My mom’s sugar cookies are famous. For real. They’re soft and cakey with the very best cream cheese frosting for cookies – it’s way better than the tasteless “royal” icing that’s often used to decorate sugar cookies or the pasty pink frosting on those store bought ones. She makes them for every holiday and I don’t know how many people have requested the recipe over the years. Good thing she doesn’t mind sharing recipes, because I’m going to share it with all of you today.
One thing I really like about this recipe is that you don’t have to chill the dough before rolling it out. I don’t know about you, but I don’t really like making cookies to be an all-day affair. I’d rather just mix them up and get them baked, and that’s exactly what you can do with this recipe.
How to make sugar cookies with cream cheese frosting
Soft Sugar Cookies With Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
Cookies
- 2 cups Sugar
- 1 cup Margarine
- 3 Eggs
- 6 tablespoons Milk
- 5 cups All Purpose Flour
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
- 5 teaspoons Baking Powder
Frosting
- 1/4 cup Butter softened
- Dash of Salt
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla
- 3 cups Powdered Sugar
- 3 tablespoons Milk
- 4 oz Cream Cheese softened
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cookies
- Cream together sugar, margarine, eggs and milk until well combined.
- Add flour, salt and baking powder until just combined.
- Liberally flour a work surface and rolling pin.
- Roll out about 1/4 of the dough at a time to 3/8 inch thickness.
- Cut with cookie cutters and place onto a very lightly greased cookie sheet.
- Cook about 10 minutes until cookies are just done and remove from pan immediately. Frost when completely cooled.
Frosting
- Soften butter and cream cheese, then blend together with remaining frosting ingredients.
- Tint with food coloring if desired and frost cookies.
The recipe is fairly straightforward, but here are a few tips:
1 – Don’t roll the dough out too thin! If you want nice, soft, puffy cookies, your dough needs to be right around 3/8th of an inch thick once rolled out (and yes, I do sometimes grab a ruler and measure until I get a feel for it).
2 – Don’t overbake! Cookies should not be brown AT ALL. Not even a little (see photos below) or they’ll end up crunchy. Plan to stick around while the first tray of cookies is baking and keep a close eye on them to see how long they’ll need in your oven. When done they’ll be nice and puffed and firm enough to come off the cookie sheet pretty easily – they won’t be gooey – but even the bottoms will still be white (photos below).
3 – You will need flour to roll these out, especially the right at first. Go ahead and dump some flour on your work surface, then scoop out some dough, then put more flour on top. As you continue to cut cookies and roll out more dough, some of the flour will get mixed in and you won’t need to add as much each time.
Oh, I almost forgot – your cookie total will depend on what size cookie cutters you choose, but I’d say you can plan on 4 dozen good sized round cookies from one batch.
How to make cream cheese frosting for sugar cookies
Ok, so these cookies are good, but it’s the cream cheese cookie frosting that takes them over the top! Make sure you wait to frost the cookies until they are completely cool. The cream cheese cookie frosting recipe included is delicious and super easy to mix up. If you like a lot of frosting on each cookie, you might want to increase all the frosting ingredients by one half to make sure you have plenty (6T butter, dash of salt, 6 oz cream cheese, 4-5T milk, 4.5 cups powdered sugar, 1.5t vanilla).
This truly is the best cream cheese frosting for sugar cookies!
Now, baking up and then frosting an entire batch of sugar cookies can take some time. In an effort to speed things up, I’ve found a super easy frosting method that’s much quicker than spreading the frosting on each cookie with a knife, and looks kinda fancy. Click here for the easiest way to frost sugar cookies.
Kathy says
These look awesome! I can’t wait to try them. Thank you!
Emily says
My kids & I loved to make these cookies!
They turned out so nicely 🙂
*I did have to add some more flour to create the consistency of dough I needed to be able to work with it.
*I substituted butter rather than margarine
*I had to add more icing sugar to create a harder icing. Next time I won’t add as much milk
We will definitely be using this recipe again!
