Vanilla Cookies Recipe
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Pillowy soft and chewy sugar cookies bursting with fresh vanilla flavor and dusted with a sweet sugar coating. You can also find this recipe on page 67 of my cookbook.
Vanilla Cookie vs Sugar Cookie
While vanilla cookies and sugar cookies have very similar (maybe even identical in some recipes) ingredients, we typically classify them differently. Sugar cookies refer to any kind of cookie that is flavored very basically with granulated (white) sugar. Furthermore, many people consider a cut-out cookie a sugar cookie.
A vanilla cookie may simply be a cookie that is flavored with vanilla, but could take any form (a drop cookie, a cut-out cookie, a slice and bake cookie), but these vanilla bean sugar cookies sort of combine both worlds.
This vanilla cookie recipe cannot be rolled and cut with cookie cutters, but it is definitely more flavorful than just a sugar cookie or a vanilla cookie. With the addition of the sparkly sugar coating and bold vanilla paste, we blend both cookie worlds for a soft, pillowy cookie that is unlike any other you’ve tried before.
There are all kinds of cookie textures out there in the world, but I feel like most people fall into one of three main categories: people who like very crunchy cookies, people who like crisp on the outside/chewy on the insides (like my classic chocolate chip cookies), and people who like very soft cookies (like my pumpkin spice cookies).
I am typically in the middle camp, going for a cookie that has some texture to the edges, but is nothing but soft/chewy/gooey/melty in the center. This is why I turned my go-to classic chocolate chip cookie recipe into a small batch chocolate chip cookie recipe, so that I could have roughly the same texture in a much faster amount of time.
But there is one cookie flavor that I will only accept as all the way super soft, almost like a cloud or a pillow, and it’s one of those textures you just know when you see it.
I had been wanting to add a super soft sugar cookie recipe to my collection for many years, but, you know, this is a very specific texture I was going for. And honestly, I was intimidated by going about it on my own.
I have been patiently waiting the perfect sugar cookie recipe to come across my eyeballs, and when I collaborated with a bunch of bloggers for lemon week 2021, I knew that the lemon sugar cookie recipe my friend Rebecca from Devour Dinner contributed was it.
Like… I saw one picture of the cookies, my eyes got big, and I said aloud “oh my gosh, that’s it.” I could just tell by looking at them, this is what I had been searching for– a super soft sugar cookie that melts in your mouth, is unfussy in both ingredients and instruction, and was tested so that I didn’t have to do any recipe perfecting of any kind.
So, I made those, and I was SOLD. Signed, sealed, delivered, I’m yours.
And when Rodelle asked me to use their vanilla bean paste in a cookie recipe, I knew I had to recreate the recipe to make the soft vanilla cookies you are currently drooling over at this very moment (how did I know?).
Now, before I get to what exactly this chewy vanilla cookie recipe entails, I have to give a shoutout to Rodelle, who I have been working with since early 2016 (my first recipe with them was my peach almond streusel muffins!), before I even had our first son.
Rodelle carries an extensive line of baking ingredients, specializing in vanilla extracts and pastes that are of incredible quality and fair trade sourced from vanilla farmers.
I have been using Rodelle extracts (my favorite is almond!!) exclusively since I started working with them, and that’s simply because I love them, I love their products, and they help me continue to bring you delicious goodies on the regular.
WHAT IS VANILLA PASTE?
Vanilla paste is an excellent alternative to fresh vanilla beans and vanilla extract that is not only low cost, but also incredibly convenient. Bakers looking to use vanilla in any amount in a recipe can use a 1:1 ratio in any recipe that calls for vanilla beans or extract.
In fact, my vanilla bean cupcakes, which make an appearance in my kitchen pretty regularly, have been made with whole vanilla beans, vanilla extract, and vanilla paste at various times in my “what’s available in my pantry?” baking. All delicious, all simple, all vanilla-y.
In addition to actually containing pure vanilla extract, vanilla paste also contains the flecks of vanilla beans that add to the draw of vanilla bean treats and give what might be a plain looking cookie a little extra something. Like little vanilla bean sprinkles!
All that said, you can find Rodelle’s vanilla paste in select retailers in the U.S. as well as online, and this product page will give you the ability to track some down close to you (or find it online if it’s not close to you).
