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Home > Desserts > Colorful Soft Sugar Cookie Recipe

Colorful Soft Sugar Cookie Recipe

Last updated December 5, 2020. Originally posted December 20, 2019 By Jyothi Rajesh 27 Comments

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sugar cookies with sparkling sugar on plate with text
sugar cookies with sparkling sugar on baking tray with text
soft colorful sugar cookies on white plate with text
soft colorful sugar cookies on white plate with text
soft sugar cookies on white plate with text overlay

Your old traditional soft sugar cookie recipe gets a new makeover with colorful sparkling sugar making it incredibly festive! It’s soft, crumbly and chewy in the center, perfect cookies for parties. 

A great addition to holiday cookie exchange.

soft and chewey sugar cookies on white plate

Soft Sugar Cookie Recipe

  • Holiday season always sparks the baker in me. No better time to bake all your favorite cookies than holiday season.
  • And the simplest and easiest cookie recipe would undoubtedly be the classic sugar cookies. It never gets old, does it!
  • No matter how many times I bake these soft sugar cookies, I always get appreciation from my family. Clearly, sugar cookies are their favorite too. But I do have a tip to share with you guys that I learnt from experience, whenever you bake these cookies, make BIG batch, because there is never enough cookies.
  • What makes sugar cookies so absolutely amazing is it’s texture. Though I love soft chewy texture you can even make them thin and crispy and it’ll still taste incredibly delicious!
  • There is no chilling or rolling required. And the flavors and texture is spot-on.
baking tray with soft sugar cookies

These are ‘almost’ drop style cookies. You scoop out cookie dough, and drop but first in sugar and then on to baking tray.

Since the cookie dough gets rolled in sugar, I preferred to shape them into round balls with gentle hands (Tip – do to press dough between you palm, be very gentle).

Rolling into balls mainly helps the cookie dough get an even coat of sugar sprinkles.

For true scoop and drop style cookie you can really skip this step of rolling into round shape and directly drop cookie dough into sugar, the shape will be rustic, but so so good!

Wondering if this classic sugar cookie recipe makes overly sweet cookies as cookie dough is rolled in sugar sprinkles; NO it’s not overly sweet. We reduced the amount of sugar added into the cookie dough.

soft chewy sugar cookies

Sugar Cookie Ingredients

Readily available pantry ingredients are all you need for these classic cookies. That’s 7 main ingredients and colored sugar sprinkles that are optional.

Flour – When it comes to baking cookies, ensure you measure everything exact. Too much flour will make cookies hard, too little will make it difficult to work with the dough.

Sugar – Use granulated sugar. You can use colored sugar sprinkles to roll in the end or use plain white granulated sugar.

Salted Butter – make sure butter is at room temperature. In case you use unsalted butter, ensure you add ½ teaspoon salt to the dry flour mix.  A pinch of salt always enhances the taste of sweet cookies.

Baking Powder –  Using too much baking powder leaves a bitter aftertaste in the cookies. Too old baking powder will make cookies spread and turn flat. Use right amount of fresh/new baking powder.

Baking Soda – will help rise the cookie.

Egg Yolks – We used only egg yolks in this recipe. Egg yolks will give a rich taste to the cookie.

Vanilla Extract – Use pure vanilla extract.

Sugar Sprinkles – You can use white granulated sugar for sprinkling or roll cookie dough before baking. Or use colored sugar sprinkles that would makes these cookies perfect for holiday season. Red, green and a mix of red-white-green sugar sprinkles make our cookie platter colorful and pretty!

ingredients for soft sugar cookie recipe

How To Make Soft Sugar Cookie Recipe

Sugar cookies made with butter is better! Anything with butter is always better! And these cookies are completely no chill! You don’t have to wait long to make these cookies; simply mix all the dry ingredients with beaten wet ingredients, scoop and drop.

To make it a little fancier and holiday apt cookie, roll cookie in sugar before dropping it on to the baking tray.

The process for sugar cookie recipe is pretty straight forward.

No need to chill, no need to roll!

Pre-Prep : You’ll need to have room temperature butter for this recipe. Plan ahead and leave butter on the counter for atleast an hour.