Misty says
I made several dozen of these sugar cookies for my daughters baby shower and everyone loved them. They were absolutely delicious and so much cheaper than buying from a bakery.
Jen says
Love the way sugar cookies make my house smell. Great recipe, thanks!
kristine says
can make the frosting ahead of time and put it in the fridge overnight?
Lacey says
These did not work for us…. the dough was more like stiff cake batter and not doughy at all. First half we made it doughy and we got cookies about 1/2 thick and gooey in the middle and brown on bottoms. After they cooled they were hard. 2nd half we followed direction with gooey mess and first half came out deformed because they would stick to the cookie cutter. But still 1/2 in tall and poofy. And stiff. Too stiff to be called soft sugar cookies. As the flour mixed in with each reroll it became easier to cut and transfer but still came out poofy and slightly brown on edges and that was at 7mins. 350 degrees F. So I don’t know how you are suppose to do these.. maybe you should do a video of the dough making step by step of what u posted… I usually love baking but everytime I try a sugar cookie recipe i am seriously dissapointed. Seems I can only eat a decent one from the store…
Jennifer says
I just made these cookies tonight and I have a lot of issues.. I love to bake and followed this recipe to a T. But #1 my cookies were way to dry. Even the softest of softest cookie… And the frosting was way to runny, more like a glaze than a frosting. They had zero.. absolutely zero taste. I am highly disappointed.
Village Bakery says
Thanks Autumn. You’re the best. I made these last night and the kids loved them
Monica says
Can this recipe be cut in half to make 2 dozen instead of the suggested 4 dozen ? Thanks !
autumn says
Sure!
Shaquella Powers says
Are you supposed to melt the margarine or is it supposed to be soften?
TIna says
Will the cream cheese icing harden that way it can be put in treat bags or is it still creamy? Thank you! I’m super excited to make this..
Kat says
I noticed that there is no flavoring (vanilla, almond, etc). Is that an oversight?
Traci Kelley says
Your mom taught me how to make these cookies in the 1970’s! It has always been my go-to recipe since then for sugar cookies. When the boys were little, we made Christmas cookies every year using this recipe–they loved the tradition. I haven’t had the space to bake much lately; but I have an outstanding collection of cookie cutters because of this recipe=)
xoxoxo
Sarah says
I couldn’t find my cookie cutter, so I used a glass. They were pretty big. They were a little bit dry for me, but they tasted good. I hope the hubby will like them, because he prefers softer cookies. Does anyone know how to make them softer, or is it just how they are supposed to be?
Kristin Miller says
Tried these cookies and they’re AMAZING! Huge hit in the house. This will be my new go to recipe for sugar cookies!
Ilse says
If the frosting has cream cheese, does that mean the cookies have to me refrigerated?
autumn says
Nope, they stay good on the counter for a couple of days!
Coreen says
Does this cookie need to be refrigerated after it’s frosted because of the cream cheese?
autumn says
Nope! The frosting is just fine for a couple of days out on the counter. I wouldn’t leave it out somewhere warmer than room temp, but at room temp you will be fine.
melissa says
Just wanted to say what a great site. Thanks
Teri Archibald says
My husband loves sugar cookies & these have become his favorite. They stay soft for a long time.
Jennifer says
I use Rumford Aluminum Free Baking Powder when baking and never have that problem.
Angela Morrison says
I made these cookies today. The dough was great to work with and the cookies looked perfect…BUT…Before I frosted them I decided to taste one and it was AWFUL. An overpowering flavor of baking powder came through. I think the problem is the 5 teaspoons of baking powder called for in the recipe! It is WAY TOO MUCH!! Was this a typo? Unfortunately, I had to throw out the whole batch.
autumn says
So sorry they didn’t work for you Angela. 5 teaspoons baking powder is correct, and I’ve never been able to taste the baking powder. It’s actually not that much baking powder, considering how much flour goes into a batch. Lots of readers have had success with this recipe as well. I’m not sure what happened to your cookies, unless somehow you used tablespoons instead of teaspoons or baking soda instead of baking powder. Again, sorry it didn’t work! I know how disappointing that is.
