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    Home » Desserts » No Chill Sugar Cookies

    No Chill Sugar Cookies

    Published: Dec 10, 2019 · Modified: Feb 28, 2020 by Kate · This post may contain affiliate links.

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    Quick and easy cut out sugar cookie recipe! These simple one-bowl, no chill sugar cookies can be made from scratch in just 20 minutes. 

    Close up sugar cookie shaped like a Christmas tree

    I'm a huge fan of simple, easy cookie recipes. And these quick no-chill sugar cookies don't disappoint!

    The cookies are made in one-bowl (fewer dishes!) and take just a few minutes to stir up. The cookies hold their shape beautifully and are the perfect base for fun and festive decorations.

    Since they are so quick and easy, these sugar cookies are perfect for those times when you want to make homemade sugar cookies and don't want to wait for hours for the dough to chill.

    How To Make No Chill Sugar Cookies

    Creamed butter and sugar in a silver mixing bowl

    Begin by creaming the butter and sugar together until well-combined. Mix in the egg and vanilla until well-combined.

    Sugar cookie dough in a silver mixing bowl

    Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt until just combined. Roll out the dough to ¼-inch thick on a powdered sugared surface.

    Unbaked sugar cookies on a piece of parchment paper

    Cut the dough into desired shapes. Place the cut dough onto the prepared baking sheets and bake!

    What Is Cool Room Temperature Butter?

    Cool room temperature butter on a brown background

    Cool room temperature butter is butter that's about 65 F. The butter should dent when pressed but otherwise hold its shape.

    Making sure that butter is the correct temperature will help the cookies to hold their shape. Warm butter can cause the cookies to spread as they bake.

    Tree shaped sugar cookie with green icingDo I Need To Chill Sugar Cookies?

    Not with this recipe! This sugar cookie recipe doesn't require any chilling before the cookies can be baked.

    Tips For Making No Chill Sugar Cookies

    • Butter: The butter needs to be at the correct temperature to avoid the cookies baking out. Check out the section on the butter temperature above for more information.
    • Powdered sugar: The powdered sugar helps to make the cookies tender. I also use powdered sugar in place of flour for rolling the sugar cookies.
    • Vanilla: If you like a stronger vanilla flavor, feel free to increase the amount of vanilla to 1 tablespoon. You can also substitute in other flavors of extracts. Almond can be particularly good in sugar cookies.
    • Flour: The key to making great sugar cookies is measuring the flour correctly. Packing in the flour will give you dry, crumbly cookies. I highly recommend weighing the ingredients to avoid this.

    Decorated cut sugar cookies on a wire cooling rackMore Cookie Recipes! 

    • Hot Chocolate Cookies
    • Cherry Cheesecake Cookies
    • Lofthouse Cookies Copycat Recipe

    If you’ve tried this no chill sugar cookie recipe, don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave me a comment below. I love to hear from people who've made my recipes!

    You can SUBSCRIBE to receive my latest recipe newsletters or FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST for even more delicious food.

    Close up sugar cookie shaped like a Christmas tree

    No Chill Sugar Cookies

    Soft rolled sugar cookies that are made from scratch in 20 minutes (or less!).
    5 from 12 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Dessert
    Cuisine: American
    Prep Time: 10 minutes
    Cook Time: 7 minutes
    Total Time: 17 minutes
    Servings: 36 cookies
    Calories: 113kcal
    Author: Kate @ I Heart Eating

    Ingredients

    • 1 cup butter at cool room temperature1
    • 1 ⅓ cups powdered sugar plus extra for sprinkling
    • 1 large egg
    • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
    • 3 ¾ cups all-purpose flour2
    • 2 teaspoon baking powder
    • ½ teaspoon salt
    US Customary - Metric

    Instructions

    • Preheat oven to 375F. Line two baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
    • In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar together until well-combined, about 2-3 minutes.
    • Add the egg and vanilla. Beat until combined.
    • Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt.
    • Sprinkle extra powdered sugar onto a surface.
    • Roll out the cookie dough to ¼-inch thick on the powdered sugar surface.
    • Use cookie cutters to cut desired shapes.
    • Place cut dough on prepared baking sheet, spacing about 2 inches apart.
    • Bake for about 7-9 minutes. Don't overbake the cookies. The cookies should not brown.
    • Let stand for 5 minutes on baking sheet.
    • Remove to a wire rack to finish cooling before decorating.

