Soft and delicious, Air Fryer Sugar Cookies are fantastic! Roll them in colored sparkly sugar to match the holiday or special event you're celebrating for some extra special sweet treats!
If you have never made homemade cookies in an air fryer, then I hope I can convince you to try it!
Made with simple ingredients and baked in the air fryer, these delicious sugar cookies are ready in just 20 minutes! They're perfect for last-minute gatherings and are also great to make ahead (they're freezer friendly too!)
We take classic sugar cookies to the next level with sparkly sugar, then bake them in the air fryer until soft and chewy!
The air fryer is a quick, handy, and easy way to bake small batches of cookies. The number of cookies you can make will depend on the size of your air fryer basket, but as they only take 4-5 minutes to cook, I've never found it a hassle!
For more cookie Air Fryer recipes, try my Air Fryer Peanut Butter Cookies and my fan favorite Air Fryer Chocolate Chip Cookies too!
Try some of my other favorite cookie recipes for the holidays, like these Rudolph The Reindeer Cookies or these Christmas Tree Grasshopper Cookies for a real fun holiday treat!
Shopping List
Wet Ingredients. Butter, Vanilla Extract, Egg, Vegetable Oil
Dry Ingredients. All Purpose Flour, Granulated Sugar, Powdered Sugar, Baking Soda, Cream of Tartar, Salt
Coating. Sanding Sugar (White, Red, Pink, Yellow, Green, Blue, etc.) (Optional)
How to Make Air Fryer Sugar Cookies
Preheat your Air Fryer to 340 degrees F for 5 minutes.
In a large bowl, using a hand mixer or a stand mixer, cream the Butter and Granulated Sugar together for a couple of minutes.
Add the Egg and Vanilla Extract and continue to cream until fully combined.
Drizzle the Vegetable Oil into the butter mixture and add Powdered Sugar, mixing until it is light and fluffy. Be sure to scrape the sides of the bowl as needed to get all of the ingredients mixed evenly.
In a separate bowl, mix together All Purpose Flour, Baking Soda, and Cream of Tartar. Stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture a bit at a time until fully combined.
Now that you have the cookie dough, scoop cookie dough balls out with a Medium size #50 (or Small size #60) cookie scoop, and roll them in your colored Sanding Sugar.
Place your first batch of cookie dough balls in your parchment-lined Air Fryer basket, 2 inches apart. Bake for 4-5 minutes to get perfectly soft cookies.
Allow cookies to sit in the air fryer after baking to set before moving them to a wire rack.
Well - you get cookies!! As magical and mysterious as your Air Fryer may seem, it is basically just a really hot oven with swirling air inside it. This means that food tends to cook more quickly than in a conventional oven!
You don't need to use parchment paper in your air fryer, but I would recommend it. I would normally use parchment paper or a silicone mat on my baking trays for easy cleanup and the air fryer basket is the same. You can get Air Fryer Parchment Paper that has holes in it to allow air circulation, and this works wonders for easy cleanup!
These sugar cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week. Cookies are best when enjoyed within 2-3 days after being freshly baked.
You can freeze sugar cookie dough as well as baked sugar cookies for up to 3 months when stored correctly.
Baked Sugar Cookies should be placed in a freezer-safe air-tight container, plastic wrap, or freezer bag, and stored in the freezer. Put a piece of parchment paper between each cookie in a stack to prevent them from sticking together when you thaw them.
Unbaked Sugar Cookie Dough should be scooped into balls and then put on a tray in a single layer with some space between them (so they don't stick together). Put them in the freezer, and once they have frozen you can then individually wrap them in plastic wrap and store them in a Ziploc bag or freezer-safe container in the freezer! Simply take one out when you want it, and Air Fry it for the cooking time +1 minute!
Substitutions & Variations
- Frosting or icing. Add frosting or icing to your cookies instead of colored sanding sugar. You can coat the top in icing, or drizzle some on top.
- Chocolate chips. Get a bit of added sweetness by putting some chocolate chips into the cookie dough before baking them.
- Sprinkles. Top these colorful cookies with sprinkles for even more festive fun!
Pro Tips
What makes a good cookie? Does it have a soft center, crispy edges, and chewy? Each of these makes a great quality cookie. To make perfect cookies every time here are some pro tips.
