Slice and Bake Sugar Cookies have all the charm of a good sugar cookie that kids and adults alike can't resist! They strike the perfect balance between chewy and crispy, with a buttery richness that's hard to beat.
Homemade traditional sugar cookies are a thoughtful and personal gift whether it's Valentine's Day or Christmas, and Slice and Bake Sugar Cookies never fail to deliver.
These soft sugar cookies can be easily modified to fit any special occasion or color scheme, such as being decorated with rainbow sprinkles for a birthday party or shaped with Christmas cookie cutters for the holiday season.
My favorite thing about these chewy sugar cookies is that they're made in under 30 minutes with very basic ingredients!
For more delightful Valentine’s Day Cookies, check out my Strawberry Chocolate Chip Cookies, Crumbl Copycat Pink Velvet Cookies, Easy No-Bake Love Bug Oreo Cookies, Red Velvet Cake Mix Cookies, and Love Bug Valentine Sugar Cookies!
Ingredients for Slice and Bake Cookies
Wet Ingredients. Butter, Vanilla Extract, Egg, Vegetable Oil
Dry Ingredients. All Purpose Flour, Granulated Sugar, Powdered Sugar, Baking Soda, Cream of Tartar
Chocolate/Extras/Candies/Add-ins/Decoration. Sprinkles, Sanding Sugar
How to Make Slice and Bake Sugar Cookie Recipe
- Cream Butter and Granulated Sugar in a large bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, or using an electric hand mixer with a mixing bowl. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. The mixture will be light and fluffy.
- Mix in the Egg and Vanilla Extract before adding the Vegetable Oil and Powdered Sugar, and continue to cream together on medium speed or high speed for an additional 2-3 minutes.
- Gradually add the dry ingredients of All Purpose Flour, Granulated Sugar, Powdered Sugar, Baking Soda, and Cream of Tartar, mixing until combined.
- Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and transfer all of the Slice and Bake cookie dough onto a large rectangle of parchment paper.
- Shape the cookie dough into cylindrical log shapes to make round cookies, and try to ensure that it has an even thickness along the entire log. Roll dough log in parchment paper to wrap it, and place it in the refrigerator on a flat surface to chill for 30-60 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Remove from refrigerator and unwrap from parchment paper. Carefully roll the cookie dough log into sprinkles covering all of the cookie dough.
- Use a sharp knife to slice cookies about ⅓ inch thick and roll edges in sanding sugar for extra fun edges.
- Place cookies on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, allowing 2 inches around the cookies for them to spread while baking.
- Bake dough slices for 7-9 minutes until the edges are set, making sure not to overbake them. Allow the baked cookies to cool for a minute before moving them to the cooling rack.
FAQs
You can freeze the dough before slicing it. Wrap the logs tightly in plastic wrap or seal them in a freezer bag, and place them in the freezer. Each frozen log can be stored for up to 3 months. Allow the pre-made cookie dough logs to thaw overnight in the fridge before slicing and baking.
Chilling the dough is not an essential step in this recipe but it enables you to easily slice the cookie dough logs and helps to prevent the cookies from spreading too much when they bake.
Butter is recommended because of its rich flavor, but you could use margarine if it's all that's available to you. Just keep in mind that it might alter the texture and taste slightly.
Cream of tartar has a unique tangy flavor and acts as a stabilizer for the cookies. These cookies can still be made without it, but they'll probably have a slightly different taste and feel.
Storage & Freezing
Storage: Store cooled cookies in an airtight container for up to 7 days. Slice and Bake Sugar Cookies are best if enjoyed within 2-3 days.
Freezing: Cookies can be stored in a sealed container and frozen for up to 3 months. Place parchment paper between each cookie to prevent sticking.
You can also freeze the dough before slicing it by wrapping the logs tightly in plastic wrap or sealing them in a freezer bag, and placing them in the freezer for up to 3 months. Allow the pre-made cookie dough logs to thaw overnight in the fridge before slicing and baking.
Substitutions & Variations
- You can make these cookies as small or large as you like by changing the thickness of the logs.
- Try adding some different flavors to the cookie dough, such as a touch of lemon zest, using almond extract instead of the vanilla flavor, or even a sprinkle of cinnamon.
- Some icing or frosting on these cookies is an easy way to make them extra special! I have recipes for Fabulous Pink Frosting, White Lemon Glaze, Chocolate Frosting, Cream Cheese Frosting, Fudgy Chocolate Icing, and many more.
- Instead of sprinkles and sanding sugar, you can roll the logs in any kind of decorative coating, like finely chopped nuts, crushed hard candy pieces such as candy canes, chopped milk or white chocolate, or crushed cookies like Oreos.
- If you want to make easy Christmas Cookies with cut-out shapes like Santa hats or a Christmas tree, make sure the log is quite thick so that it will make large cookies that you can easily cut the shapes from. Cut-out sugar cookies are a big hit at Christmas time, but also at Halloween and themed parties!
Pro Tips
What makes a good cookie? Does it have a soft center and crispy edges, and is it chewy? Each of these makes a great quality cookie. To make perfect cookies every time here are some pro tips.
