This simple vanilla cookie will be your new go-to easy cookie recipe. A soft and chewy classic vanilla cookie, it comes together in less than 10 minutes and is a super versatile base cookie recipe. Read my post for more information on how to make homemade cookies!
Hi hi! I am just popping in to share the recipe for these classic vanilla cookies! They are a super simple drop cookie recipe (meaning that they are scooped out then baked on the pan, rather than a cut-out cookie). Full of vanilla flavor and the perfect texture, these are a go-to cookie recipe in our house!
These are going on my site as part of my holiday cookie recipes, but they truly are perfect any time of the year, not just as christmas cookies! You can finish them any way that you like - I rolled most of mine in granulated sugar, but also finished some with sprinkles similar to my sprinkle sugar cookies for a little festive touch. They are a great easy cookie recipe for kids too!
Grab your ingredients and meet me in the kitchen.
How to make homemade cookies
These soft vanilla cookies are super quick and simple to make with no chill time - they are a classic vanilla cookie and follow the standard format:
- Preheat your oven. Don't skip this step. Preheating makes sure that the oven is at a constant temperature (I like to give it an extra 10 min after it beeps to make sure it is ready)
- Cream together the butter and sugar. This step helps provide aeration in the mixture, to give a light, fluffy vanilla cookie. Make sure your butter is properly room temperature, and scrape down the sides of the bowl a few times during the process to catch any stray unmixed bits. I like to add in the vanilla at this point too. I make my vanilla cookies in the stand mixer but it will work just as well with an electric mixer too!
- Add the egg. These classic vanilla cookies just have one egg to help hold everything together.
- Add dry ingredients. Sift together the all purpose flour, baking soda, and salt, add to the mixture, and mix until only just combined. Finish this step off by hand if you need to to ensure that you do not over mix the cookie batter.
- Scoop and roll. Scoop the cookies out onto your parchment paper lined baking sheet (I like to use a #40 or 2 tablespoon cookie scoop), then roll into balls and toss in granulated sugar or your finish of choice
- Bake. Bake the vanilla cookies in a preheated oven until they are just set around the edges and beginning to go golden brown. They will deflate a little when you remove them from the oven. If you would like them perfectly round, you can 'scoot' them into shape with a round cookie cutter hot from the oven. Cool on wire racks and then enjoy!
Can Vanilla Cookies be made ahead of time?
This cookie dough can be made ahead and frozen until you are ready to bake - check out my post on how to freeze cookie dough. Do not roll in sugar before freezing, do this just before you bake them.
I like to bring the cookie dough out 10 minutes or so before I bake it to help it defrost slightly and give the sugar something to stick to. To bake dough from frozen, drop the oven temperature a little and bake for a few more minutes than written in the recipe - you can find all the information on this in my post on how to freeze cookie dough.
How to make thick vanilla cookies
When I was recipe testing this vanilla cookie recipe, I was tweaking the flour quantity within the recipe to make it slightly thicker. I usually only alter the flour content by about 15 or 20 grams - you can see in the image below what a difference just 15g flour in a recipe makes (and bear in mind this is spread across 22 cookies)
Please use a scale when you are baking. It is truly the only correct way to accurately measure flour, and truly makes such a big difference.
If you would like these vanilla cookies to be a little thicker, you can increase the flour by 15 grams. This makes the cookie a tiny bit less chewy, and a little softer.
Alternatively you can make my vanilla cream cheese cookies which are a little thicker and have a delicious tang from the cream cheese!
Fun ways I have finished these vanilla cookies
I rolled these soft vanilla cookies in regular granulated sugar before I baked them, but you can switch this up as you like! Here are a few ideas:
- Kids coming over? Roll in sprinkles. This is perfect for making these holiday themed or to fit any other colour scheme - instead of rolling in the granulated sugar, roll in nonpareils or hundreds and thousands before baking. The sprinkles I used for the cookies in this post are from Layer Cake Shop.
- Want a spicy variation? Roll in cinnamon sugar. You can use my cinnamon sugar recipe to roll the cookies in before baking.
- Want them a little fruity? Freeze dried fruit powder. Mix some freeze dried fruit powder of your choice with granulated sugar, then roll the cookies in the sugar and bake as normal.
❤️ Made this recipe and love it? ❤️
I would LOVE for you to leave me a review and star rating below to let me know how you liked it! Also, please make sure to tag me on Instagram!
