The Best Healthier Sugar Cookie Recipe (+ Video) (2024)

This sugar cookie recipe makes soft and chewy cut out cookies that keep their shape. Perfect for your traditional cookie decorating day, these healthier sugar cookies with a simple icing are just sweet enough, and pair with other holiday favorites like Candy Cane Cookies and Snickerdoodles.

Decorating sugar Christmas cookies wasn’t a tradition in my family growing up.

We made Chocolate Chip Cookies for sure, and even Brownies, but setting a day aside to specifically make and decorate sugar cookies just didn’t happen in our house.

My step-mom, though, started this tradition with my own kids when they were barely old enough to walk.

My step-mom now lives with Jesus, so it’s up to me to carry on her tradition of making my own healthier sugar cookies with the kids.

WHY MAKE HOMEMADE SUGAR COOKIES

I love making these easy sugar cookies because they’re:

• Healthier. These are low sugar cookies, meaning they are made with less sugar, yet they are as delicious as the classic sugar cookie recipe.
• Versatile. This healthier sugar cookie recipe can be made any time of the year – not just for Christmas!
• Fast. I know some recipes call for overnight chilling. I promise that if I had to make the dough YESTERDAY, cookies aren’t happening.
• Short ingredient list. Some recipes have a VERY long list of ingredients. The basic essentials of any cookie recipe are flour, sugar, eggs, butter, vanilla, and salt… if the ingredient list is any longer than that, then I’m looking for a different recipe.

BEST SUGAR COOKIES RECIPE INGREDIENTS

For the cookies:

• Flour. I tested this sugar cookies recipe using 100% all-purpose, 100% whole wheat and every combination in between. My favorite, and what I suggest using, is 100% all-purpose flour (I like this brand).
• Sugar. When I choose to use sugar in recipes, I like to use Turbinado sugar. Turbinado sugar is less processed than traditional granulated sugar, and still tastes great!
• Unsalted Butter. Sugar cookies need butter for the rich flavor and creamy texture. Use room temperature butter for the best results.
• Vanilla Extract. Classic sugar cookies need a touch of vanilla to give them their flavor. You can make a bottle of Homemade Vanilla Extract or use one of these vanilla substitutes. Almond extract also works in a pinch.
• Eggs. There are ways to substitute eggs in a lot of recipes, but this chewy cookie recipe needs regular eggs to help hold everything together.
• Salt. Just a pinch of salt helps bring out the sweetness of the other ingredients. Omit if you use salted butter.
• Baking Powder. For just a bit of lift, so we don’t end up with flat, chewy cookies.

For the icing:

• Powdered Sugar. Did you know you can make your own powdered sugar? Use this tutorial!
• Vanilla Extract. Vanilla, of course, is used to give the icing the classic sugar cookie flavor!
• Whole Milk. I would say you can substitute other types of milk, but you won’t get the same consistency as whole milk. Keep that in mind if you don’t have whole milk on hand.
• Salt. Again, a pinch to complement the other flavors.

Psst…Did you know that many salts contain MICROPLASTICS? It’s a sneaky toxin that may be in your everyday salt, and thus your everyday food (um, gross). I love Ava Jane’s Kitchen because their salt is FREE of microplastics, and it tastes delicious! (PLUS, you can get your own penny bag of salt on this page!)

HOW TO MAKE SUGAR COOKIES

Step 1: In a bowl of a stand mixer OR using a large bowl with a hand mixer, cream the sugar and butter until it is very light in color, about 5-10 minutes.

Step 2: Add the egg and vanilla and mix until well combined.

Step 3: Add 1 cup of the flour, the salt, and baking powder and mix on low. Add the remaining flour and mix until the dough is no longer crumbly and starts to stick together, possibly cleaning the sides of the bowl.

Step 4: Wrap in a piece of plastic wrap and place in the fridge to chill for 30 minutes.

Step 5: Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375F and line a large cookie sheet with a piece of parchment paper.

Step 6: When the dough is chilled, lightly flour a Silpat mat (or your working surface) and place your dough on top of the flour, sliding it around slightly in the flour so that the underside is lightly coated. Take the same plastic wrap that the dough was wrapped in, unroll it, and place it on top.

