Meet Your New Go-To Sugar Cookie Recipe (2024)

  • Recipes
  • Desserts
  • Cookies

Molly Yeh

Molly Yeh

Molly Yeh is the star of Food Network’s series Girl Meets Farm, which first appeared in June 2018 and is currently in its 10th season. Girl Meets Farm celebrates the very best of Molly’s food, with recipes inspired by her Jewish and Chinese heritage and a taste of the Midwest. In 2019, Molly was nominated for both a James Beard Foundation Media Award for “Outstanding Personality/Host” and a daytime Emmy Award for “Outstanding Culinary Host.” Molly is also the creator of the critically-acclaimed and highly popular food and lifestyle brand, mynameisyeh.com and has written three cookbooks: Molly On The Range: Recipes and Stories from an Unlikely Life on a Farm, Yogurt by Short Stack Editions, and Home Is Where The Eggs Are: Farmhouse Food for the People You Love Most.

Follow

updated Jun 23, 2023

Be the first to leave a review!

Meet Your New Go-To Sugar Cookie Recipe (1)

The combination of almond and lemon makes these intensely thick and soft treats taste like nostalgic bliss, and some almond flour in the dough gives them a lovely dense texture.

Serves15Makes30 (2-inch) cookies

Jump to Recipe

We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing.

Meet Your New Go-To Sugar Cookie Recipe (2)

This recipe is a part of Secret Family Cookies — a dozen recipes from our favorite bakers, inspired by the people who make them feel at home. Get all the amazing cookies here.

Welcome to our family’s sugar cookie recipe! What’s awesome about these cookies is that they’re super thick, really soft, and you don’t have to refrigerate the dough. The combination of almond and lemon makes them taste like the bakery cookies of my youth, and some almond flour in the dough gives them a pleasantly dense texture. The two tricks to achieving the best texture are to roll out the dough really thick and take them out of the oven when they are just starting to think about turning brown but haven’t yet.

This is our go-to Christmas cookie, Hanukkah cookie, Halloween cat cookie, Valentine’s Day heart cookie, the cookie I’ll make with Bernie to bring to school on her birthday, and passport-shaped cookie in the event I have to try and sweet talk someone at the passport office in order to get mine renewed the day before I’m supposed to fly to Korea for the Olympics. (It turns out government officials can’t accept cookie bribes. But they did renew my passport in time, and I did fly to Korea, and I did watch Mirai land that triple axel in real life!!!)

Comments

The Original Family Sugar Cookie Recipe

The combination of almond and lemon makes these intensely thick and soft treats taste like nostalgic bliss, and some almond flour in the dough gives them a lovely dense texture.

Makes 30 (2-inch) cookies

Serves 15

Nutritional Info

Ingredients

For the cookies:

  • 3 1/3 cups

    (433 grams) all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

  • 1 1/3 cups

    (149 grams) almond flour (*see note below)

  • 1 teaspoon

    kosher salt

  • 1 teaspoon

    baking powder

  • 1 cup

    (226 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature

  • 2/3 cup

    (133 grams) granulated sugar

  • 2/3 cup

    (80 grams) powdered sugar

  • Zest of half a lemon, optional

  • 2

    large eggs

  • 2 teaspoons

    pure vanilla extract (or 1 teaspoon vanilla and 1 teaspoon LorAnn Princess Emulsion, on the off chance you have it)

  • 3/4 teaspoon

    pure almond extract

For the frosting and decorating:

  • 1/2 cup

    (113 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature

  • 1 1/2 cups

    (180 grams) powdered sugar

  • Pinch of

    kosher salt

  • 1/2 teaspoon

    pure vanilla extract

  • 1/2 teaspoon

    pure almond extract

  • 3 tablespoons

    (45 grams) heavy cream or 2 tablespoons (30 grams) whole milk

  • Food coloring, optional

  • Sprinkles, encouraged

Instructions

  1. If you plan to bake the cookies immediately, arrange oven racks in the upper middle and lower middle positions and preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 2 sheet pans with parchment paper and set aside. (Alternatively, you can make the dough up to 2 days in advance.)

