BEST SUGAR COOKIE RECIPES

You won’t want to miss these best Sugar Cookie Recipes for all times and seasons! No one can resist their soft, pillowy texture and everyone will want to join in the fun of decorating! Just make sure to make a double batch because these will be gone in minutes!

Fresh, baked sugar cookies are my favorite! The soft buttery texture and creamy frosting are a perfect treat that everyone can enjoy. That is why we’ve gathered the very BEST SUGAR COOKIE RECIPES ever here for you. Be sure to pin this to save it!

Tips to making perfect sugar cookies every time:

• Sugar cookie dough is sticky, but once it’s sufficiently chilled, it’s much more workable. Resist the urge to add more flour to the dough before chilling! If you add too much flour, the ratio of wet to dry ingredients is off and the cookies end up drier and more crumbly.
• Do not melt the butter! The butter needs to be softened (at room temperature), but using melted butter will ruin the cookies.
• Spend a little extra time when you mix the butter and sugars. Creaming them together for 2-3 minutes will improve the consistency of your cookies.
• Preheat the oven. This will help your cookies turn out right every time!
• Use a cookie scoop! If you want all your cookies to be perfectly shaped and have them all be the same size, a cookie scoop is the way to go.
• Use parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Doing this will make it really easy to remove the cookies from your cookie sheet so that you don’t have to scrape them off the pan – they will just slide right off in perfect shape!
• Make sure not to over-bake your cookies.  They may not even look totally done on the tops, but if the bottoms start to brown, I take mine out and they are perfect!

Can you use salted butter for sugar cookies?

You can absolutely use salted butter for sugar cookies! I’m a big fan of using what you have and I only buy salted butter. Some people aren’t fans of salted butter because they want complete control over how much salt is in the recipe. I’m one of those people who constantly has to add salt to everything though, so I like there to be enough! When making cookies, I feel like the cookies taste better when they have a good salt to sweet ratio. I’ve served my sugar cookies to many, many people and no one has ever complained about there being too much salt!

Key Lime Pie Cookies 

Key lime pie cookies made with a sugar cookie base & topped with key lime filling and a lime buttercream! Tangy, sweet lime cookies that are perfect for summer. See the recipe for Key Lime Pie Cookies here.

Chewy Coconut Cookies

Chewy Coconut Cookies are made with simple ingredients like flour, brown sugar, butter & coconut of course! This coconut cookies recipe creates a flavorful, chewy cookie that is a crowd pleaser! See the recipe for Chewy Coconut Cookies here.

4th of July Berry Star Cookies

4th of July Berry Star Cookies are simple soft sugar cookies cut into star shapes, then baked & topped with our favorite buttercream frosting and berries! Perfect for 4th of July! See the recipe for 4th of July Berry Star Cookies here.

Soft Sugar Cookies

Super Soft Sugar Cookies are the best sugar cookies ever! Made with classic ingredients, this sugar cookie recipe has great texture and flavor. This is the last sugar cookie recipe you’ll ever need! Amazing recipe for sugar cookie frosting included. See the Soft Sugar Cookies recipe here!

Strawberry Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies

Strawberry Cream Cheese Sugar Cookie are soft & chewy with lovely, bright strawberry flavor! Perfectly sweet, tender sugar cookies perfect for springtime! See the recipe for Strawberry Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies here.

Fruit Pizza Cookies

Easy Fruit Pizza Cookies are everything you love about fruit pizza, but in cookie form! Soft, vanilla cookies baked & topped with sweet cream & fresh fruits and berries! See the recipe for fruit pizza cookies here.

Lemon Cut Out Sugar Cookies

Lemon Cut Out Sugar Cookies topped with a sweet royal icing tinted in darling Spring colors! Lovely sugar cookie recipe with a hint of lemon flavor! See the recipe for Lemon Cut Out Sugar Cookies here.

Peppermint Fudge Sugar Cookies

Peppermint Fudge Sugar Cookies are two favorites in one! Soft sugar cookies topped with a chocolate peppermint fudge & crushed candy canes for an over-the-top Christmas treat! See the recipe for Peppermint Fudge Sugar Cookies here.

Valentine’s Sugar Cookies

Valentine’s Sugar Cookies are soft, thick, and easily the best sugar cookie recipe I’ve ever tried. These sugar cookies hold their shape when baked and they are moist and perfectly sweet too! See the recipe for Valentine’s Sugar Cookies here.

Frosted Strawberry Cookies

Frosted Strawberry Cookies made by adding fresh strawberries to a simple sugar cookie dough. No rolling out or chilling necessary! Just bake and top with my amazing strawberry buttercream frosting. Easy Strawberry Cookies piped with a super simple pink rose, so they taste incredible and they’re pretty too! See the Frosted Strawberry Cookies recipe here!