Angela says
Thank you for the reply, Autumn. I appreciate your input but will not be making another attempt at this recipe. Keep posting however! Your blog is lovely.
autumn says
Thanks!
Jess says
What temperature do o bake the cookies at. Thank you
Amy says
Oh wow, I wish Incould reach through the screen and eat one. I will be trying this recipe.
staice says
The link takes me to the facebook page not a recipe card to print.
carol says
Yes, the link took me to the Facebook page also with a cranberry bread recipe.
autumn says
Whoa – sorry about that! It’s fixed now 😉
remziye coban says
Thanks a lot for sharing the recipe. I am from Turkey.I tried cookie. It is unbeliveably soft though it doesn’t seem so. My four years old daughter really liked the cookies. The day after I baked the cookies they were even better.
Aubrey says
I come from a family of amazing cookie makers, but I myself started making cookies a couple months ago. Once I attempted this dough recipe I have never strayed. I have used this recipe 6-7 times now and have had great success everytime. The instructions and tips provided are clear and create soft and delicious cookies! If you had made these cookies and were disappointed, I would try then again while reading all the tips provided. Like I said, I am not an experienced baker but have tried amazing cookies and these I promise are amazing cookies!
autumn says
Thanks Aubrey! I’m glad they’ve worked out for you.
Tina says
Help! The link is broken.
Linda says
Did you really put 5 tsp of baking powder in them? That sounds like a lot of baking powder.
Beth says
My daughter and I made these cookies tonight and they turned out perfectly! They were fluffy and easy to work with. I also really like the cream cheese icing.Thanks for the great recipe!
Inma says
I haven’t tried it yet but now I am a bit concerned about some of the reviews. I was planning on using butter instead of margerine. Also wanted to use a cookie cutter. Will it hold its shape??
autumn says
Hi Inma. I’ve never used butter instead of margarine in the recipe so I don’t know how that would work out. However, as written the cookies do hold their shape beautifully!
Kenya says
I’m going to be trying this recipe out, but I was wondering if they would hold the shape of a cookie cutter (e.g. snowman, wreath, heart etc.)?
autumn says
yes they do! You can see hearts using this recipe in this post: https://www.itsalwaysautumn.com/2014/01/29/easiest-way-frost-sugar-cookies.html
Islasgrandma says
Maybe it was your cookie sheet or a problem with your dairy ingredients.
Allison says
Just made them with my boys. They are perfect! I overestimated the amount of icing I would need though. I doubled the icing recipe because we love it.
Gracie | Craftily Baking says
Thanks so much for this recipe! I tried it and they turned out perfect!
Arisbeth says
For the cookies (not the frosting) does the butter need to be softened or not
Emma says
I did 2T of milk for the frosting and it turned out beautifully
mackenzie says
do you mean “milk” instead of miok
Hallie says
This recipe sounds AMAZING! But, how many cookies does it make?
Julie says
Do you use salted or unsalted butter for the frosting?
PRISCILLA says
I WAS WONDERING IN THE RECIPE CARD IT SAYS
1 t VANILLA
3 T OF MILK
DOES THE LITTLE t MEAN TEASPOON ? AND THE BIG T MEAN TABLESPOON ?
autumn says
Yep!
Flavia says
Hey! I’m Flavia from Argentina, I made these a couple of days ago and I have to say they are absolutely delicious! <3 Thanks for sharing this recipe with us, it's definitely my new fav. X
Linda Self says
Do these frosted cookies needs to be refrigerated since there is cream cheese in the frosting.
Paige greenwood says
In the list of ingredients you say margarine and in the body you say to cream together sugar, butter, eggs and milk… So does it matter if you use butter or margarine? I know some recipes actually matter. I assume this one doesn’t?