  2. To make the cookies, in a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, almond flour, salt, and baking powder and set aside. In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle, cream together the butter, sugars, and lemon zest (if using) on medium high until pale and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes, occasionally scraping down the sides of the bowl with a spatula. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition, then add the extracts.

  3. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture, mixing until just combined, occasionally scraping down the sides to help everything combine evenly. At this point you can pat the dough into a disk, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 1 hour or up to 2 days, or you can make your cookies immediately.

  4. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to a scant 1/2-inch thickness (use your kitchen ruler!), dusting with a little more flour as needed to prevent sticking. Cut out your shapes as desired and transfer them to the prepared sheet pans, 1 inch apart. Reroll the scraps and cut out more shapes.

  5. Bake for 6 minutes, switch the racks and rotate the pans 180 degrees, and continue to bake until the cookies are just thinking about starting to turn brown. They should be set around the edges but still soft in the center; begin checking larger cookies for doneness at 6 minutes and smaller cookies at 4 minutes. If they need more time, check frequently so that they don’t overbake — every 30 seconds or so. Let cool on the sheet pans for 5 minutes, then carefully transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

  6. To make the frosting, combine the butter, sugar, and salt in a stand mixer fitted with a paddle and mix on low until you’re confident that sugar won’t fly everywhere, then increase the speed to medium and continue to mix until smooth. (It will seem like there’s too much sugar at first, but keep on mixing!) Add the extracts, heavy cream, and food coloring, if using; increase the speed to medium high, and continue to mix for a few more seconds, until combined and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl if necessary to ensure that everything combines evenly.

  7. Spread or pipe the frosting onto the cookies and decorate with sprinkles as desired and enjoy!

  8. Store in a cookie jar or airtight container at room temperature for 4 to 5 days. Frosted cookies can also be stored in an airtight container in the freezer for up to a few months; thaw at room temperature.

Recipe Notes

*Not a fan of almonds? Sub any ground nut! Hazelnuts are my other fave, especially with some orange zest.

From Home is Where the Eggs Are by Molly Yeh. Copyright © 2022 by Molly Rebecca Yeh. Reprinted by permission of William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

Filed in:

Cookie

Dessert

pantry

dairy

holiday

baked goods

Meet Your New Go-To Sugar Cookie Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the trick to sugar cookies? ›

The very best sugar cookies are soft and tender. → Follow this tip: One of the keys to great sugar cookies is mixing the dry ingredients only until they're just incorporated, and not a second longer. Once the dry ingredients are added, less mixing equals more tender cookies.

Should you refrigerate sugar cookie dough before baking? ›

Refrigerating the dough allows the flour to fully hydrate and helps to make the cookie dough firmer. Firm dough prevents the cookies from spreading too much, which is why chilling the dough is a crucial step for cut-out and rolled cookies.

How to make store-bought sugar cookie dough taste homemade? ›

A teaspoon or two of extracts will noticeably boost flavor when blended into your sugar cookie mix. Vanilla is the obvious choice. For a more intriguing flavor, add both vanilla and almond extracts. Rum, maple and anise are other delicious varieties to consider.

What to add to sugar cookie mix to make it better? ›

Almond Extract: For a twist on the traditional sugar cookie flavor, try adding a small amount of almond extract. Start with 1/2 teaspoon and adjust according to your preference. Citrus Zest: Incorporate the zest of citrus fruits like lemon, orange, or lime into the dough. The zest adds a bright and refreshing flavor.

What is the best thickness for sugar cookies? ›

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.

How long should I chill sugar cookie dough? ›

Immediately baking after mixing will result in absolutely delicious cookies; however, if time permits, chilling the dough for 24-72 hours does result in cookies that are thicker, chewier, and more flavorful. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap before refrigerating.

What happens if I don't chill my sugar cookie dough? ›

First, chilling the dough allows the butter, shortening, cream cheese, and other fats to solidify. Why is that important? Well, for the same reason that you want to keep your pie dough cool: If the fats melt too quickly, the dough will expand rapidly in the oven. That over-expanded dough loses its perfect texture.

