World's Best Sugar Cookie Recipe (2024)

Our World’s Best Sugar Cookie Recipe is sure to knock your socks off this Christmas! The combination of the fluffy biscuit-like dough with the super sweet glaze on top will leave your mouth watering for more! World's Best Sugar Cookie Recipe (1)

These are the best sugar cookies you will ever have. Seriously.

The cookie itself is soft and almost biscuit-like while the glaze icing gives it just the right amount of sweetness. Perfection.

I can say this with humility, of course, because the recipe is not mine! My friend Anne, who is the BEST baker I know, recently gave me this recipe. She made some sugar cookies for a baby shower I hosted a couple months ago. After tasting one of the leftover cookies, Prince Charming said, “This cookie tastes like the essence of childhood. You HAVE to get this recipe.”

I’ll be honest…until now, I didn’t really understand what all the fuss was about in regards to sugar cookies. They seemed like A LOT of work to me and not really worth the effort. Let’s just say I stand corrected. I always thought sugar cookies were too crunchy and stiff. But these cookies are pillowy soft! And that begs the question

How do you keep cookies soft and chewy?

Sour cream is the secret ingredient that keeps these sugar cookies soft and chewy! I know it sounds crazy, but you won’t be sorry after trying this recipe!

Thereare three important things to remember about these sugar cookies:

  1. Roll them out super thin. They will puff up during baking.
  2. DO NOTover-bake Cook them for 8-10 minutes, no more. Once you pull them out, leave them for bit on the cookie sheet if you think they need a bit more time. If you overcook them, they will be hard and tasteless. You want the cookies to be super soft.
  3. Make sure you use the glaze. These sugar cookies are biscuit-like and not all that sweet on their own. Because of this, it’s important that you use a super sweet glaze like the recipe we have shared below. Other frosting recipes might not be sweet enough. The glaze recipe dries hard and shiny, which make for beautiful cookies!

World's Best Sugar Cookie Recipe (3)

World’s Best Sugar Cookie Recipe (according to Jenae)

1 c. butter
1 c. sugar
1 c. sour cream (trust me…you won’t be sorry!)
2 eggs, beaten
2 tsp. vanilla
2 tsp. fresh lemon juice (I used the bottled kind, that I just bought. That’s “fresh”, right?)
5 c. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda

1. Cream butter and sugar.
2. Mix in sour cream, eggs, vanilla, and lemon juice.
3. Add the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly.
4. Chill dough (at least 1 hour, we “chilled” overnight)
5. Roll 1/8 thick on a floured surface and cut with cookie cutters. MAKE SURE you roll them out thin enough. They will puff up a little during baking, so they need to be really thin when rolled out.
6. Bake 8-10 minutes at 350 degrees.

*I would highly recommend freezing half of the dough as it makesA TON!

World's Best Sugar Cookie Recipe (4)

Sweet Glaze

Use this glaze in lieu of frosting. You won’t be sorry…the glaze adds the perfect amount of sweetness to the biscuit-like cookies and dries shiny

2 c. powdered sugar
4 tsp. milk
4 tsp. corn syrup
2 tsp. vanilla or almond extract(I actually prefer the almond extract in this recipe)

Mix together and spread on cookies. This is a GREAT icing to use with little ones because it smooths out even after its been spread on the cookie (no matter how harsh your little one was spreading it on there).

Here are a few pictures of our cookie-making process…

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Such a big helper! It’s times like this I wish I had one oftheseWorld's Best Sugar Cookie Recipe (6) (especially since it is half-off!!!)

World's Best Sugar Cookie Recipe (7)

There it is! Just yesterday….my bottle of homemade vanilla(once you try this stuff, you’ll never want the store-bought vanilla again)!

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What fun is making cookies without licking the beaters afterwards??? I guess getting salmonella wouldn’t be very fun…but surely a teeny-tiny bit won’t hurt, right???

World's Best Sugar Cookie Recipe (9)

World's Best Sugar Cookie Recipe (10)

World's Best Sugar Cookie Recipe (11)We used a baby spoon to spread the icing. My friend Sarah uses paintbrushes…which is a wonderful idea. All of my paint brushes have been painted with and I didn’t know if it was safe to use a “used” paintbrush to spread the icing.

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And this is a little less than HALF the batch-Christmas trees, bells, snowmen, and boy and girl gingerbread babies. Yes, babies. Big Brother is obsessed with Gingerbread BabyWorld's Best Sugar Cookie Recipe (13)by Jan Brett. We read it AT LEAST once a day.

World's Best Sugar Cookie Recipe (14)

We took a plate of cookies to our local firestation as part of our 12 Days of Christmas Giving.

World's Best Sugar Cookie Recipe (15)

Checking out the ambulance at the firestation…notice the plate of cookies in the fireman’s hand. :)

Now…go try out this World’s Best Sugar Cookie Recipe. Just be sure to save some cookies for everybody else. ;)

And if you’re looking for another great cookie recipe, you MUST try this recipe for Rolo Cookies. They are my husband’s favorite!

Originally published December 16, 2010

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World's Best Sugar Cookie Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How to make sugar cookies taste better? ›

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.

Can you over beat sugar cookie dough? ›

Over-working the dough yields a tough cookie, which is not at all what you want. 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.

What makes cookies chewy and not hard? ›

The science is simple: According to the flour authorities over at Bob's Red Mill, cornstarch can help “soften the rigid proteins of the flour, resulting in a light and chewy dessert.” “The cornstarch complements the flour in absorbing the liquids, but won't develop gluten structure like the flour will,” stresses ...

What is the best flour for cookies? ›

All-Purpose Flour: The Versatile Choice

All-purpose flour is the most commonly used flour in cookie recipes due to its moderate protein content (usually around 10-12%).

Why do people poke fork holes in sugar cookies? ›

So by poking the holes in, the cookie. will ensure that the cookie shape does not spread, which sugar cookies love to do. It also helps it stay nice and flat at the top.

How do you get sugar to stay on sugar cookies? ›

If you want better adhesion you can brush the cookie with corn syrup and then dip it into the sprinkles. Once the corn syrup sets the sprinkles will be solidly stuck to the surface. Before, if you want them to stick. Brush your cookies with egg white 1st to help the sprinkles stick.

What does cornstarch do in sugar cookies? ›

Cornstarch makes dough easier to handle

A common issue with sugar cookie dough is its sticky consistency. Resist the urge to add more flour which will result in tougher cookies, and add cornstarch instead.

How long to chill sugar cookie dough before baking? ›

As a general rule of thumb, you should refrigerate cookie dough for at least 30 minutes and up to 24 hours. More than that, and you won't see a noticeable difference in the final product. Once the dough has chilled, let it warm up at room temperature until it's just pliable (about 5 to 10 minutes).

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.

Should you refrigerate sugar cookies? ›

Choose to store them at room temperature or in the freezer instead of the fridge. If you can store your cookies at room temperature or in the freezer - do it. The fridge should be your last resort because of the moisture that can make your cookies soggy. Store the cookies in an airtight container.

What is the secret to making soft cookies? ›

Baking cookies quickly in a hot oven – at 375 degrees F as opposed to a lower temperature – will make for soft results. They'll bake fast instead of sitting and drying out in the oven's hot air. Ever so slightly underbaking your cookies will give you softer results than cooking them the full amount the recipe says.

What is the secret to chewy cookies? ›

Cornstarch helps product soft and thick cookies. Using more brown sugar than white sugar results in a moister, softer cookie. An extra egg yolk increases chewiness. Rolling the cookie dough balls to be tall and lumpy instead of wide and smooth gives the cookies a bakery-style textured thickness.

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