Easy Vanilla Cookies With Vanilla Or White Chocolate Chips

These Vanilla Cookies are a scrumptious twist on a classic chocolate chip cookie recipe. Creamy, smooth white chocolate chips wrapped up in a buttery cookie dough that is bursting with vanilla flavor. I hate to admit this, but I am a huge cookie snob! I won’t eat any store bought cookies or any cookie that even looks like it was overbaked in the slightest. I’m not proud of it, but hey – we all have our flaws. However, this snobbery has made me work hard on coming up with perfect, and I mean perfect cookie recipes. These vanilla cookies are darn near perfection in taste and texture, and I can’t wait for you to try them!

Ingredients in Vanilla Cookies

These soft vanilla cookies are so simple but is one of my favorite recipes of all time. They’re perfect to serve for bridal or baby showers, picnics, or just a family evening at home. I like to keep all the ingredients on hand for whenever a cookie craving strikes. Here’s what you need:

Butter – I like to use one cup of softened unsalted butter for incredible soft cookies. Sugar – one cup white, granulated sugar Brown sugar – one cup, packed Almond extract – try this in place of vanilla extract for a deep, slightly nutty flavor that makes the cookies so divine. Of course, if you can’t find almond extract, you can always substitute a teaspoon vanilla here. Vanilla – vanilla extract enhances the perfect vanilla cookie flavor. 2 eggs – if the eggs are smaller, you can use three small to medium eggs. All purpose flour – three cups, sifted and leveled. Salt – one teaspoon salt, either kosher or table salt Baking soda Vanilla chips – or white chocolate chips, one 12 ounce bag.

Before mixing your dough, make sure that your butter is a room temperature. You should be able to make a slight dent in the butter with your finger. Believe me, the temperature of your butter really affects the way your cookies bake. Using the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugars together until the mixture is light and fluffy. Combine the dry ingredients all together in a medium bowl, then add to the wet ingredients that you’ve mixed in the bowl of a stand mixer. Scrape the sides of the bowl during mixing so all the ingredients are incorporated. You can scoop and bake these cookies right away or give the dough a little chill time in the fridge before baking.

Baking Suggestions

Grease baking sheets with cooking spray or line the sheets with parchment paper so the cookies don’t stick. Use a cookie scoop to make sure the cookies are all the same size. That way they’ll all bake up evenly. One of the biggest secrets to soft and chewy cookies is the baking time. I always bake my cookies for about nine to eleven minutes, just until the bottom of the cookie is ever so slightly golden. Then I take them out and let them cook on the cookie sheet on top of the stove for another two minutes or so. Once they’re cooled slightly, I put them on a wire rack to finish cooling to room temperature. (or I eat a few while they’re still warm and gooey!)

How to Store Vanilla Cookies

Store fresh cookies in an air tight container on the counter for up to a week. You can freeze these cookies too! They keep in the freezer for weeks, and you can pull them out whenever you need a little treat (just let them thaw on the counter for a few minutes). You can also freeze the dough, tightly covered in plastic wrap. When you want to bake some fresh vanilla cookies, just unwrap the dough and let it thaw for a few minutes.

This is a basic cookie dough that can be changed up a million different ways.

I love the nutty flavor of almond extract but you can leave it out if you choose. Or swap out the almond extract for other flavors: coconut, peppermint, just about anything! Vanilla chips or white chocolate chips work well in this recipe. Add chopped pecans, walnuts, macadamia nuts or almonds to the dough for extra texture and flavor.