These crispy sugar cookies taste exactly like the holidays to me, but they're so delicious you'll want to make them all year long! They're quick to whip together and so easy that even your little ones can help out in the kitchen! Plus, they have a long shelf life!
My family makes these cookies each year to go with our three different chocolate dips as a Christmas dessert.
Because they're so wonderfully crunchy, they're perfect for dipping in chocolate pudding. The cinnamon and sugar, sprinkled on the hot cookies, give everyone a taste of Christmas magic — for both the young and the old.
Jump to:
🥘 Ingredients
For Cookie Dough
- Cake Flour
- Baking Powder
- Cornstarch
- Salt
- Powdered Sugar
- Vanilla Sugar (homemade or store-bought)
- Eggs
- Butter (cold, cut into cubes)
For Sprinkling
- Granulated sugar - very fine
- Cinnamon - Reach for Ceylon cinnamon when buying. Ceylon cinnamon, which is more expensive than Cassia cinnamon, contains hardly any Curamine. Curamine in large amounts can be toxic and should not be consumed, especially by pregnant women.
See the recipe card for quantities.
🔪 Instructions
The first thing you'll need to do is mix together your dry ingredients — all-purpose flour, baking powder, and cornstarch — after sifting them into a large mixing bowl or even your kitchen counter.
Next, you'll make an indentation in the center of your flour mixture, and then, add salt, powdered sugar, vanilla sugar, egg, and cold, unsalted butter cubes.
Starting from the center, you'll knead everything into a smooth cookie dough.
Once you've got the right doughy consistency, wrap in clingfilm/plastic wrap and let the cookie dough rest in the refrigerator for about an hour.
In the meantime, you can preheat the oven to 370 °F (about 188 °C) top/bottom heat. You can also get your baking sheets with parchment paper ready.
Once your dough has had enough time to chill, go ahead and roll out the dough to a thickness between 1 cm or about ¼ inch to ⅜ of an inch.
You can cut out the cookies using any shape of your liking and place the sugar cookies on your prepared baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
Bake your cookies on the middle rack at 370 °F (about 188 °C) for about 10 minutes until they reach a golden-brown color.
While your cookies are still hot, mix some sugar and cinnamon together to sprinkle on top.
You'll need to allow your cookies enough time to cool on a wire rack, and then store them in an airtight container like a cookie tin or cookie jar.
Try out these strawberry shortcake cookies with our amazing chocolate dips for a change of pace! For more cinnamon indulgence, try these delightful snickerdoodles without cream of tartar.
🎄 Variations
A fun variation on this recipe is to use new cookie-cutter shapes! I love my Christmas cookie cutter shapes, but you could swap it out for other holidays and themes!
🍽 Equipment
- Mixing bowl
- Sieve
- Cling film
- Cookie cutter of your choice (I used different sizes and shapes)
- Baking tray
- Baking paper
🌡 Storage
If you keep your leftover cookies in an airtight container like a cookie jar or a cookie tin, they can last up to several weeks.
Unless you prepare these for a large holiday party, you'll likely be left with some leftovers. This recipe makes about 40 - 60 cookies.
💭 Top tip
Share something here that you think is key to making this recipe well, such as: Don't overcook the burgers! Sear the outside and cook to a minimum internal temperature, but they should still be juicy for best results.
🙋🏻 FAQ
There are a few things to do to try and get crunchy cookies. For one, try using a lower-moister granulated sugar — I recommend this delicious vanilla sugar. Another thing you can do is bake your cookies at a lower temperature for a longer amount of time.
If your cookies aren't coming out crispy, it's likely because you have too much moisture in your dough. It's really important that you pay close attention to which ingredients you're using — from the flour and the sugar, to even the temperature of your butter.
Sugar cookies don't need to be crispy. Whether you like crispy or chewy cookies really all comes down to a question of preference.
One popular trick to helping keep your cookies as crisp as possible for as long as possible is to add a coffee filter in your cookie jar.
Other Cookie Recipes for You to Try
- Baking basics for Christmas Cookies
- No Chill Sugar Cookies
- Divine Leftover Egg Yolk Cookies
- How to make delicious Linzer Cookies with Egg Liqueur
- Austrian Coconut "Busserl" Cookies - Like Granny's
If you make this recipe, let me know how you liked it by ★★★★★ star rating it and leaving a comment below. This would be awesome! You can also sign up for our Newsletter or follow me on Pinterest or Instagram and share your creation with me. Just tag me @combinegoodflavors and hashtag #combinegoodflavors, so I don't miss it.
📖 Recipe
Crunchy Sugar Cookies
Equipment
- Sieve
- Cling film
- Rolling Pin
- Cookie-cutter of your choice (I used different sizes and shapes)
- Baking tray
- Baking Paper
Ingredients
- 3 Cups Cake Flour
- 1 Pinch Baking powder
- 3 ¼ tablespoon Cornstarch
- 1 Pinch Salt
- 2 Cups Powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoon Vanilla sugar homemade or store-bought
- 1 Egg
- 8.8 oz Butter cold, cut into cubes
For sprinkling
- Granulated sugar very fine
- Cinnamon
Instructions
- Mix 3 Cups Cake Flour, 1 Pinch Baking powder, and 3 ¼ tablespoon Cornstarch and sift into a large bowl or on the kitchen counter.3 Cups Cake Flour, 1 Pinch Baking powder, 3 ¼ tablespoon Cornstarch
- Make an indent in the center, and then add 1 Pinch Salt, 2 Cups Powdered sugar, 2 teaspoon Vanilla sugar, 1 Egg, and 8.8 oz Butter (cubed).1 Pinch Salt, 2 Cups Powdered sugar, 2 teaspoon Vanilla sugar, 1 Egg, 8.8 oz Butter
- Starting from the center, knead everything into a smooth dough.
- Wrap in clingfilm and let the dough rest in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
- In the meantime, preheat the oven to 370 °F (about 188 °C) top/bottom heat.
- After the chilling time, roll out the dough to a thickness between 1 cm or about ¼ inch to ⅜ of an inch.
- Cut out using any shape of your liking, and place the sugar cookies on a baking sheet lined with baking paper.
- Bake on the middle rack at 370 °F (about 188 °C) for about 10 minutes.
- Mix Granulated sugar and Cinnamon and sprinkle on the cookies while they are still hot.Granulated sugar, Cinnamon
- Cool on a cooling rack and then store in a cookie tin.
Nutrition values are estimates only, using online calculators. Please verify using your own data.
⛑️ Food Safety
- Cook to a minimum temperature of 165 °F (74 °C)
- Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat
- Wash hands after touching raw meat
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
- Never leave cooking food unattended
- Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove
For further information, check Safe Food Handling - FDA.
Stephanie says
These crispy sugar cookies are delightful! My neighbor and I enjoy having one with our afternoon tea - just the pick me up we need! The crunchy cookies hold their shape well so I can use any of my cookie cutters.
Nora says
Thank you, Stephanie! Glad that both of you enjoyed them!
Gloria says
Simple yet so delicious. Love the fact you don't have to spend hours decorating them either. Perfect for dunking!
Nora says
Thank you, Gloria! Yea I am a huge fan of quick and easy cookies!
Debra says
Always a favorite holiday activity with the kids! I loved this recipe that uses powdered sugar...the cookies were so much lighter than the recipe I use with granulated sugar..I'm loving these!
Nora says
Thank you, Debra! So happy you love them!
Swathi says
Crispy sugar cookies looks delicious. I need to try it. I like as it easy to make.
Nora says
Thank you, Swathi! Let me know how you liked them!