These air fryer sugar cookies are made with the simplest of ingredients and have a light texture and sweet vanilla flavour. This recipe works so well, you’ll be making them over and over again.
Sugar cookies have been a favourite in American baking for centuries, with early versions dating back to the 1700s.
They're traditionally made with only four ingredients (butter, sugar, flour, and eggs) although I like to add a dash of vanilla and a touch of raising agents too, and they’re known for their crisp edges and slightly chewy centres.
This air fryer version bakes super quickly, speeding up the process, and giving you perfectly baked cookies in minutes without the need to turn on the oven.
The dough itself is simple to make, coming together in just a few minutes. It's really only a two step process.
First, you'll whisk butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla together and second, you'll stir in flour, baking powder, salt and bicarbonate of soda. That's the dough made!
To avoid any faff with rolling the dough out and cutting out rounds, you'll instead roll the dough into a sausage shape, wrap, and pop in the refrigerator.
Chilling the dough before slicing helps maintain the shape, preventing the cookies from spreading too much as they bake. They really do turn out perfectly.
If you prefer a softer texture to your sugar cookies, you can reduce the baking time slightly, while a minute or two longer will create a crisper finish.
Thanks to their mild, buttery sweetness, these cookies work well as a base for all sorts of variations.
You could mix in a handful of chocolate chips, swap the vanilla for almond extract, or add a pinch of cinnamon for warmth.
They’re also perfect for decorating—simply let them cool completely before icing.
These sugar cookies are great for gifting, popping into lunchboxes, or enjoying with a cup of tea or coffee.
And because they cook so quickly in the air fryer, you can bake small batches fresh whenever the craving strikes.
Store any leftovers in an airtight container to keep them crisp, or freeze the dough so you can slice and bake on demand - doing so is a BIG hit in our house.
Read on for the full recipe with detailed instructions and a helpful photograph for every step. And if you have any questions, just leave me a comment. Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 110 g (3.9 oz) salted butter
- 100 g (3.5 oz) white caster sugar
- 1 medium free range eggs
- ½ tsp (0.5 tsp) vanilla extract
- 250 g (8.8 oz) plain white flour
- ¼ tsp (0.3 tsp) bicarbonate of soda
- ¼ tsp (0.3 tsp) baking powder
- ¼ tsp (0.3 tsp) salt
Instructions
Cut a piece of greaseproof to about the same size as the base of your tray. Fold it in half 3-4 times to create a thin triangle. Make holes with a skewer or hole punch and unfold.
Make the dough
Put the butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla in a mixing bowl.
Whisk until fluffy and pale.
Sift in the flour, baking powder, salt and bicarbonate of soda.
Stir until fully combined and clumpy.
Gather up the pieces and knead together only as much as it takes to get a smooth ball of dough.
Roll the dough into a rough cylinder with a length of 25cm and a diameter of 4cm.
Wrap in greaseproof paper or plastic wrap, smoothing the dough into an even cylinder.
Place in the fridge to rest and chill for 15 minutes. Bonus tip! If your dough has warmed, it may tend towards flattening against the counter. To avoid this, you can use a couple of kitchen roll tubes and a little tape to hold the cylinder in shape.
Shape and bake the cookies
Slice the cylinder into 1cm discs with a sharp knife. You should get 25 cookies in total.
Place 6-8 cookies in your lined air fryer basket. They don't need to be spaced more than a centimetre or two (half inch) apart as they only spread a little bit.
Set the air fryer to 170C and bake the cookies for 8 minutes or until pale golden at the edges.
Cool briefly on the tray to allow them to firm up, then transfer to a cooling rack with a spatula.
Enjoy!
Once you've given my recipe a go, I'd love you to come back and leave a comment letting me know how yours turned out.
I'd love to see your videos and pics, too! Just tag me on social media. I'm @emilylearycooks on Twitter and TikTok or @amummytoo on Instagram.
Print this Air Fryer Sugar Cookies recipe
Air Fryer Sugar Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
- 110 g (3.9 oz) salted butter
- 100 g (3.5 oz) white caster sugar
- 1 medium free range eggs
- ½ tsp (0.5 tsp) vanilla extract
- 250 g (8.8 oz) plain white flour
- ¼ tsp (0.3 tsp) bicarbonate of soda
- ¼ tsp (0.3 tsp) baking powder
- ¼ tsp (0.3 tsp) salt
Instructions
- Cut a piece of greaseproof to about the same size as the base of your tray. Fold it in half 3-4 times to create a thin triangle. Make holes with a skewer or hole punch and unfold.
Make the dough
- Put the butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla in a mixing bowl. Whisk until fluffy and pale.
- Sift in the flour, baking powder, salt and bicarbonate of soda. Stir until fully combined and clumpy.
- Gather up the pieces and knead together only as much as it takes to get a smooth ball of dough.
- Roll the dough into a rough cylinder with a length of 25cm and a diameter of 4cm.
- Wrap in greaseproof paper or plastic wrap, smoothing the dough into an even cylinder.
- Place in the fridge to rest and chill for 15 minutes. Bonus tip! If your dough has warmed, it may tend towards flattening against the counter. To avoid this, you can use a couple of kitchen roll tubes and a little tape to hold the cylinder in shape.
Shape and bake the cookies
- Slice the cylinder into 1cm discs with a sharp knife. You should get 25 cookies in total.
- Place 6-8 cookies in your lined air fryer basket. They don't need to be spaced more than a centimetre or two (half inch) apart as they only spread a little bit.
- Set the air fryer to 170C and bake the cookies for 8 minutes or until pale golden at the edges.
- Cool briefly on the tray to allow them to firm up, then transfer to a cooling rack with a spatula.
Nutrition
More air fryer dessert recipes to try
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