20 Must-Make Sugar Cookie Recipes (2024)

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Credit: Oxmoor House

This dough will work for slice-and-bake cookies or as a rolled dough for your favorite cookie cutters.

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Credit: Kat Teutsch; Styling: Jerrie-Joy for Pat Bates and Associates

Beautiful Marbled Sugar Cookies will make a festive addition to your fall table.

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Credit: Oxmoor House

The stark contrast between the sweet sugars and the tart lemon juice gives these cookies personality and bite. They're a great afternoon treat with coffee or tea.

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Credit: Becky Luigart-Stayner; Styling: Cathy Muir

Create unlimited cookie variations with this classic slice-and-bake cookie.

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Credit: Becky Luigart-Stayner; Styling: Jan Gautro

Whether you're welcoming kids home from school, baking a treat for a party, or enjoying an afternoon to yourself, these cookies are the just-right sweet you need. If you want to create colorful cookies, divide the icing into portions and use food coloring to tint it different hues.

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Credit: Oxmoor House

Sparkling sugar cookies are holiday classics. These goodies, which earn their name from a coating of coarse sugar, received our Test Kitchens highest rating.

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Credit: Maura McEvoy

Sandwich your favorite jam in between two star-shaped sugar cookies (made from storebought dough) for an easy, fruity cookie treat.

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Credit: Oxmoor House

To bake these adorable cookie pops, simply roll balls of sugar cookie dough in colored sprinkles and insert a white craft stick before baking. Make a colorful (and edible) centerpiece for the kids' table by filling a container with florist foam, topping it with jelly beans, and then sticking the pops into the foam.

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Credit: James Carrier

Add the taste of caramel to these classic sugar cookies.

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Credit: Iain Bagwell; Styling: Caroline M. Cunningham

"For me, the cornmeal gives a traditional sugar cookie a more complex crunch," says Robin. Cut the dough into desired shapes.

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Credit: Alan Richardson; Styling: Betty Alfenito

Customize your cookies with colorful sanding sugar.

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Crispy and tender, bet you can't eat just one!

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Credit: Iain Bagwell; Styling: Linda Hirst

No holiday dessert table is complete without Spritz Cookies. For truly authentic Spritz Cookies, be sure to invest in a cookie press to get that oh-so-perfect shape.

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Credit: Iain Bagwell; Food Styling: Torie Cox; Prop Styling: Mindi Shapiro Levine

Adults will love these elegant cookies, made with a touch of brandy. And they're great for a Hanukkah party.

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Buttermilk gives these sugar cookies a tart, irresistible flavor.

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Credit: William Dickey; Styling: Rose Nguyen

The subtle hint of vanilla makes these sugar cookies a sweet treat.

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Credit: Ralph Anderson; Mindi Shapiro Levine

Start with refrigerated sugar cookie dough to make these adorable reindeer cookies. Kids can help place Rudolph's eyes, mouth, and antlers.

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Credit: Jennifer Causey; Food Styling: Catherine Crowell Steele; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke

Whole-wheat flour adds a layer of complexity to these cookies that all-purpose flour can't achieve; the wheat in the whole grain actually enhances the flavors of butter and vanilla. Unlike classic royal icing, which starts with a pound of powdered sugar, we use just 1/2 cup and thicken it with Greek yogurt. Looking for festive colors without the chemicals? Try naturally colored sparkling sugars (such as those from India Tree), which use colorants derived from plants.

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Credit: Iain Bagwell; Food Styling: Torie Cox; Prop Styling: Mindi Shapiro Levine

These tender cookies are even better when topped with cream cheese icing. Make the dough up to 2 days ahead. It will be easier to roll when it's very cold.

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Credit: Gooseberry Patch

Cozy up with these fun and festive Sugar Cookie Mittens for the holiday season. Pour a glass of milk, pull up a seat by the fire, and prepare to indulge in a fabulous sweet treat.

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