Pre-heat oven tat 350 degree Fahrenheit.

Line baking tray with parchment paper or silicon mat.

Dry Ingredients: Sieve flour, baking powder, baking soda into a dry bowl.

sieve dry ingredients for soft sugar cookie recipe

Wet Ingredients:  Using stand mixer or hand blender beat softened butter and granulated sugar in large bowl. Beat until well combined.

creaming butter and sugar to make soft sugar cookies
creaming butter and sugar to make soft sugar cookies

Add egg yolks and pure vanilla extract, beat until just combined.

egg yolk and pure vanilla extract along with creamed butter and sugar

Mix-In Dry Ingredients: Add flour in parts and mix until just combined. Do not over beat.

dry ingredients added into bowl of we ingredients for soft sugar cookie recipe
dry ingredients added into bowl of we ingredients for soft sugar cookie recipe

Scoop & Roll: Using ice cream scoop, portion cookie dough and roll it in sugar.

scooped cookie dough in hand

TIP : To make it easy to roll in sugar, I lightly shaped the cookie dough into round balls using gentle palm.

Roll in just white granulated sugar or to make it fancier and apt-for-holidays use red, green and a mix of red-green-white sugar sprinkles.

coating cookie dough in sparkling sugar

Bake: Place sugar coated cookie dough onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper or silicon mat. Bake in pre-heated oven at 350 degree Fahrenheit for about 9 to 11 minutes.

cookies arranged on baking tray before baking

NOTE : Baking time can vary. If you are after soft chewy cookies bake until just cookies start to crack. If you want crumbly cookies, bake a bit longer. Baking time will also differ depending on size of the cookie.

Cool & Store: Once baked, remove baking tray from oven. Allow cookies to rest on the baking tray for about 5 minutes, until it’s safe to handle without breaking cookies. Place cookies on wire rack and cool completely.

To store cookies, first let it cool completely. Then store in air tight containers sealed properly for about 4 days at room temperature.

NOTE : if not sealed properly, cookies will turn hard.

You can freeze cookie dough for about 3 months.

sugar rolled soft sugar cookies on white plate

Tips For Best Soft Sugar Cookie Recipe

  1. Use softened butter to make sugar cookies. You’ll get soft chewier cookies.
  2. Do not overmix the dough.
  3. If you want cookies to spread, give them a little nudge. I did not press down my cookies, as I didn’t want them to spread.
  4. For uniform sized cookies, use ice cream scoop. Using ice cream scoop will ensure all cookies are portioned evenly and they bake evenly in oven.
  5. Roll in sanding sugar is optional step, but it does add a crunch on the outer. I reduced sugar added to cookies by ¼ cup as I rolled them in sugar before baking. If you skip rolling in sugar add that ¼ cup sugar while making dough.
soft sugar cookies on baking tray

Variations and Decoration Tips For Sugar Cookies

For slight variation in flavors, you can add almond extract along with pure vanilla extract.

Egg yolks will make rich tasting cookies. Don’t like that slight egg yolk taste, add 2 whole eggs instead.

Decorating Tips – Sanding sugar (colored sugar sprinkles) adds not just a delightful crunch on the cookies but also makes it look pretty. One of the easiest decorations you can have on your holiday cookies.

Other ways to decorate these cookies is by using cream cheese frosting on top.

baked soft sugar cookies on baking tray after baking

LOOKING FOR MORE COOKIE RECIPE?

Check these out –

Gingerbread Man Cookies

Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies

Christmas Wreath Cookies

Cornflake Cookies

Irish Shortbread Christmas Tree Cookies

Christmas Candy Cane Cookies

Cashew Snow Cookies

Snowflakes Shortbread Cookies

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soft and chewey sugar cookies on white plate
4.88 from 8 votes

Colorful Soft Sugar Cookie Recipe

Jyothi Rajesh
Your old traditional soft sugar cookie recipe gets a new makeover with colorful sugar sprinkles making it incredibly festive! It’s soft, crumbly and chewy in the center, perfect cookies for parties. Don’t forget to add these to your holiday cookie exchange.
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Prep Time 10 mins
Cook Time 15 mins
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 20 cookies
Calories 195

