Soft Frosted Sugar Cookies with Fresh Milled Flour

Name: Soft Frosted Sugar Cookies with Fresh Milled Flour
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 70 min
Ingredients: 360 g soft white wheat berries (milled into fresh flour); 1/2 cup butter ((113g), softened but still cool); 1 cup powdered sugar ((120g)); 1 large egg; 1/2 cup full-fat Greek yogurt ((125g), generously filled); 1 tsp vanilla extract; 1 tsp baking powder; 1/2 tsp baking soda; 1/2 tsp salt; 1/2 cup butter ((113g), softened); 2 cups powdered sugar ((240g)); 2-3 tbsp milk (start with 2 tbsp if coloring the frosting); 1 tsp vanilla extract; 1 pinch salt; food coloring (optional); sprinkles (optional)

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These soft frosted sugar cookies are thick, tender, and almost cake-like, with a layer of buttercream on top. They're made with fresh milled soft white wheat, and the dough goes straight from the bowl to the oven with no chilling. Each bite melts in your mouth!

Soft frosted sugar cookies with pink buttercream on a wire cooling rack, with bowls of pink frosting beside them.

Why You'll Love These Fresh Milled Sugar Cookies

No chilling required. The dough is scooped and baked right away, so they go from mixing bowl to oven in about 20 minutes.
Soft, cakey texture. Powdered sugar and Greek yogurt give these a tender, fluffy crumb instead of a crisp bite.
Made with fresh milled flour. Freshly milled soft white wheat keeps them light in color and mild in flavor.
Fun to decorate. A smooth buttercream top is the perfect spot for color and sprinkles.

There are two kinds of sugar cookies in this world: the ones you roll out and cut into fun shapes, and the thick, pillowy ones that melt in your mouth with every bite. These are the second kind. I wanted a cookie that looks so soft and thick you can’t help but reach out and snag it off the platter, and this is that cookie.

If you're in the mood for more fresh milled cookies, try my chocolate chip cookies with fresh milled flour or these soft and chewy oatmeal butterscotch cookies.

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Why You'll Love These Fresh Milled Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
Instructions
Substitutions
Variations
Equipment
Storage
FAQ
Related

Ingredients

Cookies

Soft white wheat berries — Milled fine, soft white wheat is lower in protein, which keeps these cookies tender and cakey rather than chewy.
Butter — Softened but still cool, so the cookies hold their thick shape without chilling.
Powdered sugar — Blends into the butter and gives this cookie its soft, airy texture.
Egg — Binds the dough and adds structure.
Greek yogurt — Full-fat works best. Adds moisture and tenderness, and its acidity reacts with the baking soda for extra lift.
Vanilla — The classic sugar cookie flavor.
Baking powder and baking soda — Work together for a puffy, soft cookie.
Salt — Balances the sweetness.

Buttercream Frosting

Butter — The creamy base of the frosting.
Powdered sugar — Sweetens and thickens.
Milk — Thins the frosting to a smooth, spreadable consistency.
Vanilla — Adds flavor.
Salt — Balances the sweetness and enhances the other flavors.
Food coloring and sprinkles (optional) — For decorating.

See recipe card for quantities.

Instructions

Step 1: Prep

Mill the soft white wheat berries on your grain mill's finest setting. Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

A light-colored cookie sheet works best here. Dark pans can brown the bottoms before the tops are done.

Step 2: Cream the Butter and Powdered Sugar

Powdered sugar on top of softened butter in a glass bowl on the left, and beaten into a smooth, fluffy mixture on the right.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the softened butter and powdered sugar together for about 2 minutes. It will look dry and crumbly at first, but don't give up. Keep beating until it comes together smooth, light, and fluffy, almost like frosting.

Step 3: Add the Wet Ingredients

An egg, Greek yogurt, and vanilla added to the creamed butter and sugar on the left, and beaten into a creamy batter on the right.

Add the egg, Greek yogurt, and vanilla, and beat for another full minute until creamy and fully combined.

Step 4: Add the Dry Ingredients

Fresh milled flour and leaveners on top of the wet ingredients on the left, and mixed into a crumbly sugar cookie dough on the right.

Add the fresh milled flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix until no dry flour remains, being careful not to overmix.

Step 5: Scoop the Dough

Scoops of sugar cookie dough on a parchment-lined cookie sheet on the left, and rolled into smooth balls on the right.

