Best Ever Fluffy Sugar Cookies Recipes

SOFT SUGAR COOKIES RECIPE

Steps:

• In a large bowl or stand mixer, beat the butter on medium speed until it is soft and fluffy, 1-2 minutes.
• Add the softened cream cheese and continue to beat for 1 minute, until well incorporated.
• Add the sugar and beat well, 1-2 minutes, until fluffy.
• Add the egg, vanilla, and almond extract. Beat well. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a spatula. This is my spatula that I love and use for every baking project.
• Add salt and flour and beat until just barely combined, scraping the sides and bottom again. Do not stir too much or you will make your dough tough. The dough is pretty sticky!
• Scrape the dough out onto a sheet of plastic wrap (or into a ziplock or tupperware). Cover or wrap tightly and put it in the fridge for 2 hours (or overnight) or in the freezer for 1-2 hours. (If I am in a hurry I will split the dough in half and wrap separately so that it will chill faster.)
• When the dough is completely chilled, preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Line 2-3 baking sheets with silpat baking mats or parchment paper.
• Prepare a work surface with a light dusting of flour.*
• If you have not already split the dough in half, do so now. Put any dough that you are not working with in the fridge.
• Use floured hands to flatten out the dough a bit, then use a rolling pin to roll it and smooth it out a little bit. Don't go too crazy here, remember we want the cookies to be THICK, about 3/8 inch. I actually busted out the measuring tape for this step. No crisp cookies, please.
• Lightly dust your chosen cookie cutters with flour. Press firmly into the dough, utilizing your space wisely. Use your finger or a knife (depending on the shape) to wipe away the excess flour/dough on the outer edge of the cookie cutter before pushing them out onto the pan. This helps you get clean lines.
• Place the shaped dough on the prepared baking sheet. If you are using multiple cookie cutter shapes, bake all of the same shape on the same pan. Otherwise your smaller cookies will get over baked. Leave at least 1 inch in between each cookie.
• If you've taken long enough that your shaped cookies are no longer chilled, place the baking sheet in the fridge or freezer for a couple minutes.
• Scrape together the excess dough and knead it together once or twice (as little as possible), then roll it out again to 3/8. Don't overwork the dough! (It will get tough.) Continue until the dough is gone. Refrigerate the dough as necessary. They should go into the oven cool.
• Bake the shaped cookies at 350 for about 9 minutes for smaller cookies, and about 10-11 minutes for larger cookies. Do NOT over bake. You do not want the edges or tops to brown at all. The cookies should be barely browned on the bottom. See photos.
• Leave the cookies on the pan for 5 minutes, then immediately transfer to a large tupperware and cover until they are completely cooled and you are ready to frost.
• Frost cookies with The BEST Buttercream Frosting for Sugar Cookies!

SOFT CUT-OUT SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
• In a large bowl using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar together on high speed until completely smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the egg, vanilla, and almond extract (if using) and beat on high speed until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl and beat again as needed to combine.
• Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on low until combined. Dough will be relatively soft. If the dough seems too soft and sticky for rolling, add 1 more Tablespoon of flour.
• Divide the dough into 2 equal parts. Place each portion onto a piece of lightly floured parchment paper or a lightly floured silicone baking mat. With a lightly floured rolling pin, roll the dough out to about 1/4-inch thickness. Use more flour if the dough seems too sticky. The rolled-out dough can be any shape, as long as it is evenly 1/4-inch thick.
• Lightly dust one of the rolled-out doughs with flour. Place a piece of parchment on top. (This prevents sticking.) Place the 2nd rolled-out dough on top. Cover with plastic wrap or aluminum foil, then refrigerate for at least 1-2 hours and up to 2 days.
• Once chilled, preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line 2-3 large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Carefully remove the top dough piece from the refrigerator. If it's sticking to the bottom, run your hand under it to help remove it- see me do this in the video above. Using a cookie cutter, cut the dough into shapes. Re-roll the remaining dough and continue cutting until all is used. Repeat with 2nd piece of dough. (Note: It doesn't seem like a lot of dough, but you get a lot of cookies from the dough scraps you re-roll.)
• Arrange cookies on baking sheets 3 inches apart. Bake for 11-12 minutes or until lightly browned around the edges. If your oven has hot spots, rotate the baking sheet halfway through bake time. Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before decorating.
• Decorate the cooled cookies with royal icing or easy glaze icing. Feel free to tint either icing with gel food coloring. See post above for recommended decorating tools. No need to cover the decorated cookies as you wait for the icing to set. If it's helpful, decorate the cookies directly on a baking sheet so you can stick the entire baking sheet in the refrigerator to help speed up the icing setting.
• Enjoy cookies right away or wait until the icing sets to serve them. Once the icing has set, these cookies are great for gifting or for sending. Plain or decorated cookies stay soft for about 5 days when covered tightly at room temperature. For longer storage, cover and refrigerate for up to 10 days.

SOFT SUGAR COOKIES IV

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• In a medium bowl, cream together the butter, shortening and sugar. Stir in the eggs and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt, stir into the creamed mixture until dough comes together. Roll dough into walnut sized balls and roll the balls in sugar. Place them on an unprepared cookie sheet about 2 inches apart.
• Bake cookies 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven, until bottom is light brown. Remove from baking sheets to cool on wire racks.