    Video

    Notes

    1. Cool room temperature means the butter should be about 65F. The butter should dent when pressed but shouldn't be warm or smooshy.
    2. Measuring the flour correctly is key for this recipe! The flour is given in grams because it's so important. If you don't weigh ingredients, the approximate measurement in cups is given. To measure the flour in cups, sift the flour, lightly spoon into the measuring cup, and then level. If you pack in the flour, the cookies will be dry and crumbly. 
    3. The number of cookies you get from this recipe will vary depending on the size of the cookie cutter used.
    4. Nutrition values are estimates. 

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1cookie | Calories: 113kcal | Carbohydrates: 15g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 18mg | Sodium: 79mg | Potassium: 40mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 163IU | Calcium: 14mg | Iron: 1mg
    Tried this recipe? Rate it below. Mention @i_heart_eating on Instagram & tag #ihearteating!
    « Hot Chocolate Cookies
    Zebra Popcorn Recipe »
    708 shares
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    About Kate

    Kate got her first cookbook when she was five years old, and she hasn't stopped cooking since then! Her delicious recipes have been featured on Food Network, MSN, Better Homes & Gardens, Buzzfeed, The Huffington Post, and more. When she's not cooking or baking, she can be found on her mini farm with her husband and her five kids.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Corrie

      May 18, 2022 at 3:36 pm

      5 stars
      Thanks for sharing the recipe and all of your notes! I have made your recipe at least a dozen times and it works perfectly for cutout cookies every time.

      Reply
      • Kate

        May 19, 2022 at 10:44 am

        Thank you so much! I'm so glad to hear that!

        Reply
    2. Christie

      March 11, 2022 at 1:35 pm

      Hi! You mentioned to measure the flour in grams, but the recipe calls for cups. Can you please let me know how many grams? Thanks!

      Reply
      • Kate

        March 11, 2022 at 1:48 pm

        Hi! There's an orange button directly underneath the ingredients that says "metric". If you click that button, it will change the measurements so that they are shown in grams.

        Reply
    3. judith

      February 22, 2022 at 9:13 am

      5 stars
      Great easy recipe! I needed to make roll out cookies and was not in the mood to bother with chilling the dough then put the rolled cookies in the fridge to chill more before baking. I did weigh the flour first as recommended. The cookies were tender and did not lose their shape. I used 1 tbsp vanilla and the cookies had a nice buttery flavor. I did overbake the cookies a little bit since they bake up fast! Thanks for a great recipe

      Reply
      • Kate

        February 23, 2022 at 3:18 pm

        I'm so glad that you liked the cookies! Thanks for sharing your notes!

        Reply
    4. Melissa Hand

      January 08, 2022 at 1:35 am

      5 stars
      I've been making sugar cookies for over 30years and tried all kinds of recipes but now I can stop looking .Yours is The best and easiest cookies I've ever baked and eaten everyone loved them even days later their still soft . congratulations on your recipe the best

      Reply
      • Kate

        January 08, 2022 at 10:06 pm

        Thank you so much! I'm glad that you liked them!

        Reply
    5. Connie Liccione

      December 21, 2021 at 5:27 am

      These look great! I can’t wait to make them but can you tell me where I can find the icing recipe that you used to decorate the cookies? Thank you.

      Reply
      • Kate

        December 22, 2021 at 5:02 pm

        Hi! Currently, I don't have a cookie icing recipe. I used store-bought bagged cookie icing.

        Reply
    6. Corinne Dawson

      December 19, 2021 at 9:05 pm

      Super quick, easy and tasty! I didn’t have room temp butter so I softened it in the microwave at 30% and still turned out awesome.

      Reply
      • Kate

        December 20, 2021 at 4:42 pm

        Yay!! I'm so glad to hear that!

        Reply
    7. Steph

      January 30, 2021 at 11:55 am

      Awesome! Halved the recipe and it was perfect for what we needed. Incidentally, I had to throw it in the fridge and come back to it later. Once it settled to room temperature it rolled out great, and better with each sprinkling of powdered sugar. Definitely keeping this recipe! Thank you!

      Reply
      • Kate

        February 01, 2021 at 7:59 pm

        I'm so glad that you liked the cookies! =)

        Reply
      • Diane Lucchetto

        February 11, 2021 at 6:38 am

        Did you use salted or unsalted butter

        Reply
    8. Benjamin

      December 25, 2020 at 8:08 am

      5 stars
      I know this is a no-chill recipe, and I love it for that (it makes awesome cookies as a no-chill recipe). But should you want/need to chill it, do you have any suggestions for making sure the dough stays the way it should (i.e. doesn't dry out or something)? Thank you for this recipe!