Using a 1½ to 2 tablespoon cookie scoop, portion the dough onto the prepared cookie sheet. The dough will feel different from a typical cookie dough, almost like kinetic sand. You can leave the scoops as they are, or roll each one between your palms into a smooth ball.

Rolling them into a ball makes the edges look a little cleaner. Not necessary if you don't care for the aesthetic!

Step 6: Press the Cookies

Twelve flattened rounds of sugar cookie dough on a parchment-lined cookie sheet.

Grab a small piece of parchment paper and a flat-bottomed glass. Lay the parchment over each dough ball and gently press down with the glass to shape it into a flat, round circle. Press just enough to shape it, not too hard.

Step 7: Bake

Twelve baked soft sugar cookies with lightly crackled tops on a parchment-lined cookie sheet.

Bake in the preheated oven for 8 to 10 minutes. The cookies will look puffy, with defined edges.

Step 8: Rest and Cool

Let the cookies rest on the cookie sheet for 10 minutes after they come out of the oven. They'll finish baking from the heat of the pan. Then let them cool completely before frosting.

Step 9: Make the Frosting

Powdered sugar, butter, and vanilla in a glass bowl on the left, and whipped into buttercream frosting on the right.

Mix the softened butter, powdered sugar, milk, vanilla, and salt together until smooth.

If you plan to color your frosting, start with 2 tablespoons of milk so the food coloring doesn't add too much extra liquid, then mix in food coloring until you reach the shade you want.

Step 10: Frost the Cookies

Sugar cookies on a wire cooling rack, some plain and some topped with light and dark pink buttercream, next to bowls of frosting.

Once the cookies have cooled completely, spread the frosting over the tops using a butter knife. Add sprinkles if you like.

Hint: Pull the cookies while they still look puffy. They'll keep baking on the warm pan, so waiting until they look done will overbake them.

Substitutions

Greek yogurt → sour cream: Full-fat sour cream works as a 1:1 swap and gives a similar tender crumb with a little less tang.
Soft white wheat → other fresh milled flours: Soft white wheat gives these fresh milled sugar cookies the softest, most cake-like texture, but other freshly milled wheat berries will work too. Higher-protein grains like hard white or hard red wheat make a sturdier, slightly chewier cookie and absorb more liquid, so start with a little less flour. Spelt bakes up tender with a mild, nutty flavor but absorbs less liquid, so add a bit more flour if the dough is too sticky to scoop.

Close-up of soft sugar cookies topped with pink buttercream and rainbow sprinkles on a wire cooling rack.

Variations

Holiday colors: Tint the frosting to match the season, like pink for Valentine's Day, pastels for Easter, or red and green for Christmas, and finish with matching sprinkles.
Almond frosting: Add a little almond extract to the frosting for a classic bakery-style flavor.
Chocolate frosting: Mix ¼ to ⅓ cup of cocoa powder into the buttercream along with the powdered sugar, adding an extra tablespoon of milk if it gets too thick to spread.
Cinnamon frosting: For a cozy fall version, skip the food coloring and mix ground cinnamon into the buttercream, starting with a teaspoon and adding more to taste.

Equipment

Grain mill (I have a Wondermill)
Stand mixer or hand mixer
Mixing bowl
1½–2 tablespoon cookie scoop
Light-colored cookie sheet
Parchment paper
Drinking glass with a flat bottom
Butter knife

Storage

Room temperature: Store frosted cookies in an airtight container for 3–4 days. Let the frosting set first, and layer with parchment if stacking.
Freezer: Freeze unfrosted cookies in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature, then frost.

Top Tip

Keep beating the butter and powdered sugar even when it looks crumbly. It needs the full 2 minutes to turn smooth and fluffy, and that's what gives these cookies their soft texture.

FAQ

Do I need to chill the dough?

No. The dough goes straight from the bowl to the oven. Using butter that's softened but still cool helps the cookies keep their thick shape.

Why use powdered sugar instead of granulated sugar?

Powdered sugar blends into the butter faster and more completely, which gives these cookies their fine, pillowy, melt-in-your-mouth texture.

Why soft white wheat?

Soft white wheat is lower in protein than hard wheat, so it forms less gluten. That keeps these fresh milled sugar cookies soft and cakey instead of chewy, and it gives them a pale color.

Why are the edges of my cookies cracked?

The dough is a little dry. Make sure your Greek yogurt is full-fat and measured generously, roll each scoop into a smooth ball before pressing, and pinch any cracks closed before baking.