Alternatively, you can simply use vanilla extract in place of the vanilla paste in these easy vanilla cookies, you just won’t have those cute little flecks. I promise, they are still just as perfect in taste and texture if you go that route.
The other thing I really loved about Rebecca’s original lemon sugar cookie recipe was that the cookie dough came together so quickly, and it didn’t need to chill. GAME CHANGER. This means cookies in my mouth faster and less time in the kitchen.
Sorry, chilled cookie dough recipes. I still love you, but if I want cookies ASAP, I’m choosing a no-chill buddy to satisfy my craving or service my time crunch!
Vanilla Cookie Recipe Ingredients
You likely have all of the ingredients necessary to make these vanilla cookies today, as they are all pantry staples if you bake even semi-often!
For these vanilla cookies, you will need:
• all-purpose flour
• baking powder
• baking soda
• salt
• butter
• powdered sugar
• egg
• vegetable oil
• vanilla paste
• granulated sugar
How to make Vanilla Cookies
I did adapt Rebecca’s recipe a tiny bit, and I chose to use 100% powdered sugar as the sweetener for the cookie dough, just like I do in my cut-out sugar cookies. It gives the cookie dough a softer texture and leaves the dough far less sticky. It’s a great trick for sugar cookies and it lends well to making these soft vanilla bean sugar cookies even softer.
An important note about the flour: it is imperative that you either fluff/spoon/level your flour or ideally, weigh it in grams. Two cups of all-purpose flour is 240g. Too much flour will result in a dense cookie.
NOTE: COOKIE DOUGH WILL BE SOFT
Your cookie dough will be soft but not sticky. Once you drop scoops of dough into the sugar, it will decrease in stickiness and you should not run into an issue of the dough being unworkable.
Once the dough is together, you’ll drop scoops of dough right into a bowl of granulated sugar. Toss it around a few times to coat it in the sugar, then place it right onto a baking sheet.
A quick bake of 8-9 minutes is perfect to set the edges, and that’s exactly where you want to stop the baking with these cookies. We’re not looking for any brown edges in order to get that super soft interior that is no joke just like eating a cloud.
Well, maybe not just like it. Because who has done that? We’re getting off track.
Back to the vanilla bean cookie recipe.
The end result after a bit of cooling is sincerely the best homemade sugar cookie I have ever had. It is reminiscent of what I remember in my high school cafeteria, but better, because those ones didn’t have a sugar-coated outside and that, my friends, is where it’s at in cookie land.
I am so glad I met Rebecca so that I could find her perfect sugar cookie recipe and turn it into my own fabulous vanilla bean sugar cookie recipe to share with you all in my beloved cookie recipe collection. The world works in mysterious ways, and sometimes those ways are so that we can get amazing cookie recipes into our reserve.
I hope that if you are a soft and pillowy sugar cookie lover like myself, you’ll try out these vanilla bean cookies for yourself. They are exactly what I’d been search for for quite some time and I’m thrilled to be able to help you enjoy them in your kitchen, too!
SUCCESS Tips for making the best Vanilla Bean Cookies
In order to create the perfect vanilla cookie, it’s important to follow a few rules of thumb.
FLUFF/SPOON/LEVEL YOUR FLOUR OR WEIGH IN GRAMS: two cups of all-purpose flour, which is what this recipe calls for, is 240g. Too much flour will result in a dense cookie, and that is the most common complaint I hear from readers when they’ve made this cookie. I always ask about how they measured their flour, and 9 times out of 10, it is a flour measuring issue.
DO NOT OVERBAKE THESE COOKIES: they will only need 8-9 minutes, and you just need the edges to be set. They will continue to bake on the baking sheet when they come out of the oven, and overbaking them can turn them crunchy.
Serving Ideas for Vanilla Sugar Cookies
These cookies are the perfect canvas for some frosting, if you want to level them up. See my frosted sugar cookies recipe if you want to turn these vanilla sugar cookies into something extra special.
Vanilla Cookies Recipe FAQs
More of my favorite no chill cookie recipes: Andes mint cookies, cookies & cream cookies, soft & chewy snickerdoodles (without cream of tartar), and small batch chocolate chip cookies.
