sweet, these are the essence of what every sugar cookie aspires to become. Rolling them in sugar prior to baking allows them to create a nice sugary crust in the oven, that gives way to buttery softness when you bite into them.
How to make drop sugar cookies
I love having a go-to drop sugar cookie recipe because sometimes when the mood strikes for a good sugar cookie, you realllllllly might not want to go through the hassle of rolling out dough, cutting it, etc.
Are you ready to hear how easy these cookies are to make? This is what we do:
- Preheat the oven.
- Prep the pan (see below).
- Whisk together dry ingredients.
- Cream butter and sugars.
- Add egg and vanilla.
- Mix in dry ingredients.
- Roll dough into balls.
- Roll in sugar.
- Bake!
In case you missed it, the best part is… NO CHILL TIME!
That’s right, they are TRUE drop cookies. Mix together the dough and then bake right away.
Now, let’s talk about those pans!
My baking pans of choice are these rimmed half sheet pans; I have a ton and I use them for everything! And they are perfect for cookies.
I highly, highly recommend using parchment paper to line your baking pans when baking cookies. Greasing cookie sheets will allow excess fat to leach into your cookies, causing them to spread too much and potentially burn on the bottom.
For a brief time, I experimented with silicone baking mats, but over time found that they developed a greasy film that I couldn’t get rid of no matter how many times I washed in soapy water or ran through the dishwasher. It was causing the same issues as greasing the pan would, so I stopped using them and went back to parchment paper.
Sugar cookies vs snickerdoodles
Some think of snickerdoodles as simply drop sugar cookies that have been rolled in cinnamon-sugar, but this oversimplification is far from accurate.
While both cookies have the same basic list of ingredients (butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla, flour, and baking powder/soda), there is one key ingredient in snickerdoodles that turns them into something altogether different:
Cream of Tartar
This magical little ingredient is an acid, so its presence gives the cookies that ever-so-slight tangy flavor to make snickerdoodles, well… snickerdoodles.
Keep them soft!
I’m a firm believer that all sugar cookies should be super soft; if you want a hard or crunchy sugar cookie, shortbread cookies are your answer.
A couple of keys to keep those cookies nice and soft:
- Brown Sugar – Just a small amount gives the cookies a little extra softness and gives them a chewier texture.
- Don’t Overmix – When you add the dry ingredients, only mix until just combined. You can always finish mixing in bits of flour with a rubber spatula.
- Don’t Press Down Too Far – When you press the cookies down, make sure they are still ¾-inch thick to keep them from getting too flat (and crunchy!).
- Don’t Overbake – Quite possibly the most important tip of all! Keep an eye on the cookies since some ovens can run hot and pull them out when the edges are light brown and the centers look just barely set and still pale.
Customize!
Even though these are drop cookies, you can still dress them up a bit if you’d like. Some ideas:
- Frost them – Instead of rolling the cookies in sugar, skip that step and then slather on your favorite vanilla frosting or cream cheese frosting – tint it different colors if you’d like!
- Add sprinkles – Who doesn’t love sprinkles?! Fold in ½ cup of colored sprinkles with a rubber spatula after mixing in the dry ingredients.
Make-ahead, storage, and freezing tips
- Make-Ahead – You can prepare the dough and store it, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 3 days before scooping and baking.
- Storage – Store the cookies in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
- Freezing the Dough – You can roll the dough balls and freeze them for up to 2 months. Bake for an extra minute or so.
- Freezing the Cookies – You can freeze the baked cookies for up to 3 months in an airtight container. Thaw at room temperature then enjoy!
If you like these cookies, you’ll love these other recipes:
Watch the Recipe Video:
If you make these sugar cookies and love them, I would so appreciate it if you would take a moment to leave a rating below. Thank you so much! ❤️️
Soft and Chewy Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
- 2⅓ cups (280 g) all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) baking powder
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) salt
- 1 cup (227 g) unsalted butter, softened but still cool
- 1 cup (198 g) granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1½ teaspoons (1.5 teaspoons) vanilla extract
For Rolling
- ½ cup (99 g) granulated sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Add the egg and vanilla; beat at medium speed until combined, about 30 seconds. Add the dry ingredients and beat at low speed until just combined, about 30 seconds, scraping down the bowl as needed.
- Place the ½ cup sugar for rolling in a shallow bowl. Fill a medium bowl halfway with cold tap water. Dip your hands in the water and shake off any excess (this will prevent the dough from sticking to your hands and ensure that the sugar sticks to the dough). Roll a heaping tablespoon of dough into a 1½-inch ball between moistened palms, roll the ball in the sugar, and then place it on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough, moistening your hands as necessary, and spacing the balls about 2 inches apart. Butter the bottom of a drinking glass and then dip the bottom of the glass in the remaining sugar. Flatten the dough balls with the bottom of the glass until they are about ¾ inch thick, dipping the glass in sugar as necessary to prevent sticking (after every 2 or 3 cookies).
- Bake until the cookies are light brown around the edges and their centers are just set and very lightly colored, 10 to 13 minutes. Cool the cookies on the baking sheets about 3 minutes; using a wide metal spatula, transfer the cookies to a wire rack and cool to room temperature. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Pans: I recommend half sheet pans and lining with parchment paper.
- Frost them – Slather on your favorite vanilla frosting or cream cheese frosting – tint it different colors if you’d like!
- Add sprinkles – Fold in ½ cup of colored sprinkles with a rubber spatula after mixing in the dry ingredients.
