My All-Time Favorite Sugar Cookie Recipe Tastes as Good as It Looks

What cookie do you love, really love, at the holidays? Our editorial team has been taking turns answering this question this week, in a series of love letters to holiday cookies. Kelli has classic snowballs on her mind; Arie brought these weird but amazing little Italian cookies. And me? I need to write about sugar cookies. That’s right: the tasteless, unassuming, perfunctory sugar cookie. Except, this recipe is anything but boring. In fact, this sugar cookie recipe is not only my favorite holiday cookie, but also simply one of my favorite recipes of all time.

I had a hard time deciding what cookie to write about. My “special” cookie, these fig and anise swirls from Gourmet? These peppery, melt-in-your-mouth gingersnaps from Chez Panisse? But then I thought about priorities, and my two young daughters, and how I just can’t bake very many cookies this year in a busy holiday season. When I get some time in the kitchen with my little ones, I will prioritize and go straight for the cookies they love the most: big, iced-up sugar cookies that hold the maximum amount of sprinkles.

If you, like me, find cut-out sugar cookies to be your default Christmas cookie — maybe even the only one you have time to bake — then I implore you to try this recipe.

First, a confession: This is my own sugar cookie recipe. Yes, it’s a little bit obnoxious to write a letter of recommendation to my own creation. But you know, in the end, this recipe is one that I know nearly by heart, and have been making for nearly 14 years. I developed it in a fit of experimentation and got extremely lucky; I feel I can barely take credit for it. I was playing around with some modifications on a Martha Stewart recipe, and this cookie emerged. It worked so well I haven’t tweaked or looked back since.

What makes this cookie so good? A few things.

First, this is a cookie that tastes delicious. It’s for people who don’t normally like sugar cookies. It has real flavor, thanks to the addition of cream cheese, lemon, and almond. There’s a twinkle to this cookie, not just plain sweetness. In fact, it is less sweet than most sugar cookies I’ve tried. Icing and sanding sugar will balance the cookie’s buttery taste instead of overwhelming it. When people eat this cookie, they are often surprised. I hear things like “I didn’t think I liked sugar cookies.”

Secondly, this recipe makes beautiful cookies (and does it so easily). This recipe includes cream cheese for a sturdier dough, and calls for an overnight chill. I really like to roll out the soft, slightly sticky dough between wax paper sheets, then chill overnight. When you’re ready to cut out the shapes, they cut and lift away almost freakishly neat and easy. It’s so nice to make these with little kids; the dough can stand up to their small paws and rough handling and still turn out nicely.

Last but not least, don’t just take my word for it. There are loads of comments and notes on the original recipe. Read them! Many, many people have made this recipe over the years and raved about it. “I usually hate sugar cookies but I’ll eat these undecorated any day.” “I am in LOVE with this recipe. It’s easy enough my 5-year-old can help.” Everyone’s mileage varies, of course, but in comments and by emails I’ve heard more praise for this recipe than most of the others I’ve ever published.

So think of me and my little ones if you try these this year. It’s certainly the recipe I’ll be making time for, as the one cookie that feels most mandatory for Christmas baking and toddler cookie activities. (I think our unicorn cookie cutter will see some action!) But, thanks to this recipe, which I love more and more every year, I will look forward to the cookie itself and eating it with a hot cup of tea in a quiet moment later, really tasting all that butter and citrus. It’s a sugar cookie that feels necessary, but never boring.

Get the recipe: The Best Cut-Out Sugar Cookies

At Kitchn, our editors develop and debut brand-new recipes on the site every single week. But at home, we also have our own tried-and-true dishes that we make over and over again — because quite simply? We love them. Kitchn Love Letters is a series that shares our favorite, over-and-over recipes.