Mini Sugar Cookies are soft, buttery, and perfectly sweet little treats coated with sparkling sugar. These easy-to-make cookies feature a delightful combination of granulated sugar and powdered sugar with a hint of vanilla and almond extracts. Perfect for parties, holidays, or anytime sweet cravings strike, these cookies bake quickly to golden perfection and crisp edges while remaining tender inside.
Total Time:27 minutes
Yield:90 cookies
Ingredients
Wet Ingredients
½ cup (113g) unsalted butter, softened but still cool to the touch
½ cup (115g) granulated sugar
½ cup (60g) powdered sugar
½ cup (108g) canola or vegetable oil
1¼ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon almond extract
1 large egg
Dry Ingredients
2⅓ cups (291g) all purpose flour, spooned and leveled
¾ teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon cream of tartar
½ teaspoon salt
For Coating and Topping
¾ cup (173g) granulated sugar, divided (½ cup for rolling and ¼ cup for sprinkling)
Instructions
Preheat and Prepare Baking Sheets: Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line three baking sheets with parchment paper to ensure the cookies do not stick and bake evenly.
Mix Butter and Sugars: In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat together the softened butter, granulated sugar, and powdered sugar until well combined and fluffy.
Add Oil, Egg, and Extracts: Slowly add the oil while continuing to beat the mixture. Scrape down the sides and bottom as needed. Add the egg, vanilla extract, and almond extract. It’s normal if the mixture looks slightly curdled; this will come together once the dry ingredients are added.
Combine Dry Ingredients: In a separate bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt until evenly mixed.
Incorporate Dry Ingredients: Gradually add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and beat until just combined. Scrape the bowl occasionally to ensure everything is evenly mixed without overbeating.
Prepare Sugar for Coating: Set aside ¼ cup of granulated sugar in a small bowl for topping. Place ½ cup of sugar in a wider container suitable for rolling the dough balls in sugar.
Shape and Sugar Coat Dough Balls: Using a 1-teaspoon scoop, gather a heaping 2 teaspoons worth of dough per cookie. Drop 8-10 dough balls at a time into the container with sugar. Gently shake or use your fingers to coat each dough ball thoroughly in sugar.
Arrange and Flatten on Baking Sheets: Place the sugared dough balls a couple of inches apart on the prepared baking sheets, roughly 30 per sheet. Use a cookie stamp or the bottom of a glass to gently flatten each dough ball to your desired thickness.
Bake the Cookies: Bake in the preheated oven for 12 minutes or until the cookies puff up and start to set around the edges. They will crisp up further as they cool.
Sugar Sprinkle and Cool: Immediately after removing the baking sheets from the oven, sprinkle the tops of the cookies with some of the reserved ¼ cup sugar. Transfer the pans to wire racks and allow the cookies to cool completely before storing.
Notes
For best results, use room temperature butter but ensure it is still cool to the touch to prevent the dough from getting too soft.
If you don’t have cream of tartar, you can substitute with an equal amount of lemon juice or white vinegar, though this may slightly alter flavor.
Use parchment paper or silicone baking mats to prevent sticking and promote even baking.
Make sure not to overbake; cookies should look slightly underdone when you remove them as they firm while cooling.
You can store these cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week or freeze for longer storage.
For a different flavor twist, try swapping almond extract for lemon or orange zest.
