Crave-Worthy Sugar Cookies
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These are the best sugar cookies: rich and buttery in flavor with a crisp exterior and soft interior.
These sugar cookies are truly crave-worthy: buttery and rich in flavor with a crisp exterior and soft interior. I discovered this recipe years ago on the King Arthur Flour website, and it’s been my go-to sugar cookie recipe ever since. So, what makes these sugar cookies unique? First, they’re made with cream cheese in addition to butter, creating a perfect taste and tender texture without the need for vegetable shortening. Second, they’re made with a touch of almond extract, which lightly perfumes the cookies with the unmistakable scent of almond.
If you’re feeling festive and want to pull out your cookie cutters and frosting, check out my recipe for Christmas sugar cookies—perfect for shaping and decorating.
“Absolutely wonderful! The only thing stopping me from baking these cookies every week is that I wouldn’t be able to stop eating them!”
What You’ll Need To Make Crave-Worthy Sugar Cookies
- All-Purpose Flour: Provides structure and stability to the cookies. Measure by spooning it into the measuring cup and leveling it off to ensure accuracy.
- Baking Powder And Baking Soda: Help the cookies rise and become tender.
- Butter: Add a rich flavor to the cookies.
- Cream Cheese: Contributes to a soft, tender texture.
- Sugar: The majority of the sugar sweetens the dough; a small portion creates a sweet, subtly crunchy coating for the cookie’s exterior.
- Vanilla Extract: Enhances the flavor of the cookies with its warm aromatic richness.
- Almond Extract: Adds a subtle, nutty flavor.
- Egg: Binds the ingredients together and adds moisture.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-By-Step Instructions
Begin by whisking the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda together in a bowl. Set aside.
Next, cream the butter, cream cheese, and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or use a hand mixer with beaters).
Add the vanilla and almond extracts.
Beat to combine, then add the egg.
Add the flour mixture to the batter.
Mix on low until the dough forms a cohesive mass. It will be a little sticky.
Pinch off tablespoons of dough and roll in a bowl of sugar.
Place the balls on a cookie sheet, then press them flat with a flat-bottomed glass.
Bake for about ten minutes, until lightly golden on the bottom but still very pale on top. Cool the cookies for a few minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. The cookies are best enjoyed fresh on the day they are made.
How To Freeze Sugar Cookies
If you don’t want to bake all the cookies at once, the dough can be frozen for up to 3 months. To freeze, roll the dough into balls, let set in a single layer on a baking sheet in the freezer, then place in a sealable bag and press out as much air as possible. When ready to bake, thaw them in the fridge until they are soft enough to flatten, and then bake.
To freeze after baking, let the cookies cool completely and store in an airtight container, separating layers with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Before serving, remove the cookies from the container and let them come to room temperature.
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Crave-Worthy Sugar Cookies
These are the best sugar cookies: rich and buttery in flavor with a crisp exterior and soft interior.
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off with back edge of knife
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 2 oz (¼ cup) cream cheese
- 1¼ cup sugar, plus ½ cup more for rolling cookies
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract
- 1 large egg
Instructions
- Set racks in middle of oven and preheat to 375°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, cream cheese and sugar until light and fluffy, a few minutes. Beat in the vanilla and almond extracts. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula and beat in the egg. Scrape down the bowl again, then add the flour mixture. Mix on low speed until the dough comes together into a cohesive mass. It will be a little sticky.
- Place the remaining ½ cup cup sugar in a shallow bowl. Moisten your hands so the dough doesn't stick to them. Pinch off the dough by tablespoonfuls, shape into rough balls (see note below), roll in the sugar to coat, and place 2-inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Using a flat-bottomed glass, flatten the cookies to ¼-inch thick. Bake for 10 minutes, rotating the pans from top to bottom and front to back midway through to ensure even cooking. The cookies will turn golden on the bottom but remain pale on top. Cool on the pan for a few minutes, then transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. (Cover the bowl with a damp dish towel to keep the dough moist between batches.)
