Air fryer sugar cookies are rich, buttery cookies with a crisp outside and a soft middle. This easy, no-chill cookie recipe takes classic sugar cookies and bakes them in the air fryer! And these cookies bake in about 7 minutes, so you can quickly enjoy warm, fresh cookies.
Nothing beats fresh sugar cookies from scratch, whether you want a holiday treat or a simple afternoon snack. And sugar cookies are versatile. Decorate these delicious sugar cookies with sprinkles, frosting, or just eat them plain for a dessert that everyone will love!
And with the holiday season approaching, it’s time for some new cookie recipes! Just because your grandma didn’t make cookies in the air fryer doesn’t mean you can’t try new things and use a new cooking method to create the perfect cookie.
🍪Why Make Cookies in the Air Fryer?
One of the significant advantages of making cookies in the air fryer is that it doesn’t heat up the house. This is great when you want to make cookies in the middle of summer!
But my favorite reason is that it lets me make small batches of cookies. Now that my husband and I are empty nesters, we don’t need to make a huge batch that leaves us with dozens of leftover cookies. I can easily make 8-10 cookies at a time with the air fryer, which is plenty.
Love classic cookies? Check out my delicious recipes for air fryer snickerdoodles or air fryer chocolate chip cookies!
🧈Key Ingredients
For exact amounts needed see the recipe card below
Butter and shortening – Butter and shortening are the fat in these cookies. They help give them their soft and chewy texture.
Instant vanilla pudding – The pudding gives these cookies a soft and moist texture. You don’t make the pudding. Just add the powdered pudding to the cookie dough.
Sprinkles or frosting – Decorate these tasty treats by rolling them in sprinkles or adding frosting. Or eat them plain, right out of the air fryer!
The remaining simple ingredients are baking staples, including granulated sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, flour, baking powder, and salt.
🥣How to Make Air Fryer Sugar Cookies
1. Make the Cookie Dough
Making the cookies starts by creaming the butter, shortening, and white sugar in an electric mixer. Once they are combined and fluffy, add in the eggs, vanilla extract, and pudding mix. Mix well.
Then add the baking powder and salt to the bowl of flour and stir. Mix these dry ingredients into the butter mixture a little at a time. I usually add about 1/3 of the flour mixture at once, then mix it into the dough.
2. Form the Cookies
This homemade cookie dough doesn’t need to be refrigerated. Use a cookie scoop or tablespoon to scoop out balls of dough about 1 1/2 inches in size and put them on a plate or cutting board. Make 8-10 cookie dough balls, or however many will fit in your air fryer.
If you want to make sprinkle sugar cookies, then put some sprinkles on a shallow plate. Roll the cookie balls in the sprinkles until they are thoroughly coated.
To ensure these cook evenly in the air fryer, you need to flatten them slightly. Use your fingers to flatten them to about 1/2 inch thick.
3. Air Fry the Cookies
Start by preheating the air fryer at 350 degrees F for 3 minutes. If you use parchment paper, place a sheet in the basket after preheating. Never preheat with a piece of parchment paper inside!
Place the flattened cookies on the parchment paper, keeping them about 1 1/2 inches apart in a single layer. These will not spread as much as cookies baked in the oven, but they will spread some.
Air fry them at 350 F for 5-8 minutes. They are done when the cookies are light golden brown on top, and the middle is just set. Let the cookies cool in the basket for 5 minutes before placing them on wire racks.
4. Frosting (optional)
If you didn’t roll the dough in sprinkles, you might want to add some frosting. Use store-bought or use this recipe for the best buttercream frosting and add a thick layer to the cooled cookies.
🎄Making Multiple Batches of Cookies
My 5.8-quart Cosori air fryer makes about 8 cookies per batch. This recipe makes enough for about 40 cookies. So you can keep baking more batches or save the dough to make later. See the freezing instructions here.
In addition, this cookie dough can make other air fryer cookies, including Christmas M&M cookies, Thumbprint cookies, and Hershey Kiss cookies.
