These are the chewiest fluffy sugar cookies, rolled in sparkling sugar and best straight out of the oven.
Fluffy Sugar Cookies
I’ve never known a cookie I didn’t love. This is the exact reason my site is filled with so many cookies!! You can find all my favs here. 🙂 But, I have to stop and share with y’all my love for sugar cookies really quick. Growing up my go-to cookie was always the famed chocolate chip cookie, I mean, what’s not to love, right?! But as time went on and my palate became a bit more *refined,* I began to realize that there’s something so special about a buttery, sweet sugar cookie that no word could ever describe.
This recipe is slightly adapted from a co-worker of mine, Rebecca Lyons. I’ve learned almost everything I know about cooking and baking from her and this recipe is no exception. She is a genius in the kitchen!
Sugar cookies are extremely simple, there’s really not much to them. But there’s just something special that happens when the flour, sugar, and butter get thrown together, smooshed into a fluffy disc, and baked at 350°F. Don’t just take my word for it, you really really need to try this recipe. Like really.
What are Fluffy Sugar Cookies?
These cookies are special. They’re different than most sugar cookies, though here are a couple others I have on my site:
What all of these have in common is that they’re basically a variation of sugar, flour, eggs, and butter (plus a few more things). But they differ in add-ins, method, and even bake time.
These Fluffy Sugar Cookies are a new variation of some of my favorite ingredients, plus a secret ingredient (more on that later).
Equipment you may need…
- Measuring cups/spoons: I’ve been linking these in all of my posts because I love them SO much! They are beautiful and look just like some other expensive ones on the market (but wayyy cheaper).
- Stand mixer: you can make this recipe in just a regular bowl with a wooden spoon and a whisk, but stand mixers truly make life so much simpler. Especially since this is a one-bowl recipe, might as well be the bowl of your stand mixer! I love mine from KitchenAid – I pray that it never breaks down on me because I use it almost everyday lol.
- Cookie scoop: such a great thing to have on hand – especially if you want uniform cookies. I highly recommend you use this to scoop out your dough. This set has 3 different sizes – so you can have a small cookie or a huge one (let’s hear it for all the gigantic cookie lovers out there)!!
- Food scale: if you want to be extra sure your cookies are all uniform in size, use a food scale to measure the weight of your balls. It might be an extra step but there’s just something about a batch of cookies that are all the same size!
Ingredients for Sugar Cookies
- Butter
- Sugar
- Eggs
- Vanilla extract
- All-purpose flour
- Baking soda
- Cream of tartar
- Kosher salt
Why the cream of tartar?!?
I knew you’d ask!! This is the secret ingredient. Only because it’s not the most common thing to be found in cookie recipes. But I’m telling you cream of tartar in these fluffy sugar cookies makes magic happen. It’s an acid, so it reacts with the baking soda (a base), and creates the most beautiful rise in your cookies. Aka where the “fluffiness” comes from!
My Kitchen Tips…
- Work with room temperature ingredients. You don’t want to get stuck with ingredients that don’t integrate into the dough properly. This is what happens when we don’t start with room temperature ingredients. So in this case, I’d recommend setting out your butter and eggs a few hours before you plan to make these cookies. If you forget, though (like I do all the time), here’s what to do:
- Eggs: fill up a bowl of hot water (just as hot as your tap water will get), and place your eggs in the water for at least 5 minutes. Feel them after 5 minutes – they should be about room temperature!
- Butter: Place the butter on a plate standing up tall. Microwave in 10-second intervals until it’s soft to the touch, not melted anywhere.
- CHILL the dough. I know, such a snooze. But we need to wait a good 2 hours (at least) for the flour to hydrate and the flavors to mend together. I honestly don’t think anyone really knows what goes on in that refrigerator when cookie dough is chilling, but it’s just better. I even wait 1 full day – the longer the better IMO.
- Add toppings! If you want to, this cookie is the recipe I used for these Fluffy Sugar Cookie Sandwiches. We love them in our house, and you really can get creative here. You can mix in sprinkles, dip them in chocolate, drizzle them with homemade caramel sauce. I could go on and on with these things.
Can I make these ahead?
Yes!! These are the perfect cookies to make ahead of any party or gathering. You can make the dough completely and let it chill in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. I’d probably bake them after that 🙂
How to store
If you have enough left over to store.. keep these in an airtight container or plastic bag and just let them sit at room temperature. It’s best to eat them up in about 3 days though!
This is always a delightful recipe in our house, and I hope you all love it as much as I do! It will forever have me coming back for more… happily.
Feel free to always reach out to me via email (sarah@sarahsdayoff.com), through my Instagram DMs (@sarahsday0ff), or by leaving a comment on one of these posts. I’m happy to answer any questions I can!
“But as for me, I will sing about your power. Each morning I will sing with joy about your unfailing love. For you have been my refuge, a place of safety when I am in distress.” -Psalm 59:16-
Fluffy Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups (335g) granulated sugar divided
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- 1 Tbsp vanilla bean paste or use pure vanilla extract
- 2 3/4 cups (387g) all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp cream of tartar
- 3/4 tsp kosher salt
Instructions
- Beat the butter and 1 cup (221g) of the sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer 2 minutes or until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the bowl and beat in the vanilla bean paste.
- Whisk flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt in a separate large bowl. Gradually beat into butter mixture until fully combined (I do this in 2 additions), being careful to not overmix.
- Cover the cookie dough and chill at least 2 hours or up to 2 days.
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Add remaining 1/2 cup sugar to a small shallow bowl.
- Roll cookie dough into 1-inch balls, drop in sugar and roll to evenly coat. Place cookie dough balls on a parchment paper-lined baking sheets about 2 inches apart.
- Use the bottom of a glass to gently press down on each cookie dough ball (they don't spread very much in the oven so they need a little bit of help on the front end).
- Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until edges are just slightly golden brown; cool 2 minutes on pans before moving to cool completely on wire racks.
- You can store these cookies at room temperature in an airtight container or plastic bag for up to 3 days.