Brown Sugar Cookies

Chewy brown sugar cookies topped with a lovely homemade brown sugar icing. Fantastic slice & bake butter cookies made with brown sugar that everyone loves! See the recipe for Brown Sugar Cookies here.

Circus Animal Sugar Cookies

Circus Animal Sugar Cookies are a fun and whimsical twist on traditional sugar cookies. The recipe calls for basic ingredients that can be found in most kitchens, along with a few extra special additions, such as rainbow sprinkles and frosted circus animal cookies. See the recipe for Circus Animal Sugar Cookies here.

Snowman Sugar Cookies

These Snowman Sugar Cookies are the perfect holiday recipe. They’re soft, chewy and full of rich vanilla flavor. Delicious sugar cookie recipe that doesn’t require any chilling, cookie cutters or frosting! See the recipe for Snowman Sugar Cookies here.

Buttermilk Sugar Cookies

Soft Buttermilk Sugar Cookies are classic sugar cookies with the addition of buttermilk for an extra soft, pillowy texture. It’s a family favorite frosted sugar cookie recipe that you’ve got to try! See the Buttermilk Sugar Cookies recipe here!

Swirled Patriotic Cookie Bars

Fun Patriotic Cookie Bars made with swirled red, white & blue icing making them perfectly festive! Easy sugar cookie bar recipe for 4th of July & Memorial Day. See the Swirled Patriotic Cookie Bars recipe here!

Lucky Charms Sugar Cookies

Lucky Charms Sugar Cookies are soft, sweet and perfect for St. Patrick’s Day! Absolutely perfect cream cheese sugar cookie recipe frosted with a simple buttercream frosting and topped with Lucky Charms cereal. See the recipe for Lucky Charm Sugar Cookies here.

Frosted Lemon Sugar Cookies

Frosted Lemon Sugar Cookies made by adding fresh lemon juice and zest to a simple sugar cookie dough. No rolling out or chilling necessary! Just bake and top with a bright lemon buttercream frosting. Easy Lemon Cookies piped with a super simple rosette so they taste incredible and they’re pretty too! My all-time favorite Sugar Cookie recipe! See the Frosted Lemon Sugar Cookies recipe here!

Maple Donut Cookies

Maple Donut Cookies are soft & pillowy donut-shaped cookies with a lovely maple glaze topping. Everything you love about maple donuts, only in cookie form! See the Maple Donut Cookies recipe here!

Easter Egg Sugar Cookies

Easter Egg Sugar Cookies made with classic ingredients for festive, colorful Easter Egg cookies! Pastel Easter cookies with a vanilla icing everyone loves! See the recipe for Easter Egg Sugar Cookies here.

Halloween Cobweb Cookies

Halloween Cobweb Cookies are spectacularly spooky and completely delicious! Sugar cookies topped with chocolate & vanilla icing- no coloring! Quick & easy spider web design made in seconds. Perfect Halloween treats! See the Halloween Cobweb Cookies recipe here!

Watermelon Sugar Cookies

Watermelon Sugar Cookies made easy with sugar cookies, my favorite buttercream frosting and chocolate sprinkles. Perfect for summertime picnics when you can’t get enough of watermelon in any form! See the Watermelon Sugar Cookies recipe here!

Crispy Sugar Cookies

Crispy Sugar Cookies have a lovely crisp texture and buttery flavor! This Crispy Sugar Cookie Recipe is made from scratch with simple classic ingredients like butter, sugar and eggs, then baked to golden brown perfection! See the recipe for Cricpy Sugar Cookies here.

Under The Sea Cookies

Under the Sea Cookies are soft sugar cookies topped with a fun ocean scene complete with gummy fish & sharks, chocolate rocks and a brown sugar ocean floor! Perfect for celebrating summer at the sea! See the Under The Sea Cookies recipe here!

Chocolate Heart Valentine’s Sugar Cookies

Chocolate Heart Valentine’s Sugar Cookies are soft, buttery cookies topped with vanilla icing & candy hearts! These simple Valentines Day sugar cookies are adorable and festive! See the recipe for Chocolate Heart Valentine’s Cookies here.

Marshmallow Flower Cookies

Marshmallow Flower Cookies are easy to make and perfect for Spring baking! Everyone loves these cute treats topped with marshmallow flowers with a jelly bean stem, in a chocolate pot! See the Marshmallow Flower Cookies recipe here!

Patriotic Swirled Sugar Cookies

Patriotic Swirled Sugar Cookies are fun, festive and perfect for the Fourth of July, Memorial Day, or Labor Day. A delicious sugar cookie recipe that is perfect for the holidays! See the recipe for Patriotic Swirled Sugar Cookies here.