Lacie says
yes, she said above that butter will make it run more
Suzette says
Actually, she said it “might” make them a bit thinner, so to make cookies a bit thicker. But I have actually made these with butter and they came out great. I rolled my dough to about 3/8″ and they were perfection!
Jo Evans says
I’m glad to hear this. I’m a butter user. Did you have to add any extra flour? Did they com out thick and fluffy?
Katherine says
These look delicious so I tried them, but I can’t seem to get the frosting right. I followed the recipe exactly but it turned out very very runny and not at all something I could spread on. I kept adding powdered sugar (2-3 more cups!) and it’s still too soft! should I have whipped the butter and cream geese first? Is3 Tbs too much milk? Please help!
Victoria says
If your icing looks “grainy” it means your butter and cream cheese were not to temperature (e.g. softened enough) to combine fully. sounds like a technical error not a problem with the recipe.
Natalie says
I only added 2 Tbsp of milk. My other recipes call for 7 to 8 tsp of liquid to 4 cups of powdered sugar. It seems to be a good consistency.
Megan says
Hi – these look amazing – just wondering if the icing hardens so that the cookies can be packaged and gifted? Thank you!
Londerella says
Add orange zest to give the cookie base more flavour. You will not regret it. 🙂
Amy says
On the recipe card it says 6T Miok. Is this supposed to be MILK?
autumn says
Yes, MILK! sorry 🙂
Lacie says
what milk is best? Whole?
Vanessa says
In the cookie recipe it uses margarine, can butter be used instead?
autumn says
Usually I would say yes, but you might have an issue with the cookies spreading a little too much. If you want to try it, I’d recommend rolling the dough a little thicker than directed in the post. And make sure the butter is only softened, not melted. Let us know how it goes!
Joy says
I used butter and found that I had to use more than a cup of flour *extra* to get the consistency like dough! (And I din’t melt the butter; it was just softened.) Now, this worked for me because I like less sugary sugar cookies, but it means that mine aren’t really a good reflection of your recipe. (just an FYI, since I didn’t see anyone answering this from experimenting with the recipe.)
Jo Evans says
I use real butter when baking myself. Were your cookies fluffy and light? The icing adds enough sweet for my using, but I’m curious on the fluffiness of the cookie?
Carol says
I have a recipe that makes these cookies with real butter and confectioner sugar not granular but not nearly the same amount of flour or baking powder. Now I curious as to the difference will have to try them but I do like using real butter better than margarine.
Judy says
I used butter. It didn’t make difference. Didn’t use any extra flour. Turned out great. Great recipe. Thank you
Sofia says
Hi! These look So yummy! I can’t wait to make them! I was just wondering if you can freeze the dough at any point so that I always have some in the freezer?
autumn says
Yes, you can freeze the dough, but you’ll want it to come to room temperature before trying to roll it out otherwise it will be very hard to work with. The cookies themselves actually freeze beautifully!
Lacie says
how long do the cookies stay good for when freezing after baking?
Vicki P says
These look wonderful. I LOVE frosted sugar cookies. I’m going to try this recipe this week.
autumn says
Just above the recipe card in the post is a link that says “click here for a printable recipe card.” Click there, download the card, and you can print just that!
Grace says
Hello, cookie recipe call for 1 cup of margarine.. can I use unsalted butter instead… will my cookies still be soft?
Margaret Ann says
Can I use a ndalted butter instead of margarine?
Autumn Baldwin says
Yes you can, although if you use butter instead of margarine in the cookies they may spread slightly more.
autumn says
Yes and no. It’s doesn’t get hard like a royal icing does, so I wouldn’t stack them more than 2 or 3 high, but it does set up enough that you can layer them on a plate after a few hours.
Chelsea @ Life With My Littles says
These look gorgeous! And so soft and yummy! I loooove soft cookies, so these definitely just went to the top of my baking list!
Nina Londeman says
Those look delicious! Nice simple recipe thanks for sharing ♥
Kristie says
I can’t wait for the Superbowl. These will be such cute footballs. Plus by then we might be over the big push to lose some weight!