Air Fryer Reference
Sugar Cookies
dessert · fresh
- Temperature
- 320 °F
- 160 °C
- Total time
- 8 min
- 4–6 cookies per batch on a parchment round; one batch of dough makes ~24
- Flipping
- Not needed
- Internal temp
- —
- use visual cue
Doneness
Done when the edges are just set and barely golden but the centres still look slightly underdone and soft. Pull them then — they firm up as they cool on the rack, and that carryover is what keeps them chewy instead of hard. If you wait until the centres look fully baked in the basket, they'll be crisp and dry once cooled. No flipping; they bake flat on parchment.
Oil & seasoning
No — cut a piece of parchment to fit and the cookies release cleanly. Oil would just make the bottoms greasy.
Season with: Classic vanilla: a plain buttery sugar cookie, soft and chewy., Frosted with sprinkles: cooled and topped with buttercream and rainbow sprinkles (Lofthouse style)., Lemon: lemon zest in the dough and a lemon-sugar glaze., Snickerdoodle: roll the dough balls in cinnamon-sugar before baking for a crackly top..
Watch out for
- Always use a parchment round — raw dough spreads and would drip through a slotted basket, and parchment makes lift-out clean.
- Leave room between dough balls; they spread as they bake and will merge if packed together.
- Pull them when the edges are set but the centres look underdone — carryover heat finishes them and keeps them chewy. Overbaking by even a minute makes them hard.
- Use a lower temperature than an oven recipe calls for — the air fryer's fan browns the tops fast, so 320 °F keeps them from scorching before the centres set.
- Work in small batches; crowding blocks airflow and gives you uneven, pale cookies.