Sugar cookies are like a blank slate of possibilities. I imagine they are also a good choice for something fun to do with your kids. I found this recipe on America's Test Kitchen and make this all year round, omitting the snowflake on top, of course. Buttery, chewy and crackly on top, this is a simple cookie that goes great with your choice of beverage - milk, coffee, tea, etc.
You can even make the batter with just a whisk and a spoon, no mixer needed. America's Test Kitchen came up with this foolproof recipe, which balances the structure of the cookie just so, to create a perfect cookie.
For the cookies:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
Whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.
In a standing mixer, place the cream cheese and 1 cup of sugar. 
Pour in the warm butter. 
Mix until combined. (As I mentioned above, you don't need to use a mixer for this recipe. You can do this step in a bowl and whisk all the ingredients together.)
Add the oil and mix until completely incorporated. 
Add the egg, milk and vanilla and mix until smooth. 
Add the dry ingredients and mix in with a rubber spatula. 
Divide the dough into 24 equal pieces, about 1 ½ Tablespoons and roll into balls. Place the remaining ½ cup of sugar in another bowl or a pie plate. Roll each cookie in the sugar. 
Place on the prepared cookie sheet. Use a glass to flatten the cookies to approximately 2 inches in diameter. 
Bake for 11-13 minutes.
For the glaze:
Whisk the cream cheese and milk until smooth. 
Add the powdered sugar ½ cup at a time and whisk until smooth again.
To decorate the cookies:
Pour the glaze into a small ziptop bag, cut a small hole in one of the corners. Decorate the cookies into whichever design you like. You can also add food coloring to the glaze to have different colors.
Chewy Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
Cookies:
- 2 ¼ cups flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup sugar plus ½ cup for rolling
- 2 oz cream cheese cut into 8 pieces
- 6 Tablespoons butter melted and still warm
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil
- 1 egg
- 1 Tablespoon milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
Glaze:
- 1 Tablespoon cream cheese softened
- 3 Tablespoons milk
- 2 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
For the cookies:
- Whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- In a standing mixer, place the cream cheese and 1 cup of sugar. Pour in the warm butter. Mix until combined.
- Add the oil and mix until completely incorporated.
- Add the egg, milk and vanilla and mix until smooth. YOU CAN DO ALL THIS WITH A WHISK IN A LARGE BOWL, NO MIXER NEEDED.
- Add the dry ingredients and mix in with a rubber spatula.
- Divide the dough into 24 equal pieces, about 1 ½ Tablespoons each and roll into balls.
- Place the remaining ½ cup of sugar in another bowl or a pie plate.
- Roll each cookie in the sugar.
- Place on the prepared cookie sheet. Use the bottom of a drinking glass to flatten the cookies to approximately 2 inches in diameter. Bake for 11-13 minutes.
For the glaze:
- Whisk the cream cheese and milk until smooth.
- Add the powdered sugar and whisk until smooth again.
To decorate the cookies:
- Pour the glaze into a small ziptop bag, cut a small hole in one of the corners.
- Decorate the cookies into whichever design you like. You can also add food coloring to the glaze to have different colors.
Olga, you need to update these in a repost!! These are the best sugar cookies I’ve had! (We also love love the cut out ones as a craft with the kids) these are so perfect for a neighbor holiday gift they are very sturdy and the frosting doesn’t smear so they fit really well in a cookie tin. Thanks again for the recipe! Be blessed my dear.
Thank you so much for the kind words! I'll definitely keep that in mind.
Just made these with my kids!! SOOOO easy to make, instructions so easy to follow, but the best part-they MELT in your mouth! So yummy! Thank you for a great recipe!
I'm so happy to hear that, Lidiya! Thank you for taking the time to write.
Can I just use grape seed oil instead of vegetable oil. And can I substitute the cream cheese with sour cream.
I haven't tried them with grapeseed oil, but I imagine it would work too, but I don't recommend substituting sour cream for cream cheese.
Excellent recipe Olga, thank you! For me the cookies came out soft and tasty! I used whole wheat flour and sour cream instead of cream cheese and they still turned out great!
I'm glad to hear that you enjoyed the cookies, Carly.
hi olga, thank you for the recipe first of all, i am having trouble with the icing, its coming out greyish, i tried to add food coloring it ended up being thick and even worse color, any thoughts?
I don't know what the issue might be, Anya. I've never had that happen to me. Sorry you're having trouble with it.
I want to make this cookies with kids, do u think ya mogy ego roll like, raskatat i chob kids vubirali formachku i sami delali sebe cookies. eto vozmozna ? Esli da, to nyzna s verxy posupat sugar, i kakaya tolchuna dolzhna but?
V pamadky mozna color dobavlyat ? Pasibki bolwoye, izvinyayus cho tak mnogo voprosikov.
You can, but the cookies will not be as tender. I would recommend doing the cookies the way I wrote in the recipe. You can have the kids decorate the top of the cookies later. There are other recipes that are better for rolling out.
Yes, you can use food coloring in the glaze.
Hi Olga, I was wondering if you could make the dough and then put it in the fridge a few hours ahead of time or will it be to hard to work with?
I've never tried it myself, but it will probably work. Let me know how it works out.
Olga, I made these cookies today and they turned out really good. I loved the glaze it's amazing and the sugar on the top is so sparkly makes it look like real snow. I love your recipes so simple and easy to make.
i dont have powdered sugar right now can i use granulated sugar?
In this recipe, you can't substitute granulated sugar for powdered sugar. The glaze will simply not turn out right at all. If you have a food processor, you can process the granulated sugar in it until it becomes powdered sugar.
i love this recipe i did it and everybody loved it can you post a cupcake recipe my little nephew is always asking me to make cupcakes and i don't know which one to do help
I'm glad you liked the cookies, Katya.
i have several cupcake recipes on the blog. Look under the Sweets menu.
Does your icing become stiff when it sets?! Or is it wet on top?
It becomes stiff when it dries, Oksana.
These cookies look so yummy! I will definitely try these and my 4yr old daughter will have so much fun decorating them! Thanks Olga!
These cookies were amazing! So soft and chewy, thank you for letting me try these yesterday 🙂