More Favorites from Fresh April Flours
Vanilla Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups (240g) all-purpose flour1
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup (113g) unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- 1 cup (120g) powdered sugar
- 1 large egg room temperature preferred2
- ¼ cup (56mL) vegetable oil
- 1 Tablespoon (21g) Rodelle vanilla paste3
- ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF (177ºC). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Set aside.
- In a medium size bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.2 cups (240g) all-purpose flour1, ¾ teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt
- In a large bowl with a handheld mixer, or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and powdered sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.½ cup (113g) unsalted butter, 1 cup (120g) powdered sugar
- Stop the mixer, add the egg, vegetable oil, and vanilla paste, then beat again on medium speed until everything is combined, stopping the mixer to scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary.1 large egg, ¼ cup (56mL) vegetable oil, 1 Tablespoon (21g) Rodelle vanilla paste3
- Reduce the mixer speed to low, then add the dry ingredients in two additions, ensuring the first addition is mostly incorporated before adding the second. Continue to beat on low until just combined. Dough should be soft but not very sticky, and you should be able to scoop it with a cookie scoop without issue. Once it is dropped into the sugar, it will decrease in stickiness.
- Place the granulated sugar into a small bowl, then, using a cookie scoop (I use this #50 cookie scoop for all of my standard size cookies), drop balls of dough into the sugar and use your fingers to gently roll the ball in the sugar. When dough ball is completely covered in sugar, place on prepared baking sheet (8 per sheet).½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
- Bake the cookies for 8-9 minutes, just until edges are set. Allow to cool on the baking sheet for 2-3 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Store cookies covered tightly at room temperature up to 1 week. Cookies freeze well, up to 3 months. Unbaked dough balls also freeze well, up to 3 months. Do not roll in sugar, thaw in refrigerator overnight, and roll in sugar before baking.
Video
Notes
- Flour: it is imperative that you either fluff/spoon/level your flour or ideally, weigh it in grams. Two cups of all-purpose flour is 240g. Too much flour will result in a dense cookie.
- Room temperature egg: it is always a good idea to use room temperature eggs when using room temperature butter, as it incorporates into batter much more easily. It is not required, just encouraged.
- Vanilla paste: if you don’t have vanilla paste, you can substitute 1 Tablespoon of vanilla extract. You will not have flecks of vanilla in your cookies unless you use homemade vanilla extract. You can also scrape out the seeds from 2 vanilla bean pods instead of using vanilla paste or vanilla extract.
Nutrition Disclosure
All nutritional values are approximate and provided to the reader as a courtesy. Changing ingredients and/or quantities will alter the estimated nutritional calculations.
These cookies look amazing. I love that you used Vanilla Paste in this recipe too. Perfect bite size cookies are always welcome in my home. Yum!
Thanks so much, Rebecca! You are THE BEST! xoxo
Tried these yesterday…. Oh. My. Gosh. They are soo good!
Haven’t dared to make cookies in about 10years because I always failed but these looked too good not to try.
And it was totally worth it!
Thanks so much, Laura! I’m glad you conquered your cookie fear!
MAKE THESE COOKIES NOW!! They are the answer to my sugar cookie dreams. Really! I remember these soft, delicious Otis Spunkmeyer sugar cookies in middle school and have always searched for a soft sugar cookie, to no avail, until now! My IG randomly showed a picture of these cookies, so I HAD to make them the next morning. I followed the recipe exactly (8 min bake, 2 min sit), I made 20 cookies on two sheets and they are perfect. Even rolled half of them in non-perils because my kids will love that. If you love soft sugar cookies, you need to try these!!!!!
Thank you SO MUCH! I love that they served a memory for you 🙂
It’s dumb how good this sugar cookie is. It’s what you want a sugar cookie to be. I chilled my dough for a few hours and they came out to be pillowy perfect. All hail FAF
HAHA! Thanks so much, Lauren!
These cookies turned out PERFECTLY. I can’t believe how good they are. Their texture is incredible and the flavor is excellent. Thank you for a great recipe!
Thanks so much, Kathryn! I’m so glad you loved these as much as we do.
