These Easy Homemade Sugar Cookies Are Soft and Chewy

Photo byBrowned Butter Blondie

I've never been a fan of crispy cookies. It's soft, chewy cookies I can't resist, especially if they're warm and fresh out of the oven. This sugar cookie recipe is easy to make and uses basic ingredients: flour, baking powder, sugar, butter, salt, vanilla and eggs.

Unlike more complicated sugar cookie recipes, there's no chilling time, no rolling out dough and no cutting it into shapes. It takes just a few minutes to mix the dough and only a little additional time to shape it into into balls then flatten them with the bottom of a glass.

The key to making this recipe is to be sure your butter is not too warm when you cream it with the sugar. Let the cookies cool about 15 minutes and treat yourself to a mouth-watering sweet that's soft in the center and slightly crisp around the edges.

Soft Sugar Cookies

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar, plus 1/4 cup for coating

1 large egg, plus 1 egg yolk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
3. Use a hand-held or stand mixer with a paddle attachment on medium-high speed to cream the butter and 1¼ cups sugar until light and fluffy.
4. Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla, and beat until combined, then mix in the dry ingredients.
5. Place the remaining 1/4 cup sugar in a shallow dish. Using a large (3 tablespoon) cookie scoop, divide the dough into balls and roll in sugar to coat evenly.
6. Place the dough balls 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.
7. Flatten each ball slightly with the bottom of a glass or cup.
8. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the cookies set and begin turn light brown on the bottom and around the edges.
9. Cool for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

Notes

Don't place these cookies too close together on the baking sheets. They will spread more than you expect.

Take the cookies out of the oven when they are slightly underbaked to make sure they are chewy enough.

Substitute sprinkles for the granulated sugar for a more colorful look. Or add some cinnamon to the sugar. You can also frost the cookies after they're cool.

Try almond or lemon extract for a different flavor.

I've made these cookies without parchment paper and they were fine. Use sturdy light-colored aluminum pans, not the dark or nonstick kind, which will brown the bottoms of the cookies more quickly.