To find out more, check out my Pro Tips Guide for making the best cookies every time!
Weighing Ingredients.
Baking is a science and adding too much or too little of any of the ingredients will alter the recipe. Weighing and measuring dry ingredients properly makes a world of difference.
Investing in a kitchen scale is ideal. When a kitchen scale is not available make sure to stir and lift ingredients before scooping them into a measuring cup.
Cookie Scoop.
Using a cookie scoop keeps each ball of cookie dough the same size which is essential for baking. I have used a medium size #50 cookie scoop in these photos.
Baking Sheets.
Baking sheets can be ungreased. I like to use Parchment Paper liners or a Silicone Mat for easy cleanup.
Baking Time.
Every oven heats a little differently. I recommend doing a test batch of 1-3 cookies to test the baking time for a perfectly baked cookie before baking the remaining dough.
Cookies.
Cookies are perfectly baked when edges are set and centers are no longer glossy.
Cooling Rack.
Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for a minute or two before moving them to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Kitchen Scale. I use this for accuracy in measuring and it's a life saver when it comes to consistent baking
- Wire Rack for cooling cookies. I like to have at least 2 cooling racks
- Mixing Bowls. A Large Mixing Bowl for mixing ingredients and small and medium mixing bowls for other ingredients
- Cookie Sheet. Most recipes will take 2 batches to bake. It's great to have multiple baking sheets available
- Parchment Paper or Silicone Baking Mat. Line Cookie Sheet with parchment paper for easy clean up and to prevent sticking.
- Cookie Scoop. A small #60 Cookie Scoop or a Medium Cookie Scoop #50 are great choices for uniform drops of cookie dough.
- Storage Container. An Airtight Container to store cookies or ZipLoc Bags work great too.
- Additional supplies. Measuring Cups and Measuring Spoons along with silicone spatula are all helpful
Have you tried this Air Fryer Sugar Cookies recipe?
Let me know what you thought of this recipe! Tag @bestcookierecipes on social media so I can see how great your cookies turned out! I would also love to read your comments below. Let me know what you thought of these cookies. It really does help!
More Delicious Cookie Recipes
- Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich Cookies
- Soft Almond Sugar Cookies
- M&M Sugar Cookies
- Funfetti Sprinkle Cookies
- Oreo Sugar Cookies
- Chocolate Swig Sugar Cookies
- Red Velvet Sandwiches
- Red, White, and Blue Sandwiches
- Chocolate Chipless Cookies
Air Fryer Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup Butter Softened
- ½ cup Granulated White Sugar 100g
- 1 Egg Large
- ½ teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- ½ cup Powdered Sugar 65g
- ¼ cup Vegetable Oil
- 2 cups All Purpose Flour 240g
- ½ teaspoon Baking Soda
- ½ teaspoon Cream of Tartar
- Sanding Sugar White, Red, Pink, Yellow, Green, or Blue (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat your Air Fryer to 340 degrees F for 5 minutes.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream softened Butter with Granulated Sugar for a couple of minutes.
- Add Egg and Vanilla Extract and continue to cream.
- Drizzle Vegetable Oil into the butter mixture and add Powdered Sugar.
- Mix until light and fluffy scraping the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Add All Purpose Flour, Baking Soda, and Cream of Tartar into the butter mixture and mix until combined.
- Scoop cookie dough with a Medium size #50, or Small size #60, cookie scoop, and roll in Sanding Sugar.
- Place cookie dough balls in Air Fryer 2 inches apart and bake for 4-5 minutes.
- Allow cookies to sit in the air fryer after baking to set before moving them to a wire rack.
Notes
- Room Temperature: Store these cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week. Cookies are best when enjoyed within 2-3 days.
- Baked Sugar Cookies: Place them in a freezer-safe air-tight container, plastic wrap, or freezer bag, and store them in the freezer. Put a piece of parchment paper between each cookie in a stack to prevent them from sticking together when you thaw them.
- Unbaked Sugar Cookie Dough: Scoop the dough into balls, and put them on a tray in a single layer with some space between them (so they don't stick together). Put them in the freezer, and once they have frozen you can then individually wrap them in plastic wrap and store them in a Ziploc bag or freezer-safe container in the freezer! Simply take one out when you want it, and Air Fry it for the cooking time +1 minute!
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