Answers to your baking questions
Over the years, many of you have asked me questions about:
- baking in grams
- adjusting oven temperatures
- what kind of salt to use
- and many more!
I've curated and answered them all for your easy reference in this frequently asked questions post!
Soft and Chewy Classic Vanilla Cookies
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutews
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 22 cookies 1x
- Category: Cookies
- Method: baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
This simple vanilla cookie will be your new go-to easy cookie recipe. A soft and chewy classic vanilla cookie, it comes together in less than 10 minutes and is a super versatile base cookie recipe. Read my post for more information on how to make homemade cookies!
Ingredients
- 225g unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 300g granulated sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 320g all-purpose flour, sifted
- 1 tsp (3g) kosher salt
- ½ tsp baking soda
- Granulated sugar for rolling
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°f / 180°c. Line 2-3 baking sheets with parchment paper (you may have to bake these in several batches depending on how many trays your oven can tolerate).
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, sugar, and vanilla together on high speed until light and fluffy (this step can also be done with an electric hand mixer). Add the egg and mix to combine. Sift together the flour, salt, and baking soda in a small bowl. Add to the mixer, and mix until just combined.
- Place the granulated sugar for rolling in a small bowl.
- Using a 2 tablespoon cookie scoop, scoop balls of dough (about 45g each) onto the prepared baking sheets. I like to do 6-8 on each sheet - start with 6 to make sure that they will not join together, and then move to 8 on the next sheet once you know how much they spread.
- Roll each ball of dough between your hands to form a ball, then roll in the sugar before placing on the baking sheet. Leave any mixture that you are not baking off just yet in the bowl and scoop just before baking.
- Bake the cookies for 11-12 minutes or until puffy and set around the edges. Remove from the oven and cool on the pan for 10 minutes - the cookies will deflate as they cool. Transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool completely. Repeat the baking process with the remaining cookie dough.
- Store leftover cookies in an airtight container at room temperature
Notes
The importance of checking the expiry date on baking soda
Another thing that is very important and will affect the outcome of your cookies is how old your baking soda is. I was caught out by this recently - I had added new baking soda to my container a few times without discarding the stuff at the bottom, which was older and had expired. My cookies came out super flat and a few other things I made also didn't work as well as they could have, so I threw the whole lot away and replaced it, and it made a huge difference! Make sure that you check the expiry on your baking powder and baking soda if you aren't sure!
What is a good frosting for vanilla cookies?
My Brownie Frosting Recipe (aka shitty chocolate icing) would be amazing on these vanilla cookies!
Comments
Nick Chambers says
First of all, these were probably the best tasting cookies I’ve ever made, but unfortunately mine came out a bit flat. They seemed to spread out more and didn’t have that nice crinkled finish on top. Any idea what could have gone wrong here? (baking soda definitely in date, I checked)
Erin Clarkson says
Hi! Did you make the recipe by weight?
Tammi says
Why did mine melt right when I put them in the oven, the butter melted everywhere.
Erin Clarkson says
Hi, did you make the recipe by weight? Something must have gone wrong for you.
Jill says
I make these all the time! The recipe is perfect, turns out every time. Love the balance of the sweet vanilla with a hint of salt. My kids love to help make and eat these too. Thanks for a great one!
Klara says
Very tasty cookies with the perfect mix of chewey and crisp. Will def make them again 🤩
Lucy says
Just made a batch. These cookies are amazing!!! Wondering if they freeze well. I will try to freeze a few.
Thanks for sharing your recipe.
Erin Clarkson says
Hi! They definitely freeze super well as the dough, baked cookies will freeze well too 🙂
Liane Sørensen says
De bliver også virkelig lækre med revet citronskal i 😊
Chris says
This recipe is inaccurate. The amount of flour is incorrect, we had to add approx 1 additional cup of flour to make the cookies retain shape.
Erin Clarkson says
There's absolutely no way that you measured it correctly if you had to add that much extra flour sorry. The recipe is accurate, your measuring method probably was not.
Elizabeth says
I cannot get this recipe to work. The dough is sandy (Yes I did weigh, the ingredients and the cookies). The dough doesn't roll - I can pat together a ball but then it's quite dense. I tried adding sprinkles but they just bounce off. I've added more softened butter to try to save the ingredients. Less sandy but sprinkles still don't stick.
Erin Clarkson says
hmmm something must be going wrong because the dough definitely shouldn't be sandy!
Amazing says
Really great recipe, best tasting cookies i’ve ever made!
nope says
yummy