52 soft sugar cookie recipes

Chocolate chip pecan cookies made with golden shortening and brown sugar for a chewy center and crispy edge. Big, bakery-style drop cookies that spread wide and stay soft inside.

Peanut butter blossom cookies rolled in sugar and topped with a chocolate kiss while still warm. Soft, chewy centers with a crackly sugar coating and melty chocolate on top.

A Weight Watchers-friendly oatmeal cookie made with banana, chunky peanut butter, raisins, and cinnamon. No added sugar, low-fat, and diabetic-friendly. Makes 2 big soft cookies in 15 minutes.

Lucky chocolate chewies, soft brown sugar cocoa cookies studded with semisweet chips and topped with a vanilla glaze. Two dozen cookies in 30 minutes, the kind that vanish before they cool.

Secret kiss cookies hide a whole chocolate kiss inside a buttery, walnut-flecked shortbread, baked until just set and rolled in powdered sugar. Bite in and the soft chocolate center is the surprise. A Christmas cookie tin favorite.

Soft finger-shaped cookies packed with peanut butter, chopped apples, and brown sugar, rolled in powdered sugar. These tea sticks bake in one pan then cut into 24 dainty pieces.

Holiday Unbeatables are chewy, no-butter cookies made with egg whites, powdered sugar, walnuts, and candied cherries. Naturally gluten-light with a crisp edge and soft, meringue-like center.

Soft, melt-in-your-mouth sugar cookies made with both butter and oil for extra tenderness. Pressed flat with a sugar-dipped glass and baked golden. Makes 6 to 7 dozen.

Brown sugar drop cookies made with buttermilk, shortening, and just seven ingredients. Soft, chewy, and caramelly with a one-hour chill and 10-minute bake.

Old-fashioned honey drop cookies with cinnamon, cloves, and raisins. No refined sugar at all. Soft, chewy, and warmly spiced with a caramel-like sweetness.

Fudgy chocolate crinkle cookies rolled in sugar and baked until the edges set but the centers stay soft and chewy. Made with real melted unsweetened chocolate.

Puffy sour cream drop cookies topped with cinnamon sugar before baking. Soft, cakey, and lightly golden around the edges. Simple pantry ingredients, 30 minutes start to finish. Makes 18.

Soft orange raisin bar cookies made with sour cream, ground raisins, and fresh orange zest. Finished with powdered sugar or orange icing for a citrus-sweet treat.

Mint Surprise Cookies hide a melty chocolate mint wafer inside soft brown-sugar dough, each one crowned with a toasted walnut. Chill the dough so it seals the surprise neatly before baking.

Old-fashioned sugar cookies made with butter and oil for a tender, melt-in-your-mouth crumb. Rolled in sugar and pressed flat, these bake up with soft centers and lightly crisp edges. Makes 3 dozen.

Traditional Norwegian anise syrup cookies made with honey, dark corn syrup, and star anise, finished with a warm powdered sugar glaze. Soft, fragrant, and sweetly spiced. Makes 4 dozen.