Ingredients
  

  • 2 ½ cups all purpose flour
  • 1 ½ stick salted butter ¾ cup , cut into small cubes and softened to room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ¾ teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 ¼ cup granulated sugar
  • 3 egg yolks
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ½ cup sparkling sugar I used red, green and mix of red-green-white sugar sprinkles

Instructions
 

  • Pre-Prep : You’ll need to have room temperature butter for this recipe. Plan ahead and leave butter on the counter for at least an hour.
    Pre-heat oven tat 350 degree Fahrenheit.
    Line baking tray with parchment paper or silicon mat.
  • Dry Ingredients: Sieve flour, baking powder, baking soda into a dry bowl.
  • Wet Ingredients: Using stand mixer or hand blender beat softened butter and granulated sugar in large bowl. Beat until well combined.
    Add egg yolks and pure vanilla extract, beat until just combined.
  • Mix-In Dry Ingredients: Add flour in parts and mix until just combined. Do not over beat.
  • Scoop & Roll: Using ice cream scoop, scoop cookie dough and roll it in sugar.
    TIP : To make it easy to roll in sugar, I lightly shaped the cookie dough into round balls using gentle palm.
    Roll in just white granulated sugar or to make it fancier and apt-for-holidays use red, green and a mix of red-green-white sugar sprinkles.
  • Bake: Place sugar coated cookie dough onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper or silicon mat. Bake in pre-heated oven at 350 degree Fahrenheit for about 9 to 11 minutes.
    NOTE : Baking time can vary. If you are after soft chewy cookies bake until just cookies start to crack. If you want crumbly cookies, bake a bit longer. Baking time will also differ depending on size of the cookie.
  • Cool & Store: Once baked, remove baking tray from oven. Allow cookies to rest on the baking tray for about 5 minutes, until it’s safe to handle without breaking cookies. Place cookies on wire rack and cool completely.
    To store cookies, first let it cool completely. Then store in air tight containers sealed properly for about 4 days at room temperature.
    NOTE : if not sealed properly, cookies will turn hard.
    You can freeze cookie dough for about 3 months.

Video

Notes

  1. Use softened butter to make sugar cookies. You’ll get soft chewier cookies.
  2. Do not over-mix the dough.
  3. If you want cookies to spread, give them a little nudge. I did not press down my cookies, as I didn’t want them to spread.
  4. For uniform sized cookies, use ice cream scoop. Using ice cream scoop will ensure all cookies are portioned evenly and they bake evenly in oven.
  5. Roll in sanding sugar is optional step, but it does add a crunch on the outer. I reduced sugar added to cookies by ¼ cup as I rolled them in sugar before baking. If you skip rolling in sugar add that ¼ cup sugar while making dough.
Nutritional Info – Please keep in mind that nutritional information provided is only a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.
Nutritional values mentioned here are for one cookie. Depending on your cookie size, these values may vary.

Nutrition

Calories: 195kcalCarbohydrates: 30gProtein: 2gFat: 8gSaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 48mgSodium: 104mgPotassium: 42mgFiber: 1gSugar: 18gVitamin A: 251IUCalcium: 17mgIron: 1mg
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    Comments & Reviews

  1. Dee says

    December 24, 2022 at 2:19 am

    4 stars
    The cookies turned out great! I doubled the recipe and the dough seemed quite dry. I added a couple tablespoons of milk to moisten it and it was good to go. It also took 18-20 minutes to bake these cookies rather than 9-11 minutes. Not sure why the dough was so dry to begin with. I thought I was careful when I measured out the flour…

    Reply
  2. Karen says

    October 23, 2022 at 12:00 am

    How does the sugar coating come out so bright after baking? My colored sugar always fades that I cant even tell I rolled them in sugar. Thank you!

    Reply
    • Jyothi Rajesh says

      October 25, 2022 at 9:03 am

      Karen, can you tell what type of sugar you used for the recipe? As mentioned in the recipe sparkling sugar is best to use, sparkling sugar are large-grained enough that it won’t melt and disappear when used as topping

      Reply
  3. Gina says

    October 17, 2022 at 8:41 pm

    I can’t do dairy. Do you think plant based margarine would work?