So you can use the rest of the dough to make other kinds of cookies and end up with 40 tasty cookies of all different types. Check out the individual posts for your favorite.
💭How to Store
Store the homemade cookies in an air-tight container for 3-4 days. The baked cookies can be frozen, although it is better to freeze them before frosting.
🧊 Freezing the Dough
This dough freezes well. I generally divide it into 4 parts, wrap them tightly in plastic wrap and freeze it in a freezer-safe container. This gives me 8-12 cookies per dough portion. Put the dough in the refrigerator the night before you plan to make it, and let it thaw.
⭐Tips for Making the Best Air Fryer Sugar Cookies
Be sure to check out the step by step instructions
- Use softened butter in the recipe.
- Make the cookies a uniform size by using a cookie scoop or tablespoon to make the dough balls.
- Ensure you don’t have parchment paper in the air fryer when preheating.
- Flatten the cookies slightly before air frying.
📝FAQ
Making cutout cookies is fun, but you need to use a different dough recipe. This dough spreads too much for using cookie cutters.
The air fryer cooks so fast that the cookies don’t have much time to spread. The outside will cook before the middle if you don’t flatten them.
Yes, this classic recipe can be baked in the oven. Bake the cookies in a preheated 350-degree F oven for 12-15 minutes.
Parchment paper isn’t essential, but it will help keep the cookies from sticking and make cleanup easier. You can buy inexpensive parchment paper perfectly sized for most air fryer baskets.
Yes, you can use premade dough if you don’t want to make air fryer sugar cookies from scratch. Preheat the air fryer at 350 F for 3 minutes. Then bake the cookies on parchment paper for 6-8 minutes.
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Air Fryer Sugar Cookie Recipe
Ingredients
- ¾ cup unsalted butter softened
- ¼ cup shortening
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 box instant vanilla pudding
- 2 ½ cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
For Sprinkle Sugar Cookies
- 1/4 cup colored sprinkles
For Frosted Sugar Cookies
- 1/2 cup buttercream frosting
Instructions
- Place the butter, shortening, and sugar in a mixing bowl. Cream them together with an electric mixer.¾ cup unsalted butter, ¼ cup shortening, 1 ½ cups sugar
- Add in eggs, vanilla, and instant pudding mix. Continue mixing until thoroughly incorporated.2 eggs, 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 box instant vanilla pudding
- In a separate bowl, stir the flour, baking powder, and salt.2 ½ cups flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon salt
- Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture a little at a time mixing between additions until all the flour is incorporated.
- Preheat the air fryer at 350 degrees F for 3 minutes.
- Use a dough scoop or spoon to scoop the dough into tablespoon size balls.
- For sprinkle sugar cookies: Put the sprinkles on a shallow plate. Roll the cookie balls in the sprinkles.1/4 cup colored sprinkles
- Flatten the cookie balls slightly with your fingers, pushing them down until they are about 1/2 inch thick.
- Add a parchment paper liner to the air fryer basket once it has preheated. Place the cookie balls on the parchment paper, keeping them about 1 inch apart. Make multiple batches if necessary.
- Bake for 5-8 minutes or until set and golden brown.
- Remove from the air fryer and let them cool in the basket for 5 minutes before removing them to a wire rack to cool completely.
- For frosted sugar cookies: Once the cookies are completely cool, spread them with frosting and add sprinkles.1/2 cup buttercream frosting
Notes
One Dough, 4 Cookies
Use this same cookie dough to make other air fryer cookie recipes! See here for all the classic cookies you can create and make some festive treats for the holidays.Freezing the Dough
This dough freezes well. Divide it into 4 parts, wrap each tightly in plastic wrap and freeze. This gives me 8-12 cookies per dough portion. Put the frozen cookie dough in the refrigerator the night before you plan to make it, and let it thaw.Oven Baking
Bake the cookies in a preheated 350-degree F oven for 12-15 minutes.As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.
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Nutrition Information
Nutrition facts are estimates.