What happens if you don t put sugar cookie dough in the fridge? ›

That's right. The composition of your cookies will come out differently after refrigeration because of the butter in the dough. "When your cookie dough is not refrigerated, the butter is at room temperature. Therefore the heat from the oven reacts with the butter quickly, making it spread thinner," says Epperson.

What if I don't chill my sugar cookie dough? ›

Popping your dough in the fridge allows the fats to cool. As a result, the cookies will expand more slowly, holding onto their texture. If you skip the chilling step, you're more likely to wind up with flat, sad disks instead of lovely, chewy cookies.

Why is my sugar cookie dough so hard? ›

Check Your Cookie Dough's Consistency

Tough – For rolled cookies, your dough can become “tough” by adding too much flour to your pin or counter before rolling it out. To avoid this, try using as little flour as possible while preparing to roll your dough.

Why do my sugar cookies taste like flour? ›

Generally that floury taste can be attributed to several things. Too much flour, bad recipe, improper mixing or underbaking, but the most common culprit is too much flour. Too much flour is most usually caused by scooping with the measuring cup and is probably the most common kitchen mistake made today.

How do you moisten sugar cookie dough? ›

Add more liquid ingredients in small amounts. Milk, egg yolks or egg whites, vanilla extract or even a teaspoon of water can help moisten the dough to give you less crumbly cookies. A little bit of a liquid like milk can also help your cookies spread in the oven to give you a more crispy cookie.

How to make cookie mix taste like bakery? ›

How To Make Boxed Cookies Better
  1. Use butter instead of margarine or oil.
  2. Add powdered milk. Sprinkling about 2 to 3 tablespoons of powdered milk per cup of cookie mix may seem kind of unconventional, but it is the best hack! ...
  3. Add brown sugar. ...
  4. Add vanilla extract. ...
  5. Brown the butter. ...
  6. Include an extra egg yolk.
Jan 3, 2024

Can you roll out store-bought sugar cookie dough? ›

Just roll the dough into one inch balls and then coat them in equal parts cinnamon and sugar. Then I press them gently with a glass before baking them according to the directions on the package. That's it!

Can you over mix sugar cookie dough? ›

Overmixed doughs and batters may have an unappealing look or feel, which remain just as unappealing when they're baked. Generally speaking, the critical moment is when you combine dry ingredients with wet ones, especially if you're bringing together components of differing temperatures and textures.

What is the secret to making cookies? ›

The key is to always use top-quality ingredients as they'll result in a better cookie; it really is that simple.
  • Always use butter.
  • Choose the right sugar.
  • Choose the right flour.
  • Check your flour is in date.
  • Choose the right kind of chocolate.
  • Cream the butter and sugar.
  • Beat in the eggs.
  • Fold in the flour.

Why do my sugar cookies not keep their shape? ›

Chill the Cookie Dough

Chilling your cookie dough is the single biggest piece of advice I give people to stop their sugar cookies spreading too much. By allowing your cookie dough to chill and rest in the fridge for between 24-72 hours allows the fat in your cookies, to solidify.

Are sugar cookies supposed to be soft or hard? ›

Unlike many things in the baking world, sugar cookies are meant to be foolproof. They don't have much butter or leavening, so they'll keep their shape when you roll out the dough and cut them. They're sturdy enough to be handled and decorated, but soft and delicious enough to be a Christmastime dessert staple.

Why chill sugar cookie dough? ›

Popping your dough in the fridge allows the fats to cool. As a result, the cookies will expand more slowly, holding onto their texture. If you skip the chilling step, you're more likely to wind up with flat, sad disks instead of lovely, chewy cookies. Cookies made from chilled dough are also much more flavorful.

References

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Recommended Articles
Article information

Author: Sen. Emmett Berge

Last Updated:

Views: 6047

Rating: 5 / 5 (80 voted)

Reviews: 87% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Sen. Emmett Berge

Birthday: 1993-06-17

Address: 787 Elvis Divide, Port Brice, OH 24507-6802

Phone: +9779049645255

Job: Senior Healthcare Specialist

Hobby: Cycling, Model building, Kitesurfing, Origami, Lapidary, Dance, Basketball

Introduction: My name is Sen. Emmett Berge, I am a funny, vast, charming, courageous, enthusiastic, jolly, famous person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.