Sugar Cookies Lab513 recipes
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What goes into sugar cookies

The main ingredient list of all 513 recipes, with names merged so one choice counts once: unsalted and salted butter are butter, light and dark brown sugar are brown sugar, kosher and table salt are salt. Different flours stay apart. Frosting, glaze and other extras are counted on their own at the end.

In short

  • Nearly all sugar cookie recipes use butter (96%); 10% use oil, and 9% use both.
  • For sugar, 84% use white sugar alone, 6% white and brown sugar together, and 5% maple syrup or corn syrup (with or without sugar).
  • Of the recipes with white sugar, 80% use granulated sugar alone, 13% granulated sugar and powdered sugar together, and 5% powdered sugar alone.
  • For leavening, 36% use baking powder alone, 22% none of these, and 18% baking powder and baking soda together.
  • 12% add spice, 9% coconut, candy or chips and 4% chocolate; 75% add none of these.

The main choices

Each block sorts every recipe into one group by a single decision. Amounts are the median among recipes in that group, scaled to 280 g of flour, the size of a typical batch. The recipe named under each group is the one in it closest to the typical batch on every ingredient.

Butter, oil or both

Each recipe counted once, by the fats in its main ingredient list.

Margarine and vegan butter count as butter (5 recipes). Oil includes coconut oil (5 recipes) and olive oil (1 recipe).

White, brown or a syrup

Each recipe counted once, by the sweeteners in its main ingredient list.

White sugar includes powdered sugar, in 18% of recipes. Coconut sugar counts as brown (2 recipes). "With maple syrup or corn syrup" means any liquid sweetener (maple syrup, corn syrup, honey and molasses), with or without dry sugar. Coarse and cinnamon sugar are usually sprinkled on top, so they do not count here.

Granulated or powdered sugar

Among the 487 recipes with white sugar in the dough.

  • Granulated sugar only

    median 171 g white sugar · closest to typical: Classic Sugar Cookies (jessicagavin.com)

    80%392 recipes

  • Granulated sugar and powdered sugar

    median 179 g white sugar · closest to typical: Easy No-Chill Sugar Cookies (completelydelicious.com)

    13%68 recipes

  • Powdered sugar only

    median 127 g white sugar · closest to typical: Sugar Cookies and Frosting Recipe (yellowblissroad.com)

    5%27 recipes

Powdered sugar used only in an icing or glaze is an extra, not counted here.

Baking soda, baking powder or both

Each recipe counted once, by what it relies on to rise.

  • Baking powder only

    median 4.3 g baking soda and powder · closest to typical: Classic Sugar Cookies (jessicagavin.com)

    36%185 recipes

  • None of these

    closest to typical: Biscotti decorati Orsetti del Cuore (tavolartegusto.it)

    22%116 recipes

  • Baking powder and baking soda

    median 6 g baking soda and powder · closest to typical: Sprinkle Sugar Cookies (lifeloveandsugar.com)

    18%97 recipes

  • Baking soda only

    median 4.6 g baking soda and powder · closest to typical: Soft Sugar Cookie Recipe (chelseasmessyapron.com)

    11%57 recipes

  • Baking soda and cream of tartar

    median 2.9 g baking soda and powder · closest to typical: Easy No-Chill Sugar Cookies (completelydelicious.com)

    9%47 recipes

  • Everything else

    2%11 recipes

Cream of tartar is the acid that baking soda reacts with.

Whole eggs, yolks or whites

Each recipe counted once, by the parts of the egg it uses.

A large egg is about 50 g out of the shell, a yolk about 18 g, a white about 32 g.

Add-ins

Share of recipes that add at least one of each. A recipe can add several, so the shares do not sum to 100%. 75% add none of these.

  • Spice12%

    cinnamon 7% · nutmeg 4% · ginger 2%

  • Coconut, candy or chips9%

    sprinkles 5% · candy or cookies 2%

  • Chocolate4%

    chocolate chips or chunks 1% · white chocolate 1% · bar chocolate 1%

How often each ingredient appears

Share of the 513 recipes that list it at least once, for every ingredient in 5% or more of them. The median amount is among recipes that use it and give a weighable amount, scaled to 280 g of flour; for a flour, it is that flour's share of all the flour in the recipe.

  1. All-purpose flour96%

    493 recipes · median: all of the flour

  2. Butter95%

    492 recipes · median 168 g

  3. Granulated sugar89%

    460 recipes · median 160 g

  4. Eggs85%

    440 recipes · median 50 g (about 1 large egg)

  5. Vanilla83%

    429 recipes · median 5 g

  6. Salt80%

    415 recipes · median 2.2 g

  7. Baking powder56%

    289 recipes · median 3.5 g

  8. Baking soda40%

    206 recipes · median 3.2 g

  9. Powdered sugar18%

    95 recipes · median 85 g

  10. Egg yolks14%

    75 recipes · median 18 g

  11. Almond extract14%

    72 recipes · median 1.4 g

  12. Brown sugar11%

    59 recipes · median 134 g

  13. Cream of tartar11%

    58 recipes · median 1.5 g

  14. Milk10%

    53 recipes · median 23 g

  15. Vegetable oil9%

    48 recipes · median 68 g

  16. Cornstarch8%

    45 recipes · median 13 g

  17. Lemon zest8%

    42 recipes · median 3.6 g

  18. Cinnamon7%

    40 recipes · median 2 g

  19. Cocoa powder7%

    38 recipes · median 39 g

  20. Cream cheese6%

    32 recipes · median 44 g

  21. Sour cream5%

    30 recipes · median 51 g

  22. Sprinkles5%

    29 recipes · median 91 g

Toppings and extras

52% of recipes (271 of 513) list something beyond the main recipe: a frosting, glaze, filling, crumb topping, a boiling bath or a sprinkle on top. None of it is counted above. The most common extra ingredients, as a share of all recipes:

  • Powdered sugar34% (177)
  • Milk16% (85)
  • Butter16% (84)
  • Vanilla15% (81)
  • Food coloring15% (79)
  • Sprinkles13% (69)
  • Granulated sugar9% (48)
  • Salt7% (36)
  • Coarse or raw sugar4% (25)
  • Cream4% (24)

How the ingredients are counted

A recipe uses an ingredient when any line of its main ingredient list names it. Names are merged by the words in them, so “1 cup unsalted butter, softened” and “salted butter” are both butter, and a line that offers a choice (“walnuts or pecans”) counts as the first one named. Canola, vegetable and other neutral oils are one oil; coconut and olive oil are listed on their own.

Lines only for greasing the pan are left out. Lines for brushing, sprinkling or serving, and lines that belong to a frosting, glaze, filling or topping, count as extras.

Amounts come from the grams on each recipe page: printed by the source, or converted from cups and spoons with standard densities. Scaling them to 280 g of flour lets a small recipe and a double batch line up. Percentages are rounded down.