Frosted Gingerbread Sugar Cookies

Frosted Gingerbread Sugar Cookies are soft, chewy and packed with spice and flavor. These delicious gingerbread cookies don’t require any chilling, rolling out or cutting and they are frosted with a simple buttercream frosting. See the recipe for Frosted Gingerbread Sugar Cookies here.

Copycat “Swig” Sugar Cookies

Swig Sugar Cookies are buttery, soft and somewhere in between a sugar cookie and shortbread, with a little bit of delicious frosting on top! See the Copycat “Swig” Sugar Cookies recipe here!

Grandma’s Sour Cream Sugar Cookies

These Sour Cream Sugar Cookies are soft and fluffy with just the right amount of sweetness — they’re perfect with or without frosting and make a great freezer-friendly holiday cookie! See Grandma’s Sour Cream Sugar Cookies recipe here!

Christmas Jello Sugar Cookies

Christmas Jello Sugar Cookies made with red and green Jello in the cookies and the frosting. Festive and flavorful cut-out sugar cookies that can be made with any flavor of Jello! See the recipe for Christmas Jello Sugar Cookies here.

Frosted Brown Sugar Cookies

Frosted Brown Sugar Cookies are soft and chewy with a simple brown sugar frosting on top. Easy cookie recipe with a rich brown sugar flavor that is absolutely delicious! See the recipe for Frosted Brown Sugar Cookies here.

Christmas Sugar Cookies

Christmas Sugar Cookies are soft and light sugar cookies dipped in vibrant frosting and topped with crushed mints. Easy holiday sugar cookie recipe that is perfect for parties and goody platters. No chilling, rolling out the dough or cutting out any cookies! See the recipe for Christmas Sugar Cookies here.

Jello Sugar Cookies

Jello Sugar Cookies are made with Jello in the cookies and the frosting! Soft sugar cookie recipe that can be made with any flavor and the simple buttercream frosting can be flavored to match. See the recipe for Jelo Sugar Cookies here.

Rainbow Funfetti Cutout Cookie Recipe

Delicious Sugar Cookies with the addition of fun and colorful sprinkles is such a great and kid approved way to make cookies! See the Rainbow Funfetti Cutout Cookie recipe here!

White Velvet Sugar Cookies

These white velvet sugar cookies just might be the softest, most delicious sugar cookies you’ll ever meet thanks to the secret ingredient that makes them unique and perfect! See the White Velvet Sugar Cookies recipe here!

Chocolate Sugar Cookies

Chocolate sugar cookies are a chewy sweet chocolate cookie made with cocoa powder & melted chocolate. These homemade dark chocolate cookies are rich in taste completely satisfying. See the recipe for Chocolate Sugar Cookies here.

Blueberry Sugar Cookies

Blueberry sugar cookies made with a soft, vanilla cookie dough & an absolutely delightful blueberry buttercream frosting on top! Frosted sugar cookie with blueberries perfect for any occasion! See the recipe for Blueberry Sugar Cookies here.

Frosted Peppermint Cookies

Frosted Peppermint Cookies are soft, pillowy cookies baked with peppermint candy and topped with peppermint vanilla buttercream and candy cane pieces. See the Frosted Peppermint Cookies recipe here!

Fall Cut Out Sugar Cookies

Fall Cut Out Sugar Cookies are soft, flavorful pumpkin cookies cut into delightful Autumn shapes! Perfect pumpkin spice flavor in these buttery sugar cookies. See the recipe for Fall Cut Out Sugar Cookies here.

Popsicle Sugar Cookies

Popsicle Sugar Cookies are fun & tasty summer treat! Homemade sugar cookies cut into popsicle shapes & topped with royal icing everyone loves! See the recipe for Popsicle Sugar Cookies here.

Hot Chocolate Cookie Cups

Hot Chocolate Cookie Cups are festive Christmas cookies! Sugar cookie cups filled with fudge, mini marshmallows & sprinkles. Love the candy cane handle! Hot Chocolate Cookie Cups are sugar cookies perfect for the holidays. See the Hot Chocolate Cookie Cups recipe here!

Coconut Sugar Cookies

Coconut Sugar Cookies are soft cookies with a lovely coconut flavor! Frosted with a coconut buttercream & topped with toasted coconut for a delicious coconut cookie! See the recipe for Coconut Sugar Cookies here.

Christmas Sugar Cookie Recipe

Christmas Sugar Cookies are a necessary holiday tradition at our house! This simple sugar cookie recipe produces soft, chewy and delicious cut-out cookies that can be decorated with a simple 4-ingredient buttercream frosting. See the Christmas Sugar Cookie recipe here!

