How do you keep cookies from spreading?

Cookies can spread if the dough is too moist, without enough dry ingredients to hold it together. It can also spread due to an excessive amount of baking soda. If you follow the steps in this recipe, though, you won't have that issue. In general, adding a bit of baking powder or flour to a cookie's dough can help prevent them from spreading as much.

Should you refrigerate this cookie dough before baking it?

If a recipe calls for a chilled sugar cookie, meaning you need to refrigerate the dough before baking it, do it! That step is not part of this recipe, though.

How can I decorate this pink cookie?

While delicious as is, these cookies would also look pretty topped with a pink icing. Right before baking, I also rolled the tops of a few of my balls of dough in white sparkling sugar (see the below image) to dress them up. So pretty and shimmery! Sanding sugar would work, too.

Chewy and Soft Pink Sugar Cookie Recipe

Pink Sugar Cookies

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Use this easy recipe to make a delicious batch of two dozen beautiful, pink sugar cookies at home in less than an hour! They're perfect for Valentine's Day or another special occasion, like a baby shower or birthday.

Author: Susan
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Yield: 24 cookies 1x
Category: Dessert
Cuisine: American

Ingredients

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12 T (170 grams) unsalted butter, melted
¾ cup (180 grams) white sugar
¼ cup (45 grams) firmly packed light brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
¾ teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
2 large cold eggs (straight from the fridge)
1 oz/30 grams freeze dried strawberry powder
2 ½ cups (300 grams) all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
Optional: Pink food gel coloring (Cookies will not be pink without it)

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Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350°F.
Cream butter, vanilla extract, 7-8 drops pink food gel, and sugars together in your mixing bowl for 3 minutes.
Stop the mixer and add salt, baking powder, and baking soda as well as half of your eggs, freeze dried strawberries, and flour. Mix for about 45 seconds on medium speed before stopping the mixer to add the remaining egg, freeze dried strawberries, and flour, beating again for 30 seconds. Here, add another drop or two of food gel if cookies aren’t as pink as you would like.
Scoop small (⅔ the size of a golf ball) round portions of your cookie dough onto ungreased aluminum baking sheets, with about 2 inches between each of them. Bake for 14-15 minutes. Transfer them to cooling racks after they’ve sat on the baking sheets 5 or so minutes outside of the oven and are firm enough to handle.

Notes

Pink food coloring is necessary for making these cookies a true pink shade. Without it, their color will be extremely faint.
The nutritional values are approximate and can vary based on the specific brands and measurements of ingredients.

Nutrition

Serving Size: 1 cookie
Calories: 145 kcal
Sugar: 10.3 g
Sodium: 121 mg
Fat: 6.2 g
Saturated Fat: 4.0 g
Carbohydrates: 21.1 g
Fiber: 0.7 g
Protein: 1.1 g

Find it online: https://susanbringsdessert.com/pink-sugar-cookies/