Favourite Easy Sugar Cookies

When you want sugar cookies without the rolling, chilling, and cutting, this is the recipe. You cream butter and sugar, beat in an egg and vanilla, stir in the dry ingredients, then simply roll the dough into balls and bake.

No fridge time, no flouring the counter, no cookie cutters; the balls spread on their own into round, golden-edged cookies.

The texture is soft and tender with a delicate vanilla flavor, the kind of plain, comforting cookie that’s good with milk, coffee, or tea.

Baking soda and a little baking powder give them just enough lift and a soft, cakey-but-chewy bite.

They’re made from staples you almost certainly have on hand, and the whole batch comes together in under half an hour.

Pro Tips

• Use softened, not melted, butter so the dough creams properly and the cookies don’t spread too thin.
• Don’t overbake; pull them when the edges are just golden for soft centers.
• Roll the balls a uniform size so they bake at the same rate.
• Let them set on the sheet two minutes before moving, since they’re soft when hot.

Variations

• Roll the balls in cinnamon sugar before baking for a snickerdoodle-style cookie.
• Press with a fork or the bottom of a glass to flatten for crisper cookies.
• Add a little almond extract or lemon zest for a flavor twist.