    Reply
    • Jyothi Rajesh says

      October 18, 2022 at 8:15 pm

      Sorry, I have not tested with plant-based margarine, I can’t tell for sure! But my guess is that it would work. If you do try with plant-based margarine, please do leave a feedback here, will be helpful

      Reply
  4. Lisa says

    November 30, 2021 at 10:50 am

    How big are these cookies?

    Reply
    • Jyothi Rajesh says

      December 01, 2021 at 10:33 am

      I used medium oxo scoop to scoop cookie dough. I would say medium sized.

      Reply
  5. Johanny says

    December 20, 2020 at 8:51 pm

    Can i add chopped almonds to the dough for crunch and flavor.

    Reply
    • Jyothi Rajesh says

      December 20, 2020 at 10:14 pm

      I’m sure you can. I’d suggest almond meal can also be added and reducing the amount of flour. Please note I haven’t experimented with almond so I can’t comment of the taste and texture of the cookies for sure. If you do try, please do come back and let me know how it turns out

      Reply
  6. Aline says

    January 07, 2020 at 5:15 am

    5 stars
    Had so much fun making these over Christmas with my family and even more fun eating them watching old movies!!

    Reply
    • jyothirajesh says

      January 07, 2020 at 3:08 pm

      So glad you liked this cookie Aline. It’s so fun when you can get the entire family into kitchen

      Reply
  7. Eden says

    January 06, 2020 at 10:17 pm

    These sugar cookies are soft, sweet, and super easy to make! My son loved them!

    Reply
    • jyothirajesh says

      January 07, 2020 at 3:08 pm

      Thank you

      Reply
  8. Sara says

    January 06, 2020 at 9:36 am

    5 stars
    What wonderful tips for making perfect sugar cookies! Yours look like the ones I love: thick, chewy, and delicious. I can’t wait to save these for the holidays again!

    Reply
    • jyothirajesh says

      January 06, 2020 at 2:30 pm

      Thank you

      Reply
  9. Jacqui De Bono says

    January 05, 2020 at 4:48 am

    5 stars
    We made these and the kids loved making all the different colours! We loved the texture, and you are so right – make a big batch!

    Reply
    • jyothirajesh says

      January 06, 2020 at 2:31 pm

      Thank you

      Reply
  10. Candice says

    January 05, 2020 at 4:29 am

    5 stars
    These cookies are so festive, fun, and delicious. They were easy to make, and all the neighbors loved them. Will be making these again next year!

    Reply
    • jyothirajesh says

      January 06, 2020 at 2:32 pm

      Thank you

      Reply
  11. Veena Azmanov says

    January 03, 2020 at 11:25 pm

    5 stars
    These cookies look festive and colorful. Definitely delicious too. Love to gift them to my loved ones.

    Reply
    • jyothirajesh says

      January 06, 2020 at 2:33 pm

      Thank you

      Reply
  12. Ben says

    January 03, 2020 at 10:32 pm

    5 stars
    Yes! Those look amazing! I usually don’t go in for soft cookies, but sugar cookies are an exception for me. There’s nothing like a soft, chewy sugar cookie. I can’t wait to make this!

    Reply
    • jyothirajesh says

      January 06, 2020 at 2:33 pm

      Thank you Ben

      Reply
  13. kita says

    January 03, 2020 at 10:03 am

    I havent made sugar cookies in years! These sound so much like my childhood. I cant wait for them to come out of the oven!

    Reply
    • jyothirajesh says

      January 03, 2020 at 3:17 pm

      Thank you

      Reply
  14. Analida Braeger says

    January 03, 2020 at 8:31 am

    5 stars
    These were so fun to make with my kids! Thanks for all the great tips to make them!

    Reply
    • jyothirajesh says

      January 03, 2020 at 9:18 am

      Glad you liked it

      Reply

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Jyothi - Author of Curry Trail.

Welcome, I'm Jyothi

My food philosophy is simple, fresh and full of flavors! I love ‘spicy’ food. In fact so much so that I can skip dessert for extra spicy savory food!

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