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.

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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

What is the secret to making the best cookies? ›

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

What is the best sugar for cookies? ›

Granulated sugar

Using granulated white sugar will result in a flatter, crispier and lighter-colored cookie. Granulated sugar is hygroscopic, so it attracts and absorbs the liquid in the dough. This slows down the development of the gluten (flour), which makes the cookies crispier.

Why put cream of tartar in sugar cookies? ›

Cream of tartar makes cookies chewy, as it precludes the sugar in the dough from crystalizing, which would lead to crispiness (ie: the opposite of chewiness).

What is the most successful cookie? ›

Oreo is the best-selling cookie in the world. It is now sold in over 100 countries. Oreo was first produced in 1912 by the National Biscuit Company, now known as Na-Bis-Co.

What is the #1 cookie in the world? ›

Every year, more than 40 billion Oreo cookies are produced in 18 countries around the world.

What is the #1 cookie in the US? ›

Nearly 93% of all American households serve and enjoy cookies as treats or after meals. However, it's the chocolate chip cookie that's the most popular in the U.S. and around the world. How much do youknow about chocolate chip cookies?

What is the #1 cookie in the United States? ›

1 Chocolate Chip Cookie (No Further Description Necessary)

America's favorite cookie and the one dubbed “the American cookie” is the Chocolate chip cookie.

Is it better to use powdered sugar or granulated sugar in sugar cookies? ›

Granulated sugar also helps tenderize batters and binds with water to keep baked goods moist. Powdered sugar in cookie dough will give you chewier cookies (if there's egg in the recipe).

Should I use granulated sugar or caster sugar in cookies? ›

Though they can generally be used interchangeably, granulated sugar does not incorporate into batters as quickly. Cakes and other desserts baked with granulated sugar instead of caster sugar sometimes have a speckled appearance due to the undissolved granules.

How important is baking soda in sugar cookies? ›

Baking soda also serves another important purpose when it comes to cookies: It encourages spreading by raising the mixture's pH, which slows protein coagulation. This gives the dough more time to set before the eggs set, which results in a more evenly baked cookie.

What is the purpose of cornstarch in sugar cookies? ›

1. Cookies. Cornstarch does kind of incredible things to cookies. I mean not only does it give them soft centers, prevents them from spreading, and makes them somewhat thick (in a good way), but it also contributes to the chewiness factor, which, in my opinion, is the most important cookie attribute.

Why do sugar cookies get hard? ›

Cookies become hard when the moisture in them evaporates. This can be caused by leaving them out in the air for too long, baking them for too long, or storing them improperly. The lack of moisture makes the cookies hard and dry, which makes them difficult to enjoy.

What makes a cookie the best? ›

The best cookies have layers of texture. A slightly crisp outer shell that holds up to some heat with an inner core that's soft and chewy. Premium cookies taste great at room temperature, straight out of the fridge or slightly heated. Creating cookies in small batches is key.

What is the most important thing in cookies? ›

Flour is the main ingredient that provides structure in a cookie – without it, there would be no cookie! The gluten in flour forms a web of sorts – the framework that catches the air bubbles/gasses given off during rising. This helps provide the structure.

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