- Make-Ahead – You can prepare the dough and store it, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 3 days before scooping and baking.
- Storage – Store the cookies in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
- Freezing the Dough – You can roll the dough balls and freeze them for up to 2 months. Bake for an extra minute or so.
- Freezing the Cookies – You can freeze the baked cookies for up to 3 months in an airtight container. Thaw at room temperature then enjoy!
- Recipe from Baking Illustrated
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
[Photography by Dee of One Sarcastic Baker]
How can a cookie can taste so good with such few ingredients and such little time? I had made lofty promises of making dessert today, but just didn’t have the energy to go through with my original plan. I made these in no time and no one was the wiser;)
These cookies were easy to make and turned out perfect—nothing like a classic sugar cookie!
I usually make rolled, cut out sugar cookies but I saw this recipe and knew I had to try it. These were absolutely amazing! Soft, chewy, and delicious. They may just be my new favorite sugar cookie. Thank you Michelle for another slam dunk!
Best sugar cookie recipe I’ve ever tried. I used Better Batter gluten free flour; the slight crunch on the outside and chewy texture on the inside – perfection!
This is the best sugar cookie recipe I’ve EVER come across!! For the first time my cookies came out perfect!! I make them all the time! Thank you!!!!
I have baked these cookies many times and they are always perfect and delicious! Very easy recipe too!! I shared with my sister in law and her grandson loves fhem! I have baked many of your recipes and they are simple to make and the end result is
always perfect. My husband loves everything I bake!! Thank you so much for your lovely recipes.
These cookies are a family favorite!! I use a teaspoon of almond extract and half a teaspoon of vanilla extract for a yummy almond flavor!
How do I measure the flour? And do I measure the flour in a metal measuring cup or a hard plastic measuring cup?
These cookies are delicious!!!
Gee! These were delicious! My dough was crumbly after the first six cookies. I continued on and they were still chewy in the center with crunchy edges. Thank you, thank you! I will definitely make these again.
We loved these.cookies! The dough was very crumbly. What could I have done to prevent that? The cookies were delicious but thin.
Hi! So I have made these a few times and I’ve had an issue with the edges getting too brown while the center is a bit under baked. Do you have any idea why that may be?
Hi Katie, You could try bumping the baking temperature down to 350 degrees and see how that works for you!
I made a double recipe. The first baked out too thin.
It worked better for me to roll into balls, coat, then bake without flattening. I patted them gently with the back of my spatula when they came out of the oven to keep them from being too puffy.
They were crunch on the outer edge but soft and chewy in the center. I rolled half in granulated sugar, very pretty. The other half I rolled
in rainbow sprinkles-they turned out so cute!
One of the best sugar cookie recipes. Found it years ago and it’s my go to— I make these on the fly for party before the days of COVID, and everyone wanted to know where I bought them 😂
One thing I do for a chewier cookie is do half cup of brown sugar and half cup of white. I love brown sugar so this is my fave way to make them. I’ve also added lemon extract with frosting for Easter and maple extract with walnuts!
It one of the best cookies I have ever made. I was worried it won’t be soft because I reduced the amount of sugar but it still turn out good.
A great no chill sugar cookie recipe – love it, cuz I hate waiting for the dough to chill prior to baking! So yum and fluffy!
Amazing they were really soft and chewy and they were absolutely delicious
Yes, yes to the cookbook suggestion from reader below!!!. Besides your amazing recipes, you’re such a good story teller and writer and photographer. Would be so neat to see if one day you had a beautiful recipe book that included some of your amazing pics, life stories….even your doggies and kids. I think we all can use something uplifting in our cookbook sections besides just having recipes on every page. My favorite of yours is, and always will be your Friday Things and your Weekend things. How great to have a big new book filled with recipes and things like that😊 you can do it girl, if anyone can it’s you!!
Sugar cookies look amazing. Nice choice to transition us from Summer to Fall.
I love your recipes! Would you consider doing a cookbook?
Amy
Aw thank you, Amy! I’d love to get a cookbook out one day!
Hello, quick question, a Bakery we go to has a soft sugar cookie stuffed with Nutella. would your recipe be suitable for that?
Ooooh that sounds delicious! You could for sure try it!
It looks like from the comments you published this recipe first about 10 yrs ago and I was wondering what tweeks you did over the years if any. Always interesting to know how recipes change as we make them thru the years.
Hi Cheryl, Yes, this is an old one! Other than including better photos and a video, the only change is to a slight reduction to baking time to keep them nice and pale and from overbaking. When I make substantial changes to an old recipe, I’ll always discuss that in the post above so you know what may be different.
I was wondering if this was the old sugar cookie recipe (I always recognize these cookies to know I have the right recipe by the picture of the cookie with the blue object in the picture). These truly are the best sugar cookies and super quick to make especially if your used to the recipe. These are my go to quick cookie and I can whip these up super fast.
Wow this looks easy to make and delicious to eat. I am gonna try it for sure.
These are the best sugar cookies! Everyone loves them!
Literally the best sugar cookie ever!!!! I found this recipe about 5 years ago and it is my go to sugar cookie recipe every single time. So many people hate sugar cookies and can then plain or bland. Not this one! I’ve converted so many non believers into lovers! It’s buttery and chewy but still crisp around the edge, tastes great day one and stays fresh in in air right container with a few pieces of bread in to keep them moist! This recipe is perfect as is and needs no amendments! Easy to make and even easier to eat. Try them, you won’t be disappointed!!!