Finally, an easy sugar cookie recipe that makes a small batch of just 6 cookies. I absolutely love that the dough doesn't require any chilling, plus it's made with melted butter. So, if you forgot to soften the butter for your cookies, it is not a problem! This is such a great recipe to make with kids, too.
This small batch cookie recipe is a classic sugar cookie. It is a simple, easy cookie recipe with a base of sugar, butter, and flour.
I consider this one of my easy cookies recipes with few ingredients (6 total not including salt), that makes a small batch of sugar cookies.
Another reason this cookie recipe is quick and basic is that there is no chilling required for these sugar cookies. No chilling required sugar cookies can go from bowl to bake without any wait time in between.
Ingredients
- Butter. I prefer unsalted butter for baking. In the case of this easy sugar cookie recipe, we will melt it before using, so it's okay if it's frozen or cold from the fridge. We only need half a stick, or 4 tablespoons/ 2 ounces.
- Granulated Sugar. When you read ⅓ cup of sugar, you might think that's a small amount, but remember we're only making 6 cookies.
- Egg Yolk. Please, do not use the whole egg for this recipe. We only need the egg yolk. Separate the egg and save the egg white for any of these recipes that use egg whites. If you double the recipe, use two egg yolks only. Similarly, if you triple, use three egg yolks. The reason I don't use egg whites in my small batch sugar cookies is because the fat of the egg yolk makes for superior chewy cookies. I happen to love the crisp edge and chewy center style of cookie.
- Vanilla Extract.
- Flour. All-purpose regular flour that has been fluffed, scooped and leveled with a knife in the measuring cup.
- Baking Soda. We need a small amount of baking soda and a pinch of salt to round out this recipe.
How to Make this Easy Sugar Cookie Recipe
- First, preheat the oven to 350-degrees Fahrenheit, and have your favorite cookie sheet pan ready. I like to line with parchment paper or use a silicone reusable mat.
- Melt the butter in a heat-safe bowl in the microwave. Be careful not to let the butter heat too long in the microwave, otherwise it can pop and sputter.
- Stir the sugar, egg yolk, and vanilla into the bowl with the melted butter.
- Next, sprinkle the flour, baking soda and salt evenly over the surface of the bowl, and stir everything together to combine.
- Once the dough comes together, I have a trick for making all the cookies the same size that doesn't require a scale. Use your spatula to press the dough into a flat disk in the bowl. By eye, divide the dough in half, making a line down the center of the dough with the spatula. From each half, you need to get 3 cookies, for a total of 6 cookies.
- Evenly space the cookies on the baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes. The cookies are done when they spread and start to crackle on top. They might puff up in the oven, but as they cool, they will deflate and crackle beautifully. You can press a chocolate candy on top as they cool, if you like.
This recipe is based off the sugar cookie recipe in my third cookbook: Sweet & Simple: Desserts for Two, and so if you love a simple small batch recipes, you should really grab a copy. All of the recipe have less than 10 ingredients to make sweet, simple desserts.
Frequently Asked Questions about this Easy Sugar Cookie Recipe:
These sugar cookies bake up crackly, which isn't the type of sugar cookie that you decorate with royal icing. If you're looking for a small batch sugar cookie to decorate, I can absolutely help you there.
Yes, you can absolutely double and triple this recipe, but be sure to follow the recipe exactly. This means use two egg yolks, not a whole egg, for a double batch. For a triple batch, use three egg yolks--do not use egg whites in this cookie recipe.
This isn't the sugar cookie recipe to use with cookie cutters. My Small Batch Cut-Out Sugar Cookies is the recipe you're looking for. Don't miss my Christmas Sugar Cookies that are made for that, too. If it's fall, try my Cut-Out Gingerbread Cookies. A very basic Chocolate Chip Cut-Out Cookies recipe is fun for any time of year, too!
Yes, absolutely! You do not need to chill this dough. Just melt the butter, stir together the dough, scoop out the cookies and bake.
While I always encourage humility, in this particular case, I feel confident saying I make the best homemade sugar cookies in the world, ever. They are soft, chewy, easy and quick. I understand this is a bold statement, but it’s one I am committed to stand behind for the rest of my life.
Scroll through the comments and hundreds of 5-star reviews on this recipe below, if you’re inclined not to believe me. Also don't miss my lavender cookies, which have the same dough.
Storage
This easy sugar cookie recipe makes cookies that keep well at room temperature in an air-tight container for up to 3 days. Although, if the container isn't completely air-tight, they could dry out, so make sure to use something that snaps tightly. I don't recommend freezing these cookies once baked.
I also don't really recommend freezing the dough, because it will add several minutes to the baking time. You might end up with puffy, not crinkly cookies if you bake these from frozen. Truly, these small batch sugar cookies are so quick and easy to whip up, you don't need to make them too far in advance.