You did it again, Lynn! I absolutely adored making these cookies! The vanilla paste was new for me, and what a surprise it was! I’ve now made these a few times. The first time, I made these GF/DF by swapping in 1:1 gluten free flour and using vegan butter. After some experimenting, I was able to get these right by omitting the vegetable oil, since there’s oil in the vegan butter already! And tonight, I made them just as the recipe called for, but swapped EVOO for the vegetable oil. They. are. TASTY. Thank you, as usual, for your easy-to-follow directions written in a way my amateur brain understands! 🙂
Awesome– I’m so glad you enjoyed them, Laura! A PRICELESS review, you might say! xoxo
I was skeptical at first, only because I’ve never used powdered sugar as the main sugar in a cookie! But lemme tell you, just make the dang cookie! They are so soft and delicious and just yum!
Haha! Love this. Thanks so much for trusting my process. I’m so glad you enjoyed these cookies!
Oh, Lynn… you and vanilla are such a team! I mean, the vanilla bean cupcakes are one of my favs, but these are a close second. I had been looking for an easy sugar cookie recipe for some time that doesn’t require chilling the dough. This was the winner. Easy, fluffy and melt-in-your-mouth. My girls and my husband, and even my Dad, gave these cookies EIGHT enthusiastic thumbs-up. The only thing I subbed out was vanilla extract for the vanilla paste. Soooooo yummy!
Thanks so much, G! I’m so glad you all liked them!
First off, I love a good sugar cookie, but these were my favorite! The first time I tried to make this recipe, I used too much flour then I measured with a food scale and I got the consistency right after weighing the ingredients as the recipe calls for! (Highly recommend) they’re so light and perfectly sugary! The vanilla bean paste makes all the difference between m the appearance and taste. I will definitely keep making these cookies for any occasion or maybe just to fulfill my cravings of a yummy sugar cookie!
Thanks so much, Esmeralda! I’m so glad it worked out well for you, and YES, it is so important to weigh the flour for accurate results.
These cookies were amazing! I did add chocolate chips to the top to give them some more flavor, but they’re tasty just as vanilla. I’d highly recommend making these as you won’t be disappointed, but beware you may eat the whole batch 😉
Thanks so much, Alexis! How fun to know they take to chips well, HAHA!
I’ve made 4 batches of these in the last 2 days! They are SO good. Thanks for our new favorie cookie!
I love hearing this– thanks, Megan!
So quick and easy! I added lemon zest for a little brightness and over baked them a little, so I guess I’ll have to make them again 🙂 thanks for a great recipe!
Thanks so much, Rachel!
So delicious. Easy to make. Family love them. Thank you for converting to grams for us Brits.
You are so welcome, Lisa– I’m glad the cookies worked out well for you 🙂
Super yummy!!! Great recipe!
Thanks so much, Cori!
Turned out great. We added sprinkles to some and chopped up Oreos to others. Will make again!
Fabulous– thanks for letting me know, Rebecca!
Seriously the best cookies ever! i have made them multiple times and they are SOOO delicious so soft, fluffy and vanillay. MAKE THEM NOW
Haha, thank you so much, Regan!
I am so glad I found these cookies on my IG because OMG this is the best sugar cookie recipe I have ever tried! I was able to make 28 cookies with this recipe. They are truly pillowy soft and melt in your mouth! I love the vanilla flecks and the crunch of the sugar coating! This is definitely the only sugar cookie recipe I’ll be using from now on & next time I want to make them into snickerdoodles! My bf and I could not stop eating these last night lol
Thanks so much, Alexa! 🙂
Are you able to use this recipe to make shaped cookies or will they spread too much to keep their shape?
Hey, Amanda– this recipe is not good for cut-out cookies. Use this recipe for that!
These are as amazing as they look! Super soft, super vanilla-y and kid approved! Love them and will definitely make again!
Thank you so much, Julie!
Hello! These cookies look so pretty and yummy. Can’t wait to try this recipe! However, I prefer to use only butter. Could I substitute the vegetable oil? If so, how much more butter should I add? Thank you in advance. Have a lovely day:)
Hi, Romy– I’m sure that you could, but I’ve never done it, and it would likely change the instructions and bake time a bit. If you want to try it, I’d suggest using an equal amount of butter that the recipe suggests for the oil. Let me know if you try it!