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The Cookie Dough can be Frozen for up to 3 Months: Roll the dough into balls, let set on a baking sheet in the freezer, then place in a sealable bag and press out as much air as possible. When ready to bake, thaw them in the fridge until they are soft enough to flatten, and then bake. To Freeze After Baking: Let the cookies cool completely and store in an airtight container separating layers with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Before serving, remove the cookies from the container and let them come to room temperature.
Nutrition Information
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- Serving size: 2 cookies
- Calories: 193
- Fat: 9 g
- Saturated fat: 5 g
- Carbohydrates: 27 g
- Sugar: 15 g
- Fiber: 0 g
- Protein: 2 g
- Sodium: 104 mg
- Cholesterol: 31 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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I’ve been looking for this cookie recipe all my life! It’s perfect just the way it is; I had to adjust the cooking time ever so slightly by cooking a little longer, but the ingredients are “on point” and, they are so soft and delectable! If you haven’t tried, they’re a must!
I agree!
Totally 5 stars. This recipe is the perfect sugar cookie. I’ve made many times, it’s my go-to sugar cookie now. After flattening with the glass, I always place a few seasonal colored sprinkles on the cookies before placing in oven. It’s red, white, blue now for summer! Jenn, you rock! It’s great to be able to trust recipes.
☺️
Hi Jenn,
My youngest son just graduated from college and we’re having a party for him this weekend. He has requested frosted sugar cookies for dessert. This recipe looks wonderful. Would they be good frosted? Any suggestions on a frosting recipe?
Thanks!
Katy
Hi Katy, I have never frosted these cookies but I’m sure they’d be good with an American buttercream frosting (similar to the one I use on my vanilla birthday cake). If you go that route, I’d omit the sugar on the exterior of the cookies. Or for a more traditional frosted holiday-type cookie, check out these butter cookies. Hope that helps!
If I wanted to make these for Valentine’s Day, could I add pink food coloring to the dough, or would it change the flavor? Would pink or red sugar added to the top be a better idea?
Pink food coloring shouldn’t change the flavor of the dough, but personally, I like the idea of the pink or red sugar added to the cookie tops. 🙂
These cookies turned out amazing!! Simple and delicious – perfect for those who don’t like anything super sweet! I ended up with 3 dozen, but I’m sure if you did a tablespoon exactly you’d get 4 dozen. I love your recipes and I’m never hesitant to try a new one out because I know it’ll be delicious!!
Hi, my cookies turned out great..very nice texture. I followed so carefully my dough wasn’t too sticky and rolled nicely into balls approx 1 tb or 1 inch, I ended up getting exactly 3 dozen, not four!
If I am planning on using lavender sugar, should I eliminate the almond extract and just use vanilla?
Hi Deb, I think that would be good — then you won’t have those two very different flavors competing with each other. Hope you enjoy!
I am looking to make a sprinkle sugar cookie.
Would it work to roll them in sprinkles before I bake them?
Sure, AG, I think that should work. Please LMK how they turn out!
I was wondering if I can freeze these cookies after I bake them as I did with your chocolate chip and chocolate biscotti recipe…my goal is to make a few assorted guest trays for the freezer to have when company shows unexpectedly. I will say that your recipes that I have tried have been so good it has been difficult to sneak a dozen away to freeze lol. could you also tell me what other cookies may freeze well in this regard
Hi Kim, these definitely freeze nicely! Plenty of my cookies would fall into that same category. To name a few — Double Chocolate Mint Cookies, Spiced Pumpkin Cookies, Toffee Almond Sandies, Donut Hole Cookies, Snickerdoodles, and Holiday Cut-Out Cookies. If you have questions about other, I’m happy to help!
After being disappointed with sugar cookie recipes in the past, I figured I’d try yours. Wowsers! Very good! I accidentally forgot to flatten the first batch and they were still delicious, like soft puff balls. Mine didn’t spread too much, so perhaps more can be baked on a sheet at a time. I did make 48 (4 dozen) cookies.