Pandan Vanilla Sugar Cookies (Soft, Buttery & Easy Bakery-Style Recipe)
These pandan vanilla sugar cookies are soft, buttery, and infused with fragrant pandan and warm vanilla flavor. With tender centers, lightly crisp edges, and a beautiful green color, this easy bakery-style cookie recipe is perfect for tea time, gifting, or unique holiday cookies. Made with simple ingredients and ready in under an hour, these pandan sugar cookies deliver bold flavor and a perfectly soft texture every time.
Servings 18 cookies
Calories 165kcal
Cost $6 for entire recipe
Equipment
- Mixing bowl
- Hand mixer or stand mixer
- Rubber spatula
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Baking sheet
- Parchment paper
- Cookie scoop (2-tablespoon size)
- wire cooling rack
Ingredients
- ¾ cup unsalted butter softened
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon pandan extract
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- optional green food coloring
- optional granulated sugar for rolling
Instructions
Cream butter and sugar
- Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2–3 minutes.
Add wet ingredients
- Mix in egg and egg yolk until smooth. Add pandan extract and vanilla extract and mix until combined.
Combine dry ingredients
- In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
Form dough
- Gradually mix dry ingredients into wet ingredients until a soft dough forms. Do not overmix.
Chill dough
- Cover and chill dough for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
Shape cookies
- Scoop dough into 2 tablespoon balls. Roll in sugar if desired.
Bake
- Bake for 10–11 minutes until edges are set and centers remain soft and pale.
Cool
- Cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack.
Notes
- Pandan extract strength varies by brand, so start with 1 teaspoon and increase slightly in future batches for a stronger pandan flavor.
- Chill the dough before baking to prevent spreading and create thick, soft pandan sugar cookies.
- Do not overbake — the centers should look slightly soft when removed from the oven for the best texture.
- Use gel food coloring if you want vibrant green pandan cookies without adding extra liquid.
- Measure flour correctly using the spoon-and-level method to avoid dry cookies.
- Room temperature butter creams more evenly and creates a softer cookie crumb.
- Rolling the dough in sugar adds a delicate crackled finish and lightly crisp edges.
- For bakery-style thick cookies, bake dough balls straight from the refrigerator.