      Reply
      • Kate

        December 30, 2020 at 10:32 am

        Thank you! When I chill cookie dough, I put the dough in an resealable container (like a tupperware container) and press a piece of plastic wrap to the surface. This helps to keep the dough softer. Also, I let the dough come up a bit in temperature by setting the dough out before I begin working with it. I hope that helps!!

        Reply
    9. Sadie

      December 24, 2020 at 7:56 pm

      5 stars
      Thank you, awesome recipe and makes a lot. Made great Christmas memories with my 3 little boys and their dad!

      Reply
      • Kate

        December 24, 2020 at 9:56 pm

        Thank you so much!! So glad that you liked them! Merry Christmas!!

        Reply
    10. Donna

      December 20, 2020 at 6:30 pm

      5 stars
      I was skeptical about trying this recipe because of the "no chill" needed. I have tried other no chill sugar cookie recipes in the past and they always had to be chilled before I could roll out the dough, but after reading the reviews I decided to give it a try They turned out great. I made the dough and rolled them out immediately and they didn't stick or fall apart. And they taste great. Thanks for a great recipe.

      Reply
      • Kate

        December 21, 2020 at 9:36 am

        Thank you so much! I'm so glad that they turned out well!

        Reply
    11. Melinda

      December 17, 2020 at 11:32 pm

      5 stars
      Your recipe is by far one of the best....if not the absolute best...our family enjoyed these cookies.... decadent...rich..crisp... amazing. Thank you so much for your recipe my daughter enjoyed and I made practice cookies for Christmas..and we'll these need no practice...came out perfectly the first time...Bravo!!!

      Reply
      • Kate

        December 24, 2020 at 9:58 pm

        Thank you so much!! I’m so glad that they worked out well for you!

        Reply
      • Maureen Bailey

        December 11, 2021 at 6:04 pm

        It says to weigh the flour for better results but I don't see what the weight should be?? I'm having a hard time viewing everything on my phone so maybe I'm missing it. Thanks!

        Reply
        • Kate

          December 11, 2021 at 8:02 pm

          Hi! Sorry about that! Immediately under the ingredients there is a "US Customary" and a "Metric" button. If you click "Metric", it will show you the weights.

          Reply
    12. Tiffany

      September 05, 2020 at 9:56 pm

      5 stars
      These were so fast and easy and my kids were delighted to turn them into shapes. The advice to use powdered sugar instead of flour For rolling was great!

      Reply
      • Kate

        March 12, 2021 at 5:38 pm

        Thank you so much!

        Reply
    13. Sharon

      April 11, 2020 at 8:15 pm

      5 stars
      Just made these today with my 6 year old daughter . We cut out Easter shapes and decorated after with icing and sprinkles. They came out great! Great texture and flavor, reminded me of Panera shortbread cookies. Thank you for the recipe! Can't wait to try more of your recipes!

      Reply
      • Kate

        April 11, 2020 at 8:23 pm

        Yay!! Thank you so much! I'm so glad that they came out well for you and your daughter! =) Thanks for taking the time to comment!

        Reply
    14. Deanna

      December 13, 2019 at 9:11 am

      5 stars
      When I want to bake cookies I hate waiting for the dough to chill. Could not tell this step was omitted in this recipe. Yummy, yummy, yummy.

      Reply
      • Kate

        December 13, 2019 at 11:20 am

        Thank you! I hate to wait, too. Glad that you liked the cookies! =)

        Reply
    15. Nancy S

      December 12, 2019 at 11:00 am

      5 stars
      The recipe came just at the right time. I had the grands over and they didn't want to wait to make cookies with nana. The grands loved the cookies. Thank you for the recipes!

      Reply
      • Kate

        December 12, 2019 at 11:02 am

        Yay!! That's fantastic! Thanks for commenting! =)

        Reply
        • Zsuzsi

          January 13, 2022 at 9:01 am

          Hi, thanks for the recipe, it's awesome :) One question: my dad has really sweet theeth, and said the cookies could be sweeter. Is it possible to increase the amount of sugar and if yes, to what amount? Thank you!!

          Reply
          • Kate

            January 13, 2022 at 11:30 am

            Thank you! If you use more sugar, you may find that you end up with a drier dough unless you make other adjustments. What about adding frosting, glaze, or coarse sugar to the top of the cookies?

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    I’m Kate Dean- mom to five young kids, recipe developer, and photographer. Here at I Heart Eating®, I share my family’s favorite tried-and-true recipes.

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