Sugar Cookies: compare the 2 variations
Time, effort, key ingredients, diets, nutrition and cleanup side by side, so you can pick the one that fits tonight.
Which should I make?
- Fastest Soft DropReady in 1 hr; the other takes 3 hr.
- Easiest Soft DropEasy, where the other is medium.
- Kid helper Lemon Cut-OutA child can do 11 of the 16 steps: no knife, no heat.
- Least cleanup Lemon Cut-Out4 things to wash: sheet pan, bowl 1, bowl 2, hand mixer beaters.
Side by side
| Soft Drop | Lemon Cut-Out | |
|---|---|---|
| Total time | 1 hr | 3 hr |
| Prep | 20 min | 40 min |
| Level | Easy | Medium |
| Steps | 12 | 16 |
| Serves | about 28 cookies | about 30 three-inch cookies |
| Key ingredients | all-purpose flour, unsalted butter and granulated sugar | unsalted butter, all-purpose flour and powdered sugar |
| Only in this one | baking soda and milk | lemon zest, powdered sugar and lemon juice |
| Dietary | ||
| Calories | 150 | 150 |
| Protein | 2 g | 2 g |
| Carbs | 20 g | 23 g |
| Fat | 7 g | 6 g |
| Cleanup | 1/5 6 things to wash | 2/5 4 things to wash |
| Kid helper | Yes, 8 of 12 steps | Yes, 11 of 16 steps |
Nutrition is per serving. Estimate from USDA FoodData Central; not medical or dietary advice. Dietary: Based on the ingredient list and estimated nutrition; check labels; not medical advice. Cleanup score: 5 means one thing to wash, 1 means six or more. We count pots, pans, bowls and appliances, not the knife, board and spoons.
How we pick
- Fastest: the shortest total time, at least 10 minutes ahead of the next.
- Easiest: the lowest level (easy, medium, hard), then at least 2 fewer steps.
- Lightest: the fewest estimated calories a serving, at least 15% and 40 calories under the next (only when two or more have an estimate).
- Kid helper: the variation where a child can do the biggest share of the steps (no knife, no heat), when that's not all of them equally.
- Least cleanup: the best cleanup score, a point ahead of the next.
- Make it ahead: the only variation whose notes say how to make it ahead.
- Vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free or dairy-free: the variation that fits a diet the others don't, from the ingredient lines.
A pick needs a clear winner; close calls are left out.