Butter Sugar Cookies

All Butter Sugar Cookies are soft & sweet cookies topped with a buttery vanilla frosting. Easy sugar cookie recipe made with simple pantry ingredients that yields about a dozen cookies. See the recipe for Butter Sugar Cookies here.

Chocolate Sugar Cookies

Chocolate Sugar Cookies are soft, rich and perfect for cutting out shapes and making holiday cookies. Easy chocolate sugar cookie recipe that is absolutely delicious! See the recipe for Chocolate Sugar Cookies here.

Christmas Sugar Cookie Bites

Christmas Sugar Cookie Bites are a bite-sized version of classic Christmas sugar cookies with buttercream frosting. So yummy and so easy to make! Plus when they are bite sized you can eat more, right?? See the Christmas Sugar Cookie Bites recipe here!

Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies

Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies are soft, thick and easily the best sugar cookie recipe I’ve ever tried. These sugar cookies hold their shape when baked and they are moist and perfectly sweet too! See the recipe for Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies here.

Sour Cream Sugar Cookies 

Sour Cream Sugar Cookies are classic cookies with sour cream for a perfectly soft texture. Soft cut-out sugar cookies with pillowy frosting and sprinkles perfect for any occasion! See the recipe for Sour Cream Sugar Cookies here.

Christmas Swirl Sugar Cookies

These Christmas Swirl Sugar Cookies are delicious and although they look rather impressive, they are actually really simple! They make a great alternative to frosting dozens of sugar cookies for a large group! See the Christmas Swirl Sugar Cookies recipe here!

Lemon Jello Sugar Cookies

Lemon Jello Sugar Cookies are delicious cookies made with lemon jello! Easy sugar cookie recipe with a simple buttercream frosting perfect for lemon lovers. See the recipe for Lemon Jello Sugar Cookies here.

Gingerbread Sugar Cookie Bars

Spread the holiday cheer with these Gingerbread Sugar Cookie Bars. These soft and chewy spiced cookie bars topped with smooth cream cheese frosting are divine! See the Gingerbread Sugar Cookie Bars recipe here!

Lime Sugar Cookies

Lime Sugar Cookies are soft, delicious and packed with lime flavor! This cookie recipe is so simple and everyone loves these sugar cookies with a fun little twist of lime! See the recipe for Lime Sugar Cookies here.

Cinnamon Roll Cookies

Cinnamon Rolls and Cookies are a big part of our holiday season, so it makes perfect sense to combine the two into a delicious cookie with that perfect glaze drizzled on top! See the Cinnamon Roll Cookies recipe here!

Cookie Sheet Sugar Cookie Bars

These Cookie Sheet Sugar Cookie Bars are the perfect treat to make for parties and large gatherings! Bake enough delicious dough for a group and decorate them to fit your party’s theme! See the Cookie Sheet Sugar Cookie Bars recipe here!

Donut Sugar Cookies

Donut Sugar Cookies are everything you love about your favorite sugar cookie recipe with the addition of a fun donut look! Decorate these with kids or decorate them ahead of time for a party! See the Donut Sugar Cookies recipe here!

Jello Sugar Cookies

Jello Sugar Cookies are delicious cookies that can be made with any flavor of jello! This sugar cookie recipe is easy to make in any color and the simple buttercream frosting can be flavored to match. These sugar cookies can be rolled and cut out into shapes or just quickly scooped out into balls. See the recipe for Jello Sugar Cookies here.

Chocolate Sugar Cookie Recipe

All of the usual delicious sugar cookie ingredients with the addition of cocoa will step up your sugar cookie game! Now you can have chocolate and regular sugar cookies to decorate and enjoy! See the Chocolate Sugar Cookie Recipe here!

Copycat Lofthouse Sugar Cookies

These Copycat Lofthouse Sugar Cookies are better than the store bought version! They are soft, pillowy, and everything you want in a homemade cookie! See the Copycat Lofthouse Sugar Cookies recipe here!

Frosted Rose Sugar Cookies

Frosted Rose Sugar Cookies are buttery, soft sugar cookies with a delicious swirled rosette on top! This sugar cookie recipe doesn’t require any chilling and you don’t have to roll them out either! Elegant Sugar Cookies that look like roses that are perfect as gifts! See the recipe for Frosted Rose Sugar Cookies here.

The holidays can get so busy, so here are some ways to save time making your Sugar Cookies:

• Mix the dough and frosting beforehand, then store in separate airtight containers in the refrigerator until ready to use. This is an easy way to speed up the process when making cookies with kids. I usually make the dough and frosting the night before, then, the next day, when the kids are ready to make Christmas cookies, it’s a faster process.
• You can scoop dough balls out on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, then freeze until ready to use! When baking, just add 1 to 2 minutes to compensate for frozen dough, unless you’re able to thaw them out prior to baking.