These Crumbl sugar cookies are thick, buttery, and impossibly soft thanks to a little cornstarch in the dough. My copycat version is topped with pink almond buttercream and served chilled, just like the bakery original.
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Key Takeaways: Crumbl Sugar Cookie Recipe
- Prep time: 20 minutes
- Chill time: 30 minutes
- Bake time: 8–9 minutes
- Yield: 16 oversized bakery-style cookies
- Texture: Thick, soft sugar cookies with signature pink almond frosting
- Difficulty: Easy. There is no rolling or cutting out, just scoop and flatten with your palm
Why I Love This Recipe
These copycat Crumbl sugar cookies come from the same soft spot I have for a chilled frosted cookie, which is how my copycat Swig cookies ended up on the blog years ago. Unlike my super soft sugar cookies, which rely on oil and sour cream to stay soft, cornstarch keeps these centers cake-like and thick.
The frosting adds the perfect amount of sweetness. It uses a full teaspoon of almond extract, more than my classic sugar cookie frosting, because that bakery almond flavor is what makes them taste like the real thing. Serve them cold straight from the fridge and you will swear they came out of a pink box.
Ingredients Notes
Find the full printable recipe with specific measurements below.
- Salted butter: Softened, not melted, so it whips up light with the sugar. I use salted butter in the cookies and the frosting for better flavor.
- Granulated sugar: Sweetens and helps create those soft, thick centers.
- Eggs: Room temperature eggs blend into the butter mixture more evenly.
- Vanilla extract: Rounds out the flavor in both the dough and the frosting.
- Almond extract: Gives the cookies and pink frosting that signature Crumbl-style flavor.
- All-purpose flour: Spoon and level it so the dough does not turn dry.
- Cornstarch: My secret for soft cookies. It keeps the centers tender and stops them from spreading thin.
- Baking powder and salt: Just enough lift to keep them thick and fluffy.
- Powdered sugar: Sift it if yours is lumpy so the frosting swirls smoothly.
- Heavy cream: Thins the frosting to a spreadable consistency. Add it a tablespoon at a time.
- Pink food coloring: A few drops gets you that signature blush color.
How to Make Crumbl Sugar Cookies
Step 1: Cream the softened butter and granulated sugar in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until the mixture looks pale and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then mix in the vanilla and almond extract. You want plenty of air worked in here, since that is what gives the cookies their thick, soft texture.
Step 2: Whisk the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt together in a separate bowl, then add it to the butter mixture and mix on low just until it comes together. Stop as soon as you no longer see streaks of flour, because overmixing will toughen the dough. Refrigerate for 30 minutes and preheat the oven to 350°F while it chills.
Step 3: Scoop dough with a large cookie scoop, 60 grams per cookie, and roll each one into a smooth ball. Place on parchment lined baking sheets about 3 inches apart. These are big bakery-style cookies and they need the room.
Step 4: Flatten each ball to about a half inch thick using the palm of your hand or the bottom of a measuring cup. This is the step that gives you that flat, even Crumbl shape, so do not skip it.
Step 5: Bake for 8 to 9 minutes, until the edges are just set and the tops no longer look wet. The bottoms should stay pale, so pull them before they take on any color. Let them cool on the pan for 3 minutes, then move them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Step 6: Beat the butter for the frosting until light and fluffy, about a minute, then mix in 2 cups of powdered sugar with the vanilla and almond extract. Alternate adding a tablespoon of cream with a quarter cup of powdered sugar until it is thick but still spreadable, then beat in the pink food coloring. Swirl a generous scoop over each cooled cookie then chill before serving.
Recipe Tips
- Scoop with a #16 cookie scoop, about 60 grams or 1/4 cup of dough per ball, so all 16 cookies bake evenly.
- Do not overbake. The cookies should look slightly underdone when you pull them from the oven, and the bottoms should not be brown or they will turn out dry.
- For a more authentic bakery look, use an offset spatula to create a smooth swirl in the frosting.
- The Classic Pink Sugar Cookie from Crumbl features light pink icing, but you can tint the frosting any color you like or leave it white.
- These copycat Crumbl chilled sugar cookies are best served cold straight from the fridge, but they are also delicious at room temperature.
Crumbl Sugar Cookies FAQs
Usually it comes down to too much flour or too much time in the oven. Spoon and level your flour instead of scooping it straight from the bag, and pull the cookies while the tops still look slightly underdone. If the bottoms have browned, they have gone too far.
Yes. Use a medium cookie scoop, about 2 tablespoons of dough, and you will get closer to 32 cookies. Start checking them a couple of minutes early since smaller cookies bake faster.
You can swap it for an equal amount of vanilla, but the almond is what gives these that bakery flavor, so they will taste more like a classic frosted sugar cookie than a Crumbl copycat.
Yes. The dough needs 30 minutes in the fridge anyway, and it will keep there up to 2 days. You can also scoop it into balls, freeze them flat on a baking sheet until solid, then transfer to a freezer bag for up to 3 months. They can be baked from frozen, but I like to thaw them completely before baking so they spread and bake evenly.
Summarize and Save This Recipe Content On:
I love make sugar cookies year round including my Christmas sugar cookie bars, Halloween sugar cookies and drop sugar cookies.
More Frosted Cookie Recipes
Crumbl Sugar Cookie Recipe
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Ingredients
- 1 cup (226g) salted butter , softened
- 1 cup (200g ) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs , room temperature
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 3 cups (420 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
Frosting
- ½ cup salted butter , softened
- 2 ½ cups powdered sugar , more as needed
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 2-3 Tablespoons heavy cream , more if needed
- pink food coloring
Instructions
- Preheat and prepare: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Cream butters and sugars: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream 1 cup butter, and 1 cup granulated sugar on medium speed for about 2 to 3 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Add eggs and extracts: Beat in 2 eggs one at a time. Mix in 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla and 1 teaspoon almond extract.
- Whisk dry ingredients: In a separate bowl, whisk together 3 cups flour, 2 teaspoons cornstarch, 1 teaspoon baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
- Mix in dry ingredients: Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and mix on low just until combined. Don't overmix. Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes.
- Scoop dough: Scoop with a large cookie cookie scoop (I did about 60 grams per cookie), roll into smooth balls and place on the prepared baking sheet about 3 inches apart. Gently flatten each cookie to about ½- inch thick using the palm of your hand or a measuring cup.
- Bake: Bake for 8 to 9 minutes, until the edges are just set and the tops no longer look wet. Be careful not to let the bottoms brown. Let cool on the baking sheet for 3 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Frosting:
- Beat all ingredients: In a large bowl, beat 1/2 cup butter for 1 minute, or until light and fluffy. Add 2 cups of the powdered sugar, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, and 1 teaspoon almond extract. Mix until well blended. Alternate adding a tablespoon of cream with 1⁄4 cup powdered sugar until you reach your desired consistency. Add a few drops of pink food coloring and beat again.
- Frost cookies: Spread a generous scoop of frosting over each cooled cookie, swirling it with an offset spatula or the back of a spoon.
- Chill: Store in the refrigerator or freezer. Serve chilled as part of the signature experience.
Last step: Please leave a comment and rating after you make the recipe.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition provided is an estimate. It will vary based on specific ingredients used.
Alisha
The cookies were so soft and delicious (the frosting adds the perfect amount of sweetness).
Sarah @IHeartNaptime
So glad you love the copycat Crumbl sugar cookies!