Soft and Chewy Small Batch Sugar Cookies

These drop-style soft and chewy small batch sugar cookies bake up with crisp, sugar-crackled edges and tender, buttery centers. This one-bowl dough features a whisper of almond extract that rounds out the vanilla. No chilling, rolling, or cutting required; just scoop, roll through sugar for a little sparkle, and bake. Start to finish, the small batch of six cookies is ready in under 30 minutes.

What I love about these soft sugar cookies is the niche they fill. Sometimes you want the flavor of a classic sugar cookie — buttery, rich, and vanilla — but with a chewier bite, and no obligation to roll, cut, and decorate with royal icing. Let’s leave that endeavor to the cut-out sugar cookies.

But even in their simplicity, these went through laborious rounds of testing. I kept fighting my own baking instincts, which told me to chill the dough. But each chilled batch baked up thick and puffy — more like my sugar cookie blossoms. Still wonderful, but missing the crisp, sugar-crackled exterior that only a proper spread can deliver. So I did something I almost never do, and skipped the chill entirely. That was the fix.

The other small thing that makes these cookies stand out is a little almond extract, the same trick I use in my classic pound cake. It rounds out the vanilla and adds something you can’t quite name — the kind of flavor that makes you pause and wonder what that is.

A roll through sugar gives the cookies a little sparkle finish, and it’s easy enough to swap with rainbow sprinkles or colored sugar if you’re making these for just about any holiday.

How to Make Small Batch Chewy Sugar Cookies

Since this is a one-bowl recipe, reach for a medium bowl with enough room for a hand mixer to move around.

Start by beating the butter and sugar together until the mixture looks light and creamy — two minutes or so. Add the egg yolk and both extracts, and mix again until the yolk disappears into the batter.

Now sprinkle the dry ingredients right over the top and beat on low, just until the flour streaks vanish. The dough will be thick — and this is where you’ll be glad the mixer is doing the heavy lifting.

Scoop six even portions and roll each one smooth between your palms. Then roll each ball through granulated sugar until it’s coated. That sugar coating is what gives the baked cookies their crackled top. Space them out on your lined sheet, because these cookies will spread.

Bake the cookies until the edges are set, but the centers still look soft and underbaked — that’s exactly what you want. That’s the secret to a chewy center instead of a crisp one.

Erin’s Sugar Cookie Tips

• Give them time to cool on the pan – Fresh from the oven, these cookies are delicate — that soft, underbaked center hasn’t set yet. Give them a few minutes to firm up on the hot pan before moving them to a wire rack, or they’ll tear and fold on you.
• For perfectly round cookies – Here’s the trick I use: the second they come out, while they’re still warm on the pan, swirl the cookies around the inside of a larger round cookie cutter. This smooths out any wonky edges.
• Choose the right sprinkles – My recommendation is jimmies — those long, waxy ones — rather than nonpareils. Jimmies hold their color in the oven, while other sprinkles tend to bleed into the dough.
• Cookie frosting option – Once they’re fully cooled, my thick cookie frosting is the literal icing on top. I’ll never pass up on a chance to frost something.

Soft and Chewy Small Batch Sugar Cookies

Drop-style soft and chewy small batch sugar cookies with crisp, sugar-crackled edges and tender, buttery centers. The one-bowl, no-chill dough features a hint of almond extract to round out the vanilla, and the small batch of six cookies is ready in under 30 minutes.

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by Erin Cernich

Yield6 Cookies

Prep10 minutes minutes

Cook11 minutes minutes

Total Time21 minutes minutes

Equipment

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  Baking Sheet Lined with Parchment Paper
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  Hand Mixer
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  #40 Medium Cookie Scoop (2 Tablespoon)

Ingredients

• ▢ 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
• ▢ 5 tablespoons granulated sugar (plus more for optional rolling)
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon salt
• ▢ 1 large egg yolk, room temperature
• ▢ ¾ teaspoon vanilla bean paste (or extract)
• ▢ ⅛ teaspoon almond extract (optional)
• ▢ ½ cup, plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon baking powder
• ▢ ⅛ teaspoon baking soda

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Instructions

 

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  Preheat the oven to 350F degrees and adjust the oven rack to the middle position. Line a baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper.
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  In a medium mixing bowl, add the butter, sugar, and salt. Use a hand mixer to mix on medium-high speed until combined — about 2 minutes. Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed.
  4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature, 5 tablespoons granulated sugar, 1/4 teaspoon salt
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  Add in the egg yolk, vanilla, and almond extract (if using) and mix until combined for another 15 to 20 seconds. Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed.
  1 large egg yolk, room temperature, 3/4 teaspoon vanilla bean paste, 1/8 teaspoon almond extract
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  Sprinkle the flour, baking powder, and baking soda over the wet ingredients. Mix on low until combined and no flour streaks remain. The dough will be crumbly. Use a spatula to form it into a dough ball.
  1/2 cup, plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, 1/4 teaspoon baking powder, 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
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  Use a medium cookie scoop to portion the dough into 6 equal dough balls. The cookie scoop will be generously filled. Roll the dough balls between your hand to smooth them out. Place 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet.
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  Optional – Roll the dough balls through the granulated sugar, and return them to the baking sheet.
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  Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the edges are slightly golden and the centers still look soft and cracked. Cool the cookies on the baking sheet set on a wire cooling rack for 5 minutes, then transfer them to the rack to cool completely.
For perfectly round cookies, as soon as they come out of the oven, swirl them around the inside of a larger, round cookie cutter.

Notes

• Serving Size – The small batch recipe can be doubled by using a whole egg vs. two egg yolks.
• Sprinkles – For holiday cookies, roll the cookie dough balls through colored sanding sugar or sprinkles before baking.
• Almond Flavor – The almond extract adds another light layer of flavor to the cookies (bakeries often use it). It is optional.
• Make Ahead Dough – The dough can be covered and refrigerated for up to 2 days. Bring to room temperature to shape into the dough balls and bake. In testing, the cookies did not flatten or spread when the dough was too cold.
• Freezing the Dough – Roll the dough into balls and place in a freezer bag. Freeze for up to 3 months and thaw in the refrigerator. When ready to bake, set them on a prepared baking sheet at room temperature while the oven preheats.

Nutrition information is calculated by a third-party and should only be considered an estimate and not a guarantee.