Equipment
The best pan to use for these easy small batch sugar cookies is a quarter sheet pan. It's what you see in the photos here, and I happen to love them.
I recommend baking this easy sugar cookie recipe on parchment paper or a silicone mat. Using a nonstick surface on top of your cookie sheet keeps the cookies from sticking to the pan, but there is another benefit. Using these items helps with even heat distribution while baking. This makes the cookies spread uniformly and cook evenly, similar to the benefits of roasting the pan half-way through baking.
Other Easy Cookie Recipes:
Easy Sugar Cookie Recipe
Small batch sugar cookies recipe for two.
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar, plus extra for rolling
- 1 large egg yolk, egg white reserved for another use
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ⅛ teaspoon fine salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350, and line a small baking sheet with parchment paper (or use a silicone mat).
- Stir together the melted butter, sugar, egg yolk, and vanilla extract. Stir very well to combine.
- Next, sprinkle the flour, baking soda and salt evenly over the dough, and stir just to combine.
- Press the dough flat and evenly in the bowl, and then divide it in half by eye. You should get 3 cookies from each half.
- Roll each dough ball in your hands, roll lightly extra granulated sugar, and then space evenly on the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for 10-11 minutes, until they spread, start to crackle and appear dry on top.
- Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for 2 minutes before moving them to a wire rack to cool completely.
- After the cookies have cooled for 10 minutes, you can press a chocolate heart into the center of each cookie, if you like. Move the cookies to the fridge (so the hearts don't melt too much) to set for 30 minutes.
- Bring to room temperature before serving.
Notes
Egg Yolk: This recipe does not use the whole egg for this recipe, just the egg yolk. Separate the egg and save the egg white for another recipe. If you double the recipe, use two egg yolks only. Similarly, if you triple, use three egg yolks. Never use the egg white for this recipe if you want perfect, chewy cookies.
Flour: All-purpose flour that has been fluffed in the bag or jar, scooped and leveled with the back of a knife in the measuring cup.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 230Total Fat: 14gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 83mgSodium: 170mgCarbohydrates: 23gFiber: 1gSugar: 19gProtein: 4g
SaveSave
Jenny says
Wow! I made this recipe and could barely stop myself from eating the whole batch but it was so delicious I’ll admit I ate 3 😂 I added a quarter teaspoon of almond extract and it was just delightful. Definitely making this again!
Sandra Friesen says
I made these tonight and they were super fast to mix up. I added a couple of tablespoons of multi coloured jimmies to the mix just to “jazz them up”.
Phyllis M Thomas says
Can I use use margarine instead of butter
Christina Lane says
I'm a little worried about the dough spreading too much while baking, since margarine is oil. If you try it, refrigerate the dough for 20 minutes before baking, just to be sure.
Matt says
This won't work with most modern margarines. In the past, they were made of oils that firmed up in the fridge like transfats and hydrogenated oils. These were fine for baking purposes (though awful for your body). Modern margarine is an emulsion, it's "solidity" depends on a chemical balance that breaks when you melt it. No amount of refrigeration will firm it back up and this simply doesn't work for things like cakes and cookies where you need the fats to set back up after baking to help form those sugar and starch latices that give us the various textures you're looking for.
Lily Dunbar says
Best cookie recipe ever! It was so easy and only took about 30 minutes of my time. My family loved them and I got to get creative and put fun things in the cookies. I rolled 2 in cinnamon sugar, and I put sprinkles in 2, and put chocolate chips in the other 2. They got gobbled up so fast, I have to make more!
Traces says
great idea, I did the sprinkles dots, next time I will try cinnamon sugar ..Yess how about peanut butter chips, man so many choices
Amanda says
Could you make this in a 6" pan or would you need to double the recipe?
Philip says
1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp of flour = how many grams for this recipe?
Unfortunately not all measuring cups are exactly the same, and many websites list the weight of flour per cup differently as the weight can change drastically depending how you measure or scoop the flour.
I used about 76g of flour and I’m wondering if I used too much or too little as the cookies didn’t come out looking the same as yours. Looking forward to hearing back from you.
Thank You.
Kim says
I made these last night. They live up to their easy name for sure. So I have been into all things maple since fall hit. I subbed 1/4 teaspoon maple extract for half of the vanilla. I had some maple sugar left over from another recipe and rolled the dough balls into it. I pressed a 1/2 pecan onto each cookie in place of the heart. Yum yum and more yum. I'm glad this only made 6 because they are dangerously delish!
John says
could you please make the same recipe with 12 servings instead of one? Ima big fan and it was so delicious and i cant convert. If you do i swear you are the best!
Claire says
Made these today for our Christmas cookies and they turned out SO good! We do sugar cookies every year and these have been by far the best!
Rina says
Recipe says to sprinkle the flour, baking soda and salt evenly over the dough. What dough? We haven't Madde any yet?
Christina Lane says
Sprinkle it over the wet ingredients you already have in the bowl.