Name: Old Fashioned Vanilla Bean Cookies
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 24
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour (313g); ½ teaspoon baking soda; ½ teaspoon baking powder; ¾ teaspoon kosher salt; ½ cup cold unsalted butter, cubed (113g); ½ cup cold cream cheese, cubed (114g); ½ cup granulated sugar (100g) + more for dipping the tops of the cookies; ¾ cup confectioners' sugar (90g); 1 large egg; 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste*

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These vanilla bean cookies are made from scratch using a food processor. The cookie dough uses cold ingredients and needs no chill time. The vanilla sugar cookies are soft and thick and have an old fashioned feel. They are great for holidays, an easy Christmas cookie or just because you are craving sugar cookies. You’ll have 24 of the best cookies in about 30 minutes.

This post was originally published in June of 2019 and has been updated with new photos and helpful information. The recipe uses more vanilla, but otherwise remains the same.

Reader Darren commented: “The kids and I really like these cookies. I can go from empty counter to cookies in their mouths with a clean kitchen in <45 minutes with this recipe. Thank you!”

vanilla bean sugar cookies on a cooling rack with fresh flowers and milk in the background

Disclosure | This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

If you've followed me for any length of time, you know that sugar cookies are my ultimate weakness. You likely also know that if there is a way to make cookies with cold ingredients, I’m going to make it happen.

As much as I LOVE a cut out sugar cookie for decorating or a vanilla shortbread cookie, sometimes a girl just wants a sugar cookie STAT.

No waiting for butter to warm up and spending time waiting for the dough to chill.

Enter these easy, soft and chewy vanilla bean sugar cookies.

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💗 ingredient notes
🥣 how to make cookies in a food processor
💬 can these cookies be frosted?
🫙 how to store
📖 recipe
Old Fashioned Vanilla Bean Cookies

broken cookie, showing thick and soft textute, nestled among stacks of cookies with a glass of milk and fresh flowers

💗 ingredient notes

This easy cookie recipe has been made dozens of times in my kitchen. It’s very similar to my sugar cookie bars, but uses the technique from my chocolate sprinkle cookies. When developing the recipe, I initially used shortening instead of cream cheese. In the end, my testers liked the texture and flavor best with cream cheese. I also found using confectioners’ sugar (also known as powdered sugar or icing sugar) along with granulated sugar leads to a really soft and tender cookie.

Please scroll to the printable recipe card at the end of this post for the full list of ingredients and baking directions.

Butter ~ COLD unsalted butter is needed. Cut the butter into small cubes before adding to the food processor.

Cream cheese ~ also used COLD and cut into cubes. The cream cheese helps to keep these vanilla bean cookies super moist and chewy with a melt-in-your mouth softness. The cream cheese also keeps the cookies from being overly sweet. I recommend a full-fat cream cheese for the best texture.

Vanilla bean paste ~ to make these sugar cookies vanilla bean cookies, we are using vanilla bean paste. If you do not have vanilla bean paste, pure vanilla extract can be substituted.

🥣 how to make cookies in a food processor

Preheat oven to 375°F/190°C and prepare two baking pans with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.

butter, cream cheese, granulated and confectioners' sugar in a food processor bowl

Start by combining the flour, baking soda, baking powder and kosher salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine. Then add the cold butter, cream cheese and both sugars.

flour, sugars, butter and cream cheese pulsed in a food processor bowl to look like wet sand

Now pulse until the mixture becomes sandy in texture.

vanilla bean cookie dough in a food processor bowl

Next add the egg and vanilla bean paste and blend until the dough comes together.

cookie dough balls on a parchment lined sheet pan with one in a bowl of sugar

Then scoop the dough into 1 ½ inch balls. I use a cookie scoop to get the dough into uniform size balls or you can use a food scale. I've tested this recipe by just dropping the dough onto a prepared baking pan and by rolling each dough scoop into a ball. Either method works, but just dropping them directly onto the baking pan is the fastest!

measuring cup flattening cookie dough balls on a parchment lined baking pan

The cookies don't spread much, so you want to flatten the dough to ¼ to ½ inch tall. The dough can be a little sticky so I find it works best to lightly drop the top of the cookie dough ball into some granulated sugar before flattening with the bottom of a glass or measuring cup.

Finally, bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes. They will look slightly under-baked and may be a little bit puffy. Allow the cookies to rest on the pan for 2 minutes and then move to a wire rack to cool completely. If the cookies are puffy, use the bottom of a cup to slightly press them down while they are still on the baking pan.

💬 can these cookies be frosted?

Absolutely! You can use my favorite American buttercream.

You can also make these cookies fit any holiday or special occasion by using colored sanding sugar instead of granulated sugar for the tops of the cookies.

🫙 how to store

The vanilla bean cookies will stay fresh and soft covered at room temperature for up to five days.

They also freeze well. Allow to cool completely, then store in an airtight container for up to three months.

Remember to snap a picture and tag me @twosugarbugs on Instagram if you make these Old Fashioned Vanilla Bean Cookies. It warms my heart to see you bring these recipes to life! Thank you for being here and happy baking!

If you make this recipe {or any recipe!} from two sugar bugs please come back and leave a review and a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ star rating. I read every comment, and I LOVE hearing from you!

📖 recipe

Yield: 24 Cookies