I Tried All the Sugar Cookie Mixes and Doughs I Could Find — These Are the 2 I’ll Be Buying Again
It’s hard to beat the sweet simplicity of a soft and chewy vanilla-scented sugar cookie. One bite brings instant joy (especially when paired with a fire and a cup of hot cocoa!), while one batch can create hours of delight for kids and adults alike.
Sure, from-scratch cookies are great, but what if you want to skip a few steps and get straight to eating or decorating, or eating while decorating (my preferred choice!)? Is there a brand out there that could come close to that nostalgic sugar cookie flavor and texture and cut down on the prep time? I made it my mission to find out! I visited several stores in my area to buy as many sugar cookie doughs and mixes as I could get my hands on.
How I Tested the Sugar Cookie Doughs and Mixes
There aren’t a ton of options out there, but I scooped (pun intended) up all the ones I could find, including slice-and-bake tubes, ready-to-bake trays, and pouches with powdered mix. I baked all the doughs on day one, saving the mixes for the next day. After the cookies were baked and cooled, I brought in my trusted taste test partner (my cookie-loving husband) to find out which ones best delivered on that classic sugar cookie flavor. We also tasted each category on their own, to judge each type fairly (dough vs. mix). Some tasted a little too artificial and overly sweet, while others had great chew and lovely vanilla flavor. These are the two I’d buy again.
Best Sugar Cookie Dough: Immaculate Baking Organic Vanilla Sugar Cookie
Out of all the doughs we tested, Immaculate Baking’s sugar cookie dough was the closest to homemade. (Clearly, this brand knows dough!) The cookies were less sweet than the other brands, and had a more complex flavor. Because of the more subdued sweetness, the vanilla flavor was really able to shine through. They’re buttery, soft on the inside, and crispy on the outside. And, in my opinion, best dunked in a cold glass of milk.
Buy: Immaculate Baking Organic Vanilla Sugar Cookies, $4.99 for 12 ounces on Amazon
Best Sugar Cookie Mix: Pillsbury Sugar Cookie Mix
Pillsbury is essentially synonymous with baking, and their mix not only tasted the best, but their cookies also came out looking the prettiest (which doesn’t hurt)! The cookies baked up nice and round, with little cracks all over the surface and a beautiful golden-brown bottom. They also had the best texture overall: a perfectly soft and chewy bite. Although they lean on the sweeter side, there’s just the right amount of salt to balance everything out. And at less than $2 a bag (and yielding 3 dozen cookies!), they’re an incredible buy — you might as well throw two or three in the cart for a snowy day.
Buy: Pillsbury Sugar Cookie Mix, $1.70 for 17.5 ounces at Walmart