THE SOFTEST SUGAR COOKIES EVER RECIPE BY TASTY

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt to combine.
• In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar together with an electric hand mixer until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the egg and mix until fully incorporated. Add the sour cream and vanilla and mix until creamy. Add the flour mixture, a third at a time, until fully combined.
• Lightly flour a work surface and turn out the dough. Press the dough together into a disc and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill for 1 hour in the refrigerator.
• Preheat the oven to 300˚F (150˚C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Remove the plastic wrap from the dough and lightly flour a work surface. Roll out the dough to about ½-inch thick. Cut out circles using a glass or cookie cutter.
• Transfer the cookies to the prepared baking sheet, leaving about 1 inch in between cookies. Bake for 8 minutes, until the cookie bottoms are golden brown and the tops are pale. Let the cookies cool on a wire rack.
• Make the frosting: in a large bowl, beat the butter with an electric hand mixer until fluffy. Sift in the powdered sugar and mix until incorporated. Add the milk and continue to beat until the frosting is smooth and velvety. Add food coloring, if desired.
• Frost the cooled cookies and decorate as you wish.
• Enjoy!

THICK SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, egg yolks and extracts. In another bowl, whisk flour, baking powder and salt; gradually beat into creamed mixture. Shape into a disk; wrap and refrigerate 1 hour or until firm enough to roll., Preheat oven to 375°. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to 1/2-in. thickness. Cut with a floured 2-in. cookie cutter. Place 1 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets., Bake until edges begin to brown, 10-12 minutes. Cool on pans 5 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool completely., For frosting, in a large bowl, beat confectioners' sugar, butter, shortening, extracts and enough milk to reach desired consistency. Spread over cookies. If desired, sprinkle with nonpareils.

BEST-EVER SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream the butter, cream cheese and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg yolk and extracts. Combine the flour, salt, baking soda and nutmeg; gradually add to creamed mixture. Cover and refrigerate for 3 hours or until easy to handle., On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/8-in. thickness. Cut with floured 2-1/2-in. cookie cutters. , Place 1-in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 375° until edges begin to brown, 8-10 minutes. Cool for 2 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely., For icing, in a small bowl, combine the confectioners' sugar, water and meringue powder; beat on low speed just until combined. Beat on high until soft peaks form, 4 minutes. Cover icing with damp paper towels or plastic wrap between uses., Working quickly, spread or pipe icing over cookies; let dry at room temperature for several hours or until firm. Use small new paintbrushes or toothpicks and food coloring to make designs on the cookies. Let stand until set. Store in an airtight container.

FLUFFY SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Cream together butter, sugars, egg yolk and sour milk (I add 1 tbsp of sour cream to milk and whisk).
• Mix dry ingredients.
• Mix dry ingredients into creamed butter mixture.
• Fold stiffened egg white into batter.
• Drop batter onto cookie sheets 1 inch apart. sprinkle with additional sugar or cinnamon-sugar mixture, if desired.
• Bake at 375°F for 8-10 minutes.

BEST EVER FLUFFY SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Cream butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Add eggs and extracts; mix well. In a separate bowl combine flour, tartar, salt, baking soda and nutmeg. Gradually add flour mixture to wet ingredients blending thoroughly. Place dough in greased bowl and refrigerate overnight. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll out dough on floured surface, cut with cookie cutters and bake on greased cookie sheet for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown on bottom.

THE BEST FLUFFY SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream together butter, granulated sugar, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and almond extract for 1 minute.
• Mix in sour cream, eggs, and baking soda and mix until combined.
• One cup at a time, slowly add in the flour and mix on low speed until flour is incorporated. Dough will be on the sticky side.
• Form dough into a large ball and place on flour-covered surface. Knead dough for 1 minute until it forms a smooth, solid ball and is no longer sticky to the touch. You will likely need to sprinkle about 1 tablespoon flour on top to help it not be sticky. If dough is still too sticky, refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Using a rolling pin, roll dough between 3/8-1/2" inch thick. Using a 2.5 inch diameter circle cookie cutter, cut out circles and place on a parchment-covered cookie sheet. If dough is sticking to your cookie cutter, dip the cookie cutter in flour between each cut.* See notes below for alternative to rolling pin.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes, or until the center no longer looks wet and doughy. Allow to cool completely before frosting.
• Buttercream Frosting: In a large bowl, whip butter on high speed for 1 minute until light and fluffy. Add vanilla extract, almond extract, and salt. On low speed, begin adding in powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time until all is incorporated. Beat on high speed for 2-3 minutes until fluffy and creamy.Spread on top of cookies or place frosting in a large piping bag with a large round tip.
• See notes for storing tips.

BEST SUPER SOFT PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees and very lightly grease a baking sheet or line with a baking mat.
• In a medium bowl whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
• In a large bowl cream together butter, peanut butter, brown sugar, and 1/4 cup granulated sugar for 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy. Mix in egg and vanilla until blended.
• Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until combined (do not over mix). Roll dough into balls (two regular size cookie scoops or about 3 tablespoons, the balls should be fairly big - this is the key to a super soft texture!)
• Roll cookie dough balls in remaining 2 tablespoons sugar, then place on baking sheet 2-3 inches apart. Use a fork to gently press a criss-cross pattern into each cookie dough ball, only pressing ball down about half way.
• Bake for 8-9 minutes - DO NOT OVER BAKE. The cookies should just begin to crack on top. Allow to cool 1-2 minutes on baking sheet, then transfer to a cooling rack. Store in an airtight container at room temperature up to 5 days (they are softest on day 1 and 2!).