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.
| Volume | Ounces | Grams | |
| All Purpose Flour | 1 Cup | 4½ Ounces | 120 Grams |
| Bread Flour | 1 Cup | 4½ Ounces | 120 Grams |
| Granulated Sugar | 1 Cup | 7 Ounces | 200 Grams |
| Brown Sugar | 1 Cup | 7½ Ounces | 213 Grams |
| Confectionary Sugar | 1 Cup | 4 Ounces | 113 Grams |
Preheat Oven.
A preheated oven is best when baking a chewy and soft cookie.
Room Temperature Ingredients.
Softened Butter and room temperature egg are a must when baking.
Cookie Dough.
Chilling the dough is not necessary with this recipe.
Cookie Scoop.
Using a cookie scoop keeps each ball of cookie dough the same size, which is essential for ensuring even baking.
Cookie Sheets.
Line the cookie sheet with parchment paper or a Silicone Mat. You can also use baking spray if you prefer.
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 the edges are set and the 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 lifesaver when it comes to consistent baking.
- Wire Rack for cooling cookies. I like to have at least two 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 two batches to bake. It's great to have multiple baking sheets available.
- Parchment Paper or Silicone Baking Mat. Line the Cookie Sheet with parchment paper for easy cleanup 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 a Ziploc Bag works great too.
- Additional supplies. Measuring Cups and Measuring Spoons along with a silicone spatula, are all helpful.
To find out more, check out my Pro Tips Guide for making the best cookies every time!
Have you tried this Slice and Bake Easy Sugar Cookie recipe?
Let me know what you think 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 think of these cookies. It really does help!
More Homemade Sugar Cookies Recipes
- Tasty Soft Strawberry Sugar Cookies
- Perfect Chocolate Swig Sugar Cookies with Chocolate Ganache
- Tart Lemon Sugar Cookies Recipe with Infused Sugar
- Soft Sprinkle Sugar Cookies Recipe for All Holidays
- Fresh Individual Blueberry Pie Sugar Cookies Recipe
- Easy to make Football Sugar Cookies
- Air Fryer Sugar Cookies From Scratch
Slice and Bake Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup Butter, Softened
- ½ cup Granulated Sugar 100g
- ¼ cup Vegetable Oil
- ½ cup Powdered Sugar 65g
- 1 Egg, Large
- 1 tablespoon Vanilla Extract
- ½ teaspoon Baking Soda
- ½ teaspoon Cream of Tartar
- 2 cups All Purpose Flour, 240g
- ½ cup Sprinkles
- ¼ cup Sanding Sugar
Instructions
- Cream Butter and Granulated Sugar in a large bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, or using an electric hand mixer with a mixing bowl. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. The mixture will be light and fluffy.
- Mix in the Egg and Vanilla Extract before adding the Vegetable Oil and Powdered Sugar. Then continue to cream together on medium speed or high speed for an additional 2-3 minutes.
- Gradually add the dry ingredients of All Purpose Flour, Granulated Sugar, Powdered Sugar, Baking Soda, and Cream of Tartar, mixing until combined.
- Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and transfer all of the Slice and Bake cookie dough onto a large rectangle of parchment paper.
- Shape the cookie dough into cylindrical log shapes to make round cookies, and try to ensure that it has an even thickness along the entire log.
- Roll dough log in parchment paper to wrap it, and place it in the refrigerator on a flat surface to chill for 30-60 minutes.
- Remove from refrigerator and unwrap from parchment paper. Carefully roll the cookie dough log into sprinkles covering all of the cookie dough.
- Use a sharp knife to slice cookies about ½ inch thick and roll edges in sanding sugar for extra fun edges.
- Place cookies on the baking sheet allowing 2 inches around the cookies for them to spread while baking.
- Place sliced cookie dough on lined baking sheets with parchment paper and set the oven to 350 degrees.
- Bake dough slices for 7-9 minutes until the edges are set, making sure not to overbake them. Allow the baked cookies to cool for a minute before moving them to the cooling rack.
Notes
- Store: Store cooled cookies in an airtight container for up to 7 days. Slice and Bake Sugar Cookies are best if enjoyed within 2-3 days.
- Freeze: Cookies can be stored in a sealed container and frozen for up to 3 months. Place parchment paper between each cookie to prevent sticking. You can also freeze the dough before slicing it by wrapping the logs tightly in plastic wrap or sealing them in a freezer bag, and placing them in the freezer for up to 3 months. Allow the pre-made cookie dough logs to thaw overnight in the fridge before slicing and baking.
| Volume | Ounces | Grams | |
| All Purpose Flour | 1 Cup | 4 ½ Ounces | 120 Grams |
| Bread Flour | 1 Cup | 4 ½ Ounces | 120 Grams |
| Granulated Sugar | 1 Cup | 7 Ounces | 200 Grams |
| Brown Sugar | 1 Cup | 7 ½ Ounces | 213 Grams |
| Confectionary Sugar | 1 Cup | 8 Ounces | 227 Grams |
Nutrition Disclaimer
All nutrition values are approximate and calculated by a plugin and are provided as a courtesy. Adding or subtracting ingredients will change the nutritional value.
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