Step 7: Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough to either ⅜″ thick for thicker, chewy, bakery-style cookies OR roll it out to ¼” thick for classic sugar cookies.

Step 8: Use the cookie cutters to cut your desired shapes. Place the shapes on the lined baking sheet, leaving 1” of space between each cookie.

Step 9: Knead the scraps together and repeat the previous two steps until all the dough has been cut.

Step 10: Bake the cookies for 7 minutes. Rotate the pan and bake for 1-2 minutes more, just until the edges are barely golden brown. They might seem under-baked, but they’re not!

Step 11: Remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool for 5 minutes. Carefully move the cookies from the pan to a wire rack to cool completely before icing.

Sugar Cookie Recipe Frosting Instructions

Step 1: Combine the powdered sugar, vanilla, salt, and 3 tsp of whole milk in a small bowl.

Step 2: Use your arm muscles to whisk very well until the icing is smooth and makes thick ribbons when you hold the whisk up from the bowl.

Step 3: Add the last teaspoon of milk if the icing is too thick.

Step 4: Either pipe the icing onto the cookies, use a butter knife to spread the icing, or use a wet finger to smooth the icing over the cookies.

Step 5: Let the cookies dry at room temperate for at least 2 hours before stacking.

Step 6: Store cookies in a container with a lid for up to one week.

TIPS FOR USING LESS SUGAR IN SUGAR COOKIES

If you are making strides to reduce sugar, here are some guidelines:

• If you’re used to a very sweet sugar cookie recipe, I suggest making a batch with ½ cup of sugar. Ice and decorate as you normally do. These will be sweet for sure, and I promise you won’t notice the reduced sugar.
• If you’re used to baking with less sugar, I suggest keeping the ⅓ cup sugar. This alone will make a delicious sugar cookie that is just barely sweet. You can decorate if you want, but you will certainly notice the higher level of sweetness if you use a lot of icing or a super sweet icing.
• If you’re used to eating less sweet foods AND you want to decorate the cookie, I suggest reducing the sugar to ¼ cup. You’ll end up baking a cookie whose sweetness comes mainly from the icing, which you can control even more to adjust the level of sweetness.
• I do not recommend using maple syrup or honey in place of sugar for this recipe. Using a liquid sweetener will result in a difficult dough to work with.

QUICK EASY SUGAR COOKIE RECIPE TIPS

If you want these easy sugar cookies to resemble those thick sugar cookies you can get at the grocery store bakery, roll them out to ⅜” thick. These will make a deliciously chewy and AMAZING cookie. If you want them a bit thinner, aim for ¼” thick.

This sugar cookie recipe makes just enough cookies to enjoy over a few days. If you have extras, or you make a double batch for extra decorating fun, store the cookies in an airtight container for 3-4 days, or freeze for up to 3 months. Flash freeze in a single layer on a baking sheet, and then store in a freezer bag.

SUGAR COOKIE RECIPE FAQS

Something else I’ve learned over the years is that kitchen tools make cooking EASY and enjoyable. I don’t own a lot of tools, but what I do own, I often use and love. For this recipe, in particular, I used:

• KitchenAid Mixer (plus here’s a post on 30+ Creative Ways to Use a KitchenAid Mixer)
• Parchment Paper (buy what you need now, then watch out for sales after the holidays and stock up for the year!)
• Plastic Wrap
• Silpat Mats (You can bake on these too, but they’re great for rolling out dough and keeping the counters clean.)
• Cookie Cutters (I have a few sets, but I used this set for this sugar cookie recipe)
• Large Cookie Sheet (I used to have several smaller ones, but have invested in a few larger ones over the years instead.)
• Cooling Rack (I use these for cooling cookies of course, but also when flash-freezing foods and need to stack cookie sheets on top of each other!)

