Soft and Chewy Classic Vanilla Cookies

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 easy cookies come together in less than 10 minutes, and bake up to be super soft and chewy. The recipe is super similar to my funfetti sugar cookie recipe - If you like easy cookie recipes be sure to check out my easy chocolate crinkle cookies, my 30 minute gingersnap cookies, and of course my perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe.

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!

If you want a bar version of this vanilla cookie recipe, check out my super easy sugar cookie bars. If you're after a classic roll-out cookie for decorating, my easy sugar cookie recipe works great for this!

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:

• 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 Tbsp 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.

Ideas for finishing 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:

• 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.
• Roll in cinnamon sugar. You can use my cinnamon sugar recipe to roll the cookies in before baking.
• 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.

How to make thick vanilla cookies

When I was 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.

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!

Frequently Asked Questions

What tools and equipment do you use?
You can find a full list of the tools and equipment I use on my products page

How do you store vanilla cookies?
Store vanilla cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.

Can I use vanilla extract in place of vanilla bean paste?
Yes - it is a 1:1 sub. I love using a good quality vanilla bean paste but if you only have vanilla extract on hand, that is fine too!

Can I use salted butter?
Yes - if you only have salted butter that is fine, just omit the salt in the recipe. I usually call for unsalted butter in my recipes because butter is differently salted worldwide, but just make sure you salt to taste!

What is a good frosting for vanilla cookies?
My Brownie Frosting Recipe (aka shitty chocolate icing) would be amazing on these vanilla cookies!

For more drop cookie recipes, check out:

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