I wanted this recipe to be the ultimate, classic sugar cookie, which for me means soft and chewy! This recipe is pretty straightforward, and I love that it uses ingredients that you probably already have on hand. My favorite part? I roll the dough in granulated sugar before baking to give the cookies that sparkly, sugary, slight crunch on the outside before biting into the soft, chewy center. Yum yum yum! These Soft & Chewy Sugar Cookies are great year-round, but they’re especially PERFECT for your holiday baking and cookie exchanges. Looking for other cookies to round out your holiday tray? Check out my Almond Butter Blossoms with the chocolate kiss center, Gingerbread Snickerdoodles that combine the best of two worlds (gingerbread + snickerdoodle), or my fun and festive Hot Cocoa Cookies topped with holiday sprinkles!
Granulated Sugar: The star ingredient of these delicious chewy sugar cookies! You’ll need some for the dough itself and extra for rolling the cookie dough balls in before baking. Unsalted Butter: Make sure the butter is at room temperature for easier creaming with sugar, which helps create a tender and chewy texture. I use unsalted butter, but if you must use salted butter, simply omit the extra salt listed later in the ingredients. Flour: I use all-purpose flour; I have not tested this recipe with other flour varieties. Measure it correctly using the spoon-and-level method to avoid dense cookies. Eggs: Eggs add moisture and act as a binding agent, contributing to the cookie’s structure. The extra egg yolk adds richness and tenderness to the cookie, and it also binds the dough all together. Whole Milk: Adding milk to the cookie dough batter helps keep these cookies moist and hydrates the starches in the flour. Other ingredients needed: vanilla extract, baking powder, baking soda, salt