MORE SIMPLE COOKIE RECIPES

• Easy Candy Cane Cookies
• Pumpkin Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting
• Healthy Thumbprint Cookies
• Snickerdoodle Cookies
• Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Healthier Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies
• Chocolate Peanut Butter No Bake Cookies
• Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies

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Watch How to Make Healthy Sugar Cookies

Healthier Sugar Cookies

Print Recipe

★★★★★4.9 from 13 reviews

This sugar cookie recipe makes soft and chewy cut out cookies that keep their shape. Perfect for your traditional cookie decorating day, these healthier sugar cookies with a simple icing are just sweet enough, and pair with other holiday favorites like Candy Cane Cookies and Snickerdoodles.

• Author: Tiffany
• Prep Time: 40 minutes
• Cook Time: 7 minutes
• Total Time: 47 minutes
• Yield: 14–19 iced cookies 1x
• Category: Dessert
• Method: Bake
• Cuisine: American

Ingredients

Scale

Cookies

• ⅓cup granulated sugar (I used Turbinado)
• 8 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 ½ cups flour (I used all-purpose)
• ⅛tsp salt
• ½ tsp + ⅛ tsp baking powder

Icing

• 1 cup powdered sugar (make your own)
• ½ tsp vanilla
• pinch salt
• 3–4 tsp whole milk

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Instructions

Make the Cookies:

1. In a bowl of a stand mixer OR using a large bowl with a hand mixer, cream the sugar and butter until it is very light in color, about 5-10 minutes.
2. Add the egg and vanilla and mix until well combined.
3. Add 1 cup of the flour, salt, and baking powder and turn on low. Add the remaining flour and mix until the dough is no longer crumbly and starts to stick together, possibly cleaning the sides of the bowl.
4. Wrap in a piece of plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 30 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375F and line a large cookie sheet with a piece of parchment paper.
6. When the dough is chilled, lightly flour a Silpat mat (or your working surface) and place your dough on top of the flour, sliding it around slightly in the flour so that the underside is lightly coated. Take the same plastic wrap that it was wrapped in, unroll it, and place it on top.
7. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough to either ⅜” thick for thicker, chewy, bakery-style cookies OR roll it out to ¼” thick for classic sugar cookies.
8. Use the cookie cutters to cut your desired shapes. Place the shapes on the cookie sheet, leaving 1” of space between each cookie.
9. Knead the scraps together and repeat the previous two steps until all the dough has been cut.
10. Bake the cookies for 7 minutes. Rotate the pan and bake for 1-2 minutes more, just until the edges are barely golden brown. They might seem underbaked, but they’re not!
11. When they’re done, remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool on a cooling rack for 5 minutes. Carefully move the cookies from the pan to the cooling rack to cool completely before icing.

Ice the Cookies:

1. Combine the powdered sugar, vanilla, salt and 3 tsp of whole milk in a small bowl.
2. Use your arm muscles to whisk very well until the icing is smooth and makes thick ribbons when you hold the whisk up from the bowl.
3. Add the last teaspoon of milk if the icing is too thick.
4. Either pipe the icing onto the cookies, use a butter knife to spread the icing, or use a wet finger to smooth the icing over the cookies.
5. Let the cookies dry at room temperate for at least 2 hours before stacking.
6. Store cookies in a container with a lid for up to one week.

Notes

• If you’re used to very sweet sugar cookies recipes, I suggest making a batch with ½ cup of sugar. Ice and decorate as you normally do. These will be sweet for sure, and I promise you won’t notice the reduced sugar.
• If you’re used to baking with less sugar, I suggest keeping the recipe as written, with ⅓ cup sugar. This alone will make a delicious sugar cookie that is just barely sweet. You can decorate if you want, but you will certainly notice the higher level of sweetness if you use a lot of icing or a super sweet icing.
• If you’re used to eating fewer sweet foods AND you want to decorate the cookie, I suggest reducing the sugar in the cookies to ¼ cup. You’ll end up baking a cookie whose sweetness comes mainly from the icing, which you can control even more to adjust the level of sweetness.
• I do not recommend using maple syrup or honey in place of sugar for this recipe. Using a liquid sweetener will result in a difficult dough to work with.

Nutrition

• Calories: 113

Keywords: sugar cookie recipe