Chewy Sugar Cookies with Sprinkles
A recipe for soft, thick, and chewy sugar cookies with sprinkles (or no sprinkles, it’s up to you!) No chilling required.
Hi friends! Today I’m sharing my favorite recipe for sugar cookies. These are perfect when you need a basic, no-frills sugar cookie. Super easy, just make the dough, roll in sugar, and bake.
Though these cookies can be easily dressed up with sprinkles, they’re also perfect rolled in a bit of sugar for that classic sugar cookie flavor. They bake up nice and thick, even without chilling time.
If you’re just here for the recipe, here ya go! If you need more info or have questions, scroll on down.
Chewy Sugar Cookies with Sprinkles
Ingredients
- 1 cup salted butter, softened to room temp
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 egg, small
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp butter flavoring
- 2 3/4 cups all purpose flour, spooned and leveled, up to 3 cups
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix the butter and sugar until they come together, and then increase the speed to medium-high and beat for 1 minute until the mixture is smooth. Beat in the egg and the extracts.
- In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt with a whisk. Add the dry ingredients 1 cup at a time to the butter mixture, gently mixing after each addition. The dough will be very thick and should be easy to roll with your hands.
- Using a measuring spoon or cookie dough scoop, roll the dough into balls and then roll in sugar or sprinkles. Place 2 inches apart on a cookie sheet and bake for 7-10 minutes. I bake mine for 8 minutes to avoid browning.
- Let stand for a few minutes and then move to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Notes
- Underbake the cookies for the perfect chewy texture.
- You may have to add more flour for the dough to be the right texture to roll. Try adding a tablespoon of flour at a time until the dough is just dry enough to be able to roll into balls.
What do I need to make these sugar cookies?
Just the basics: All purpose flour, baking soda AND baking powder, salt, sugar, butter, egg, and vanilla and butter extracts. Sprinkles optional, but highly recommended.
How do I make them?
Cream your butter and sugar, add egg, extracts. Beat well! Add your dry ingredients. Roll them into balls, then roll them in sugar (or sprinkles), bake for 7 minutes.
Questions about the cookies?
What gives these cookies outstanding flavor? The combo of vanilla + butter extract. You can just use all vanilla if that’s what you have, but having some butter extract in your pantry is a game changer, flavor wise.
Ideas for variations:
- Change up the sprinkles for each season or holiday. Red and pink hearts for Valentines, rainbow sprinkles for birthday cookies. If you’re a sprinkle hoarder like myself, it’s easy to carried away here.
- Add almond extract instead of butter for a different flavor. I’m not a huge almond extract fan, but some people go nuts for it. Give it a try and see if it’s your jam!
- Our favorite: top the cookies with an easy glaze (confectioner’s sugar + milk) and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.
Tips:
- When baking on dry days, you will need 2 3/4 cups of flour for this dough to the be right consistency. On very humid or wet days, you may need a bit more. This will be a very soft dough, but it should not spread all over your hands. If it does, it needs a bit more flour. Try adding one tablespoon at a time. You want the dough to be just dry enough to roll into a soft ball and then to roll into sugar. It should not be super dry or the cookies will turn out dry and crumbly.
- Don’t skip rolling them in sugar (or sprinkles), this keeps them from overspreading in the oven. I don’t know why it works, but it does.
- DON’T OVERBAKE!! I’m not yelling. Just encouraging you to keep an eye on these as they get near the end of the baking time. We want slightly under-baked centers. They should look a little shiny and not quite set right in the middle. This gives us the chewiest, soft texture we’re after.
- For cookies now and cookies later, bake a few right away, and then roll the rest of the dough into balls and then roll in sugar. Freeze them on a baking tray, then put them in a freezer bag, and you can have cookies ready to bake all the time! They can bake right from frozen, and might need an extra minute or two of baking time. Bake a few or bake a bunch. It’s up to you!
Enjoy the recipe & happy baking to you! If you try this recipe, leave a comment and let me know!
Try this next:
Pancakes with Sprinkles (Funfetti Pancakes) or Rainbow Sprinkle Cupcakes aka Homemade Funfetti Cupcakes
Still want more Cookies?
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