With sugar and spice and everything nice, these easy homemade Sugar Cookies are simple and delicious. Bake a few now and freeze the extras for later.
There comes a time each holiday season, when you must ask the question:
What kinds of cookies should we bake this year?
It can be hard to choose. There are so many different kinds of cookies in the world!
While my kids have always loved baking and decorating cut-out cookies at the holidays, these homemade sugar cookies are super simple to make and can still be loaded with sprinkles. You just don’t have to fight with rolling out the dough. Haha.
I hate that part.
Add these Easy Homemade Sugar Cookies to Your Cookie Platter!
If you’re looking for something festive but simple, these homemade sugar cookies are the way to go. Easy to mix up with regular pantry staples, freezer-friendly, and super delicious, you can customize these sugar cookies for any holiday or color scheme:
- Red and green for Christmas
- Blue and silver for New Year’s
- Pink for Valentines
- Pastels for Easter and baby showers
- Sparkling white for bridal parties
- And cinnamon sugar for everyday
Similar in flavor to a snickerdoodle, thanks to the added spices of ginger, nutmeg, and cinnamon, these homemade sugar cookies will become your go-to when you want a simple sweet treat.
What are sugar cookies?
Sugar cookies, by definition, are cookies made with sugar, butter, eggs, vanilla, flour, and a leavener, such as baking powder or baking soda. This version has both.
Sugar cookies can be shaped by hand, dropped from a scoop, or rolled out and cut into shapes. Typically, they are topped with icing, sugar, or sprinkles—or a combination to really highlight the sugar in sugar cookie.
How thick should sugar cookies be?
Sugar cookies can vary in texture and thickness. The desired thickness really depends on your preferences.
This sugar cookie recipe results in cookies that are about ¼-inch thick. If you’d like a thinner cookie, flatten the cookie balls with the bottom of a glass prior to baking. This will give you a thinner, crisper cookie.
How do you make homemade sugar cookies?
The process for making homemade sugar cookies is super simple:
- Lay out your ingredients and be sure to allow the butter plenty of time to soften, at least a couple of hours at room temperature.
- In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, vanilla extract, and almond extract.
- In a second bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, spices, and salt.
- Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, stirring to combine. The dough will form in clumps that will easily stick together when pressed. (I admit, it looks a bit weird.)
- At this point, you can chill or freeze the dough until you’re ready to bake.
- When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375 degrees and line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. You’ll likely need to bake in three shifts, as 12 cookies usually fit comfortably on a large sheet pan.
- Pat the dough into a large rectangle and cut into 36 even portions. Shape the dough into 1-inch balls and roll in colored sanding sugar. You can also roll the cookie balls in cinnamon sugar if you prefer. Place the balls on the prepared cookie sheet, leaving about 2 inches between.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 8 to 9 minutes or until set. Cool on a rack before storing in an airtight container.
Can you freeze sugar cookies?
Cookie dough is a great thing to freeze! If you’d like to freeze sugar cookies, you can do one of 3 things:
- Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and place it in a ziptop freezer bag. Be sure to label the bag with baking instructions. Thaw the dough overnight in the fridge prior to proceeding with the recipe.
- Form the dough balls and freeze them on a lined baking sheet. Once firm, collect the balls into a labeled freezer bag. When ready to bake, roll the dough balls in sugar and bake according to the recipe instructions.
- Bake and cool according to the recipe. Then store the cookies between layers of parchment paper in an airtight container in the freezer. Thaw briefly and serve.
How much does it cost to bake homemade sugar cookies?
Is it cheaper to bake your own cookies? Here’s how this recipe pencils out, priced with non-sale prices at a mid-range grocery store:
- butter – $1.85 ($3.69/lb)
- sugar – $0.22 ($1.99/4#)
- egg – $0.25 ($2.99/12)
- vanilla extract – $0.34 ($7.99/2 oz)
- almond extract – $0.30 ($3.59/1 oz)
- flour – $0.30 ($2.69/5 lbs)
- baking soda – $0.02 ($0.99/16oz)
- baking powder – $0.09 ($1.49/8.1 oz)
- salt – $0.02 ($2.99/26 oz)
- spices – $0.05
So basically, if you weren’t really paying attention to the cost of ingredients, you can expect to spend about $3.44 for 3 dozen cookies, about 10 cents per cookie!
Save even more using the Good Cheap Eats System!
SAVE EVEN MORE MONEY WHEN YOU SHOP THE GOOD CHEAP EATS WAY!
This cost estimate is based on non-sale prices at a mid-range grocer. You can do even better at lowering your costs for this recipe.
- Shop the lowest priced store. This will vary, depending on where you live. Do a quick price comparison to see what store offers the best price on the ingredients you regularly buy.
- Shop the sales. Avoid paying full price. Make a habit of checking your grocer’s weekly sales (as well as clearance!) and buying when the price is low.
- Buy in bulk. When you see those killer prices, buy as much as your budget and storage space will allow. Be sure to check the best-by dates so you can maximize your purchase.
- Make your own. Did you know that you can make vanilla extract much more cheaply at home? It’s true!
Do you need special equipment to make sugar cookies?
Here are the tools that I use for this recipe:
- stainless steel mixing bowl – I’m not sure you have too many of these.
- hand mixer – My Hamilton Beach version is going on a decade and still kicking.
- stand mixer – You can also use a stand mixer if you prefer.
- silicone spatula/spoon – I have two or three of these—so convenient!
- parchment paper – I hate washing pans. Parchment paper makes clean up a breeze.
- sheet pans – These heavy-duty rimmed baking sheets have been a game-changer!
If you prepare this recipe, be sure to share a picture on social media and hashtag it #GOODCHEAPEATS. I can't wait to see what you cook up!
Easy Homemade Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- 2 ½ cup unbleached, all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoon colored sanding sugar or cinnamon sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, vanilla extract, and almond extract.
- In a second bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, spices, and salt.
- Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, stirring to combine. The dough will form in clumps that will easily stick together when pressed. (I admit, it looks a bit weird.) You can use the hand mixer if you like, just know that the dough is a bit thick.
- Shape the dough into 1-inch balls and roll in sanding sugar. Place each ball on the prepared cookie sheet, leaving about 2-inches between.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 8 to 9 minutes or until set. Cool on racks.
Notes
Nutrition
Sara Schaffer
These are now my family’s absolute favorite sugar cookies! Soooo yummy!
Jessica Fisher
Yay! I’m so glad to hear it. Merry Christmas, Sara!
Sandi
Made these last night, they were definitely easy and very tasty. They are going to be given to single moms through a ministry our church supports.